my camper van transit base vehicle – not transporter

So due to camper threads and transporter threads I thought I’d start another one !!

So thinking of building (not me) a camper, have had a Chevy Astro day van a few years back, and liked it

I drive a transit for work, and have had 3 of them (and 2 transporters) but prefer transits

I thought a SWB esp a transporter will be too small, so stated looking around to see what o could find

I want one that i can use for wild camping some places in England and esp in Scotland, so wanted a discreet colour to blend in (i think this is a great colour for my plans)

I bought this a couple of weeks ago

its just 4 yrs old 62 plate, done 115k with full service history, 135 bhp engine, ex centre parks bus, already has a skylight in roof, headlining, and 4 side windows, so I think it will modify easy. had 4 weeks mot on – took it and got full MOT, so all good

Insured through adrian flux, as a camper in progress

Idea is a section at rear for 2 bikes, U shaped seating turning into bed, 40″ led tv in rear wall, bluetooth sounder and blu ray player

bought a pair of black recaro seats from a mondeo st220, to go on swivel bases, couple of single seats at rear of side door, cooker, fridge, sink etc on offside in back.

Nice one ,I like a good camper thread as much as a shed one.
🙂

Looking forward to seeing the results!

I want one that i can use for wild camping some places in England and esp in Scotland

There is nothing wild camping about that!

“There is nothing wild camping about that!”

what if I had a smaller telly, would that count 😀

That looks like a prime vehicle for conversion. I recon you could squeeze a wet room in to that too.

Looks good. Is it high enough to stand up in?

i can almost stand up in it, my mrs can, so should be fine

not sure how much time id spend standing up in a van anyhow

that should make an awesome camper…. stealthy, too, as it doesn’t stand out as a campervan.

i reckon that if i had the space and time to go away for longer than a few weeks-month at a time i would look at something this size. being able to stand up without lifting the roof and having a fixed bed that didn’t need clearing in order to cook/get to storeage is a bonus.

main disadvantage with something that size is that it would be as easy to manouvre along some mountain roads. used to shuttle for a guiding comapny using a sprinter and that was abit tight at times, but you soon become aware of your surroundings….

updates!

We so need a like button

I like that!

I recon you could squeeze a wet room in to that too.

^ This

Does that still come in at/under 3500kg?

yes but its a class 5 mot or something

its a 17 seater, but has 9 seats in – and registered as a 9 seater on logbook, once converted i’ll get it reclassified by dvla as a motorhome

cos I drive a transit a lot I have no problems with judging the width of them and parking, if I find it tricky I will get a reversing camera

gonna blank out rear windows

Looks a nice van, but need photos abd plans.

Reversing camera, led mirror and 6m lead cost me £18 off flea bay., worth its weight in gold.

If you’re going to keep it, I’d suggest getting the timing chain/guides/tensioner changed. Timing failure is the main reason transits get written of at my work, and certain companies now want them done at 100k as part of the regular service schedule.
If you’re lucky, it’ll only jump enough teeth to cause starting issues and be picked up then, but it’s more common for them to jump enough teeth to destroy the valve train in one quick move. At which point the value/repair cost for companies usually means they get scrapped.

Yeah my work one got a bit rattly, tensioned was all tensioned out, so had it all done

my mates got a garage so will get it done, also mot advisory is lip on front discs, they will be done at same time before it goes on any long trips

but first to pay for the conversion

wireless reversing camera and 7″ monitor seems a no brainer for about £40

I bought a single seat base for passenger side already

Rear pics please, and can we ask how much? Sweet van btw! 🙂

watching this 🙂

will get some pics tomorrow

and yes 8k inc vat
print out of all work ever done, just tyres, brakes, and bulbs, had new clutch a year ago
and its been limited to 62mph all its life, so not been thrashed. Will get limiter taken off to allow better overtaking on motorways

could have got a white one cheaper, but really didn’t want a white/light colour

you could squeeze a wet room in to that too.

