Propex heater, battery, seat covers and holes in the floor

Wow ! What a weekend not much to show this week as its all been tape measures and calculators once again in sub-zero temperatures. Then updating the drawings and making sure the final build instructions actually work !

On the more positive side. The sink finally got ordered and the front seat covers and the leisure battery (100ah Elecsol) arrived..... geddit ? battery, positive .... Oh never mind.

And after much scrabbling about in and under the van all the positions for holes in the floor are marked out - thats 4 x gas drop outs, 1x waste water, 2x propex heater (air in and fumes out). Propex install could be tough given my preferred location in the cupboard - I am going to have to rig up a special mount as the pipes will need to be off set rather than straight through the van floor. More on this later.....

Furniture - part 1

Furniture now, well part one anyway. After hours of measuring and thinking and drawing and measuring and …… eventually we agreed on a layout and design that suits us. Some key issues :

1) Rapid access to tables – solution stored between drivers seat and fridge
2) Camping chair storage – solution in high top over bed but 2 shelves to keep coats and chairs tangle free
3) Fridge, Porta potti and Heater needed
4) Pumped water stored in the van
5) Gas system – long debate on this but eventually chose Gaslow





All drawn up on Visio then PDF’ed off to Michael Goulden at

Jasmine Bathroom & Kitchens
Addingford Mills,
Addingford Lane,
Horbury,
Wakefield,
West Yorkshire
WF4 5BL
Tel: 01924 266674

Michael suggested a test build …. Cost a few bob more but I am so glad we did it !


Everything fits in place but getting the cut outs for the wheel arch and the rock n roll bed frame needed quite a bit of hacking. Being able to confirm that all the gubbins fits in its designed place is wonderful and adding a few millimeters here and there will make the job so much more perfect.

Carpets - part 1

Carpets ….

So, on to the carpet, but why bother ? Its not just for appearance. First primarily its to avoid condensation, moisture will condense on cold surfaces such as metal and covering it with carpet stops that. Also its an insulator of heat and sound.

I needed to do the carpet now as the furniture part one order has been placed and the carpet has to go in so we can position the window surrounds that go behind the units ….. ok ?

Anyway we got ours from Mark at From Mega Van Mats in Pudsey West Yorkshire. If you can visit I recommend it … loads more tips in a face to face with Mark than I could write here. He showed me how to remove various bits of trim and how to use the funky trim clips for the lining cards. Its much better to cover them separately so that you can remove them later for any unforeseen maintenance. But they are to be done later …..

Something that no one mentioned on forums or bulletin boards is exactly how much masking tape & newspaper you need. Seven rolls of wide tape used so far and 3 households supply of newspapers from the recycling bins ! Also don’t expect to get away without loads of spare blades for your Stanley knife.

Best tools ? …. As temp was 2-5 degrees C fingerless gloves were essential and the wooden handle from a sink plunger and a wooden spoon were invaluable for getting it into those tight corners.

And it took 2 of us 5 days to do this but I am well pleased with the results.

Blinds

My working environment .......

This part is a bit of personal choice. Our previous camping experiences lead us to be very clear in our mind that thermal silver backed blinds make a huge difference to night time heat loss and comfort in the evening and at night. But, these puppies don’t come made to measure so this involves a bit of work.

Most important they need to be thin so that they fit between the sliding door and the bodywork, next they need to be adjustable, we want the maximum visibility out of our van when the windows are open so each blind is adjusted accordingly.

We chose the SEITZ SUPERMINI ART 1302 and got them from Autocraft in Staveley near Chesterfield

I am putting them in a frame mounted as close to the glass as possible on the door so as to allow it to open without fouling the side of the van. On the off side however they are going on a frame face fixed to allow for the wardrobe that will cover half the off side rear window.

So having bought the blinds, the foam card templates (see Oct blog) needed some fine tuning. Also the timber mounting points were attached using Sikaflex …. My oh my that stuff is sooo strong I am well impressed ! Note the timber strips were chamfered to give a vertical face for the frames – lucky me, I got a band saw.

Then the templates applied to the ply and a weekend of sawing with the good old jigsaw and then offering the panels up and screwing in place. Note the holes not yet cut in the ply. My motto …. measure 3 million times and only make a couple of cock ups !

