Got my Van going in to get work done to it next monday. Got it all designed and ready to go but I’m still interested in seeing any ideas that i could steal. Getting a basic conversion which allows me to carry two bikes and sleep in it.
I don’t care for stoves and sinks, there is always a pub close buy for dinner.

I put a post up on pistonheads covering my conversion if you want some ideas.

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=222&t=1434863&mid=167183&nmt=The+Stealth+Vivaro+Camper+Conversion

Plodding along, great work on the van. Very close to what i have planned but as mine is a SWB i am a bit restricted with space.

Love the seat swivel. Do you have a link for that? Oh and was it easy to fit?

I just put a M1 rock and roll bed in the back of mine. I can get 2 complete bikes along side. I,ve had 5 people bikes and kit travelling on a foreign holiday. I haven’t bothered with lining other than kingspan and ply. I’m toying with the idea of one of these removable kitchen pod things, more because some festivals are getting a bit arsey about what constitutes a camper van, than because I want it. I’m more of an eat out person too.

My van has a bed that can sleep 1/ pull out for 2 and the van can hold 1-5 bikes depending on the bed/ what else I am carrying. I love it, amazing what can be done with a transit connect!

My van has a bed that can sleep 1/ pull out for 2 and the van can hold 1-5 bikes depending on the bed/ what else I am carrying. I love it, amazing what can be done with a transit connect!

Any pics or details of your setup? Sounds interesting.

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/i-made-a-stealth-camper-and-i-want-to-show-off

page 2 for updated photos as the originals vanished

Thanks, I like it. I remember your OP now and at the time mentally bookmarking the thread.

Im going to get myself a fold out bed set up that can be taken in an out of our more Ultilitarian Sprinter van to camp at Summer MTB races.

The double seat swivel looks just like one we’ve got for our vivaro, got ours from Kiravans. Great place to deal with and its an easy fit, taking it steady less than hour or so.

plodding along. some nice work done. Much the same as my idea, I’ve got a bed frame 500mm wide which will extend to 1000mm if required and all the usual carpet and insulation and some LED lights, its going to be quite basic but I’m easily pleased.I don’t see the point in sinks and stoves as i doubt i would use it much. I will post some photos once its finished hopefully mid feb.

Sazter, looks good unfortunately I’m 6ft 3in so i need something bigger.

Don’t you need a fixed stove to benefit from the lower tax/higher speed limit/lower insurance of camper van registration?

Got the seat swivel from this place on ebay but I think there’s a few options now:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/customshop_designs_uk

Real easy to fit with the bulkhead out, unbolt the seats, tip them back, slot in the swivel plate then bolt back up.

DVLA accepted mine as a camper with a camp stove and a unit built around it, can still lift out easily enough.

Recently added two ten watt spotlights for external light at races.

Best thing about the beds was the main bed was sized for under bed boxes which all slot straight in, keeps it organised, then up to 4 bikes can slot in under the top bed. It’s tight on the top bed but does. Take the top bed out and you can fit in a camp bed.

I’ve had several layouts, by far the favourite is fixed bed with bike storage under. Ours is sized for two bikes in DHB bags slid under the bed.

Seen a nice idea on here that saves a bit of space, rear facing bench seat behind the cab seats, when you park up, lean the front seats forward and the backrest of the bench seat leans back onto them. When driving it folds back over the seat.

I’ve also realised that modular units (i.e. self supporting and then bolted in to van) is the way to go, rather than my method of building in the van and then having to unbuild bits just to make a small adjustment to the next bit of furniture.

Definitely agree with spooky on the modular units bit, I can remove all my furniture easily enough then get a motorbike in and bolt the stand to the floor.

Not sure about having to pack the bikes into bags then slide under though, loses the great bit about the van of being able to chuck the bikes straight in with minimal faff.

If your sleeping in the van I would recommend you fit a skylight to help vent the van a little.

We only planned ours that way because I needed a supporting wall partway under the bed to allow it to hinge up vertically so we can still carry silly things like 8*4 sheets and the odd cement mixer.

It wasn’t worth the effort and if I did it again it would be a full width garage and would probably just need the front wheels taking off. As it is, we rarely use the bags, just take off the wheels and chuck some foam between the bikes.

I’d rather remove the odd wheel and have a bed that doesn’t need a ladder to get in to, and be able to sit up in bed or get dressed, and not wake up with the ceiling just 20cm from my face 🙂

Fit some of these…

Then you can sleep with the windows cracked open an inch and not worry about rain flowing in. Makes a huge difference to condensation levels in the cab.

Ok, that’s fair, cement mixers weren’t on the list for kit I carried.

