Van crew - assemble

[blutarsky]

Just now, SighMo said:

Only meant the camper van bit. Since I bought my circular saw and watched a bit of You Tube I've transformed the house and garden... 😉

That was more aimed at Quark… 

[blutarsky]

…

Edited July 29, 2021 by blutarsky
Triple post

[blutarsky]

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Edited July 29, 2021 by blutarsky
Triple post

[blutarsky]

21 hours ago, ian the worm said:

Nice shop there. 

And CAD (cardboard aided design).

Here’s a full pic of my old man’s “shed” - he built it in his back garden. It’s 7m x 4m - massive. 
 

He’s got far more kit than he needs considering he’s a woodworking hobbyist. 
You’ll see a grinder (he hasn’t heard of Nick Cave so jokes to that effect are lost on him), pillar drill, chop saw, band saw, another pillar drill, lathe and table saw. 

[funkychick2007]

Wow!! Thats a proper shed and more!! I agree with @Quark this thread is fascinating watching it all come together!! 
 

[Quark]

34 minutes ago, blutarsky said:

That was more aimed at Quark… 

Can we fuck it right up?

YES WE CAN!

[ian the worm]

Going for a test camp this weekend. More photos later.  But here is the final costs…..

Van £1350

Conversion £1089

Total £2439

Breakdown of conversion costs……

[blutarsky]

Finished the ceiling this afternoon, with trim to go on in future and hide the flaws! 
The gap on the left is intentional - this will be covered by overhead cupboards. 

Edited July 29, 2021 by blutarsky

[ian the worm]

Very nice. 

[ian the worm]

Did someone say they wanted photos?

Empty hoovered floor

Ceiling done

 

Close enough

 

Just a few little lights

 

 

Edited July 29, 2021 by ian the worm

[ian the worm]

How lush does this look

[funkychick2007]

13 minutes ago, ian the worm said:

How lush does this look

Love it!! And put together so quickly!! 👍🏻

[ian the worm]

7 weeks since I bought it. Mostly weekend and lunchtime work. I’ve really enjoyed it. For once I decided not to scrimp and save and bodge through on the cheep. So when I needed a thing, I would buy the thing. (Also helps that my parents contributed a lot of money for something else, which came in cheep, so there was unspent funds available). 

[DarrenVonBoathook]

14 hours ago, blutarsky said:

Just the silver bubble wrap. I’ll get a picture. 

That looks like a great solution. Thanks

[blutarsky]

8 hours ago, DarrenVonBoathook said:

That looks like a great solution. Thanks

Who knows how effective it’ll be. 

[deebeedoobee]

To go with our blue sky ceiling we have fields too

[blutarsky]

9 hours ago, deebeedoobee said:

To go with our blue sky ceiling we have fields too

Worthy farm cows? 
 

I’ve got my waste water tank attached this afternoon, but hit a snag with the fresh as my van has a non-standard anti-roll bar attached to the rear axle which is stopping the tank slotting neatly in where it should. Very frustrating 😡 

Hopefully I can still fit it there and just have it hang lower than it should and on a bit of an angle - it will still be above axle height and right next to it. I’ll only lose a very small amount of tank capacity with the angle as each castellated section has a breather hole. Fingers crossed 🤞🏻 

Waiting to hear back from the manufacturer on it too. 

I also fitted all the LPG attachments to my gas tank, ready to mount it under the van. Really annoyed that a kit marketed as ‘ready to go’ needed an hour of assembly before I could even think about mounting it. 

Edited July 30, 2021 by blutarsky

[Smeble]

Just starting the planning for  a van build to travel in Africa for a couple of years. At the moment we are thinking 110 Land Rover with a pop top and basic sink and hob plus storage inside, although roof tent and drawer storage in the back is another option. It’s something my wife and I have wanted to do for a good few years now. We have done group overland trips in Africa, and elsewhere, but want the freedom that comes with doing it yourselves.

essentially the trip will be in 2 parts, Europe to Cape Town down the west coast and then Cape Town to Alexandria up the east coast (ish). The only issue with finishing in Alexandria is issues with getting the vehicle home, you are surrounded by Libya on one side and then the Middle East on the other, there are ferry’s to Turkey but they are cargo only so we would have to put the vehicle on one of these and then fly to meet it in turkey.

