[Paul B]

Sorry to flood this thread a bit but I thought some of you might want to see whats got me so 'excited' 

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[Paul B]

Started doing the work today, behold the first new panel, vinyl floor and bulkhead trimmed down to make the B pillar trim (only one minor scar on it needs some attention).







I'll keep all future posts out of here I'm just very happy I didn't cut my arm off today, only got mildly sunburnt instead.

[wMickey]

Can anyone give me a bit of help with my split charge relay?
I've recently bought a ready converted van, it has a nice big leisure battery with all the usual stuff on it (lights, water pump etc)
It has a switch on the dash to turn on the split charge thingy. I'm a bit unsure as to when I can use it and for how long... If I leave it on constantly will my normal van battery not get charged or does it charge one first then the other? And if so why should I want to turn it off at all????

[Paul B]

If its a proper split charge it does the main battery first then the leisure but it sounds like yous might have some kind of home made switch over. Does it actually have a split charge relay? Whats the switch connected to?

[Paul B]

OK so it seems my head unit thinks there is an FM blackhole between  Nottingham and Watford gap which gets a bit tedious.

That got me thinking as I'm going to a car audio place tommorrow I might look at (double DIN) DAB radios but reading a bit more there seems to be mixed opinions on whether they're worth it/ massive black holes/ some stations broadcasting in shit quality.

I remember Percy saying something DAB based, got anything to add to the debate?

Initially I was going to look at low profile underseat style subs as anything on view will lead to my window being smashed through and it being removed as well as an AUX input (invaluable on our trip), people want 80 quid for this which seems nuts. After market head unit could remove this cost easily.

I (/we) did all the carpeting on mine this weekend + wiring which was a major undertaking. Due to this I spent most of tonights works sessions showing off my handywork rather than climbing (in my defence it was boiling).

[Johnny Brown]

I've never noticed an FM blackhole on the M1. A bit on the M6 over past Tebay maybe. And that's with shit radios, so seems wierd. My experiences of DAB have been worse reception.

[MattW]

Has anyone got any experience of using solar trickle chargers?

I converted a T4 but want some better lighting in the back, rather than battery powered LED stuff that does nothing but induce migraines. It would only be for lighting, i would charge things like phones and laptops on the move. Would you be able to run say the normal interior lights, or a couple low power lights off the main battery for 2/3hrs a night if left charging all day? Or if i went the way of the leisure battery and charged this as a stand alone power source would that work?

Cheers
Matt

[Paul B]

I've never noticed an FM blackhole on the M1. A bit on the M6 over past Tebay maybe. And that's with shit radios, so seems wierd. My experiences of DAB have been worse reception.

Me neither, there's another short one between meadowhell and junction 34 which is our main route off the M1 and fairly annoying. Convinced its the head unit.

Bonjoy has a solar charging setup on his leisure battery that seemed like an amazing setup.

[ChrisC]

Has anyone got any experience of using solar trickle chargers?
...
Or if i went the way of the leisure battery and charged this as a stand alone power source would that work?

Solar trickle chargers give out very little power.  5W is a 'powerful' one, at 12V that's ~0.4A.  That's the theoretical max as well, in the UK your real output will likely be much less.  The lights in my van are LED based ones from IKEA, and are about 4W, so theoretically you could, but in practice probably not.

Personally I'd do it properly and add a split charge relay and a leisure battery.  That way your keeping you options open for the future and know its all going to work without any hassles.  I think in a T4 you can mount a 2nd battery right next to the starter one.  Plenty of info about all this on the t4forum.  Raw Components is a good place to get a split charge and cables from - they do kits with all that you will need. 

You probably know already but remember to fuse all your circuits, just in case a cable wears through.

[butters]

I am pretty sure you can mount a leisure battery next to the starter battery on the T4 - think you have to turn the starter battery 90 degrees to make it fit though - as suggested the T4 forum or The Brick-yard are the best places for info.

If you are going down the split relay charger route then I would suggest running one of these - makes the whole wiring up experience a lot easier as it is all contained within the one box. Fitted one in my van and it is a nice piece of kit.

[ChrisC]

If you are going down the split relay charger route then I would suggest running one of these - makes the whole wiring up experience a lot easier as it is all contained within the one box. Fitted one in my van and it is a nice piece of kit.

I looked at them when doing mine, and they are pretty neat, but there is nothing there you can't do yourself for 1/2 the cost. 135quid for essentially a VSR relay, and some fuses is pretty pricey. 

