Hello all,

Some of you may know I bought this a few year back....






Well now its done (Minus the laminate flooring) n the bathroom sealant.. doing tonight

Let me know what you think sorry about the sizes...

Its got 12v power at the back. uprated alternator, 240 inverter (2000w) water heater 12v and 240v and soon gas. Gas fridge and freezer. Shower,toilet electric of course, DVD player. Solar panels (120w I think) on board water for 70 ltrs. seats 6 people with belts... 35 mpg with 4 people in it too. :O)


[img]http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/ad226/josseys/our%20camper/djcampervan3_zps179589e6.jpg[/img











Thanks all

David

[Edited on 21/7/14 by jossey]

[Edited on 21/7/14 by jossey]

That's a pro looking job.

Did you harvest any caravan bits ?

Also, is the all up cost something you'd know.

Certainly much less than a motorhome bought as such.

nice job mate, ill send you my transit next :-)

Great job!

Did you keep (an honest, not for the wife version) tally of all the costs?

Would very really interested to know how much it cost, and what was difficult, easy etc...?

That looks great mate

Where did you get the top lockers from?

I need some for a horse box project I am doing

Mark

Cheers all....

The build process was make everything on paper

Then out of cheap MDf then when done out of furniture board which is 8x4 boards about £75 each

Total costs which is EXACTLY right including respray and van and all bits is now £8200.

HAYNES MANUAL rating ** 2 stars. I work in IT although I have renovated several houses and have a good knowledge of plumbing and electrics this was VERY new to me. I work in IT and found GOOGLE and going to the campervan shop if I got stuck helped. Find a good van and copy it lol. I use to take loads of pics and paper to measure stuff up. Then draw it on paper and then build it. BUY A GOOD router and a good TABLE SAW and you will be fine.....

It was hard to do but we spent a lot of time looking at new ones at campervan places and found stuff we liked and copied it.

Top cupboards at the back have all been made from 8x4 apart from the doors which are from magnum motorhomes in Grimsby. you just build up the frame and then made triangle pieces for wood similar shape to the arch of the doors and screwed them to the side. Saw it in a 35k camper :O) no need to reinvent the wheel.

Others are just flat board cut into a cupboard shape with knock in edge road it. Handles are ikea :-)

hardest bit by far was wiring. make it all up out of MDF then mark where you need wiring and then take it all out run the wiring and then run extra. 2 extra to fridge area, 2 to the rear and 2 to the front section for BOTH 12v and 240v.

Made a lot of mistakes like the seating is too high at the back for my mum to sit with her feet on the floor and many more. Plumbing is all 15mm push fit they suggest 8mm but 15mm is much much cheaper.

ONLY CARAVAN bits are the doors from the cupboards at the rear and the fridge from a second hand van. rest is all new and from magnum motorhome in Grimsby as these had been the cheapest. The furniture board is very good but expensive so build everything out of MDF then take it all down and place is on the 8x4 boards in one go to reduce wastage. We wasted at least 2 boards due to building bits at different times.

HOPE THAT helps everyone....

[Edited on 21/7/14 by jossey]

[Edited on 21/7/14 by jossey]

what a great job, well done, enjoy, you can get some nice awnings to go on the side off that as well, I converted an 806, no where near like yours, only a fold out bed and unit in it, with cooker etc, have fun with it we have for the last 3 years.

Andy

what a great job, well done, enjoy, you can get some nice awnings to go on the side off that as well, I converted an 806, no where near like yours, only a fold out bed and unit in it, with cooker etc, have fun with it we have for the last 3 years.

Andy

You'd easily pay double for a manufacturer built one.

What a transformation, excellent work.

That looks real cool. and a very pro look to the finish

Ive thought of doing something similar, as we have a caravan as well, so it would only need to be living quarters, and possibly a loo, but my wood working skills are non existent and crap

steve

Thanks all

Really really appreciate the feedback.

Shame it delayed my kit car bring finished but I did need something to tow it with so it does solve an issue.

Ps Steve my wood working skills are rubbish I work in IT. Just trial n error n error n error lol

Thanks again


David

I'm considering doing something similar to the front end of a 30ft box on the back of a 7.5t truck we've just purchased.
I think it'll be when the race season has finished but seeing this makes me think it looks a lot easier than I first thought

Thanks for the tips, I'll be making good use of them!

What's the insulation like?

Ye it's not difficult just needs good planning.

Insulation is better than my house.

Tri ISO foil on all walls first then normal fibre glass insulation in all gaps after the electrics are in. On doors they are just foil bubble wrap insulation and coveted with cloth you can't fill the doors cos the locks don't work lol don't ask how I know that

The wall board is £20 a piece and it's 7x4 ft

Don't use fabric it costs more normally and looks poo after a while I think....

Very tidy.

Keen on getting a camper when back in the UK but constantly swapping in my head between going the VW route or something else (Merc Vito / Sprinter, or something like yours) and whether to shell out and buy one pre-converted or do it all from scratch. There can be such a big difference in cost both in time and money. You can easily spend £30k on a pre-converted T5 or do something different (but perhaps functionally as good) for well under £10k plus a chuck of your time. I guess one probably has a better resale than the other but it depends if that is a primary concern or if you think you'll be keeping it for a long time.


I'm 6'5" so would probably want a pop top which I know adds lots.

Also I'm not sure I could sleep across the bed in yours without folding myself up quite a bit.

I guess you spend almost as much time researching it to figure out what you want and borrowing design ideas as you do actually doing it.

hobbsy,

That is the only down side of this van it is 6ft 1 wide and like you im tall. Im 6ft 4 so not as tall as you but almost. My mrs is short so we went for a wider bed so I can sleep diagonal and she still has room to sleep. The other option is we can sleep long ways and my feet go down the middle of the van. Not ideal but much better than anything else I could find.

I would love a VW but the money can just run away with you. we paid 3k for the van which was 5 years old and 70k miles when we got her and very tidy body work. I was looking at t5 and I could easy add 10-12k to the budget.....

The new shape ducato has the transit engine which isn't as good as the one I have so we did ok.

David

I thought you preferred your beds a bit on the short side Hobbsy...


"I thought it was size 3 to 4 not bleeping three-quarter length!"

I keep thinking about doing this but don't really have space to store one when not in use so it'd have to double up as a daily. As a result it'd have to be smaller and I'm not sure I could live with it even then. T5s have ridiculous residuals so i was thinking Vito.

I'm never going to live that one down am I Adi?

For the benefit of others the next year I bought one that was very much full length and very thick. However it then failed to fit in my side pod like the original slightly thinner one did which I left in the loft of my last uk house. Argh!


Guess the residual thing works both ways. Good if you have the money and don't mind tying it up and I guess it means an easier sale if and when you need to sell. However the same or better is achievable for less although it may take a bit more effort. A bit like the Caterham vs other well sorted kit car debate!

In either case my opinion swings either way. I.e. despite being a Fury owner for over a decade I still look at the odd Caterham now again (must have at least same or better power to weight natch)

Nice photo

so we have spent 9k in total but that includes tax mot ins and the heater and finishing touches for the van.