Yet another van conversion thread.

After Metabief we had an overnight at Sameons. Fantastic campsite but we were too early for the lifts so we had to XC which wasn’t massively popular with Mr TW. Temperatures were starting to rise but all was well in the van.

Fabulous stuff!

That looks great, I shall add van to the shopping list

After Sameons we had a few days in Les Gets at the La Grange Au Frêne campsite which was very nice. Weather was great and nice views of Mont Blanc.

I need to sort out the screens but I think it gives him cute little ears.

After Les Gets we moved to Les Saisies which was a fantastic little place with some great riding and spectacular views. We stayed at the Alpage of Jorets site which was gorgeous.

Then back to try Sameons with the lifts open.

Before finishing in Chamonix.

I love my van

I love your van too. Van life is real life,

I forgot we also had a night in the Aire at the bottom of Les Saisies. Our van was possibly not quite as classy as the others.

And yes, the neighbours did store their dog on their roof.

All of that looks flipping excellent! Quality van you’ve got yourself there. I now want a van!

Our van was possibly not quite as classylardy as the others.

Indeed. It’s amazing how big some of those things are.

Solar!!

It’s like voodoo. Power from the sky.

(Ignore the state of the roof).

No plans on getting a van, although that would change should finances alter significantly, but this has been a brilliant thread, all the little things that can crop up that often don’t get mentioned are nicely covered. I like the wall of plastic pockets for storing all the little items so you can clearly see what’s where.
I did notice the Sudocreme; not got a cat, have you? 😉
Plenty of room on the roof for several more solar panels, too, wouldn’t have to worry about the condition, then. 😀
Nicely done, and a great trip, too.

Got the table fitted and created a “dining area”.

We should have now forfilled the DVLA criteria to get the van officially changed to a “motorcaravan”. I’ve filled out the paperwork and the V5 is on the way to Swansea. Biggest problem is from the outside it doesn’t look like a campervan and the DVLA guidance on the outside keeps changing and is quite vague.

Fingers crossed. Being limited to 60mph on duel carriageways is a pain in the arse.

We should have now forfilled the DVLA criteria to get the van officially changed to a “motorcaravan”. I’ve filled out the paperwork and the V5 is on the way to Swansea. Biggest problem is from the outside it doesn’t look like a campervan and the DVLA guidance on the outside keeps changing and is quite vague.
Fingers crossed. Being limited to 60mph on duel carriageways is a pain in the arse.

Don’t you need a permanent sink and two ring cooker?

Don’t need a sink, just a water carrier. Do need a double hob or microwave.

Ah, hadn’t seen that in your other pictures. think you might still struggle though. Heres the definition from dvla

Cooking Facilities

– That are an integral part of the vehicle living accommodation and is mounted independently of other items.
– That are secured to the vehicle floor and/or side wall.
– Secured as a permanent feature, (bolted, riveted, screwed, or welded.
– The cooking facility must consist of a minimum of a two ring cooking facility or a microwave in either case having a fuel/power source
– If the cooking facility is fueled by gas having a remote fuel supply, the fuel supply pipe must be permanently secured to the
vehicle structure
– If the cooking facility is fueled by gas having a remote fuel supply, the fuel reservoir must be secured in a storage cupboard
or the reservoir secured to the vehicle structure.

dont assume that simply changing your van to motorcaravan will give you car speed limits

http://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/Unladen-weight-payload-and-change-of-classification-/35478/

this was pointed out to me as im 2450kg empty + weight of a pretty comprehensive conversion with multiple batteries , fridge , onboard gas , toilet and such like.

Could go get my van weighed or i could just chillax and sit with the cruise control on at 55. save fuel. getting near 40mpg from my van at 55 compared to nearer 30(high 20s) if i travel at 70

worth jumping on a weigh bridge if 70mph really is that limiting to you. i suspect if you look at time saved vs cost it probably isnt.

– That are an integral part of the vehicle living accommodation and is mounted independently of other items.
– That are secured to the vehicle floor and/or side wall.

Thing with this is, I haven’t seen a single professional conversion that fits this. No one has a microwave or hob independently mounted or bolted to the floor. Everyone has them as part of a some sort of a unit. The above guidance is also actually old and it really isn’t clear if it is even still in use. The DVLA website refers to it as :

“DFT definition of motor caravan
The following is taken from the DFT website now in the National Archives.”

The hob is powered by electric so none of the gas regulations apply.

As far as speed limits go I do think they will make a difference and it is annoying cruising along at 50mph on the single carriageways.

I am fairly content that the van is under 3050kg unladen weight and should anyone wish to prosecute they are more than welcome to pop round, unload it and weigh it.

hey are more than welcome to pop round, unload it and weigh it.

unfortunantly the onus is on you to prove otherwise. the NIP will just arrive on your door step.

Thing with this is, I haven’t seen a single professional conversion that fits this. No one has a microwave or hob independently mounted or bolted to the floor. Everyone has them as part of a some sort of a unit.

I thought it meant that you can’t just keep a camping stove in a drawer or bunk to pull out and use, the stove has to be fixed to the cabinet.

Big day!!!!!!

🙂

Big day!!!!!!

I was really pleased when my V5 confirming camper van status was waiting for me on the doorstep, just after driving back from Snetterton after winning the first race of the year (motorbikes) and sailing through the average speed cameras on the A14 at about 70, obviously if the dvla hadn’t changed the van’s status in time, I’d have got fine/points!
Van conversions are great aren’t they, we’ve been all over UK and Alps, Pyranees, got pulled over by customs last year and he looked in the back and said “oh, that’s not what I was expecting”, ours has a garage area containing a motorbike, 3 pushbikes and a load of kit, we do only just scrape the weight limit when fully loaded.

pjm7, pics of your van please.

Looks like it needs to be hosted somewhere and it’s not, is there another way?

I use the Imgur app which works easily enough. That said I don’t upload anything I’m not prepared to lose all control over.

worth jumping on a weigh bridge if 70mph really is that limiting to you.

We took this advice and had the van weighed on our way for a week’s holiday, so packed with beer and kit.

So no problems 🙂

I’m liking your budget awning. We’re just finishing off converting out LWB Transit and would really like an awning – but not too sure about the Fiamma ones because of cost and we’d like to keep the stealth camper van look.
How exactly did you fit your tarp to the rain gutter?

Three hooks from screwfix screwed into the gutter rail. I’ll take a photo later if you’re interested.

nice one on the weight.

Cheers. Still got a couple of bits to do but I don’t think we will add more than 50kg, so should be laughing. I think avoiding gas and only having a 20ltr water tank has made a big difference to the weight.

This isn’t pretty but it was meant to be a temporary solution as we just didn’t have any time. However it has worked so well we haven’t come up with anything better.

It’s all been rustproofed.

Ah, thanks for posting the pic – that’s great. I’ve got some ideas bubbling now:))

Like your bike garage as well BTW. I’ll have to post up some pics of our van – the bike garage in ours is a little more…’rustic’.

Lol. I suspect you would be massively disappointed if you saw it in the flesh. Please do post photos of yours though.

Hi timidwheeler,
at first I like to say that I loved to read your thread and that your van looks fantastic- Great implementation! I wish I would be as skilled as you are 🙂
May I ask you a question? A friend of mine and I are currently converting my van so that I can use it for mobile office. Since I am unfortunately not good in creating shelves for the load area of my van myself, I would like to buy some. I had imagined something like this: https://www.sortimo.com/vehicle-device/van-racking-solutions/sortimo-hd/%5B/url%5D , only with more drawers and cabinet doors. Do you know where I can get such a shelf? Or do you have any ideas for us?