The whole camper van world is a total scam, most things seem to cost twice what they should simply because they are going into a van.  The VW van world seems the worst.  Eg, that box essentially contains a 40quid relay, a big red switch, a few wires and a fuse board with a fancy connector.

[Nigel]

The whole camper van world is a total scam, most things seem to cost twice what they should simply because they are going into a van.  The VW van world seems the worst.
[/quote]

Agreed. I was discussing this with a fellow van owning friend the other day. These guys must be laughing all the way to the bank, they basically make scaled down versions of what are literally common as muck items in the real world, then sell them for sky-high prices. E.g. sinks, hobs, switches, etc. But people buy it. 

[Paul B]

I am pretty sure you can mount a leisure battery next to the starter battery on the T4 - think you have to turn the starter battery 90 degrees to make it fit though - as suggested the T4 forum or The Brick-yard are the best places for info.

I wouldn't be so sure about that. When I put the correct size battery in mine there was zero room anywhere surounding it. I guess it might depend on the engine. In my case it was the 2.5 tdi and a big Bosch jobbie.

[MattW]

Cheers for the replies and info chaps.

[sidewinder]

Hello campervan owners.  My parents have recently bought my friends T4, he had fitted it out, but they wanted to put a window in the sliding door.  They found a recommended place to do it, for about £130.  The problem came when my dad rung to see about getting me on the insurance so that I could drive it to and from the place for him.  It turns out both that they won't insure me and that they class the addition of a side window as a 'material modification' to the vehicle and it would increase the insurance by £500 a year, which is obviously ridiculous!

As it looks like some of you have done similar things, do you have any recommendations for insurance options which aren't going to sting him like this, or any way to get around this 'material modification' issue.  I think he is with the farmers union or similar at the moment paying about £200.

[SA Chris]

We bought our T5 as a panel van, and then got winows fitted, which didn't change the insurance at all.

Not sure who we are insured with though, can find out for you.

Sounds to me like someone at FU is talking out of their arse. I always understood material modification is a major body modification, not essentially a cosmetic change.
I Would look around.

[butters]

I use Brentacre Insurance - 01792 650 933 - they are well regarded in the Camper Van scene as being one of the best about for modded vans and the like. The insurance policy that I have with them allows me to add side windows and a whole host of other mods as long as it doesn't affect the BHP of the engine with no increase in the premium - just ring them up and tell them.

[sidewinder]

Thanks for the quick responses people, if you could find out the name of your company that would be great Chris, I will give my dad the link to this thread.

Also I shared your opinion about the stance of FU, if anyone has anything that might help my dad prove that putting in a window is not something that should increase the premium that would be great.

[Paul B]

Brentacre here as well. For an insurance company I can't recommend them highly enough.

[sidewinder]

Thanks again just to say it is apparently not the FU but someone else?  Anyway thanks for the replies, my dad is going to have a look through his policy documents and see if they contain anything that will support his case, if not it willbe onto your suggestions.

[Baron]

http://vans.autotrader.co.uk/makemodel/make/toyota/model/hiace/price/min/6999/radius/30miles/stock-item-id/at8a62870f29ad40a20129c744443341bc/advert

£6k for old shape 06 with 50k on clock. See a couple around this price. Thoughts? Barn doors at back. Would've preferred tailgate, but at this price...

[Paul B]

why would you go toyota instead of T4/T5, Vito etc?

[Johnny Brown]

Price? Just check its kosher Joe, Bransby's was cloned. He'll be able to give you some tips on converting it tho.

[SA Chris]

Yeah, sounds like Ben got really badly stung. Not sure why it would be more likely to be cloned than any other vehicle though?

Mate has one, reckons it's bulletproof, but Rear Wheel Drive, so total death to drive near any snow, unless you load up a couple of breeze blocks in the back. Or buy snow tyres.

They seem to be a bit cheaper than VWs and Vitos, but don't hold their value very well, also depends what you plan doing to it, loads of bits are designed aroud VW/ VW and to a lesser extent Vito.

[Paul B]

Rear wheel drive van, that'll be great fun:



I'm not sure the fishtailing portion of the video was on purpose.

Plus two mins of searching revelaed a SWB 1.9Tdi 104 2006 VW t5 with 50k on it for 6 grand. I'd say the toyota isn't such a bargain in comparison. Why take the depreciation hit yourself let some other goon do it? I managed to sell my last camper for pretty much exactly what I paid for it, a year later, 14k miles more and zero maintenance servicing. During its life with me it needed a new CV joint and battery.