Ralph n Bevs...... Panel Van Conversion

[Terry]

Rear Doors.

These always look like "bodge" and it's tarted up van rather than a proper motorhome.

So why don't people remove the back doors and fit a permanent skin ? Hardly rocket science, it removes lots of places that can leak, be cold and drafty, can fit a nice window if needed. Less weight.

Simple Brian, the flexibilty of having the back doors far out weighs not keeping them for most builds --In the recent Transit build I have shut them off completely to make a wet room but there is still a gap at the bottom of around 7 ins tapering to around 3 ins at the top -you can store chairs tables cables etc etc surprising what you can fit in there --If converted and finished right then the back doors can and do look part of the conversion-some manufacturers need to learn this
terry

 

[DBK]

There are advantages to opening rear doors. Depending on layout of course it can make access to things like water pumps, 'fridge etc very easy. We can also enter our van through the loo, which can be useful when wet or if we have already made up the bed and been out to a pub.

 

[Wissel]

Hi Wissel,
What size insulation do you get in the roof space so it doesn't come below the van roof supports ?
Is it the same thickness all around the rest of the van ?

The reason i ask is....i just want to make sure i can get all the required insulation and floor / ceiling materials and still have a decent head clearance. The van i would like to go for has an overall internal height of 1.923mm.
I dont think i would do anything different to what you have done to the floor and ceiling.
What kind of clearance do you have at the highest point ?

I fitted 25mm Kingspan to almost all of my van and filled the gaps with fire retardant foam. This fits between the roof joists fine. On the floor I fitted 25mm battens as a frame with 12mm ply on top. I am 6ft exactly (1.83m) and can walk around my van without my head touching the lowest parts of the roof, the roof light blinds.

Before fitting the floor I fitted the underslung gas tank and water containers, whilst fitting the floor I added a couple of channels to feed water pipes from one side of the van to the other.

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One more quick question to all the funsters reading this is ...one of the options i have on the new van is reversing camera built into the rear brake light and then viewed on the radio 5" screen or reversing sensors.
Never had either, just wondered what your thoughts were

Like others have already said, I would go for after market cameras. I went with two on mine, one facing directly behind my van and one facing further down the road to act as a rear view mirror. I bought a kit off Ebay for about £60 (I think) that had the two cameras, all the wiring, and a 7" LCD screen. Works great.

If you do go for a Boxer it has a shelf above the windscreen that fits a 7" monitor above it perfectly (not sure a Ducato has this?). This keeps the screen out of sight from thieves and shields it from sunlight (think of looking at a mobile phone screen in direct sunlight).

 

[Minxy]

Threads like this should be banned ... I wanna do another conversion but hubby doesn't!!!!

 

[Ralph-n-Bev]

Threads like this should be banned ... I wanna do another conversion but hubby doesn't!!!!

You're more than welcome to help me build mine

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[Ralph-n-Bev]

There are advantages to opening rear doors. Depending on layout of course it can make access to things like water pumps, 'fridge etc very easy. We can also enter our van through the loo, which can be useful when wet or if we have already made up the bed and been out to a pub.

What you got there on the left hand side Devon ??
Looks like your van has its own little plant room

 

[bobandjanie]

Rear Doors.

These always look like "bodge" and it's tarted up van rather than a proper motorhome.

So why don't people remove the back doors and fit a permanent skin ? Hardly rocket science, it removes lots of places that can leak, be cold and drafty, can fit a nice window if needed. Less weight.

Brian if we wanted a ........................proper motorhome we would have got one for a lot less money.
We love our panel van, and having rear doors is a bonus when we have picked big things up and put them on the bed or under it, before we got the Rapido we went to look at an IH, and the thing we did not like was the boot at the rear, and no doors.
But everyone is different and you buy what is best for you.
We wanted something that we could use everyday, easy to park and good on fuel, a decent payload and can tow 2300kg to shift the caravan. Bob.

 

[Ralph-n-Bev]

Hi Wissel,

Hoping to have the van deal done this weekend and then start gathering materials.
( Terry i will be in touch before i start )
The kingspan i can get no bother. Still trying to locate a fully insulated 9o litre fresh water tank.
I would prefer on where the water feed comes off the top of the tank and straight through the van floor, less chance of freezing. I am also fitting an underslung gas tank so will fit all these and then lay the floor like you did.
Think i will cancel the inbuilt reversing camera and cross that bridge later.

Thanks for the advise everyone keep it coming ....Ralph

Ps with ref to the back panel. We to looked at the ih conversions. To have the rear panel with the little boot , cost an £3k , on top of the basic price . Instead of doors.

 

[Ralph-n-Bev]

Just going over the list of upgrades on this new van, one of the options is a reinforced suspension upgrade for £70.
I suppose it will just be an extra leaf to beef it up. Do you think its worth doing ??

we are going with the Peugeot Boxer van on the extra long wheelbase high roof. The van is 3.5 tonne gross
Depending on the weight after converting i may even uprate to 3.8 tonne, Thats only if i need to.
Will the suspension upgrade come in handy if i up rate later ?

