Rebranded from h3r34thebanter Hello I'm Dave and this is my rebranded channel. Formerly h3r34thebanter but now Playing in Trafic. Here I will be sharing details of my life with my DIY Renault Trafic Campervan as well as any other things that I fancy sharing. Hope you enjoy, please rate, subscribe and comment.
Email for business enquiries - playingintrafic@gmail.com
Great build,I’m just starting my build was wondering what did you do to cover the top corners where you removed the top section of the bulkhead,as it is shaped and if I put a flat bit of shaped ply I’ll have a gap between the cab headliner and ply wood. Thanks
@@riley135 Thanks. All the best with your build. I just left those bits uncovered as they are hidden behind my cab curtains. I didnt see any real benefit to boxing them in. Atb Dave
Hi Dave, this was very helpful thanks as I'm about to do the same to my 2014 Vivaro and was scratching my head about how i would do it! What size conduit did you use and did you use it all the way along the inside? Thanks!
@@strousdrummingworld8520 Hey thanks for the comment, glad it helped. As far as conduit, I can’t remember exactly what I ordered but its split conduit and measures around 13.5mm external diameter and about 10mm internal. My cable is 16mm2. I didn’t use it all the way along, really just anywhere the cable is exposed or running anywhere it was likely to rub on any sharp edges. I bought loads though and probably used more than I needed but it was fairly inexpensive. Atb Dave
@@playing_in_trafic Thanks Dave, never tackled anything like this before but ordered a kit to crack on and give it a go. Did you find it easy enough to route through the roof liner? Considering that or under the sidestep.
@@strousdrummingworld8520 Route through roof lining was dead easy and you can then go straight into the factory loom protector over the top of the sliding door to get further down the back of the van. I then crossed over in conduit through one of the roof ribs halfway down the van to get my cable across to drivers side.
@@playing_in_trafic excellent dave thankyou i will give this a go. How did you mount the inline fuse in the bonnet from starter battery? A bit worried about drilling into the van!
@strousdrummingworld8520 Sorry I missed seeing this comment. The conduit holding the cable is mounted tightly with cable ties as such the fuse holder is pretty solidly held in place and can’t move. So I didn’t see the need to use any additional fixings on it.
They are made by Photonic Universe and are fantastic panels and fit perfectly. They are horrendously expensive though. This is link to the most recent 210 Watt panel ebay.us/tkcL0H Atb Dave
Thank you for putting this up. Took clock off to gain access to clip. All good. Made a puller to get steering wheel off as didn’t want to damage threads plus I have no friends to help 😂😢 ps got stick from eBay £12.
Thanks for the comment. Glad the video assisted. I actually used a makeshift puller the last time I did this job, deffo helps. Great price on the new stalk. Atb Dave
Now this is an interesting find! I just recently got myself a sweeper after so many years of raking grass or just let it lay there... The usual brands are quite expensive, but a low price firm in Sweden, called Biltema, have these rather inexpensive sweepers at about 1/4 of the price. No info on how it would perform and the quality etc, but for that money it was worth a try. Imagine my surprise when I noticed this one. It is the same. Even the yellow sticker is the same :)
Hi mate do you no if the automatic trafic's are reliable ? I need a reliable auto van from 2016 onwards as I live in a ulez zone . The wet belts have put me off going for a ford
@@Billy88London Sorry I don’t have any experience with the automatics so can’t comment on them meaningfully. I can however say that my Trafic has been and continues to be fantastic. Only issues for me in the last 6 years have been an exhaust Nox sensor and an EGR valve. I’d happily get another Trafic when the time comes. Atb Dave
@@playing_in_trafic thankyou , electrics confuse me so much so I'm thinking of getting the ecoflow 4000 watt power station that just came out. IL be using alot tho that's the thing 😂 plus IL have my girlfriend a few nights a week which she will no doubt use hair dryers etc
I have now installed my new stalk and the indictors work, but on one side the indicators don't cancel automatically after turning a corner. Does anyone know if generally this is something on the replacement stalk or is there something else I need to look at ? thanks
So I've just found out off my Dad that this car has the same issue with the indicator not cancelling when turning left. Dunno why he never mentioned it earlier. 🙄 I rarely drive the car so didn't know it wasn't working. I'm not sure how the self cancelling feature works but if I find out I will let you know. Not sure if anyone else is having the same issue. Atb Dave
Hi great video, what are you doing when you are putting a thin line marking up where the steering wheel goes on the spline? I cant see what you are doing ?
Thanks Robert. I just used a thin sharpie pen to scribe a line across both the wheel and the shaft. Doesn’t necessarily need to be thin just a mark across it that you can line up later.
