Hello,
New (to me) van being collected Saturday. Bog standard empty panel van, LWB medium roof.
Going to have bike storage at the rear, double bed above,single bed in the middle which will become sofa to sit at removable table between that and swiveling front seats.
Going to have night heater, fridge, lights inside and spotlights on roof for fixing bikes by. Thinking of making the single bed in three removable sections which make seats outside or just come out to increase carrying capacity
Looking for a variety of ideas I can nick from other people’s vans for useful/nice finishing touches, quite like those sliding bike rack things in the back, could hopefully make some of those.
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So, show us your vans and what little features you are really pleased with (and don’t mind me copying)
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Cheers

I have nothing to contribute, except please document the build on a thread with loads of photos.
Then I can follow with jealousy of something I have no hope of doing anytime in the near future. But it is my strong desire to do one day.

I’ve had a sun roof put in above my bed so can pretty much park anywhere and get ventilation whilst sleeping in it Andy stay low profile. Cargo netting on the sides by the bed handy for clothes,glasses,keys at night.

this sort of thing?

Kinder Scout

Look at Wildbikes it’s for sale it looks mint

Very similar to that Steel, but all a DIY job due to budget constraints. That’s £43k, I’m hoping to come in under £6k including the base vehicle.
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Marin, been thinking about a skylight but have heard stories of them leaking. I assume from the fact that you are recommending one that yours doesn’t. Which one have you got, DIY or professional job and how long have you had it? Rather than put a side window into the door, all kinds of possibilities for cocking that up, I’m just going to swap the door out for one with a window, need to find someone breaking a welfare van or minibus or something.

Pocpoc, can you weld? If so I may have done the hard work for you…
I made a smaller one years ago, based on a 2004 SWB low roof Transit. Bikes in the rear third, sofa which becomes double bed in the center section, unaltered cab. Got lighting, heater, roof vent, all sorts of things, very well insulated.
Mechanically excellent, 130k miles but Transits will do mega miles. New fuel pump, starter motor, glowplugs, sump, alternator,wheel bearings, brakes, etc,etc since I’ve had it, regular servicing and BT had it before me. I’ve had it since 2012 and put 50k of those miles on it, been to Italy 4 times, France twice, Germany, Slovenia, love it. Really sad to see it go.
However, was thinking I needed something bigger since the arrival of MiniH and then it failed the MOT due to some welding needing done, so decided to bite the bullet and go for it. Nearside rear suspension mount being the big bit which needs done, offside front sill too. Already had the steps done and the other common bits, under the passenger seat, other side sills.
I suspect not worht much as is but if someone can wled, or at least get mates rates on welding, it would be an excellent van for very little £.
It’s near Edinburgh/Glentress/Innerleithen/Galashiels.
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Having said that, building your own is very satisfying, albeit enormously time consuming.

ventilate and insulate in that order.

as for a skylight – i cant imagine why you wouldnt . i fitted 2 in mine and a couple in other folks and none have leaked. Just dont use that shitty silicone tape that people insist on using because its no mess. Get the correct Sikaflex – fit loosely – let it cure then fully tighten so that the cured sealant has an element of squeeze on it.

The benifit being – can be open and no bugs get in + light.

If you fully tighten it straight away you squash all the sealant out and first flex of the van it unseals

I also put a proper window in the door that opens and has a mesh so you can have it open and no bugs come in .

If your planning the kid to sleep in the single bed – id fit the singlebed up the back and perminant – and make your double non fixed/make up – otherwise youll be stuck going to bed before the kid does.

thanks for the offer, but unless the total cost is about £20 then it’s going to be out of budget for a while yet.
Three kids and all the associated life costs mean I might be able to make a start in about 10 years time! And, you’re right, I’d like to convert a van and do as much as possible myself. Which means waiting until kids are a bit older and these things people call weekends become filled with spare time again (as if that’s ever going to happen!)

@Andrewh – slight hijack – I’m not interested in buying, but am curious – do you have pics & an idea of the money involved.

I’m currently looking around for a bikevan/camper van, but I don’t want LWB or high top – would be interested to see what you’ve done.

Had the skylight for about 5 years. Just started leaking but can see the split in the top seal so getting it redone. Wasn’t brave enough to cut a big whole in the roof myself. It’s proper rubbish sleeping in a van with just the windows open a few cm’s though. I park up lots of random places though so need the “stealth” approach. I’ve got 2 side windows as well in the back non opening that I just tinted myself so you can’t see in. Once you’ve gone the van way you realise cars are absolutely rubbish if you go away a lot and do lots of stuff. Good luck.
Be careful fitting beds etc to make sure you can still access rear lights to change bulbs.

