Some nice ideas on these vans and some not so nice

I’m sure you’ll like it as we did. I would probably look to move the fridge closer towards the front and look to do away with the full size cooker. I don’t think we need it.
yes the water tanks are under the van but they would insulate them.
Kian will be posting pics/video of the finished van that we saw that’s due to be collected tomorroW.
 
Insulating underslung tanks without a heat supply to them only delays the inevitable in cold climate use . :(
 
I like the van overall, appreciate the quality build and electrics. Without the large fixed bed at the back you would not have so much garage space, you appreciate how much this is needed when you watch the Vanlifers as I do.
Its great to have the option of The VW/MAN apposed to Fiat/Citroen/Peugeot, and Merc Sprinter vans seem to be too narrow, and you have to watch for rust on S/H ones

Diesel heating is a must for touring in cold climates, also fully winterised water tanks, good all round insulation will save on heating costs, so a method of closing off the cab at night area may be worth investigating.

Bit Pricy though, and I wouldn't even entertain diamond cut finished alloy wheels from lessons in the past, you will end up having them re-furbed in a solid colour, with no clear lacquer to crack or peel.
Its good to see newish companies like this building solid vans and building a good reputation here in the UK.
LES
 
Good points there Les. Im not keen on 20” alloys either. It’s not the look Im after regardless of the practicality of them. I would prefer 17” wheels with the BF Goodrich style tyres but need to research how noisy they are on the road and whether the fuel consumption is hit? I’ve heard mixed results.

I dont have enough knowledge about the benefits for and against diesel or gas heating and need to research the forums more. Whilst I’d like the option of using the van in cold weather climates I don’t know how much of an issue it will be if I went the gas route?

Do you think insulating the underslung water tanks is not sufficient alone to prevent them freezing?

Appreciate the advice.

Phil
 
Really excited to say that after a number of visits and many phone conversations we’ve put a deposit down with Ultravans for a build slot….theyve really impressed us with the quality of their builds, attention to detail and their patience with my endless questions, nothings been too much trouble. Earliest we could get is next March, completion in May and today I’ve placed a factory order for a LWB MAN TGE panel van (same as the VW Crafter). I’ve spec’d it nicely with some good options, Lead times for the van are October onwards which suits us to have it as late as possible anyway.
Starting to look at accessories already!!😁 CANT WAIT!

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Congratulations, it will be very interesting to see the van when it’s finished.
 
Hi Philnanks, congrats on placing new van order.(y) I think more of us will be looking to downsize our vans in the future, plus the Stealthy Look, will be a great advantage in finding easier friendly parking, so the plainer the better on the outside.(y)
The underslung water tanks should be OK if the tanks and pipework are fully insulated, with maybe the addition of frost stat controlled 12V low wattage heating pads keeping tanks from freezing which with lithium battery should be OK, and are easy to install.
I know that The Truma Combi 6 ED is priced at £1750 so not much different to the LPG, plus maybe a saving on needing to have such a large underslung gas tank also. As the van has an inverter plus decent lithium battery which I guess could be added to, I would go all electric with induction hob, and 12/240 compressor Fridge, maybe a small microwave:unsure:. We don't use our oven in the MH, as we have Remoska oven, and hob top sauté pans etc for one pot meals. With the inverter you can have your electric 1KW toaster, and coffee machine, even an electric George Foreman grill!(y)
Solar Panels would be essential for park ups over 2/3 days in summer, but The B2B will help a lot if touring in winter.
Boilers use a lot of LPG in the cold winter, diesel is easier to find especially here in The UK.
These are just my thoughts for a future van build requirement.
LES
 
We have a new LWB MAN TGE with most of the bells & whistles which should be going to a local converters (Telford Shropshire) at the end of February to be built to our specification. I would have done it myself but ageing joints tell me that I shouldn't.
I may get around to publishing the build as it goes on the new Crafter TGE Forum or even on here.
 
Really excited to say that after a number of visits and many phone conversations we’ve put a deposit down with Ultravans for a build slot….theyve really impressed us with the quality of their builds, attention to detail and their patience with my endless questions, nothings been too much trouble. Earliest we could get is next March, completion in May and today I’ve placed a factory order for a LWB MAN TGE panel van (same as the VW Crafter). I’ve spec’d it nicely with some good options, Lead times for the van are October onwards which suits us to have it as late as possible anyway.
Starting to look at accessories already!!😁 CANT WAIT!
Is that the just under 7 metre model?

What’s the GVW and payload?

