Midlife Crisis Project

[Next Stop]

Hi all,
Signed up here the other day and thought I'd share my build. I've been into campers for years, bought my first VW T25 when my first child was born, previously I had been into classic minis and knowing that it wouldn't be practical to hold on to the mini I managed to convince the wife that we should get a T25 to convert for family holidays. But now, ten years on with a family of four and a hankering for a euro trip I've managed to again convince my wife that we needed something bigger and persuaded her to let us get a boxvan to convert, still a VW but tons more space and reliability!
After six months of searching we finally found our new baby.....

 

[JohnJan]

Tis a thing of beauty!
Good luck with your conversion

 

[HandyAndy]

Ahh a little "crafty" of you....
Great vans those

 

[Carol]

Hello Welcome to Motorhome Fun, looks like a good van to start your build on good luck and any questions just ask someone usually has a answer.

 

[StitchesnFluff]

Great van! Enjoy the build

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[Ditcha]

Welcome, keep us posted with your progress

 

[Next Stop]

Thank you for the warm welcomes, I've already started on the build and I'll be sure to drip-feed my progress, I've just got it back from the body shop to sort out a few rusty spots so the body is near perfect, So hard to find one of these vans that has not been driven round the clock or been beat up. I've got a deadline of 3rd of August to finish as we plan a UK Road Trip for my wife 40th, hopefully, I'll have it finished before then so I can shake it down first!

This was the starting point....

And with the fist phase electrics in...

The Manky roof mid-clean, why do people not clean this part before selling?!?

All clean now....

And a roof vent for the toilet area and fan installed, I have since fitted another fan towards the front.

Martin

 

[JohnJan]

What a difference to the roof! Looking forward to watching it progress. There is a thread on here relating to registering a van as a camper with the DVLA that may be of use to you

Updated Conversion Regs From 21 October 19. Graphics And Awning Now Required

www.gov.uk/government/publications/converting-a-vehicle-into-a-motor-caravan/converting-a-vehicle-into-a-motor-caravan#motor-caravan-external-permanent-features

www.motorhomefun.co.uk

 

[Next Stop]

What a difference to the roof! Looking forward to watching it progress. There is a thread on here relating to registering a van as a camper with the DVLA that may be of use to you

Updated Conversion Regs From 21 October 19. Graphics And Awning Now Required

www.gov.uk/government/publications/converting-a-vehicle-into-a-motor-caravan/converting-a-vehicle-into-a-motor-caravan#motor-caravan-external-permanent-features

www.motorhomefun.co.uk

It looked like it had never been cleaned, took a lot of elbow grease

I've been in on that thread, funny, it's what made me sign up here. I'll be honest, I was a bit hesitant in "paying" to use a forum but it seems to keep (most) of the trolls out and the content good!

Luckily I'm at the stage where I can make a few amendments to the van so I can tick all the DVLA boxes, I feel sorry for the guys out there who are nearing completion and are now finding out that their builds won't pass

 

[Minxy]

Hi and welcome to the fun house.

Its looking good ... what layout are you going for (we're very nosy on here!)?

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[Next Stop]

Here's a rough layout.....

The layout is in its forth impression and looks nothing like my original layout, we basically needed four beds and a decent sized table area, oh and the misses wanted a toilet!
With this layout we can also seat 7 people when driving so it will be good for when we want to take the kids and their friends to the beach.

 

[mitzimad]

seems like a lot of wiring personally i would never put wiring behind the wall lining theres always a way to keep most of it inside the space

 

[Next Stop]

Fear not! It's all going inside trunking inside cupboards so easy to get to everything if needed, I'm bringing all wires back to the boot area and earthing them there so no hidden joins or spurs.

 

[Figaro]

With this layout we can also seat 7 people when driving so it will be good for when we want to take the kids and their friends

Have you got 7 seat belts ???

