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Mar 20, 2016 17:41:55 GMT
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I had a Citroen Relay that I bought to use to take my bikes to drag racing events, it had the old 1.9d non turbo pug engine, a solid bullet proof lump but it was so slow. It was a fight to go above 60mph and trucks would pass me on hills on the motorway. I traded it for the 2.0 hdi version below, this is a much nicer van to drive with enough power for the real world. Just after buying this, work went quiet and I could no longer afford to race at drag events. I still have the van here, as it's a useful thing to have and not really worth selling. A few times myself and my other half have slept in the back of it at race meetings and once we stopped at Stonehenge and sat on the side with the sliding door open and had a picnic. This got me thinking, about turning it into a camper van. So I am going to try and do this, but with a twist. I want to design it so everything used for camping can be quickly and easily removed from the van when I need to use it as a normal van. Lots more to follow on this, for now here is a pic of what I'm starting with, a basic panel van.   |
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omega
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,060
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Mar 20, 2016 18:26:11 GMT
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intresting project
you might find your insurance comes down if you get it changed and insure it as s camper
mine did on my transit.
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Mar 20, 2016 19:22:19 GMT
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Yep Omega, people I know who've done this have made some good savings once they have had th Dvla reclassify it. Luckily this van is only £200 a year to insure but I bet it would be even cheaper as a camper. My sister works for a flooring company, they do huge buildings like arenas so their offcuts are huge. I got a roll of carpet from her and carpeted out the back. I experimented with using a sofa bed for our first camping trip. It worked well, it just fitted in sideways then folded out to sleep on. Also we could fit quite a lot under it when it was folded out. This isn't a long term plan as the sofa is very heavy to lift in and out and it takes up too much room. But it worked for a weekend away. Also we bought a tent end porch from a camping shop. This fits lovely over the side door. We could step in and out and cook food in there. That's something we will continue to use, although eventually I will get a proper camper side awning as this end porch isn't a perfect fit. The first plan I'm working on is to have a very small toilet area in the corner. I'm going to work on a design that will have 2 door size bits of wood which will separate the toilet from the main area. But I want to make it work so when the toilet is removed, the 2 doors will fold back flat against the inside of the van. If you look closely there's a few slits in the carpet. There's 6 in total, about 4x4 inch, the carpet folds back and there are looped fixing points screwed to the floor. So if I ever need to tie anything down, the points are still there ready to use.    |
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If you want to re-classify it as a camper then the interior needs to be fixed in place and have certain items such as fixed units, sink, water storage, hob, gas, fixed seating etc.
Check out the DVLA website for the full details
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Mar 21, 2016 12:15:48 GMT
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I don't think I'll go as far as reclassifying it. With the plan I have of making everything quickly removable they would t accept it.
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Mar 24, 2016 19:10:06 GMT
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Good Stuff. Good plan, if you're already running the van for work. I converted a couple of vans and reclassified them, which is different. Anyway the small room for a toilet in both was about 1m x 60cm. That's just enough room to get in, close a door and with only a toilet inside.  For a bed idea, take a look half-way down the page below, or maybe you could borrow the VW Camper rock-and-roll seat/bed. retrorides.proboards.com/thread/168690/renault-master-campervan-modern?page=3 This is made from timber from B&Q and would be easier to lift in and out. You'd still need some seat cushion / mattress arrangement. Plenty of good bits'n'bobs for this sort of thing online from folks like www.caktanks.co.uk/ |
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qwerty
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 2,410
Club RR Member Number: 52
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Camper van project.qwerty
@qwerty
Club Retro Rides Member 52
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Mar 24, 2016 21:51:02 GMT
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I like the Relay/Dispatch van.
For beds have you checked out the basic Futon/sofa bed from ikea? They do a wooden and a steel framed one which could be narrowed/widened to suit.
Also the Relays are 5x130 PCD so perfect for some Porsche wheels or some from a VW Toureg which will probably have a similar load rating and high offset.
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Mar 25, 2016 18:39:54 GMT
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Cheers for the input guys, still drawing things out and working out ideas. I'm wondering whether to buy a cheap caravan to pull apart for bits like the bed, cooker, windows etc.
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wodge
Part of things
Posts: 455 
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Nice idea.
Only the heavy duty 3.5T Boxer/Relay/Ducato are 5x130 pcd the lighter duty ones are 5x118 71.1mm centre bore same as Renault traffic. So you'll have to shop for BMW or VW T5/Tourag wheels and wobble bolts but personally i wouldn't bother.
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Last Edit: Apr 8, 2016 14:54:27 GMT by wodge: Grey matter fail!
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VIP
South East
Posts: 8,293
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Nice idea. Only the heavy duty 3.5T Boxer/Relay/Ducato are 5x130 pcd the lighter duty ones are 5x118 71.1mm centre bore same as VW T5 and Renault traffic. So you'll have to shop for BMW wheels and wobble bolts or Audi q7/VW Tourag wheels but personally i wouldn't bother. T5 are 5*120 PCD |
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wodge
Part of things
Posts: 455
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Indeed you're right - my attempt to correct misinformation created more! Edited accordingly.
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Apr 11, 2016 15:57:46 GMT
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For the last couple of weeks we've been thinking about what sort of bed to get. My lass wanted a futon type but everyone we looked at was slightly too big for the plans we have. After a lot of looking I came across some fold out chair-beds on eBay. We are going to make a frame similar to the one in Darryl's picture above. The plan is to make the frame around the arch so it sits just above it and goes around either side of the arch. What made me buy this bed was that it was slightly smaller than most. It fits widthways in the van with a few inches to spare. So when it's done we will be sitting sideways over the arch and when we are sleeping we will have our heads above one arch and our feet above the other. I've laid it out to check it fits but the area in the top picture where it's opened as a bed will be for a cooker and a very small toilet area.   |
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Apr 25, 2016 16:11:02 GMT
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A long overdue update. I bought a small cabinet on eBay for £40 it's on the back left in the picture against the bulk head, we've modified the top so it folds down and a small twin burner and grill folds out, and when the doors open, a gas bottle lives at the left. On the right of the cabinet we've made a small toilet cubicle. A £60 caravan toilet sits inside. Also I've bought a leisure battery and fitted LED strip lights to the ceiling. It's all very basic but it works.  |
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We went to the RAD Bmx show in late summer, while fitting the side tent, heavy rain came down, we had to shove the side tent under the van until the rain passed. While doing this I knocked the sill and big chunk came out. A few weeks later when I had some spare time, I had a good look at the sills. I got a small hammer and tapped away at both sides. Both sides fell to bits badly. The red line on the picture below shows where the old sill used to be. I was devastated and came very close to scrapping the van. My lass was more positive and went on at me non stop to get it fixed. I was expecting a huge bill that would cost more than the van was worth. I know a lad who's a friend of a friend and he welds at home on a weekend. He did about a four foot repair on each side and the total was just over £200. He checked the rest out and it's all solid. Now the van is good again. There's still lots to do, just waiting on the end of my apprenticeship and my wages going up so I can get back stuck into it. But we do have a basic working camper which is all we need.  |
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