Thanks. I have really enjoyed my first year with this bike. It's been great. As for belt drive, it's not something I have any experience of and actually don't know of many that are belt drive. Atb Dave
Just had our first week long trip with this fridge. Our biggest issue was the door compartments. They arent big enough to fit mik, and even if they were it would have been jo good as you only have to breathe on them and they fall off! Worked fine for us temperature wise. Our last fridge (came with the van and very old -died) was a Waeco CRX50 and build quality was MASSIVELY superior. You get what you pay for i guess!
Ha, I followed these instructions and it went smoothly, other than a few uncertain moments, like not having a 19mm socket, only a 21mm socket. I found it much better than an earler video where the bloke said there was no need to disconnect the battery as he had never had an airbag go off. for the sake of that possibility, considering how much work otherwise is concerned, it was not an issue disconnecting the battery. Further, I had a go at looking at the contacts on the old one and determined that its probably futile trying to clean them as I could not even get to them. I only paid £21 for my replacement, but recalled a few years back they were £60 odd, so I assume hey have gone down in price. However, on another note, I sat on the fuel pump in the back whilst fixing something and the metal cover popped in and snapped the plastic fuel line. I glued it back with superglue but figured that would not last long, so theres $30 gone on that, simply because I wanted to fiddle with something that didn't need fiddling with. I did think I would have to write off the car after the indicator stopped working, assuming that it would be really difficult to fix, but job done.
That's fantastic to hear the video helped save the car from being written off. £21 was a bargain price. Yeah is a bit futile to clean contacts as they dont last long before you need to do it again. Great to read your comment. Thanks Atb Dave
Thanks for the video and pointing out details that I originally missed (like the loops and that you can store the bag under it). I just bought the same chairs at Aldi in Wisconsin. My only issue with it is if I sit in them a little more upright then I feel the bottom support rod. I'm also slightly concerned with rusting but for $15 USD, it's hard to beat it. Cheers
Thanks for commenting. I had not thought about rust. I will need to keep that in mind as I often camp in wet and windy weather so it will most definitely get tested. Hopefully feeling the bottom support rod doesn’t become too much of a pain for you. Certainly worth taking a $15 chance on anyway. Atb Dave
Good bit of kit that, handy for just recharging all your gadgets and powering odd bits round camp or just putting that bit of extra charge in the bike. Good stuff, good explanatory video, like your short one too of it powering your lights etc.
When reviewing kyaks I am leaning more to a rigid sit on so the that has arisen is the size of kyak a lwb can fit in what is your view assuming the lower bulk head us kept in place etc thanks again Alan
Well my biggest rigid boat is 2.8 metres and it fits in without difficulty. I'd guesstimate a 3 metre+ boat would fit utilising the underseat pass through. It will allow a 4.2 metre length of timber etc to pass under the seat but as a boat widens up from the ends it reduces available length.
Managed to get an OE quality one from Parts in Motion in the UK for just £33. Febi Steering Column Switch 175142. Possibly the best part of our car now 🙂
wish i read some of these comments about temp issues, before getting mine. Very similar issues. After some testing whilst leisure battery is being charged, I've noticed that when you select either fridge or freezer in the settings, it will focus on ONLY getting that one to the correct value (the last one you set). It ends up with my freezer dropping to -30 sometimes (trying to get fridge down to temp) or the fridge staying around 8 (when its set to 4) because the freezer has hit the correct level, so it turns the compressor off. Doesn't seem to do both temps individually, which is a major issue
@@davidmason4921 not really, no. The supplier went back to the manufacturer Alpicool and they aren't too sure. Not great QC from them. Not sure if I'm going to keep it and hack around with the temps or return it
Ok...thanks for the reply I'm going to leave mine running today without the freezer divider in to see if I can actually get the fridge to cool down enough to make it usable
@@davidmason4921 if you set the fridge temp last then it will (mine does) stay on until it hits that temp, albeit the freezer temp goes v low during the process. Once at temp, my hack is to then set freezer temp to what you want and it will keep both around the correct level.. ish. Let me know how you get on
@@chatlow I'll give that a go and let you know....I guess that's when you've got the freezer divider in then as mine was at minus 30 yesterday which is when I turned it off, maybe if I'd left it on it would have chilled the fridge then. Thanks
Would like to ask a couple more questions please what in your opinion would need to change in the design flow if you had gone for a mwb it’s hypothetical but I am interested in what your thoughts are taking into account I would use it as as fishing van I could go for an inflatable kayak instead of a moken hard boat ? I am 5 ft 8 so would still want to be able to lounge on the long bench . What was the main driver for going for a 2018 van finally what would be a flexible budget for me to consider to achieve similar to your build I assume at some point you could retro fit e hook up ? Thanks again great watching ps had a good week last week in the trossachs fishing. Great area for van and kyak 👍
