A few thoughts from someone who's been doing heaps of planning, but no actual living yet: - I would definitely put a Maxxair fan in the middle if you're cooking in the van. You want that stuff actively sucked out. It also turns on automatically if van gets too hot. - I didn't see heating in your budget? I would consider a diesel air heater. No gas required. A bit pricey, but isn't it cold in the UK?! - Vapour Barrier - can you really seal the entire van? Due to nooks and crannies I reckon it's almost impossible. Better to have breathable insulation (like the recycled plastic stuff you got) and keep the van warm and ventilated. I made a video about my insulation, see it on my channel. - You could always add a pressurised roof canister shower later, especially if you're using during summer mostly. Cool video, great to see other plans.
Coming round to the idea of a fan from the outset, probably the fiamma but will look at others. Heating is most likely going to be diesel and have allowed space for this to be added in the future. Short term we will just be fair weather campers anyway! I am keen to install vapour barrier as breathable in a van is not really breathable considering there is a always a cold metal skin. Will look into this further once we have made a start. Having spent years dealing with both breathable and vapour barriers in the house reno I hope we can transfer some of those methods across. Lots top think about anyway, looking forward to it!
Excellent series. As others have said; love the attention to detail. I stress over details. And I tend to be a perfectionist. I learned valuable information on the insulation methods. Many thanks!
Very cool. We are undertaking a Dodge Promaster conversion along the same lines, we needed to sleep four but my wife did not want to have a conversion bed and we are looking at a bunk style in the back. We might be slightly ambitious in that we want a wet bathroom but seeing your plans really gives me hope we can pull this off. Good luck. I subscribed and I will look for other videos to see how you progressed. Good Luck sir!
Haha! Happy days, we're moving onto second van conversion and have settled on MWB relay/duc/boxer. Had come to exactly the same conclusion re toilets. Space killer and too much plumbing to go wrong! Love the videos, especially this topic! Thanks
Blimey you are so organised, found your channel now you are into vans - If it was me - given this is England - and you have a clear nearside - I would put the portapotty in a say 2ft * 18 inch full height cupboard - a wet room with waterproof base where you can hang coats wellies etc just inside the side door - It would also help beakup the site line on that side. It could easily made removeable (as could most of your units) if you really wanted. Also on that clear wall - murphy bed bunks - with say a murphy bench/table/worksurface between the lower and upper bunks - which folds into the wall. Another tip - Aquastop 5mm foam - stick to back of ply - insulates, vapour barrier and cuts down panel resonance. And for completeness reflectix then plastic insulation then reflectix to make condensation retention impossible. (I know it's not reflectix here but it's a good name :)) Reflectix and Aquastop are reasonably priced. The secret of Van insulation is layers, especially if your cash strapped. You cannot putup too much detail into youtube van videos which will grow and grow - look at rickvanman's original - now 2.3 million views
Hi guys, just a bit of info on weights , if you can keep it ultra light ie under 3t and apply to dvla to reclassify as camper, you can do car speed limits. .. I'm aiming for 3.5 t as most of my vacations will be in Ireland Oh and your tourneo seats and rails are just under 100kg for the set. K.
4000 is an extremely good price. Here in the Netherlands I am looking at around at least triple that for an l4h3 van. You got me inspired though so I’ll keep on looking…
Hi buddy, many salvage yards have used caravans / parts for sale for much lower cost. I regularly see used caravans on local classified sites/ ebay etc.. for £300-400, already fitted with cookers ovens, water heaters, windows, electrics etc etc... even just buy and old caravan and salvage all you can from it, might be a good source of lower cost parts for your project. Looking forward to see it !
Yes had looked at that route. However as we already have much of the materials for the cabinets and paneling it would only be hardware we might find second hand. Oven maybe but fridge we want a modern 12v compressor rather than a 3 way. Did think it might be good for things like door pulls, stays and other small bits that are caravan style.
Good stuff ! excellent choice of van too, better than transit for reliability, not that transits are bad, just not quite as good as they good be considering the price of them :)
Adventure vehicle... Love it. New subscriber from the States. Love your work ethic, forward thoughts and planning. Your talent could be a side business in the van camper/adventure vehicle business.
Leisure battery and recharge circuit, electric hookup for camping site use, Van heating, with kids your going to need a toilet solution as well. Don't forget to get a suitable fire extinguisher. You are probably going to need a crap ton of other stuff as well.
If you are going to be using this van for going on campsites I would think about including 240v hook up to save abit of wear on your battery plus you can also use things like hair driers, fan heaters, microwaves ect without having a huge inverter. Also you can then get a fridge that runs on mains and 12v
Yes, may look into it again as it does leave a bit more scope for small appliances as you have mentioned. Wanted to avoid a hook up point visible on the van side though so may look at options.