The top bed I have is a bit tight but was mainly for whoever I ended up travelling with, they dealt with it. The lower bed I had worked fine for the 2 months I lived in it.

Agree with the ventilation as well, wind deflectors mean you can leave the windows open enough to get some good air in.

+1

got wind deflectors ordered had read about that elsewhere.

not sure what the requirements are for registering it as a camper to be honest I’m not that arsed about it.

It’s real easy to do and means cheaper insurance, cheaper MOTs and higher speed limits.

Also if you plan to spend considerable time in Europe then it’s a lot easier to get insurance that’s more than 30 days euro cover.

I’ll see if I can find a link for the checklist I used but basically wrote a letter to DVLA explaining I’d converted it, flung in a load of photos proving it and sent it all with my V5, took about 3 weeks to get a new one.

http://www.leisureoutlet.com/caravans-and-motorhomes/Roof-Light-Vents/MPK-Clear-Roof-Vent-and-Light-with-Flynet-and-Blind.html?gclid=CPvrsfbHssMCFdMatAodnBAAcgou

could do with a bit more ventilation really but they’ll probably be ok.

You don’t need to re-register it to get the less stringent MOT, the testers will test it as presented. (though I always remind them its a camper and hence only needs a class IV)

However, the published price for a Class IV Motorcaravan MOT is around £50, £3 more than a Class VII light commercial! And if its a large van, you’ll need a test station that can cater for large vehicles which does limit you somewhat, even though it only needs a car test it still needs a larger bay.

loving this thread already 8)

Is it possible in transit/movano/traffic sized van to have a ‘garage’ at the back and a bed on top?

low, mid or high roof?

Probably struggle to get a useable space above or below the bed in a low roof, but a mid roof could be feasible.

I was thinking I’d get ~2 in on their side with a sheet between them and still be <3ft high? It’d mean a permanent double or 3/4 across the back, but in a LWB that still leaves room for a kitchen.

Yeh I think I’ve got 80-90cm under the bed so sounds about right. Don’t forget to account for the height of the bed and mattress when checking headroom 🙂

Suppose it’s down to the test station then Spooky, I was told they would test as commercial as it’s in the system as commercial. Still to put mine through an MOT, got that fun soon.

I’ve been pointed towards a council MOT station, one that does all their work vans and supposed to be cheaper, might be worth looking for similar if folk are struggling for somewhere to accept a van.

The first time they just said I might get a letter from the MOT people querying it, never got it and ever since its not been a problem.

In our short wheel base Vivaro I’ve built a garage with the floor on the wheel arches, fits two bikes top to tail with front wheels off, plenty of space to store stuff around them along with the front wheels. I’m over 6 ft and sleep on the floor and my wife who is a fair bit shorter sleeps on a length ways bench seat. I can sleep there if soloing but two’s a bit cramped.
Spent over two weeks in it at a time often enough, loo, fridge, solar panel and 220amp HR batteries keep us sorted for wild camping.

I think this is where I plug my van thread 😉

Family-friendly bike-carrying camper build

Probably bigger/more equipped than you’re after, but ideas there for the taking if anything catches your eye…

For some reason I thought the vivaro was 6ft accross inside, just found it’s only 5ft7 so that’s a spanner in that plan.

Ducato is the only real option if you want a full length sideways bed, you can eek out an extra few CM if the van structure allows you to build between the internal struts but it’s fiddly.

rsvktm – Member

In our short wheel base Vivaro I’ve built a garage with the floor on the wheel arches, fits two bikes top to tail with front wheels off

Any chance of some pics and dimensions of the garage area. I had a look at my mates SWB Trafic and had a lie down in the back to get an idea of sleeping options. At 5’11 I thought it was too short to have a suitable length bed and 2 bike garage in the back. Would be really interested to see this as I’d ultimately prefer the SWB over the LWB

I’m always very interested in people’s solutions. I bought a LWB T4 with ideas of creating a bike-orientated camper with garage but with me being 6’4″ I’ve not quite figured out how that’s going to work !

Even a Sprinter etc. wouldn’t be big enough for a bed across the van. Damm my stupid long legs.

BB no worries I’ll e-mail some Dims and pics when get chance. The length ways bench seat has a flap that folds down to extend it into the space that a forward reclined drivers seat gives and then has enough space for me at 6 2. However I normally sleep on the floor with my legs under the garage, recently fitted a double passenger swivel and if I was starting again I would probably incorporate that into a double bed but lengthwise rather than width.
The bikes fit well in the garage, front wheel out, no undoing anything just turning the bars to an angle.