Vangelina has gone to campervan heaven, she is still running but has been stripped of all her comic book loveliness and is a plain old van once more. In my car park now sits Farah, the high roof, medium wheelbase Movano soon to be beautified and made into a home on wheels.

Once I can get the bloody bulk head out… bolts, bolts everywhere!….

Photo number one of many to follow over the coming weeks and months I hope:

Looks like it’s done a few miles. What is the condition of the engine and transmission?

Good question that ^^^.

However, there looks to be a lot more space in Farah than your other van, which is not a bad thing. Are you planning on keeping the stealth look, or going a bit more camper and adding windows and stuff?

If you need awning rail, I have the URL for a place in Essex that sells it by the 5m for a lot cheaper than most people charge.

i hope your pulling all that ply lining out.

looks like its been very damp – if not still soaked.

Twill smell down the line.

It has done a fair few miles, it was the mechanics van for the fire brigade so has been well looked after, like anything I can afford it’s a gamble, but it is solid, runs great and getting it checked over tomorrow by my local guys too. The floor looks worse than it should, it is pretty much soaked in oil and grease so looks very dark, that ply is getting chucked asap once I get the bulkhead out.

I am planning on adding one window to the back, ideally at the kitchen and one or two skylights for extra light and ventilation. I am very interested in getting an awning, so that URL would be great, thanks Willard. 🙂

No problem. It’s this place: http://www.keder-rails.co.uk/.

I bought a 5m length of their “Caravanne Rail’ chopped into two 2.5m sections. That’s about the perfect size (minus a touch of fettling) for the awning rail on a T5. As a bonus, it comes in a 3m cardboard tube which is frickign awesome!

I kept telling people it was a new barrel for my target rifle.

Brilliant, thanks for the link, the awning is low down the list after I get the inside looking and smelling nice but def on the list, it’s so nice just to be able to stand up straight in the van, will be luxury to get changed in after riding! 🙂

New plylining will improve the interior straight away…. And get rid of that oily smell. Should be someone near you that should supply and fit for around £200.

At least you’ll be able to stand up in this one!!

looks ace, can’t wait for the build photos 😀

Just out of interest, have you thought about how you’ll be doing the insulation this time around? I did the recycled plastic stuff, but would be tempted to go for the rigid foam sort next time.

Also, solar panels… Get them in now, before you do that insulation…

Chrissyboy – am going to diy the ply again, it’s pretty simple, I reckon that although bigger this one will be easier than the connect as it is more square and less weird angles, plus I can move about easier in it.

Cheers nick

Willard, am going for the same as last time, Thermoliner stuck to the skin, acts as sound deadening and insulation, and the recycled bottle insulation in the bigger cavities, I rescued all the soft stuff and some of the thermoliner from the old van.

Solar will have to wait until I have cash for now, but It should be straight forward enough to add later, I am doing all the electrics myself, again, a direct transplant from the old van to start, so keeping things simple… and on a mega tight budget!

probably the best thing you could have done with the old van , it have a very small target market and its market worth was not the base vehicle – which was worth quite little + what ever you spent on the interior.

hopefully not too much gets wasted on the transplant.

done right you’ll end up with a much more usable and desirable vehicle should you come to sell it.

trail_rat – yes, it turned out to be the best for both vans as I have a head start on this one with a little extra cabling etc and it’s a far more useful space, need to do some measuring but hope to have a garage with a bed over it, small kitchen area, seating, storage, basic again but with everything I need.

Mo(vano) Farah? 🙂

Good luck with the conversion,

APF

Yes Alex, that’s exactly it! 🙂 Cheesy but fun! Also it will be taking us Farah-Way on bike trips. 😛

Far-Way. Groan 😉

APF

Bulk head out, this is noteworthy as it was a complete bugger to remove, loads of bolts and rivets, used a variety of tools, beast mode and determination to get it out, but we did, at one point I was smashing through it with my feet through desperation, but it worked!

Next up insulation, thermoliner to go in for warmth and sound deadening. 🙂

A lot of people doing T5s have just used an angle grinder on the bulkhead. I’m amazed that you stuck with non-destructive* methods.

Are you washing it out first? Filling up bits with waxoyl?

*apart from using your feet.

Feet, crowbars, hammers, spanners, pointy things and swearing were all employed, my dremel died of death and I don’t have an angle grinder, though my next port of call was to borrow one, I managed the last 2 rivets mostly through stubbornness!!

Yep, next up is pull that horrible floor out and see what it’s like underneath, the chassis is rust free so am hoping the floor is the same, as the ply is soaked in oil and grease thats a pretty good chance! Good clean of all the inside with a few buckets of degreaser and then remove any rust I find, waxoyl anything that needs it then insulate floor and walls and new ply down.

It is in the garage now for a once over, as long as that goes ok I will be doing more work tomorrow. Also thinking of swapping the sliding door for one with a window as price wise it seems about the same as buying a window and fitting it myself and should be easier to swap it than cut great big holes in the side and about half the price of a pro fitted window.

