rb panel van conversion begins !

[Kool Kroozer]

Your getting a bit of a dab hand at cutting holes into Panel vans Must say they do look very good and very professional too - Great going Ralph

 

[UK Pete]

Great stuff Ralph i am really enjoying watching your progress
pete

 

[Terry]

Well done Ralph it was a horrid day yesterday -sunny in between the rain -My self and Paul got quite a bit done in this bus and hopefully 2 more weekends will see it finished and off my drive then I can start on my own van -
Not sure if I am keeping the Ambulance because I got offered good profit/money on it and I can take out the rear seats (swivel) heater and inverter so a win win decision to be made
KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK
terry

 

[cruiser]

great work

 

[Mr Mousy]

Ralph, I really look forward to reading about your progress and seeing the photos. Looking forward to the next update. Keep up the good work!

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[Ralph-n-Bev]

Finally all the cutting out is done and all the windows and service points are finished
Its cost me one stone in weight loss stressing over messing something up....The Campervan Diet .

Externally we are almost finished apart from two solar panels and a satellite system which i will fit last.
This morning i fitted a Dometic Rain Tec above the sliding side door. Its an LED light and rain gutter specially designed for this type of vehicle. Its not available in the UK yet so had it shipped from Germany. When i ordered it four months ago i ordered a black one for a right hand drive vehicle ......What did they send me ?....A white one for a left hand drive vehicle Muppet's how wrong can you be.

Its now time for the interior fit out
Today I fitted the ceiling boards and clipped on the roof light frames finishing them off nicely. The gap around the edge will be inside the cupboards and will be finished with Veltrim. This will be finished once the cupboards are fitted, Left uncovered means i can still see where to fix to the van roof supports
The middle roof light is the bathroom area, i ran the main ceiling board straight through but I will be fitting a secondary waterproof board on top. Doing it this just saved me having to guess at this stage where the bathroom walls finish at ceiling level.

I got some bad news last week

Phoned up the kitchen guy to book in the van and he is too busy
So rather than wait around for him or chance someone i don't know, bodging it, i will be doing the work myself . After doing what I've done so far, I know I will be able to do it confidently.
We have finalized the colour scheme and will be going for walnut and possibly high gloss doors to the front area.
The overhead lockers to the rear will be curved with a walnut finish. This week i will order the sheet material and a few other bits to build the furniture. I am going to have a week off work soon and get stuck into the fit out. I cant afford to wait around as i am on a deadline withe the insurers and have a Goth meet to attend .

Cheers .....Ralph

 

[Wissel]

Looks fantastic Ralph

Good luck with the furniture build, I assume you have your doors already sorted.

 

[John.]

Looking really good Ralph.

 

[mitzimad]

nice light above the door ralph but i can tell you from experience it will do nothing to stop any rain the area that runs of above is tiny the rest of the roof runs back without the awning out rain simply falls directly in the door as its so big and the van tapers in at the top

 

[Ralph-n-Bev]

Looks fantastic Ralph

Good luck with the furniture build, I assume you have your doors already sorted.

Yes , although the kitchen guy is busy. He's put me Intouch with someone in the next village who can do me some high gloss doors, for the kitchen area , drawers, and wardrobe door.

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[Ralph-n-Bev]

nice light above the door ralph but i can tell you from experience it will do nothing to stop any rain the area that runs of above is tiny the rest of the roof runs back without the awning out rain simply falls directly in the door as its so big and the van tapers in at the top

Well, we wanted a light, I've tried it with a hosepipe this afternoon and it seems to do the job. Fingers crossed.

 

[Mr Mousy]

Looking good!
I am looking forward to seeing your next update.

 

[Kool Kroozer]

Yet again Ralf, great work an looking better each week

 

[JockandRita]

It's looking the dog's doodahs Ralph. Well done.

I'm pleased your chosen awning/door light passed the deluge test.

Nice work.

Jock.

 

[Terry]

Thanks for the update Ralph -looking great
Last time we spoke I told you I can get light weight furniture boards cheap so if you want any let me know Funny how you say you are going for Walnut/cream hi gloss doors -that's exactly what John (board guy) suggested to me for my own van last time I was up getting boards -What I need is a van to put some in
terry

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[cruiser]

if I could only read the instructions on my hammer and screwdriver . I could do that.

 

[Ralph-n-Bev]

if I could only read the instructions on my hammer and screwdriver . I could do that.

It's not that hard.... Honestly

 

[bobandjanie]

Looking good Ralph, if we had known they did high spec van conversions in Wakefield , we might have placed an order before we got our Rapido. Bob.

 

[Ralph-n-Bev]

Last time we spoke I told you I can get light weight furniture boards cheap so if you want any let me know

Hi Terry, I have looked at a few boards by different manufacturers and without going silly money on Vohringer I have chosen to use a board from Moorland Broken Link Removed still not a cheap board but It's impact resistant, lightweight and cuts well. When we started this build we wanted to use the best quality parts and materials we could source. We intend to keep this Campervan for a long time so it makes sense to try and do it right the first time

Thanks for the offer Terry

 

[Ralph-n-Bev]

Looking good Ralph, if we had known they did high spec van conversions in Wakefield , we might have placed an order before we got our Rapido. Bob.