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Morning all…

Well we’re a lot closer now to joining you all on your motorhoming travels 😁

After what has seemed like forever the wait is nearly over and our van is currently in build with Ultravans.
Hoping to collect it end of June when I’ll post the finished pics.

Much deliberation/speculation/thought/angst…call it what you will was given to the final build design but we think we’ve opted for the best spec for our needs. Nothings perfect and there’s pros and cons to everything as we all know.

We opted in the end for LPG over diesel for heating, cooking and hot water, removed the chemical toilet and opted for the Trelino separating toilet instead which I’m really happy with.
Have removed the oven for a 2 burner Thetford hob, Dometic microwave and Dometic fridge at the end of the galley where the sliding door opens so you can open it from both inside and out.
Underslung water tanks and pipes will be insulated with the option to add a heating element should we find we need it.

I collected the van from SMV Commercials Yeovil last November and between then and dropping the van to the converters in March managed to get everything done to the exterior that I wanted to do ie alloy wheels, Lazer Lights in the front grill, side step, black powder coated the silver side rail, vinyl wrapped rear door and side panels and fitted a Bear Lock.
We’ve also fitted Sumo Springs to the front and rear suspension to assist with the extra weight and improve handling.
Also bought the Vandermoon storage pouches for the rear door lower panels.
VanBitz alarm and Battery Master will be fitted after conversion
……money pit?? Yes it definitely is!! 😳

I weighed the van before conversion which came in at 2.5T. GVW is 3.5T which means we will mostly likely be up-plating through Van Weight Engineering to give us a decent payload.

Absolutely delighted with the van itself. Very comfortable, easy to drive with a great engine and auto gearbox……we are really excited to see it finished and can’t wait to start using it.

Have attached a few pics of the van (now called Lenny!) just before it went to Ultravans.



IMG_1060.jpeg

IMG_1061.jpeg

FullSizeRender.jpeg

IMG_1046.jpeg

IMG_1047.jpeg
 
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Is that the just under 7 metre model?

What’s the GVW and payload?
Yes Paul it’s 6.8m long and 3.5T GVW….Will be up-plating to 4.2T to give us a decent payload. I ordered the van with the heavy duty front axles so can up plate without any mechanical or physical modifications.
 
Hi Philnanks, congrats on placing new van order.(y) I think more of us will be looking to downsize our vans in the future, plus the Stealthy Look, will be a great advantage in finding easier friendly parking, so the plainer the better on the outside.(y)
The underslung water tanks should be OK if the tanks and pipework are fully insulated, with maybe the addition of frost stat controlled 12V low wattage heating pads keeping tanks from freezing which with lithium battery should be OK, and are easy to install.
I know that The Truma Combi 6 ED is priced at £1750 so not much different to the LPG, plus maybe a saving on needing to have such a large underslung gas tank also. As the van has an inverter plus decent lithium battery which I guess could be added to, I would go all electric with induction hob, and 12/240 compressor Fridge, maybe a small microwave:unsure:. We don't use our oven in the MH, as we have Remoska oven, and hob top sauté pans etc for one pot meals. With the inverter you can have your electric 1KW toaster, and coffee machine, even an electric George Foreman grill!(y)
Solar Panels would be essential for park ups over 2/3 days in summer, but The B2B will help a lot if touring in winter.
Boilers use a lot of LPG in the cold winter, diesel is easier to find especially here in The UK.
These are just my thoughts for a future van build requirement.
LES
All good and valid points Les and we were initially going the Diesel heating/hot water route but for various reasons opted with LPG in the end. Also considered the electric only route but I think for the amount of off grid use we’d like to do, the amount of battery storage and solar would be huge and I’m still not convinced how good it would be in the Winter??
Ultravans’ vans are very thermally efficient so hoping the LPG usage will be lower than it might otherwise be in the Winter….and yes the LPG in the UK is a concern compared with Diesel but hopefully won’t be too much of an issue….fingers crossed!
 
