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Lets get a new campervan she said. Lets build a campervan, you can do it, she said. So in late January I sold a MWB Sprinter and bought an enormous Ducato Maxi in L4H3. I've spent most weekends and evenings since then vanning.
It was just a dirty panel van to start with
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Then it got windows, skylights and insulation
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A floor
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Holes in sides, floor and roof
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Bunk beds and a boot
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Bike boot shelves
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Fancy front seats and electrics
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I hate electrics
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More holes and a heater
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A kitchen
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Things started to take shape
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White painted metal began to disappear almost entirely
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Soft furnishings started to go in last weekend
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Just got a single A4 sheet of jobs to do before we leave on Sunday for month of continental family fun.
As a chap of advancing years 'continental fun' raised a smirk here. Van looks good.
Like that a lot.
More pictures please, is there a beer (or brew) in every pic as I can't find one in a few?
yellow!!!!!!!
🙂 fine effort sir hope it gives you plenty of miles and smiles
Excellent, Hope you finish it sufficiently for a decent trip.
Superb work!
Hoping to do the same (maybe not the H3) when funds allow - need to get a move on really as my boys are growing up fast.
Details on main double bed please?
Absolutely fantastic.
Excellent, thanks for sharing the project
Is that beer or champagne in the penultimate pic?
Great effort! I was firmly told by my other half that any home-made efforts would be far too amateurish so had to send ours off to a 'proper' van doing up place.
It is a large bottle of Leffe.
Some colour and soft furnishings going in now.
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Fantastic. I've just bought a 59 plate LWB Sprinter for the same shenanigans. I'll start a new thread soon. It's going to be a drawn out long drawn-out affair though and has to be built as a van that I can use in the week for my carpentry/ building business. With this in mind the ability to carry 8x4 sheets and long timbers poses it's own hurdles. For the rear I was thinking 2 single beds that fold up and away into the sides but form a double in the down position..
I'm not looking forward to the electrics
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The electrics are daunting. I bought a Sargent kit and discarded the split charge for a heavy duty one. It made the wiring more straight forward and slightly neater.
I would recommend lots of reading research and planning. I liked a guy called Deep Red Motorhomes well explained deliberations and Mike D of this parishes thread [url= http://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/family-friendly-bike-carrying-camper-build ]STW thread[/url]
At Dover waiting for ferry and then a slight change of plan as we are heading for Les Gets not Morzine.
Van as finished as it can be. Let the holidays begin!
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Like the way you've got the drill ready 😉
Bon voyage!
Rather worryingly the drill has replaced the beer! Great work though.
Doesn't everyone take a drilling holiday?
Cruised down to the Alps and stopped for a damilyswim in Lons le Saunier.
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No on Les Gets with an old Mtb buddy and going to hit the life and trails
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Really jealous. This time last year, I thought I'd be doing that.
Then I realised that vans were a bit dearer than I thought 🙁
Nice. Simple but effective, and full marks for speed - we've had ours 2.5 years and it's not finished 🙂 I like the plastic crate storage. Happy to have vaguely helped by proxy 😉
(Should probably update my own thread at some point...)
tymbian: Ours has a hatch under the bottom bunk and will still carry 4m lengths of timber. Ply sheets can be persuaded into the aisle via the side door (just). How many berths do you need? I did have all sorts of grand flip-up bunk/full-height bulkhead hatch ideas for carrying big stuff, but decided the need wasn't worth the effort 🙂
Alex: Get on with it 🙂
😀 How the hell did you find a van so cheap?
All the ones I see anywhere south of £7k have over 180,000 on the clock!
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/262406281207 - and you'd get a few hundred quid back selling on the ramp/winch/hand washer/etc 🙂
Now that's a van I'd like ????????
I haven't got £9,500 unfortunately 🙁
I'd also need another £2000+ on top to convert - I haven't got that either 🙂
How many shiny pennies on the interior ?
Cooker sink(hot water?) fridge heater oven/grill ??
Hoping to do something next year
Thats bloody brilliant!
If only I had the money to buy that and keep it running and/or the skills to do a refurb like that... Looks great! 🙂
Thanks for the nice comments.
The van is basic and to our needs, so no hot water or shower. It does have solar, hook up, full 12v and 240v, lpg underslung tank, underslung water tanks, fridge hob and sink.
Van was £4k and fit out probably £6k as it all adds up. In fact I would recommend a dull spreadsheet with build items and costs. A bit like a bike build the costs can quickly get quite high!
cheers for that tomaso , i had budgeted 8k for the fittings/fixtures so its good to see im ballpark .... but im having a heater as it will be used year round - im also having a pull out awning off the side - which is pricy for one that will last.
Showers have no place inside vans like this - theres not enough room(im aware that some others have done it ....but i would rather have my bikes inside) - if i get my hot water dream i MAY plumb an outlet up on the outside of the van what can be used as a shower..... or i may go simple with a solar shower.
Plenty of room for a washroom/shower and inside bike storage in a 6.4m van 🙂
Alex: Forgot the VAT, oops 🙁
It's a very annoying aspect of van purchasing 🙁Alex: Forgot the VAT, oops
This more the kind of thing you find in my price range:
https://www.gumtree.com/p/vans/ads/1181593270?EDID=Z8F9MS6-YH8Z0E-VFXBNG-CR3YIV-J91RCV-v1&CELLID=7334777&utm_source=savedsearches&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Daily&utm_content=GpA_month
You just need to keep your eyes peeled, I was looking for about 6 weeks when a LWB 59 plate Citroen Relay turned up on Gumtree on the other side of my village. 55k miles for £6500 with VAT paid. Didn't hang around! The AA history check is well worth the money also, I was surprised by the amount of written off vans!
ave seen your build mike D its very good but i want space 😀
A bear does shit in the woods around here 😀
Week 3 of 4 nearly over and having a great time. Now in the Cevennes in the gorges du Tarn.
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Not gotuch mountain biking done as I fell of a ladder the day before departure and goosed my little finger - it still looks a bit like a Cumberland sausage...
Very nice - always impressed when people have the skills to do something like that, as unfortunately I don't. We just got back from a 3 week motorhoming trip around Germany and France ourselves - always fun.
Last week of holiday and van has been great, even though my work was untested!
Gorges du Tarn are fabulous with some decent riding and great swimming.
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God damn I wish I had the manual skills to do something like that with that sort of finish.
Proper jealous, I keep looking at LWB/MWB vans and get converted but it's not cheap as you mentioned and that was doing it yourself.
Great to see you out and about in it!
We could do with an update from MikeD too!
how much did it cost to get that thing onto the continent ?
Not a camper (big MPV & caravan), we've paid as little as £29 each way. We prefer going in/out of Dunkirk, it always seems less hassle than Calais.
We didn't buy our ferry ticket until 3 days before we travelled when we knew we could definitely go! On the 28 July we paid £240 return for a vehicle measuring, including bike rack, 7 metres long and 2.9m tall.
The van was almost faultless and did 2,400 miles on 5 tanks of fuel at 33.6mpg. Slight immobiliser problem left us stranded until the recovery guys showed us how to reset it - which was a huge relief.
Everything inside worked perfectly and we had a great time.
Looking forward to using the vehicle in all seasons now we have one with decent insulation and a heater!