 

[Next Stop]

Yup, Three in the front and the seats in the rear are back seats from a Transit Custom with Integrated belts. I'll post up pictures of those later when I get home.

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[Minxy]

I'd suggest swapping the location of the bunks, kitchen etc, that way you will be able to put in a much larger tall cupboard and the gap between the back corner of the rear dinette seat and the unit will be wider making it easier to get through to go to the loo etc.

 

[Littleoldman]

Welcome, you look in control, I'm on the build at the moment and when I stand back and look at the van, I can't understand how such a small space takes so much time!

 

[Minxy]

There's an Autocruise Quartet with a similar layout to the one I've suggested, which only has a half dinette and utilizes the front cab seats:

Autocruise Quartet motorhome review

The Autocruise Quartet is a proper four-berth camper squeezed into a standard long wheel-base vehicle, which offers a lot of bang for your buck.

www.caravanguard.co.uk

 

[Next Stop]

I'd suggest swapping the location of the bunks, kitchen etc, that way you will be able to put in a much larger tall cupboard and the gap between the back corner of the rear dinette seat and the unit will be wider making it easier to get through to go to the loo etc.

View attachment 345543

View attachment 345544

Thanks for going through the effort to re-draw my design, a picture paints a thousand words! You've really got me thinking now, this is similar to my second design but I can't for the life of me figure out why I change sides for the bed!?! I'm going to have to go back and check my old drawings before it's too late.
I haven't had the windows put in yet so there would be no problem in changing that, the only thing I'd have done is put a spinning vent in above the roof for the toilet but then again one above the bed area wouldn't hurt I suppose.

Welcome, you look in control, I'm on the build at the moment and when I stand back and look at the van, I can't understand how such a small space takes so much time!

and takes up so much money!

 

[Minxy]

Thanks for going through the effort to re-draw my design, a picture paints a thousand words! You've really got me thinking now, this is similar to my second design but I can't for the life of me figure out why I change sides for the bed!?! I'm going to have to go back and check my old drawings before it's too late.

Better safe than sorry!

I haven't had the windows put in yet so there would be no problem in changing that, the only thing I'd have done is put a spinning vent in above the roof for the toilet but then again one above the bed area wouldn't hurt I suppose.

You could replace the vent with a small dome instead to allow some light into the top bunk and move the vent to the other side alternatively if the vent can be 'closed' when not needed leave it where it is as it will be a way for the occupant of the bunk to allow the warm air out as it could get quite hot up there in summer.

Any reason why you've gone for longitudinal bunks rather than transverse? Length possibly?

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[Next Stop]

Any reason why you've gone for longitudinal bunks rather than transverse? Length possibly?

I think it was length, I'm sure mid way up the van gets too narrow for a full bed. I've spend most of the day measuring out and I'm sure swapping sides will work better, I'm currently looking into changing the rear vent into a skylight and moving the vent to the other side to where the toilet will be, the only thing I'll have to change is some of the wiring, but luckily I'm at the stage where this can be done.

Early days for me on this forum but having other views on my project is really helping, I'm so glad I signed up!?

 

[Minxy]

I'm currently looking into changing the rear vent into a skylight

Here's a little roof window for you ...

Vintage Lego Black Roof Sloped Window Part With Glass Airport Police 4447 | eBay

<p>I am selling this Lego Sloped roof window with glass part in black used in various sets, please see pictures for what you will receive, thanks for looking</p><br><p>If you want to combine postage with any of my other lots please message me first, thanks</p>

rover.ebay.com

 

[Next Stop]

The van passed it's MOT last week with only a few advisories which I was chuffed about, so on with the build. The seats and flooring are next on the list to install. I wanted to install these next as they are cluttering up my garage and I thought it would be nice to be able to use the van with the family to get a feel for it.

Here we have the seat railing being installed, I used WBP ply to build up the gaps in the ridges on the floor and to bring up the rails to the desired height for the finished floor,
Half the bolts that fix the rails in go directly through the structural members of the floor and the rest I used 50mm wide steel plate between the bolts to provide firm anchor points.