All good and valid points Les and we were initially going the Diesel heating/hot water route but for various reasons opted with LPG in the end. Also considered the electric only route but I think for the amount of off grid use we’d like to do, the amount of battery storage and solar would be huge and I’m still not convinced how good it would be in the Winter??
Ultravans’ vans are very thermally efficient so hoping the LPG usage will be lower than it might otherwise be in the Winter….and yes the LPG in the UK is a concern compared with Diesel but hopefully won’t be too much of an issue….fingers crossed!
I can accept that going All Electric would put the initial costs up, but the one thing I would not compromise on today in ordering a new van would be a Diesel powered boiler for hot water & heating as this is what guzzles up your LPG more than a FF or hob use.
When we toured Scotland in the colder months with 2 Gaslow Re-fillable LPG Bottles, plus a large 7.4mtr van, we used so much gas that it became a mission to try and find a garage with a fully supplied, working LPG pump to ensure we had enough to plan where and how long we could stay, especially The Hebrides for example.
If we had a Truma Diesel powered boiler like Truma 6D it would have been so much less stressful, maybe the reason why if we did it now, we would install a separate diesel heater to keep up warm fed from the main diesel tank.
Dont forget also that in the winter months when you are not relying on your solar power so much, a decent B2B will charge your leisure batteries as you drive, so hopefully they are replenished by the time you reach your next destination. The Larger the B2B the more current is delivered and the shorter time/distance needed to recharge your battery bank, but this can be added at any time, see how you go with what you have.
All The best to you, hope you are happy with the new van, its a great choice in the larger PVC range, send us some pics.(y)
LES
 
I can accept that going All Electric would put the initial costs up, but the one thing I would not compromise on today in ordering a new van would be a Diesel powered boiler for hot water & heating as this is what guzzles up your LPG more than a FF or hob use.
When we toured Scotland in the colder months with 2 Gaslow Re-fillable LPG Bottles, plus a large 7.4mtr van, we used so much gas that it became a mission to try and find a garage with a fully supplied, working LPG pump to ensure we had enough to plan where and how long we could stay, especially The Hebrides for example.
If we had a Truma Diesel powered boiler like Truma 6D it would have been so much less stressful, maybe the reason why if we did it now, we would install a separate diesel heater to keep up warm fed from the main diesel tank.
Dont forget also that in the winter months when you are not relying on your solar power so much, a decent B2B will charge your leisure batteries as you drive, so hopefully they are replenished by the time you reach your next destination. The Larger the B2B the more current is delivered and the shorter time/distance needed to recharge your battery bank, but this can be added at any time, see how you go with what you have.
All The best to you, hope you are happy with the new van, its a great choice in the larger PVC range, send us some pics.(y)
LES
Thanks Les 👍

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Hi Philnanks nice to see you having a LWB MAN TGE converted, it looks very like the one that we have recently had done.
We opted for a gas Truma but I am also installing a 4kw Eberspacher as one came my way a bit cheaper than normal retail. This means that the underslung LPG does not have to be used for heating but is there as an option. Kitchen wise we have a Dometic hob/sink, Oven/Grill (which we are not pleased with) and a small microwave.

The base vehicle was purchased new to our spec and delivered early November 2022 being seriously delayed by the Ukraine problems and Covid.
 
Hi Philnanks nice to see you having a LWB MAN TGE converted, it looks very like the one that we have recently had done.
We opted for a gas Truma but I am also installing a 4kw Eberspacher as one came my way a bit cheaper than normal retail. This means that the underslung LPG does not have to be used for heating but is there as an option. Kitchen wise we have a Dometic hob/sink, Oven/Grill (which we are not pleased with) and a small microwave.

The base vehicle was purchased new to our spec and delivered early November 2022 being seriously delayed by the Ukraine problems and Covid.
Nice one Rod….are you pleased with your conversion? We’re really happy with the base van…went with MAN instead of VW as they gave us a 20% discount compared with 6% from VW plus we were able to spec more options for some reason?
 
Loverly van as a base to start with. Looking forward to seeing it converted. 👍
 
Nice one Rod….are you pleased with your conversion? We’re really happy with the base van…went with MAN instead of VW as they gave us a 20% discount compared with 6% from VW plus we were able to spec more options for some reason?
Same here, ordered Autumn 2021 from the MAN dealer at Tipton (Aquila Trucks) and had an almost unlimited choice of the Product Catalogue however even then I didn't spot the nice grab handle for the sliding door entry which I have subsequently fitted or the cooling duct for the glove box, again now fitted. I've put a few bits & pieces up on the Crafter TGE Forum as I have gone along.

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Same here, ordered Autumn 2021 from the MAN dealer at Tipton (Aquila Trucks) and had an almost unlimited choice of the Product Catalogue however even then I didn't spot the nice grab handle for the sliding door entry which I have subsequently fitted or the cooling duct for the glove box, again now fitted. I've put a few bits & pieces up on the Crafter TGE Forum as I have gone along.
👍
 
Is it a full sized oven as it only looked a big as the one over the fridge in ours?
Yes full size Thetford oven and grill in the standard spec. We’ve opted for a 2 burner hob and microwave instead.
 

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