 

[ian the worm]

Sounds like a great plan. How exciting. I assume you have a decent build budget and a half year or so for the trip?

[blutarsky]

4 hours ago, Smeble said:

Just starting the planning for  a van build to travel in Africa for a couple of years. At the moment we are thinking 110 Land Rover with a pop top and basic sink and hob plus storage inside, although roof tent and drawer storage in the back is another option. It’s something my wife and I have wanted to do for a good few years now. We have done group overland trips in Africa, and elsewhere, but want the freedom that comes with doing it yourselves.

essentially the trip will be in 2 parts, Europe to Cape Town down the west coast and then Cape Town to Alexandria up the east coast (ish). The only issue with finishing in Alexandria is issues with getting the vehicle home, you are surrounded by Libya on one side and then the Middle East on the other, there are ferry’s to Turkey but they are cargo only so we would have to put the vehicle on one of these and then fly to meet it in turkey.

 

I’m incredibly jealous of that plan. Will put it on my bucket list. 
 

I’ve spent today attaching the LPG tank to the van, and fitting various attachments. Have also fabricated some extra long hook bolts so I can attach the fresh water tank in a non-standard fashion. 
Started slapping paint on the ceiling too. Got to order a bunch of electrical and plumbing components tonight. 
Whale water heater is the next job, which I’ll hopefully get done on Wednesday. 
 

[guypjfreak]

Have you thought about having air suspension... Its Great and lifts your rear up just that little bit higher.. Plus makes for a lovely drive.. 

[blutarsky]

9 minutes ago, guypjfreak said:

Have you thought about having air suspension... Its Great and lifts your rear up just that little bit higher.. Plus makes for a lovely drive.. 

May add it at some point but on a budget at the moment! 

[ian the worm]

Sunday breakfast post swim frothy coffee in Southbourne (Bournemouth). 

My two night trip was fantastic. I so love what I’ve made. I’ve now got a medium size job list of finishing off and a few niggles and snags. Perfectly doable. 

Then I hit Scotland next Wednesday. 
 

 

 

[Avalon_Fields]

6 hours ago, Smeble said:

Just starting the planning for  a van build to travel in Africa for a couple of years. At the moment we are thinking 110 Land Rover with a pop top and basic sink and hob plus storage inside, although roof tent and drawer storage in the back is another option. It’s something my wife and I have wanted to do for a good few years now. We have done group overland trips in Africa, and elsewhere, but want the freedom that comes with doing it yourselves.

essentially the trip will be in 2 parts, Europe to Cape Town down the west coast and then Cape Town to Alexandria up the east coast (ish). The only issue with finishing in Alexandria is issues with getting the vehicle home, you are surrounded by Libya on one side and then the Middle East on the other, there are ferry’s to Turkey but they are cargo only so we would have to put the vehicle on one of these and then fly to meet it in turkey.

 

Ace! We have two friends who are cycling down Africa right now, Belgium to Turkey first, now done Cairo to Kenya, next stop Uganda. I love these intrepid people who do these adventures. What an amazing trip you have planned, best of luck.

[blutarsky]

The Whale Expanse water heater is now on - slung immediately behind the rear axle, and poking the hot water feed up into our mini garage. 

Ceiling is painted. 

Currently cutting a hole on the side for the chemical toilet to be emptied through. 

Pics when finished for those interested. 

If I can also just have a rant in this safe space - if you’re a company selling hugely expensive components and marketing them as “complete kits - just attach and go”, and the first page of the installation guide says “make sure to use M8 bolts with nyloc nuts”, then would it kill you to include those nuts and bolts as part of the “complete kit”. 
The number of times I’ve started a job and immediately had to stop and go to a hardware shop is fucking killing me.