Then the blinds need to be cut to size – “they” say they are not adjustable but if you are doing a van conversion this will not be a problem. A couple of screws (pozidrive or star depending on age of your blind ) will release the mechanism, off come the end caps and slide out the spring mechanism, the blind (fly screen or blackout) may have a drop of super glue holding it in the aluminium strip – a long finger nail run down the groove should find it then a Stanley knife scraped over it a few times should release it and let it slide out. Measure the case, tube and aluminium strips 3 million times and cut off the excess. Don’t forget to cut of equal lengths left and right of the aluminum strips so the blind/screen still clip together when closed. Stanley knife comes in again to cut the fly screen/blind. Reassemble.

I wanted a real small blind for the half width window by the wardrobe – this required the actual spring mechanism shortening … slide the spring out of the way and play at blacksmith ! Beat the metal rod flat so it will engage in the end cap and saw off the required amount. Then I found that in another blind there was a shorter mechanism that would have avoided the need for playing with a hammer!

Having reduced the blinds to size – fix all in place to check previous measurements and then back to the jigsaw to cut out the holes..…… cant be long now before the carpet starts to be installed … ooer!

Rock N Roll Bed - Cannon Forge

Same weekend and just after the roof went on we headed down the M1 to Worksop for the bed installing by Dave from Cannons Forge. He has a couple of web sites right now … one may disappear soon….

Cannon Forge and Cannons Forge .... :-)

Dave Cannon is a really friendly and helpful guy, answering all sorts of dumb questions with tremendous patience. When we bought the bed he only had a couple of choices for foam and cushion coverings so we are getting them from another supplier.

Here are a few thoughts for you to consider though when debating what density of foam to use on your bed.

Blue foam is hard / firm and is ideal for sitting on but rock hard for sleeping on (some folks add memory foam toppers to compensate for this)
Yellow foam is soft and ideal for sleeping but you sink right through it when you sit on it and bottom out (sorry) on the boards beneath.
Solution …. Use both … blue on the seat part of your RnR bed and yellow for the rest of it. Lets face it there will only be your feet on the blue stuff if you sleep with your head at the back of the van.

High Top Roof from Drivelodge

Wow – its an age since I posted here, well I’ve been busy when weather permitted.

The new High Top Roof is now on … Thank you DRIVELODGE :)
I took out the headlining to save for later. There are two key jobs here ,1 remove the trim in the middle of the van – it just pops out but you have to be firm with it and the second was removal of the interior lights.

Again they just pop out.

Some folks have had problems here with wires snapping because they took the headlining down with lights still in place … WOOPS :( … thanks for the warnings there folks. So pop them out and shove them back above the board.

Then the fun part - taking out the VW trim clips – again I had less problem here than many other folks report – I have a hex key in my Halfords socket set that’s a perfect fit.

Then just lower the boards nice and gently (two pairs of hands make this easier) store for later and drive off to Keighly.

A few days later – it’s a new van ! ..... and I think you can just see the Cannon Forge RnR bed in there too .... more later.

Waste water tank

We aim to have fresh water stored inside the van so we can see that its clean and refill the container at a tap. The waste water from the sink however (smelly stuff) is to go to an outside tank. I bought a 203 waste tank from CAK and had to return it. Several hours were spent under the van trying to make the tank fit. It was a well engineered complex wedge shaped box that goes in front of the spare wheel. HOWEVER …. The water inlet pipe lines up with the bodywork holding the suspension … or if dropped a little to avoid that, it lines up with the exhaust. Calls to CAK resulted in loads of advice by phone and email but I just could not see how I could get water into the tank from my offside sink without 2 meters of waste pipe holding water as it dipped under the exhaust before entering the tank. That is of course if it did not foul the exhaust and melt as the pipe gets hot … in the end it had to go back. Full refund given. Two other CAK tanks that go under the off side step or skirt were not suitable in my mind as I did not want to chop away vast parts of my under tray to accommodate the tanks.














Plan B then kicks in …search GOOGLE for T5 water
tanks…… but nothing filled me with joy.

Plan C make my own from 5mm PVC sheet and pipe weld ( still an option )

But surprise surprise …. I spotted a possible solution … I am going to try a collapsible water carrier squashed into the bodywork void with tap through under tray. More on that later :)

Leaking windows and delay :(

Things have been rather quiet on the van front of late. I have spent most of my time with tape measures and pencil drawing out the positions for the units while the van was returned to the dealers to sort out the leaking window !.... Yes a T5 with a leaking window! The off side opener was letting in water. The dealer was very good about it and no quibbles they collected the van & filled the tank. First we had a new seal then waited for rain – make sure van parked facing up hill and oops! still coming in. So back goes the van and in goes a new window … wait for rain make sure van parked facing up hill and double ooops !… still coming in … heavy discussion in the house this time. The work could not progress to the first major conversion work …. i.e. cutting a hole in the roof till we were happy with everything & we were unsure if another window would sort it. So – decision made – forget the opener and let’s have a fixed window. We rarely opened that window in previous vans over 8 years so no huge loss. Again – no quibble from the dealer – job done and we are moving again.

