Two years ago we bought a cheap Transit van which we converted to a campervan, the conversion was covered in this thread -
https://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/yet-another-van-conversion-thread/
Sadly after almost exactly two years and 96 nights away the van has developed so many issues we are going to have to write it off. I'm very sad about this as 'Roary' had become an important part of our lives and we had a lot of fun together.
So, the van is dead, long live the van!
We have bought a much newer and bigger Renault Master and using what we have learnt from our first attempt, we are going to do a second conversion.
We collected the van today and gave it a bit of a clean and took the bulkhead out. It is in much better condition than the Transit was when we got it.
Didn't get much done as the weather was too nice to not go out for a bike ride.
Oooooh
*pulls up a chair*
Ooo, I love a van conversion thread. It might just be the camera angle but that new van looks huuuuuuge inside.
I really like these threads. Bring on the pics!
*hopes Matt will let me sit next to him
Sits next to gnusmas. Anyone want a beer whilst we watch?
Anyone want a beer whilst we watch?
Yes please.
A cold Ossian already open here.
Have we started yet? Gnusmas and I have to tuck kids in bed shortly...
If i give the beer to the kids, will it make them sleep quicker?
Excellent, do love a van conversion thread!
Sorry we're in the pub. I wouldn't expect any updates for a bit.
Can there still be beer?
Although itll never happen for me I've now just spent 30 minutes looking at Renault Master vans on autotrader and the likes!
Book marked
Five pints down and I'm mourning Roary. I hope you don't mind if I post a few pics.
I love a van thread. Good luck with the new project. I'm slowly collating ideas for our "master plan" van conversion.
🍺 To Roary.
I have to echo that I love a van thread too!
To Roary, 🍺
Looking forward to this 👍🏻
Our van is currently for sale in eBay (silver vw crafter) because I've just bought a newer citroen relay l4h3 for a new conversion. Bought the biggest van I could in the hope it will be the one for at least 5 years! Bikes take up a lot of space so I'm always on the look out for clever storage methods.
Roary had a garage at the back. This time we are going to store bikes under the bed (this van is about a foot higher than Roary). We are hoping this arrangement will let us take 2x road bikes + 2x mountain bikes or 2x kayaks and one pair of bikes.
The Renault has a plastic roof so we can't get a roof rack for it. The boats will have to go inside. On the plus side, if we can make the layout work will massively reduce the kayak loading faff.
Where were the pics taken? Looks fab.
I’m going to watch this closely, I really want to do a van conversion, a decent van here in Canada is fairly pricey though
Where were the pics taken?
As best as I can remember..
The first one is the Alpage of Jorets campsite.
The second is just outside of Basingstoke.
The third is the Mont Blanc (Monte Bianco) glacier fron the Italian side.
The forth is the Col Des Saises
The fifth is a campsite outside of La Clusaz ( I can't remember the name off the top of my head).
The sixth is Whitemead Forest Park just outside of Coleford.
Sniff
*tears*
He wasn't just a summer van...
In the winter he was warm.
In the rain he was dry.
In the Autumn he was, erm..
Contrasty.?
The new van has a much more cheerful expression, but I suppose that’s to be expected.
There is a van conversion in my future i hope
I want a van conversion not a campervan because I want a touch simple layout that won't mind a bit of dirt and hopefully less dosh
Is this still economically viable if I pay some one else to do the work. I mean if I buy a base Van used (£10k?) and then pay some one to it convert (£5k?) would that still be less than a similar age campervan? I would be looking for a fixed bed with space for a bike under it, a fixed 2 burner cooker, fridge, a couple of windows, lining, pop up roof some where to sit and some kind of heating
Obvious question, but why is Roary dead? Can't he be fixed?
Anyway, sitting comfortably waiting for the 1st instalment.
Obvious question, but why is Roary dead? Can’t he be fixed?
Maybe he's haunted? That could be hard to fix
While not technically a van, as such, I have an overwhelming desire to obtain one of these and convert the back for civilised use away...
The only thing standing in the way is the lack of appropriate funding.
^^^ that looks like something out of Thunderbirds. I want one too.