ex centre parks

okay guys, this is under way

I had some of the windows blacked out with vinyl last week. This week it has gone off to start the conversion

Seats you can see at the back are Black recaro’s out of a ST220, these will be the front seats on swivels

Seats out, and mocked up with some frames and boards to show unit sizes, Ive been down and we altered a few things and discussed a bit

Im going with a double seat in the back, but one that can be removed on tracks

heres some pics from today

Please tell me you’re getting some insulation in the side panels…

yeah, just mocking stuff up to see if there would be room for how i want it

few more pics

wooden wall in place to check for fit – this will have TV in it

all side panel re- cut from 6mm MDF and carpeted, insulated behind, headlining has been down, insulated and put back up

rubber floor came out, new floor laid, then slate effect tiles laminate

so heres a few pics so far

did a similar sized one as a rough job, my only tip would be you can go high on the bed and get a lot of low down storage space.

Nice, I run a high top Maxus as my Camper.

Looks a nice usable space in there. Always interested in threads like this, I’ve got an old VW T2 that we find a bit small really and I keep thinking of getting a T5 but it’s just as small and when I see conversions like this I just think get something beigger, but I’d need it for day to day driving too so not sure if I’d like driving a bigger van around all the time … somrthing to ponder on, keep up the good work and updates.

trouble with going higher on the bed is

1) you end up sleeping on a shelf
2) backs of seats cover more of the windows up
3) you cant sit on it as a bench

This is why I’m having it built, because everyone wants/uses vans like this differently. The only way to get what YOU really want is to get it custom done. I spent a while looking at others on ebay, but couldn’t find what I wanted

some units were fitted today

and the back wall carpeted, which will have a TV in it next week

Looks very nice indeed, lovely base van (I think the transits are the best looking vans by far and well done for getting it in a nice colour!) and the conversion looks like it’s got loads of room.

Just wondering, where are you sitting to watch the TV? In the front swivel chairs? Probably not a good place to put a TV if watching from the bench seats at the back. I also would have thought a 40″ TV might be overkill if sitting close too.

Well done, looking forwards to updates.

yeah, the idea is the fronts will swivel

yes, its overkill, but since i got a massive TV at home 32’s look tiny in comparison, so wanna try a 40″ in there

the back section behind the wall is big enough to house 2 bikes – and will even have charging points for my E bike

Never understood the idea of driving out into some remote and scenic landscape to sit and watch TV….

Take a decent book or a lady with you.

last few days my mate got overhead units in place, and today a 90 cm sunroof mostly installed

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Looks great! How are you making the units, are you doing these yourself or having them made to custom sizes, veneered MDF or ply?

they are veneers lightweight ply – cost £600 for x4 8×4 foot sheets !

all custom cut for the van and what I asked for

Have you got plans for the overcab space, or are you, errr, just going to leave it boarded over and waste it?!

Coats, bedding, clothes…one of the most useful storage areas!

on the pic the overhead unit is installed, but needs its door cutting out – were going to use it to put duvet/pillow in

a few more pics, luton section has been fitted, and fibreglassed to smooth all contours, then re-carpeted to match rest of van. Over head lockers have been trimmed awaiting doors

LED downlighters with hidden wires fitted

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Liking the cab over head unit. Fancy doing something like that in my bus. How did you fix it to the roof at the front / sides

You ain’t kidding about that ply being pricy I looked at getting a new bit to replace a bit that got heavily watermarked/stained in my van…..It will be sanded down and refinished in situ..

dunno, my mate is doing it , he has fixed to batons and additional supports, the over head lockers are dead solid

units are all in, doors on with push button knobs and stuff

Tomorrow TV and soundbar is being fitted, I’ve ordered a couple of thule bike clamps to hold bike steady in the rear compartment of the van

tracks in the floor are for quick release double seat for when carrying passengers – so it will seat 4 in proper seat belted seats, and sleep 2