In the case of a trafic the smaller version to this would be the swb a total length 5m. This lwb is only 5.4m so not a huge difference externally. Inside however it would probably mean doing away with, or severely cutting down the cupboard at the end of the bed. Not an option for me as I needed that for the fridge. Also would require a bit of size reduction on the kitchen but could easily be done. I didn't want to compromise so went for the bigger van. On that I opted for a new van, at the time, as I plan on keeping and using it for the long term. I wasnt prepared to spend my time and money on an older van that may develop faults quite soon after all the effort of the conversion. In terms of budget it could be done easily between £2-3K. Possibly less if you shop around on marketplace etc for bits. Yes e hookup could easily be retro fitted. I have used a tent hookup cable, basically a caravan hookup cable with a couple of protected sockets(and a battery charger) run through the window a couple of times but that was before the solar was added. I often take my inflatable kayak away on trips. Stores in back behind front seat when travelling and on the passenger seat at night. Works out great. Last time I used it was actually in the Trossachs on Loch Drunkie. It is a lovely area. Atb Dave
Ah drunkie lovely we where on Achray The 3 locks drive is just great for you guys thanks again for your prompt reply I take on board the difference in length and the benefits as you say 👍
Really enjoyed your 2 videos of the build and solar panel etc do you think this lay out would suit for a fishing camper for up to say 5 days away ? I have had a look at a few basic builds like yours and totally get the point of not going overboard on cost /budget The other issue is height and standing room is the van higher than standard and are you happy without a pop top Thanks for sharing and happy camping
Thanks for watching, glad you enjoyed the videos. I think it would be ideal for a fishing van. This layout works great for me. I have camped in it many times for extended periods and it was very comfortable. High roof would be nice but I prefer being able to park just anywhere over being able to stand up. I’ve thought about a pop top but for me it is an unnecessary expense. Atb Dave
Hope a few additional thoughts on my experience help. I bought this bike online so it needed a bit of assembly. I ran this with inner tubes and got a puncture on the first ride from a hawthorn needle. I think that tubeless might be the way to go. I have swapped to Schwalbe Marathon e-plus tires which I’m very happy with so far, although they look more suited to tracks and gravel than anything really challenging. No more punctures though even with inner tubes.
Ah yes the tyres that come on the bike are too lightweight in my opinion. I converted to tubeless after about a week and was still getting pinch flats. After plugging about 5 sidewall punctures I opted to upgrade to the Specialized Ground Control Grid as they are a heavier tyre. Still run tubeless and it is deffo the way to go. Over winter I have picked up at least 20 thorn punctures, 7 in one ride and the sealant filled them all.
@@playing_in_trafic sounds like we have had a similar experience. Without this being an admission to anything however, I bet you didn’t strip your crank threads by putting the pedals on the wrong side!
@@davidr1431 Oh dear, no mine came with big red warning stickers to ensure the pedals went on correct sides. I've put together a few bikes too so knew to make sure. Hope it wasnt to much of a pain to sort. Atb Dave
Hey we all have our "moments" 😄 If you haven't removed damaged cranks already and they are the Praxis ones like mine. You just need the Allen key that fits and both loosen anticlockwise. It will appear to go loose then seem tight again, almost like it's cross threading. This is normal as they are self extracting cracks. Many other types of cranks need specific tools to remove but for these, the Allen bolt pushes the crank off. Hope all is well with the replacement and you can get out riding again soon. Atb Dave.
I have a 125cc dirt bike Has 5 wire stator 7-9v AC @ idle goes above 20v AC on throttle. Only getting 3v DC out of regulator. Tried 3 different regulators , grounding to frame and floating the ground with no sucess. Any suggestions?
very clear, i fiddled with electrical connectors for a few minutes as video didnt show where to apply pressure. This improved my indicators but I think they contacts in the plug are still damp and should have cleaned these when it was all apart .
You mention in the video that you wished the lock could be activated automatically rather than have to be through the app. For the benefit of people interested in this bike this option has more been added so that you can set it so that the bike locks automatically when switched off. I’m new to this bike but I’m already in love.
Great point. It is so much better since they sorted that. Activate it once through the app and now every time the bike turns off the lock is activated. Then just enter pin number to turn it back on. It's fantastic. Happy to hear you are loving the bike already. Atb Dave
Great video. I especially liked the tip about how you can exchange money that you already own for a bike that you don’t. As a result, my new Tero 4.0 EQ delivery is expected today and your video has kept me going in the meantime.
Thanks haha It's some novel thinking eh. 😄 Hopefully your bike arrives soon and it gives you as much freedom as mine has done. They are fantastic bikes. Atb Dave
Quick tip for anyone struggling to remove the little screw underneath. Using a no2 Phillips head (not pozi) locate the driver carefully in the head by feel. Give the back of the screwdriver a few little taps with a hammer, then push up firmly an turn the screw. Tapping will shock loose the thread.
Thank you. My mum's little C1 has the same fault. Needs MOT so I will attempt the cleaning to see if it cures it for now and order a new stalk. I thought it looked like I had to remove the wheel. Modern cars hu🤦♂️