No problem, We are happy to take your old vehicle in Px

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[colinw]

Superb work , you must have balls of steel !

 

[Ralph-n-Bev]

Ralphs been working away all week .
Pug has been sat on the drive having a rest!
He's decided to get B&B , then travel the couple of hours each way everyday.
This way it stops him working on the van once home !
He's ordered the flooring , some Tarkett, as it's hard wearing.
http://professionals.tarkett.co.uk/products/linoleum
We shall be having a removable carpet made and edged too.
Hopefully if the Tarkett arrives in time he'll lay it this weekend. Posting pictures of course.

 

[Wissel]

Ralphs been working away all week .
Pug has been sat on the drive having a rest!
He's decided to get B&B , then travel the couple of hours each way everyday.
This way it stops him working on the van once home !
He's ordered the flooring , some Tarkett, as it's hard wearing.
http://professionals.tarkett.co.uk/products/linoleum
We shall be having a removable carpet made and edged too.
Hopefully if the Tarkett arrives in time he'll lay it this weekend. Posting pictures of course.

The Tarkett stuff is great quality and very hard wearing.

I've had it down for 18 months. I use my van most days, always with a heavy and mad dog with me, I've moved house using the van and I've made several tip runs. A quick clean and it looks like it was fitted yesterday.

It's also as taught today as the day it was fitted. Great choice.

 

[Ralph-n-Bev]

Well the Flooring arrived last weekend so down it went on the Sunday.

My next job now is to start on the bathroom. I am starting this first as i have set sizes for shower tray and toilet and need to make sure they fit right. I first scribed in the two sidewalls against the vans curves and fitted them in position using my new pocket hole jig . The bathroom side was then covered in a sparkly waterproof shower panels. You can't really make them out , because of the plastic protective covering. I did the same to the ceiling and outer wall.

The bathroom cabinet is my first attempt at building the furniture. I have purchased a Router tool which makes cutting the curves easier than a jigsaw. The router also groves out the the board edge to accept the knock in trim. Its not an easy tool to use and can easily go off guide.
One tool that is easy to use and is absolutely brilliant is this....

This tool lets you drill a pocket at the end of a board so you can fix to the next board with a screw.
Its hard to explain but the pictures will hopefully make sense.

Great bit of kit and it forms a very strong joint
The rest of the furniture board should be here this week so i intend to have a few days off work and get things moving a bit faster.
I will be finishing off the bathroom once the SOG arrives, never had one before but heard great reviews about them. I am going for the through the floor type as i have the space behind the toilet to fit it.
Anyway, the pictures may be a little more interesting to look at now. Once the furniture starts to be built and fitted.

 

[cruiser]

wow . that is great. watch out the main m/home manufactures will pinch your plans. or you.

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[Wissel]

The pocket hole saw is brilliant isn't it (I bought one whilst building my furniture as well).

I also added a small bead of Stixall to all joints before screwing together to give the joins more strength and stop any squeaking while driving.

Looking forward to seeing your furniture go in, great build

 

[Ralph-n-Bev]

The pocket hole saw is brilliant isn't it (I bought one whilst building my furniture as well).

I also added a small bead of Stixall to all joints before screwing together to give the joins more strength and stop any squeaking while driving.

Looking forward to seeing your furniture go in, great build

Hi Wissel, yes the hole saw is so simple to use but very accurate and makes a fantastic joint
Just looking at some finishing plugs in different colors for the hole saw. They give a nice finish if you have to drill the face of the wood.
Thanks for the tip on the Stixall i may use some on the rest of the furniture

Ralph

 

[UK Pete]

While taking parts of my van apart the other day due to water damage i noticed how mit was put together , i see this method of fixing and the plugs that then close off the hole, bloody brilliant , it makes me want to build a van myself
pete

 

[John.]

Looking very smart now Ralph

 

[Ralph-n-Bev]

While taking parts of my van apart the other day due to water damage i noticed how mit was put together , i see this method of fixing and the plugs that then close off the hole, bloody brilliant , it makes me want to build a van myself
pete

I sent an email to a company asking for a sample of the plugs you mention , so I can match up to my boards, your right they finish off the job great. No joy though ! They won't send any , I 'd have paid postage etc.
So although I want some I'm going to have to guess the shade for the walnut board I'm going to use in the main build. It's not a paper finished board like the one on the cabinet above. It's laminated , still light weight but tougher, on the surface , and to screw into.
The stuff above was bought to practice my routing , and build the bathroom, over the weekend. I'm Still waiting for stock to come in, before I can do the main build. I'm hoping I'll have it for the weekend.

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