[Nibile]

summer converted-transit owners meet?

[Paul B]

I sold my Bay Camper on Saturday... (I'm glad that guy bought it as well because the first thing he did was rip the sill off  )

[Bonjoy]

 Well the van conversion is going ok, but there are a few things i'm going to be needing help with. The biggest of these being the gas and electrics. Just wondered if any of you wonderful people had the requisite skills to help me out, or know of good sources of cheap reliable assistance? In particular does anyone know about wiring up 12v DC systems and/or plumbing in gas appliances.
Cheers

[chappers]

i met a guy in spain who had a wood buring stove in his van with a massive chimney sticking out of his roof 

[Paul B]

Hey john the 12v dc stuff is relatively simple, buy yourself a fuse box etc and run it from your leisure battery to this then to various sockets around your van, cig lighter style I guess? I'd recommend using blade fuses and a car fuse box as theyre easy to get hold of. Something like an old mini has a fairly compact unit rather than the massive boxes you get on new cars.

For the gas heating my van was pretty much rubber piping which was then jubilee clipped around some thin gas pipes to the Heat Source the vent out of the van was done in a similar way. I reckon its probably straightforward to do yourself a good place to start for some info on fitting one of these would bet www.justkampers.co.uk or www.volkszone.com (latter seems larger) some of the people have even written articles on common installations (is it a propex you've got?)
they're both VW oreintated but the people on there know their stuff and seem fairly helpful.

[Paul B]

if it is a propex is this any help?

http://www.volkszone.com/VZi/showthread.php?t=316768&page=1&pp=10&highlight=propex

[Bonjoy]

 Some pics of progress









Anyone else got any conversions on the go?

[north_country_boy]

Van is looking great Bonjoy! Should take ownership of my Vito this week, then 6 weeks or so to do some minor modifications/conversion before heading away in the summer.

Have you looked into/installed a auxillary/leisure battery and inverter in the Swift Gosling? Keen to put one in mine, any tips? (ideally cheaply: just to run uinterior lights/maybe stereo and a 12v socket to charge laptop and other devices.....)

Also where do you pick up the insulation for the van?

[Paul B]

To install an aux battery you need a battery and a split charge relay (available at Halfords but cheaper at other places, manufacturers such as Hella), fairly easy to install, comes with a wiring diagram. Battery in the vito under the bonnet?

240v inverter will flatten a battery in no time and if you've got 12v chargers for everything theyre pretty useless imo.

[north_country_boy]

Have you sorted insurance for your van Bonjoy? Most companies won't let you have mor ethan 3 month's european/foreign cover (and some require you to pay extra for 2months of that) I am only aware of CIS who will isnure for any length of time (i.e. upto 12months - at no extra cost, as long as you have a green card)

You or anyone else got any info on alternatives?

[GCW]

I'd second that, Paul.  if you are going to use an inverter (to charge lap-tops/ cameras etc) I would personally only do it whilst driving.  Also, a second leisure battery is a good idea but ensure you wire things correctly.  Sounds stupid, but make sure you charge both batteries whilst driving but only drain the leisure battery when stationary, hence Paul's comments.  Some methods of wiring dump a charging demand across the cuircuits as soon as you turn the engine over so you are better wiring things so charging only happens with the engine up to speed- the relay will flip in then.
Good luck.  Van looks great BonJoy!!!

[north_country_boy]

Cheers Paul, thats exactly what i've heard from various people, split charge relay and aux battery. Battery is under passenger seat in Vito, and there is an empty void under the drivers seat to put an aux battery, will probably have a socket running from that placed on the back of the drivers seat subframe/box, so its easily accessible but pretty hidden away.

Will have a look into that....

[Nibile]

i was wondering if in uk you can make such modifies, without having to pass a sort of revision afterwords. in italy we cant touch anything that is the "frame" or the "outside", so no holes for windows, etc. without having to pass the public revision, that is quite expensive. moreover, youre very likely not to pass it unlees you have done a "professional/state of art" job, this leading to the confiscation of the vehicle until you have sorted everything out.

[SA Chris]

You or anyone else got any info on alternatives?

Down Under in London used to be specialists in Camper Van hire, esp for Kiwis and Aussies doing long Europe trips.
No idea of prices.

http://www.duinsure.com/sites/duinsure.nsf/PagesBySection/Policies_Van_Insurance

[north_country_boy]

Cheers but must be 40years or over if British...