In slots the insulation between the batons, I used 25mm pressure treated batons glued and screwed to the floor of the van with Celotex inbetween.

12mm WBP Ply floor was installed on the batons

With Altro Walkway 20 Slip-resistant flooring ontop.

Finally, the seats were installed, these are seats from a Ford Transit Custom, they are super comfy and fold down flat so I can use this area as a double(ish) bed.

Sadly the van project is now on hold until after Christmas but the next job will be to install the windows and re-route the wiring for the new layout.

 

[Red Shoes]

Hi. Just found this thread.
I think Minxy Girl is right about the layout swap.
Also google the Wildax Solaris XL which is a very similar layout. It allows the top bunk to be lifted and secured, thus giving a small sofa area opposite the kitchen.
It is a van we considered, but were put off by lying in the bunks, as they were very claustrophobic for adults.

Good luck with the build it looks great.
Make sure you check out Greg Virgoe's videos on you tube too.

 

[Vipar]

Greetings one stop. Good luck with the build

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[Next Stop]

Hi. Just found this thread.
I think Minxy Girl is right about the layout swap.
Also google the Wildax Solaris XL which is a very similar layout. It allows the top bunk to be lifted and secured, thus giving a small sofa area opposite the kitchen.
It is a van we considered, but were put off by lying in the bunks, as they were very claustrophobic for adults.

Good luck with the build it looks great.
Make sure you check out Greg Virgoe's videos on you tube too.

I'm definitely swapping side's, just got to reroute some wiring and change the roof vent to suit, it's great having other people's input as you can get caught up in your own ideas during the build and often things can be overlooked!

I'm liking the fold up top bunk idea, I'm thinking that with the top bunk folded it might be possible to convert the bottom bunk into two seats facing each other with a small table in-between , thanks for the link, it's got me thinking!

As for Mr Virgoe, I watched all his videos, they are great, good down to earth vibe and very informative ?

 

[Red Shoes]

I'm liking the fold up top bunk idea, I'm thinking that with the top bunk folded it might be possible to convert the bottom bunk into two seats facing each other with a small table in-between , thanks for the link, it's got me thinking!

Good idea in principle, but its a snug area, and don't forget that the bottom bunk will be a really good / your only / large storage area! It's accessible from the rear doors and can allow long storage / storage of bulky or wet items. With seating for 7 already you'll be needing storage space more than seating.

 

[Next Stop]

Storage space has been my biggest nightmare for this build, we intended touring with four of us, my wife and I and our two children (6 &9) and as they are all girls I have been waking up with the sweats thinking about where to store their stuff!
Thinking that if I can make the rear beds as versatile as possible then it might be somewhere where the kids can chill together during the day and it can always be folded back to normal when not in use.

 

[Minxy]

Okay, bottom bunk idea ... make it in 3 parts with a 3-section mattress/cushion base.

Have the 2 ends fixed in place with lift up lids, front panels and supports going from side to side (so you can use them for storage or your gubbins/batteries etc), the centre section can then have a removable lid which rests on the 2 end piece supports with no front panel in bed mode. To make it into a dinette area the centre section top can then be taken out and moved upwards to a slot/wall support to make a table with a fold out/removable leg.

If you want to utilise the centre open fronted space for storage get a basket/crate which the kids can put their stuff in when it's not needed which can be pushed under the bed and secured in transit. The basket will also mean that it can be taken outside easily if needs be to save them popping in and out for bits and bobs and getting under your feet and hopefully having a specific place for their stuff might encourage them to put it back when they've finished with it and they'd always know where to find it too.

Right, that's enough for now, I'm off to bed!

 

[Next Stop]

I said to the wife I wasn't going to do anymore to the van until after Christmas.....
I got the windows fitted this week, technically 'I' didn't do anything as they were fitted professionally so I think I got away with it?

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