While this was going on I applied MAJOR hammering on the credit card buying all sorts of bits and we also took a second trip out to Cannon's Forge at Scotland Farm in Worksop to take a closer look at their Rock ‘n Roll bed. Dave popped one in the van so I could take measurements. We want to put stuff between the drivers’ seat and the fridge so we agreed that we were to have a corner cut out of the foot of the bed (seat) so that we can open the fridge while the bed is pulled out …. Order placed …. And now ready for collection.

Sorting the leak delayed us getting the van to Drive Lodge for the high top roof to be installed. Any way once the window was fixed we had to wait for a slot at Drive Lodge but that’s where the van is right now and should be back in a week then straight off to Worksop for the bed installing and that’s when I need to really get cracking !

Leisure Battery Charger & Yoga

So this is the bit where I describe the installation of the Voltage Sensing Relay and other electrical gubbins.

Steve from Raw Components did a bit of electrical magic and combined a VSR and conventional 12v relay to run the fridge while driving. Connecting the bits supplied was a doddle as the instructions were quite clear. The challenge was getting the wires from the engine bay into the body of the van. VW kindly installed undertrays and heat shields under the van to protect the underbody and this served to make it quite a challenge. Non the less after 6 hours of scrabbling about on my back in the gutter, scraping most of the skin off my hands and establishing that the maximum waist size to work under the van without ramps is about 36", the job was almost done.

Bad light stopped play - thats the problem with doing a conversion this time of year, so the final fit comes later this weekend - all I need now is a battery to charge and a fridge to run !

But what about the yoga I hear you exclaim ..... forget yoga for a full budy workout ..... try threading 3x cables through a VW T5 undertray and you will find muscles (and language) you thought you might never need to use!!!

The van has arrived and work starts

17th Oct - shiny new van arrives at the 'ole homestead.



I guess I should have posted sooner - 9 days have passed and I have been very busy ....
Sat - pick up van ..... Sun - drool over van
Mon - started conversion by making a Ply window frame to take blinds - it took ages !
Tues - went shopping for a 10mm star bit for socket set so I can get the rubber floor up
















Wed .... work work till V late (thats not van work ...)
Thurs .... Ditto
Friday & Saturday - made templates for 4 other window frames out of foam card ... this will make it sooooo much easier to cut them out of ply. (Scrounge foam card from supermarkets when they are taking down the Easter, Christmas, special offers etc etc they use it for the big signs hanging from the ceilings - phone the manager first to arrange )

















Sunday - went out to play with Liz 'n Jack

Mon - did the floor ... used laminate floor fibreboard underlay as it claims to have both heat and sound insulative properties. Also its thin and spreads the load for the ply floor, and I want to be able to fit insulation, ply and carpet to fit with the step and boot trim without needing to remove/replace.

Rubber mat used as template so cutting ply & insulation was really quite straight forward.

Total hours on the job so far - 15 hours .... mostly on the first window frame !

Insurance – it pays to shop around

Campervan conversion insurance – oh what fun. I heard that it can be a challenge and it pays to shop around. And why CAMPERVAN insurance ? Well if you don’t make it clear that it’s a conversion and you have a claim then your £400 Fridge, £600 bed, and all those other lovely toys might not only be not covered but also may totally invalidate your claim as an unapproved modification.

.

Before ordering our new van for conversion we called several insurers but eventually settled on Adrian Flux – they also insure tanks and armoured cars if that your game. Why ? Well they not only were a good price at £314 but accept that it’s a van conversion project from day one and don’t have any limits on how long it will take. Whereas, Camping And Caravan Club insurance give you 120 days to get the van converted from the day you take out the policy.

Converted, to the C&C Club, means Windows, Bed, Seating other than cab, Cooking facility, Onboard water, Fire extinguisher and Fixed table and some Storage. No question of quality but all these boxes need to be ticked inside 120 days.

.