Thanks.....Ralph

 

[Terry]

Hi you should be well inside weight, but for £70 depending what it is I would go for it You will be close to your limits with everything on board-full fuel/water etc for most of the time so I cannot see any harm done ride wise and yes if you need to upgrade it will be handy --
terry

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[Ralph-n-Bev]

Thanks Terry, i will check it out with the dealer see what it is

 

[Terry]

Morning R&B you can stick kingspan/foil/bubble wrap around your water tank or fit it under the bed
The only insulated water tank I have seen had about 6 mm of polystyrene stuck to it and it was above double the price --I have a link for 25mm kingspan type boards for £140 or if you ring them £125 for 10 best bit is they came from a local supplier that wanted double when I rang them
terry

 

[Ralph-n-Bev]

Hi Terry, think i will go down that route of self insulating.
Just had a look at our Motorhomes tank this morning and thats covered in an insulating material i can get my hands on.
I only want to insulate it to help the frost heater cope that bit better

Cheers.....Ralph

 

[DBK]

What you got there on the left hand side Devon ??
Looks like your van has its own little plant room

LOL. In a sense it is, but very easy to get at everything, which was my point. Fresh water tank on extreme left, oven top right, fridge with water pump in front of it bottom right. Loo/shower behind the right hand door of course.

 

[TheCaller]

One more quick question to all the funsters reading this is ...one of the options i have on the new van is reversing camera built into the rear brake light and then viewed on the radio 5" screen or reversing sensors.
Never had either, just wondered what your thoughts were

Others have answered the question as to which of the two options is best, but I think you were also asking whether to have one at all.

Strangely, a reversing camera is probably more important on a PVC than on a larger motorhome. You will find yourself able to go to more places & will be able to squeeze into on-street parking spots you wouldn't have looked at in the motorhome. Ours is our only vehicle, so it has to go everywhere. It's the Ducato Maxi, so also 6.34m. It's not the length, it's the width - coupled with the way other people park. If you are parking on the street & are reverse parking into a tight spot, it's usual to find the car behind is a small hatchback parked a good 6" off the kerb. Now you are going to park properly, with your nearside wheels no more than 1/2" off the kerb. Apart from personal pride, if you don't, you will be sticking out too far into the road. Van mirrors are very good these days, but they don't see round corners. Once you are parallel with the kerb, the hatchback will have disappeared from sight completely. It will be centre to your van & below rear window height, even if you have any.

Unless you can guarantee to always have an able-bodied passenger to act as banksman, you will curse that blind spot because it effectively limits where you can park.

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[Ralph-n-Bev]

Others have answered the question as to which of the two options is best, but I think you were also asking whether to have one at all.

Strangely, a reversing camera is probably more important on a PVC than on a larger motorhome. You will find yourself able to go to more places & will be able to squeeze into on-street parking spots you wouldn't have looked at in the motorhome. Ours is our only vehicle, so it has to go everywhere. It's the Ducato Maxi, so also 6.34m. It's not the length, it's the width - coupled with the way other people park. If you are parking on the street & are reverse parking into a tight spot, it's usual to find the car behind is a small hatchback parked a good 6" off the kerb. Now you are going to park properly, with your nearside wheels no more than 1/2" off the kerb. Apart from personal pride, if you don't, you will be sticking out too far into the road. Van mirrors are very good these days, but they don't see round corners. Once you are parallel with the kerb, the hatchback will have disappeared from sight completely. It will be centre to your van & below rear window height, even if you have any.

Unless you can guarantee to always have an able-bodied passenger to act as banksman, you will curse that blind spot because it effectively limits where you can park.

Thats right Caller my question also meant is it worth having a reversing camera

Thats a good point you make on parking in places you wouldn't normally attempt in a coachbuilt for instance.
Called in at the dealers on Saturday to finalise my van options and hopefully strike a good deal.
To my disappointment the van salesman i have been dealing with was having the weekend off

There was a guy washing cars asked if i was ok and did i want the van opening up.
He did so and left me to it....i noticed this model had the camera built into the high level brake light very neat and hardly noticeable. I got the keys and had a play with the camera. The inbuilt sat nav and radio screed displayed a very clear rear view
I have added lots of extras to this vehicle so i am going to try and get the sales guy to throw in the camera
We already have the inbuilt sat nav so the camera can't be that much.
After seeing this camera in action i will definitely be fitting one.

Many Thanks.....Ralph

 

[Ralph-n-Bev]

Here's the link to our conversion . Ralph put it in the wrong place. For some reason my ipad keeps crashing when trying to start a new thread.
It shows Ralph's build from start to finish.
http://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/forum/threads/rb-panel-van-conversion-begins.100614/