Good idea on the slidey window. The only downside to that I can see is not being able to open a window if you are cooking. I also find that having a window over my right shoulder is good for confirming mirrors when on the road, but that is just personal choice.

Sounds like you are well ahead with both vision and planning. Good work! Chosen carpets yet?

If I get the door I have earmarked then the top bit of the window opens, so still good for ventilation, there is a roof vent already installed which I am keeping, and I will be adding a couple of skylights, one above kitchen and one in bed area.

I am installing a reversing camera and my initial approach is to wire it straight in and not to the reverse light, so it is on all the time, acting as a rear view mirror rather than a parking camera, so that will help with the seeing around the van thing.

Carpets I am unsure of, I have enough of the grey from the old van to carpet the struts so will do that for now, then deciding if we want to carpet the ply or keep it wood effect or do something else to it, the carpet on the struts will stop any rattle for now whilst I save/ decide. 🙂

Currently searching for lino for the floor, colour of walls may be dictated by that!

You’re a serial converter. Where will this end? We saw something like this cruising through Dumfries at the weekend:

Maybe you could get a real fire engine to convert next?

Good luck but rather you than me through the Winter in a van. 😀

That may be next bearGrease! that looks awesome, though may be problematic parking in Glasgow!

As for where will it end… it won’t! 😉

Are you keeping it in the end Sarah? I’d suggest a workable van and a tent for sleeping as that’ll open up the motor for much more use and a tents warmer.

Best o luck with it all, you’ve more energy than me!

Dan, I have a plan for the conversion and yes, am keeping it, I will have a tent in it which I can sleep in if I choose to.

I don’t have a little person to deal with so have more energy than most parents! 😉

The whole winter thing raises a good point. Have you thought about getting a heater in there now ready for the winter? It might be a lot less hassle to plumb it in whilst the van is in bits rather than when it is nicely fitted out.

Yep, am keeping my eye on a few propex heaters on fleabay, going for propex over eberspacher as runs on propane which I need to use to run the fridge and water heater anyway. 🙂

http://www.wired.com/2011/04/a-peek-inside-a-rolling-mongolian-xanadu/

Some inspiration for you. Built by some of my exparents.

Nice!!
Goals!

On the reversing camera, we had one fitted to our camper, its a god send on 7.5 metres. Bought one of the dual ones from ebay that came with a clip on rear mirror/monitor. When in reverse it dips down and when going forward its just like looking in the rear view mirror.
Just had three and a half weeks around the Alps and Finale, 2200 miles in total. In at the deep end for our first outing.

Sounds like a great first outing! Mine will be North of Scotland this weekend if all goes according to plan!

Looking forward to this!

Good news from the garage I got it checked over at, it’s got a very recent engine and brand new turbo. Happy with that! 🙂 tomorrow afternoon I’ll be doing a quick fix to get it ready for a trip up north Scotland then I’ll be doing the conversion proper after that. Happy days!

http://www.wired.com/2011/04/a-peek-inside-a-rolling-mongolian-xanadu/

Some inspiration for you. Built by some of my exparents.

Pah, get the hooklift model and you can have a selection of pods Thunderbirds style for any occasion (we keep emergency kits in ours, the demolition kit lives in a SWB Zetros).

Quick update – got the van last Monday and was supposed to be going away on Thursday, no pressure then! I had Thursday afternoon off work so spent this time working hard, ended up working into Friday and leaving at 3pm but we had a useable van for the 4 day trip and it all worked out! This was a temporary fix for this weekend away, I will be sorting it all properly in the coming weeks.

She is an ex fire brigade mechanics van so I hoped the damp on the ply was oil and not water.. I was right, it was soaked but with grease, so a bugger to clean but excellent rust inhibiting!

Finally got all the ply out!

Sides and roof cleaned and degreased, now for that floor!
[img]https://photos.google.com/album/AF1QipNCKZc2xX4Wzzymr9hL9JucC8M2hyBnOXRONKpY/photo/AF1QipOUiYwVi07tHb97NNFq-WrxXDGrjJZd6u5Qi8oL[/img]

Insulation time – using thermoliner as it is insulation and sound deadening in one, used it in my last van and really rated it so happily using again.

Quick ghetto conversion – panels from old van (transit connect) screwed in for storage and a bit of insulation, few sheets of ply thrown on the floor and some lino on top to protect it a bit. The ply and lino will be cut to fit properly asap. Looks a lot messier than it was as had to put all the kit in a layer to stop it sliding about too much, the bed is the red thing behind the seats, it is all temporary!

Next up is fitting the floor properly and treating the tiny bit of surface rust on the panels behind the drivers seat.

Images won’t work- heres a link

I think you’re images are set to private. Link gives:

403. That’s an error.

We’re sorry, but you do not have access to this document.

Is This better?

Yep, new link works.

Good work on that floor!

Hmmm… Now they’re all sideways! I give up, just turn your computer 90 degrees! 😉