[Bonjoy]

Cheers.
I've bought two 110 Ah leisure batteries (£60 each at CCC) and a Sterling battery to battery charger. The sterling charger is a fancy piece of kit which makes your alternator continue to charge at maximum output until the battery bank it fully charged. Apparently this means your batteries get charged very quickly compared to a standard split-charge relay as well as recieving a more complete charge. But at £130 plus another £20 for the fat welding cable needed to wire it in it's a lot more pricey. I have also got me a 75W solar panel. With this and the Sterling i'm hoping to be able to run my electrics without having to use hook-up (which i'm not bothering to put in) or do much driving. I am also using LEDs, cold cathode lighting and a fridge which can run on gas, to keep down energy usage.
 You only need an inverter if you intend to run 240V things off your battery. This will very rapidly use up battery power and is only really an option if you have a big battery bank (and drive lots to charge it), use hookup or intend to run a generator.
 Fortunately for me the company I work for does a lot of airsealling work and sometimes throws away slightly damaged insulation board. They also 'donated' the spray foam and silver tape. I'll let you know if any spare board turns up in the last two weeks i'm with them.
 Have been consulting www.sbmcc.com loads for info on all manner of technical stuff. Plus this website is the best i've found for allthings related to wiring a van, all written for the complete novice http://www.kampenwagen.co.uk/Electrickery.html

 Re insurance, I use Shield http://www.shieldtotalinsurance.co.uk/ , one of the few companies who are happy to insure self builds as motorhomes (cheaper insurance than comercial vehicle insurance), as a member of SBMCC (which cost £10) I got about a £75 discount on this. Unfortunately they will only insure for three months at a time in europe, which means we will have to come back to the Uk then go back out again  , but I can't see a way around that. Shield don't seem to have a problem with doing this sort of border run type deal, so long as you aren't out of the UK for more than something like 200 total days in the year.

[north_country_boy]

Good knowledge Bonjoy, i'd stumbed across the Kampenwagon site last week, very useful, but hadn't read in detail.

Will look into shield and post my quote/findings....(£1100 to beat - from CIS)

[Bonjoy]

Don't take too much notice of the figure produced by their online form. I phoned them up and the price came out considerably cheaper.

[El Mocho]

Progress on the van so far (hoping to be finished by Thursday to go to Pembroke for the week).

Van from side door


with seat up


with 1 of the draws out (not finished the 2nd yet) for feet when sleeping


from back doors


my mum is now busy making covers for all our foam and then it is just insulation into the roof, the silver screens for the back windows (I have ply panels which fit in for stealth camping), the hanging bags for clothes, lowering the van, the alloys, tinted windows, the furry dice, the dancing Elvis....

[Nibile]

i think i didnt step out of my house in two days.
i climbed on rock 3 hours in the last three weeks.
i had one of the most boring sundays ever: bad weather and sport on tv.
seeing converted vans makes me jealous, and wanting to just go away in the mountains.
 

[ben]

Anyone else got any conversions on the go?

I converted a Peugeot Expert a couple of years back and spent 4 months travelling round Europe in it last summer, which was great. Any questions about electrics/water/gas/etc - send me a mail  ben @ mendipclimb.org.uk
Cheers Ben
http://cornishben.smugmug.com/popular/1/61206429#61206429-S-LB

[Bonjoy]

Cheers. Funnily enough I came accross your van via a link on SBMCC. It was posted as an example of a well designed and executed small van conversion. I did notice there were a collection of climbing shots also on the gallery. Fine van sir! May well be emailling you when I get stuck on the technical stuff.

[ben]

Cheers. Funnily enough I came accross your van via a link on SBMCC.

Yeah I used SBMCC a lot when I was doing the van up, a good source of geeky info..

Had a look on there for something the other day and saw 'bonjoy' and thought... there can't be many bonjoys in the world, looked over here and saw your posts about camper vans!

[Nibile]

 
ill never post any pics of my scruffy van again after this.
 

[north_country_boy]

After finally taking receipt of my van, Ive got lots to do before July's trip beckons! One of jobs I want to do soonish is insulate the roof and side walls, ideally with reflective foil backed foam stuff (suggestions?)

So anyone got any recommendations of insulation/supplier/tips.....in or near Sheffield....

(ideally needs to be no more than 20-30mm deep to go behind panelling and roof lining....)

cheers