Another family bike carrying camper thread

Hi all

I thought some of you maybe interested in seeing our van conversion!

After owning a couple of Transporter vans, the last one being a LWB with pop top and bike rack etc, and feeling like we had outgrown them we decided we needed something bigger. Fed up with the faffing involved with a rock and roll bed, pop top, bike rack and way to much stuff especially when touring around, We decided to get a van where we could have 2 permanent double beds in the rear (sleeping across the width) and permanent rear travelling seats for our 2 kids.

A quick Google of “Ducato camper” whilst looking for inspiration brought us to forum member Mike’s wonderful thread, which inspired us for the bike storage in the back and provided lots of great tips!
http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/family-friendly-bike-carrying-camper-build

So we bought a black 2012 XLWB Fiat Ducato Maxi and it started in a very similar way…
The rear was very smelly (the van was used for fume extraction!) and lined with ply which needed ripping out

All done

We sold the bulkhead on ebay and put in a single passenger seat instead of a double and added two swivel bases.

*Tick*

we had some rear seats from Scot Seats on a extra high base made (to allow for the change in height from the cab in the back)

All fitted, along with 2 side windows and 2 roof lights. We will have a dining area in front of the rear seats. We’ll eventually get new comfy front seats in the same grey trim.

Masses of space behind the seats! The load area on a XLWB is a touch over 4m.

The next step was to lay the batons to make a frame for the floor. We used batons stuck on with Sikaflex. The silver stuff is sound deadening pads and the start of a lot of insulation! Also had some van dead locks fitted on all 4 doors.

Once the frame was laid, we finished the insulation and laid the ply floor. We used Dodo Thermo Van liner, then some recycled bottle stuff from B&Q and then some silver bubble wrap stuff from Wickes/ Screwfix.

If I had the space and time I’d love to do this. You van converting guys are brilliant and I think I speak for most of STW that we love reading these posts.

Bookmarking

raised floor by dining area going in

oooh – another van thread!
I’ve just added some more money to the van pot, so hopefully will get to do this soon.

Any tips on the buying?

Did you do the rooflights?

Oh,God, I just love a good van thread, and this looks like a good van!

Also – any sketches of your proposed layout?

AlexSimon
Yes, we have a sketched plan. I’ll get a photo of it up when I get a chance.
Basically, starting from the rear,
-there is a 45cm boot with a mid height shelf with space for 4 adult bikes with the front wheels taken off.
-Then 2 130cm wide double beds the rear bulkhead (the boot)
-a kitchen unit with fridge etc on LHS than extends across the sliding door opening
– narrower cupboard units on the RHS with perhaps a composting toilet
(like you get in narrowboats) behind the rear seats

We had the roof lights installed as we were a bit nervous doing it ourselves as this is our first home conversion, but in hindsight, they as leaked a fair bit (now fixed), and as we have become more confident as the days have gone by, we wish we’d done it ourselves!

Roof insulation in. 2 layers of Dodo Thermo Liner

All side panel insulation now done. Wiring going in for the lighting, fridge etc. Then first 6mm ply carpeted panels going in too.
Lots of cardboard templates required for all the tricky corners!

We decided to install a little sliding window in the bottom bunk area to make it feel less enclosed. The top bunk as the rear rooflight above it.

We Sikaflexed a load of wood batons around the window which forms the windowsill and also one side of the top bunk bed central beam. The other side still has the metal upright above the wheel arch to hold the beam.

Also got gassed from the spary adhesive whilst carpeting the very tricky area above the front cab. This space is massive and offers very useful storage.

Also finished lining the sliding door and installed a VanX blackout curtain to match the other side. This was pretty easy as there are no awkward corners to negotiate.

The way you’ve done the carpeted panels and blinds looks superb!
Thanks for the other info.

Another side panel in. Central bed beams in. The top beam is removable (it sits in 2 little ply cups) should we wish to go away without the kids. Not sure how tricky this will be to remove once all the units are built etc but we’ll see. We tapered the bottom beam resting on the wheel arches to allow for maximum head height in the bunks. Sikaflex was again used to stick this on. Wiring in for the lower bed reading lights.

The view out the back. This will be closed off with a a lot of ply to form the boot and part of the structure of the beds.

I love the little window. Its just deep enough for a cuppa in the morning if you have the right mug 🙂 For the window sill We used some of the very useful plastic sheets that were behind the old ply when we bought the van.

Ta, some great design tips there.
Loving the quality carpet finish & round the windows.
You could have a little bit of secret storage under the raised seating floor.
I imagine you have spent a fair few hours on the van, great job.

Hi Iain

We have indeed made a handy little storage area with a hatch. We have already lined the raised floor with Altro. Its not stuck down or had its final trim yet.

Cheers

Justin

Beautiful
Although your microscopic solar shower hanging in the doorway wont provide much of a dowse 😉

ha ha, even for real you have to try quite hard to get wet with one of those!

Looks like a tidy Base vehicle. Good luck with the work.

Looking very nice indeed. Like the idea of carpeting the wall panels separately instead of all in one, looks a bit more pro, how are you fixing them?

Hi, with self tapping screws

More!

Looking good 🙂 Are you carpeting the rest of the sliding door? I’d be mildly concerned about condensation on the exposed metal. Raised rear seats/floor/swivels very smart 🙂

Great job, I’d love to do this one day.