Tony's MWB Camper Convesion

[Honey monster]

what paint are you using on the MDF ??

[tonylem]

It's Dulux Satinwood, the waterbased colour mixing one. Needs thinning quite a bit but gives a decent finish and seems pretty tough. Time will tell how hard wearing it is.

[suffolkboi]

What vent did you use to allow a narrow pipe to be fitted?
Do you plan on making the cupboard air tight?

[tonylem]

Yes the cupboard will be getting a door on. The vent itself is a piece of 40mm solvent weld waste pipe. Fits snugly in a 44mm hole cut with the holesaw.

[tonylem]

Bed base and cushions sorted. Just need to properly upholster the cushions and it should look spot on.
Will try and get some flooring down next.

[Honey monster]

Nearly there now mate, Mattress work looks top notch.
What flooring are you going for??

[tonylem]

Yes, nearly there. Just a few bits of finishing off. Although these things are never finished, will always be fiddling with things But at least it's usable now
Not sure of flooring yet, but my parents have a piece of left over carpet that will fit, so might just stick that in for now.

[tonylem]

Couple of more bits of finishing off done,

Put a bulkhead/cushion support in and carpeted the bed frame. Also put some carpet down as a temporary flooring (it was free, so will do until we get some proper flooring).



Door put on gas locker and water and waste plumbed in



Just need to sort a table out then it should be ready for DVLA reclassification. Starting to look finished though, and once the cushions are upholstered I will be well pleased

[tonylem]

Finally got the built in cool box completed, works a treat,




Also got the reclassification done with DVLA. No problems, got the new V5 back within 2 weeks. No graphics or decals on either!

[suffolkboi]

Nice one!

Was this reclassified by photos only?

[tonylem]

Yes, just sent a bunch of photos showing all the required bits (bed, hob, sink, table etc), the V5 with motor caravan as the new body type and a covering letter. Took a couple of weeks and they even sent my photos back.

[donjo tranvan]

loving the van. going to do the same with the v5, what did you put in your letter to dvla

[tonylem]

Donjo, letter doesn't need to be anything special, just a request to change of body type of vehicle to motor caravan, together with a brief explanation of work done and parts fitted. Add a list of the pictures you are sending, with a brief explanation of what each one shows. Send enough pictures as you need to show everything done, and make sure you can see the reg number in at least 2 or 3.
Then fill in the change request section on your V5c (section 7 - wheelplan/body type to Motor Caravan), and send them all to the DVLA in Swansea.

[suffolkboi]

What benifits does this bring? Will it make a class 7 become a class 5 for MOT?

[tonylem]

Insurance tends to be easier, not necessarily cheaper, but in the event of a total loss, saves a lot of problems. Hopefully it won't happen again, but when our previous converted van was written off, we had a right chew on with the underwriter/assessor as they saw it as just a panel van.
I believe it does reduce the MOT class on a class 7, but is dependant on weight, but I am not sure on that one.
You also get normal car speed limits on A roads and dual carriageways, as long as gross unladen weight is under 3T.