Looking forward to this 👌
It might not look like much happened today but trying to sort out a second-hand van can be very time consuming. The floor had been put in by someone who clearly was never planning to see it again. About a third of the screws had been rounded off which meant as we are going to reuse the floor we needed to drill them all out. There was a fair bit if rubbish under the floor but not too much rust. It was very hot inside so we chucked the robot Hoover in to clean the floor while we had an ice pop break.
Roary wasn't realistically repairable.
He needed an EGR valve replacing, had a hole in the engine, the brake pipes were corroded, had a badly leaking cylinder head, copious amounts of rust, the engine management system kept going to limp mode, he needed new brake pads and disks, the instrument panel kept cutting out for no obvious reason and he needed a new offside, sidelight bulb.
We had already thrown quite a bit of money at him in the last couple of months to try and keep him going. There just comes a point that it isn't worth throwing money at a conversion which only cost us about £4000 including the van.
We must have spend at least half of that trying to keep him going.
A new bulb you say? Straw, camel, and back me thinks. Good luck with the conversion. I will watch with interest.
Watching with interest. I miss my old van. After the conversion was finished I said never again. Maybe one day, when the kids are older and I have a bit more time on my hands.
Keen to hear any comments on ampthill's query above regarding budgets. I am thinking of a similar 15k figure all in, and I would rather get someone else to do the work, although I will design it. Super simple layout with folding 3 section bed to the rear that turns into a forward facing sofa by day and simple cooking facilities to the front. All knocked up in timber, none of your fancy units.
On the subject of washing/ personal hygiene, I keep thinking of having a slightly raised wooden floor with a removable section that reveals a circular shower tray underneath. A circular shower curtain rail would be set into the ceiling above, theoretically allowing one to have a shower without using up any floor space. Will I die? Or I suppose you could find somewhere in the van to store a metal tray and just get it out when required...
The La Clusaz campsite in the 5th picture is called Le Plan du Fernuy.
I would be looking for a fixed bed with space for a bike under it, a fixed 2 burner cooker, fridge, a couple of windows, lining, pop up roof some where to sit and some kind of heating
not for 5k.
The final bill on my van the previous owner got for my van that i got given when i bought it was all that without the pop top and it still cost them 13k.
Both my conversions have cost £5-6k in parts alone, thats a fairly good quality conversion with double glazed windows, heating, insulation, pumped water, well equipped kitchen. They also took hundreds of hours, a pro converter would be much quicker but I suspect the labour rate would be well in excess of the parts, especially if you want a non-standard and fiddly layout eeking out all the space.
The popular vans such as T5s must be quite easy as you can buy pre-built units or flat packs that perfectly fit the van, which takes away countless days of scribing cardboard templates trying to make everything from a small shelf to a whole wall that will fit the wheelarch, curved floor, sloping roof and the next bit of furniture and that water fill point you put in without realising it would get in the way, without any huge gaps, or tight spots that squeak when you drive!
not for 5k.
Cheers trail-rat
Was that van "nice". Is painted ply and a fixed bed actually not much of a saving?
Painted ply save you about 1k over vohsprunger.the wood work is the cheap part
You can go cheaper on the components but they generally don't last or work very well.
Fridge , sink/hob /pump / proper isolation box , leisure battery and charger , lighting , switches roof lights and functional windows ,, heater all add up
I've used normal ply and a fixed bed in my conversions...as trailrat says, its the parts that add up.
Its not hard to sink close to a grand into windows, rooflights and sealant. If you want an oven, compressor fridge, custom space saving tanks and refillable LPG, another grand please. A 2nd hand single passenger seat and a couple of swivels, £500.
And then there are all the little bits, plumbing connectors, crimps, heavy duty battery cables, fuse boxes, interior lighting. The costs keep on coming!
At the same time you can do it for less by using cheaper single glazed or caravan windows, 2 way fridges etc but generally (not always) it will show on the outside, and may compromise the layout/storage due to things like the huge vents needed for caravan fridges, or needing jerrycans stored under the sink unit etc.
trail rat - Your post at the end of page 1 contains the most complex sentence I have ever seen on STW.