Princejohn, need to give it a clean and take some pics of the finished article for advertising for sale, will post a link here when I do. I’ve got a few of the build process somewhere, pm me your email address and I’ll see what I can find.
Trailrat/Marin. Are your your roofs flat or corrugated? Mine has ridges running lengthways, about 6″ wide and 1/4″ high, are these likely to cause any problems?

Ribbed….for your pleasure.

I built up the ridges with uPVC window sill sikaflexed in the low points to create a flat plate for the roof lights…. I’ve got 2 installed with no leaks now for 2 years

MTB Conversion

These guys do some lovely stuff, might be worth a look for inspiration …

OK, going to go for a skylight, seems to be a consensus that that is a good plan. Got a flat part without ribs so could take one up to 400x550mm. Not where I would have chosen to put it but hey ho.
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PJ, if you wanted to see the old there’s a few pics of the finished article int he classifieds at the moment.
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A couple of questions about the new one if I may.
How similar are leisure batteries and enginer batteries? Is it just a question of capacity and physical size or do they maybe charge/discharge differently? Reason I’m asking is can I use two or three engine batteries in place of a leisure battery? The advantage of this would be twofold p firstly I have a spare battery in the shed. Secondly if I have a problem out and about I could take a leieure battery and fit it as an engine battery and self-jump start.
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Whilst messing about underneath the van I started thinking. There is a lot of wasted space under there, could I use it for something? Could I fit a bracket to hold a jerry can and something to hold a trolley jack in the spaces between the beams of the chassis? This would free up space inside, improve saftey by not having them break loose and whallop me in the back of the head if I crash and (most importantly!) lower the centre of gravity and improve cornering… Loads of room, it’s much higher than my old van and regardless of what I do the rear aaxle will still be lowest point.
Anaywya, something like this but underneath rather than out back?

Engine batteries are designed to discharge high current very quickly  whereas leisure batteries are designed to trickle. Engine batteries will get ruined very quickly using them as a leisure battery.

Get yourself a split charge kit with VSR from Rayne Automotive. If you plan to use a fridge, get a 110 Ah as a minimum and consider fitting solar too. Its well worth the initial outlay. In summer, my 100W solar panel can just about power the fridge by itself.

The other thing worth doing is a pressure washer. I’ve umbed mine in and it makes giving the bikes a clean before they go back in a lit easier.

Remember anything underneath is going to get filthy unless it is wrapped up. Oblivious you can store plumbed in gas, water tanks under there but you have to drill through the floor to bring the pipes inside and for water you must consider if it will freeze (you can get heaters/insulation to stop this).

Sorry didn’t see you question but you’re sorted for the sun roof. Swivel seats if you don’t have a bulkhead, free up loads of space when parked up. Pretty cheap and doable yourself. I’ve got a cheapo pressure washer than run off the cig lighter for muddy days. My next build will definitely have a solar panel for running lights.

Was going to put a box underneath to house the jack to avoid problem with filth, maybe in a bag in a box. Just need to keep the closing mechanism/latch/lock/whatever useable, don’t want it under there for six months and then I can’t get it out when I want it as it’s rusted shut and full of dirt.
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Advice taken regarding skylight, this has just arrived, along with two tubes of silkaflex, not as expensive as I thought (unless I get the hole wrong…) Putting a twirly vent in too.
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Will go for a proper leisure battery then, and solar if budget allows. Is there any disadvantage to two 110ah batteries compared to one 220ah? Two smaller ones easier to to deal with physically, size, weight, positioning, etc. Planning on using a battery-to-battery charger so that the leisure batteries charge from the alternator as I’m driving around. If I connect solar should this be straight to the leisure batteries or could I connect it to the engine batteries and then have this charge the leisure batteries in the same way the alternator does? Means less chance of needing jump-started if I have a problem with something.
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Definitely want swivel seats. Drivers one seems easy, double one seems pricey, looking at £250 for a double swivel base for a Transit! Are there any double seats out there which have (individually?) adjustable backs? You do have to sit very upright in a Transit passenger seat but I do need the two. Also, anything else fit a Transit driver’s seat? Could I put a heated Mondeo one there for example? Would quite like a heated seat but may be a bit frivalous so not that important.
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It will have a fridge, but jet-wash wise just a standard Dirtworker, nothing fancy and plumbed in.
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Old van now on ebay if anyone is interested? Current bid is £500, the fuel pump cost me more than that! Runs until Sunday evening.
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Thanks all