I've been watching all your videos on the Van Conversion and wondered if you have installed a refillable Gas system for LPG refills at the station as opposed to having to swap out the bottle etc..? Love all the videos Tim - keep them coming
Have you worked out roughly how much everything's going to weigh? It's uprising how quick everything adds up and also distributing it properly across the van. Looks like it's going to be a nice van once finished. Good luck
Good video! Something I’d very much like to do. You got your van for £4000!? I can’t seem to find a smaller one for anywhere near that price. I also have to find one that meets ULEZ as I live inside the A406. You’ve done very well!
Great design, I love the idea of permanent beds as well. I wonder though, why does anyone buy cravan style fridges? They are expensive and remarkably, not very energy efficient. You can buy a high quality domestic small fridge for under £300 that uses 40-60 watts. Even after loses in the inverter, they are efficient, quite and cheap. Spend another $150 on a solar panel and you are way better off
HI, I meant a domestic compressor type fridge. High quality, small units can be very quiet and still cost less than the expensive caravan specific units.
The Restoration Couple a workshop tour. I guess it's not finished yet (house and van being the priority) so how about a workshop build along? It'd totally be in keeping with your diy and restoration vibe 👍🏻 (hoping for a multiple Video project on it)
TheEDCchannel the workshop is just a plan waiting to happen. If budget allowed the concrete could be poured tomorrow. 🙁 oh well plenty else to get on with. A tour of the current garage workshop setup might be worth it or at least a walk through of the new workshop plans. Some tool videos coming up soon too. 👍
Suggestion: add on video descriptions, the material that you use. All the material so will be easy to understand what you are using and if we need to buy get the right ones. Thx
Just found your channel as I’m looking into van conversions. Love what you guys are doing. Can I ask where you got your sketch up model of your van from? Keep up the ace work 👍🏼
Great vids, I'm pinching all your ideas as I'm just about to start work on a Mastervan. ;0) The approach to the roof is an ace idea. My van is a LWB and will be just for me and a GXXR 750 motorbike which will pull out on rails for loading and repairs Be good to know what Sikaflex sealant you used and where. Also screws - any particular brand, sources.
Have you consider that you may want somewhere to store the kids carseats/booster as you are using the travelling seats as your seating area? They can get in the way a little for us in our dayvan.
Caz Gallimore hoping they will fit in the front foot wells once the front seats are swivelled as there will be nothing else there. To be honest they may be needed so they can sit at the table at the right height anyway.
I thought I might point you at these people. Just a thought. www.surejust.co.uk/surecal They make calorfyers? for boats and camper vans. Basically this tank takes a feed of hot water from the engine coolant system, I guess you would tap in after the heater matrix for the cab.... and in a similar way to a domestic hot water system, it runs through an internal pipe coil inside the tank and heats your 'domestic' hot water. The new tanks have a thermostatic valve on the output so it mixes cold, from your inboard supply and hot, at that point just outside the tank, so you don't get scalding water to the tap and it keeps more hot water 'in' the tank itself. You may need a bigger expansion tank, the company will advise you and they are very good to deal with. I have seen this work using the output hot water from a canal boat engine and the new ones will stay hot for a day and tepid for another. If you had a 30 litre tank it would mean piping hot water for possibly a day and a half, depending on use, each time you drive far enough to heat the tank up. On the boat just running the engine on tick over for half an hour heated a 40 liter enough for 2 showers and all the daily dish washing. With it set up right you could use the thermostatic valve to set a shower temp ( scalding for the ladies and 'normal' for the blokes ) and have a shower 'tent' outside the van if you want to go remote camping. As for the fridge and solar. I would recommend at least 200 watts if you are having a fridge. These people recon their fridges are so efficient they will last 2 to 3 days on a 90 amp hour battery but I don't personally believe that. You will kill your batteries in short order with a fridge. www.penguinfrigo.co.uk/12volt-fridges-and-freezers-for-campervan-motorhome-and-rvs/ You can get semi flexible panels( I suggest these because you can use 'silkaflex' I think it is to literally glue the panel to the roof of the van, anti theft. Although having an air gap under the panel helps cool it and maintain efficiency ( they don't like to be too hot )) now for a hundred bucks and make sure you get an MPTT? controller, not a cheap one because they will get so much more usable charge from the sun we do get. Also if you plan to expand makes sure the MPTT controller you get will accommodate the extra panels. The real benefit of an MPTT controller is that you can wire your panels in series, use thinner wires because you have a higher voltage and still get more out of the panels. This chap explains it better than I can ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-32QLjBj62pw.html part 4 of this series is very helpful too ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE--kQr85t8u_Y.html
Thanks for all the info, will look into it all. Plan is for around 250w solar with MPTT, 2 x 100ah batteries, inverter and then try and keep to just 12v system. Just need to decide if it just worth adding 240v hookup at the same time.
Sounds like a good plan. I know nothing about 240 hook up gear. I assume it would, or could be, one from an old caravan which would charge the 12v and feed sockets inside 240, but be separate sockets from the inverter sockets/outlets. That way you don't risk loops and magic smoke. Good luck :)
)0oops... I thought this was a video about "How TO" ... Seeing it would have made more since to me... Good luck ... and God Bless... Do you have another video Showing how you made the van?