Anyway our van is due in a couple of days so we call Adrian Flux only to be told the price has gone up to £575 ! That’s £261 increase in 5 weeks ! So the ring round starts again – now this time C&C Club say yes 120 days but if you have problems or unavoidable delays just let us know and we will extend. The key thing is to send in regular photos to show progress is being made and the price of £340. Quite acceptable and a couple of days later the policy arrives …. Do you read your policy documents ? My wife does bless her thankfully….. Thatcham approved alarm – a requirement ?! There was no mention of that when we took out the policy so back on the phone …. “It has a factory fitted alarm ?? Oh that’s Ok then – I’ll make a note on the policy, no extra charge…” …. Then there is the No Business Use – but sometimes we may need to drive to work in it and that is Business Use, not domestic and leisure – “Oh that’s Ok I’ll add it to the policy – no extra charge ….” Amazing the stuff that excluded and all you have to do is ask.

.

To close I have to tell the story of my wife requesting Insurance for Business Use for an earlier campervan….. The bewildered operator on the phone hesitantly asked …. “Er …. and er …. exactly what kind of business do you er, conduct in a campervan madam?”

Then the sun came out and the Electrical Gloom went away !

Thanks to Clive from Sargent and Steve from RAW Components we have a result !!

Voltage Sensing Relay with a conventional relay from RAW and some electro techi advice from Steve will give me a charged up leisure battery and the relay taking a trigger from the VSR lets the fridge operate while the engine is running. No mucking about in the fuse box or cofusticating the engine computer. That and confirmation from Clive that the same signal will do the business to give the engine running signal to the EC155 means it all knits together.

RESULT !!!

D-Day .... thats Delivery Day :) ... and electrical gloom.

So the fun starts on 17th Oct when the van is delivered.

I am currently tearing my hair out trying to decide which way to go on the electrics front.

I fancy the Sargent EC155 Power Supply Unit its neat and tidy all in one box with a nice control panel.

But the tech support line dude says that I cant run it with a Voltage Sensing Relay and I need a traditional relay for the split charge and as a trigger to the EC155 to isolate the camper 12v cuircuits while the engine is running. Now other folks say the traditional relay on a T5 is a pain needing connections to the alternator circuit and into the "engine running" trigger in the van fuse box or somewhere in the wiring loom. Get it wrong and the engine management computer starts to complain.

Roof and doors - Drivelodge & Jasmine

Well we went out for a drive today to visit a couple of the businesses that are going to be part of my conversion.

• Drivelodge
• Jasmine

Now I know I could just hand over the van to a company like Drivelodge for them to do the full bespoke conversion but there is just something special about getting in there and doing it for yourself. It gives you such a sense of involvement and ownership. Anyway - Drivelodge will be putting on the high top, roof light, side windows in the roof and Fiamma awning. The innards I will be doing.

And what about Jasmine ? Well my plan is for Vinyl Wrapped furniture in the van. I first came across this when I saw some pictures of a van with a contoured worktop with rolled edge that looked like granite and it was stunning. A bit more digging and I found these guys The Cutting Room and their prices seemed good but it’s a fair drag to travel from Yorkshire to Cambridge just to look at a door. Then Steve, a fellow converter (and joiner by trade) mentioned Jasmine near Wakefield.

Imagine my surprise as I explained my reason for visiting when Phil said "Oh yes we do them what kind of van? T5? Yes no problem we have a template right here. Would you like it in lightweight ply ?"

So we came away with a pack of swatches so we can choose the finish. First thought are platinum ash or pastel oak, both very pale timber effect with a bluey grey fleck in the grain to tone in with silver paint, and greys and blues in the upholstery department.

Putting your money where your mouth is ....

Well we've gone and done it !

After owning VW AutoSleepers Trident camper vans based on the T4 for over 6 years it was time to upgrade.


We just could not find the van that made us happy. First choice would have been an Auto Sleeper Trident on the T5 like this ....


Sure is smart :)


But we could not find one that was fault free. Leaking windows staining the sliding door fabric trim or the sliding door plastic window surround rubbing the paint work . We travelled miles and miles looking for one over 6 months and eventually decided to build our own.


Now that decision was not instant ... we jumped backwards and forwards (Trident or DIY) many times and while reading forums and many other blogs and build project sagas I slowly costed out the project. The van had to be nearly new (2 years old or 3 max) to make it worthwhile and eventually decided that a new van was the way to go.

So after much more soul searching and looking at more Tridents the order was placed. Currently we are waiting delivery and expect it early October .... then the fun starts !


This will be a record of the fun and games, triumphs and disasters ( for I am sure there will be some) of my camper van conversion project.


Project completion deadline is to holiday in May 2010. Brave I know to commit at such an early date for an out door DIY project just before the dark nights and winter months but hey .... if you dont know where you are going how will you know when you have arrived ?!

So follow me on my journey and who knows you might even give it a go yourself !