Hi, did I miss something on your phase I running total I only got a total of £1100 not £1200. A suggestion if I may, links to some of the items you mention would be helpful as I am sure you have done considerable research to arrive at your choices 🤓
good insight into planning, we are looking for a citroen L4 . i have an L3 for work. cant find any blank Templates on sketchup the ones on there seem to be left hand drive. did you do your drawing from measurements you took yourself like greg virgoe did
Hi great informal videos. I was wondering where did you get the van dimensions print off so that you could draw in place the furniture? I would like one for a ford. Is there a site,? TIA. Paul.
Hi, following your videos with interest and doing a bit of planning myself, here's a problem I found, a standard mattress is 6' 3"! too big for the van! what's your thoughts on this?
Hi, great video. I'm at the early planning stage. Im still looking for a van but everything seems very high mileage. I intend to live mostly in the van so planning is really important. When researching the insulation, did you have any concerns about moisture getting trapped in a soft insulation compared with something like celotex, or is that not an issue?
Hi Mate; great video. Can you tell me where you got the plans for the van, or where can I find these on the net. I like your concept, and since there's two of us, I like your concept.
SUBBED!!!! Great walkthrough. Similar to my line of thought. I am trying to find some drawings like those for a sprinter/crafter; where did you find them? Also, the CAD model, did you create that yourself or download it from somewhere? Thanks.
#Restoration couple. please remove this post if you think its inappropriate, I shall not be in the least offended . My intention is to offer a little personal experience to those that are posting messages asking for advice .BRs Some campervan designs make the classic mistake of giving far too much space to fixed single purpose use where you spend the least amount of time ...ie the kitchen . How much time a day do we actually spend in the kitchen at home ? its likely to be even less in a campervan ! Far too little thought and space is often given to where you would spend up to 15+ hours a day or more especially when the weather is foul and you're stuck in the van all day. ie comfortable seating where you can spend the whole day with good daylight, views out of the van ,and a table for eating, games reading surfing the net etc . With such a small space it is vital to utilise all the space you have which means spaces have to be multi purpose. Having a permanently made double bed might look great but it monopolises a huge proportion of available space which cannot be used for much else during the daytime. Having plenty of comfortable seating that converts quickly and easily into beds maximises the use of available space . A single long bench seat for example can also be a handy single day bed as well as part of a double bed for night time Always incorporate the cab space into the living area wherever possible by fitting swivel seats and curtain track around the windscreen . This can add up to a massive 1/4 of otherwise wasted van space into your living area making it seem more spacious, lighter and less claustrophobic. It also provides an extra 2x comfortable reclining seats, often with armrests. It concerns me to see DIY campervan layouts and designs that give little or no thought to how one intends to actually use and live in the van and often more thought given to how a nice kitchen or a trendy 'rock & roll' (uncomfortable) bed can be wedged into a tiny van at the expense of comfortable seating , natural lighting and views out of the van .Nobody uses their toilet for number 2s .......its just for pee.... so think about using a Thetford porta potti rather than building a toilet /shower cubicle which uses a huge amount of space where you spend less than an 30 minutes a day. Campervans have been around for over 50 years now and I can guarantee that you will not come up with a unique layout that hasn't already been thought of and used so don't waste time trying to reinvent the wheel . Instead spend some time thinking about how you will spend your time in your van throughout a typical 24 hours. Then have a look through other campervans on ebay and in campervan shows etc and use a layout design that has already been worked out that will fit your size van . Spend some time thinking about theming your scheme using materials, colour, and texture etc so the finished result looks like its been well thought out and not a DIY hotchpotch of components thrown together . Hope these tips are helpful to all those planning a first campervan.
We will have a toilet within one of the units for emergencies but as we will be using campsites most of the time a full wc/shower was just too much to cram in. Having three rear seats limits us slightly on how much we can put on both sides of the van.
Thanks for the answer. We are only 3, but same times we like to park outside campsites. so have a shower will be great Other question is the size of the beds, i have 1,82m hight, do you believe is possible with your layout? Thx
I hate to be one of those people, so I'll try to be respectful and polite... But I'm so sorry this video made me really really sleepy within the first 3 minutes. I dont know if its the speed of the voice or what? But I dont want to judge prematurely maybe its just my mood right now. I'll give the video amd channel a another try tomorrow because for sure I admire and appreciate the work it takes to film, edit, and post. I know for sure I could never be that brave enough. I would fear my own comment section lol. Trolls are means.
Are the lisp somekind of UK dialectal thing? I dont mean to offend annyone. But it seems that people from the UK very often have a lisp? I almost never here it from other nations. Or is it just a coincident?
I watched a video prior to this on another subject from UK and he also had a lisp and I've seen a couple more this week and then theres Jamie Oliver. :) I actually find it quiet charming! Forgot to say thank you for your videos! Keep up the good work!
Well I am not going to put two kitchens in there so it has to go on one of the sides! :-) The batteries, storage and some of the water tanks are on the opposite side so not too concerned.
