sitdownsurfers Connect Camper

[sitdownsurfer]

Quite a lot has happened since my last post;

Sliding door window has been installed,
Curtains have been made and are now get refined,
I've used the van - and it was brilliant, a really big bed
I have now given up on my idea of using a booster pack as a small leisure battery - its useless So I'm now going down the proper leisure battery route with 240v external charger as well.

This weekend I have been carpeting!!! It looks great in bits, just need to finish up and put it back together now I doubt ill get the whole van done though, the nearside will have to suffice

Photos to follow!

[sitdownsurfer]

Sliding door window going in;

As you can see the connect doesn't have an indent for the bonded glass on the outside, so the finished look isn't flush, but I think it still looks good









Hole made:



Edging trim on:



The nerve wracking part; attaching the window. Thankfully the glue is incredibly sticky



The next morning;







Looks like it should be there to be honest Siliconed around the edges to make it weatherproof and stop the wind trying to rip it off. This is a genuine ford window that I bought off of ebay for £50! Cost me £25 in materials and 6 hours in sweat (2 people). But a job well done I think.




A couple of weekends ago I finally got to use the van for its intended purpose. Everything went smoothly other than the small booster pack I was using for a leisure battery was naff! haha. Ill go for a proper leisure battery setup now.





Its a double bed and a little bit



Right now onto this weekends work:







This was quite tricky really;









Carpeting the rear pillars;



A nice straight edge ready for when I get around to doing the offside;







The B Pillar was pretty tough as well, lots of fiddly bits;









Roof back in;



Nearside panel back in;





Cooker and sink back in;








Nearside and roof are now done. Just waiting on getting all the electrics together for the offside to get that done now

[mishnish]

Really nice project!

I recently bought pretty much the same - 05 Connect LWB 90PS L in Moondust Silver for conversion to a sailing tour bus. Pretty much going to be just as you have done here!

One question. Are you converting with a view to getting it re registered? I see you are going for the table and window and installed sink and hob.

I think I would like pretty much the same layout, but I think I would make my "kitchen" out of one box that although appearing to be permanently attached, could be removed to allow me to still get sheets of ply in when I need to.

It would be nice to get re registered I think, but suppose I cant really go above 60 anyway when towing the dinghy, and the only advantage would be the cheaper insurance. Trying to weigh up the benefits on a smaller van. Do you think its still worthwhile?

Looking forward to more progress! Any thoughts on what you would like to do for a floor covering?


Best Regards
Chris

[RustWidow]

I am really impressed with your work, well done!

[sitdownsurfer]

Mishnish;

Yeah the plan is to get it re-registered as a camper for the cheaper insurance. That's the plan anyway

Oh and my unit is removable. Only 2 screws holding it to the floor - easy peasy.
The bed unit isn't bolted down at all either as well, its weight keeps it down and its held from sliding via wooden blocks on the floor.

And yeah I have the floor already - a nice black and white checkerboard vinyl. I cant wait to fit it, but ill do it last to save me ruining it.


RustWidow;

Cheers

[sidewaysjas]

You've done a cracking job on that van looks great. what did you use for insulation on the sides?
Jas

[sitdownsurfer]

jas;

Thanks. I used flashbanding as a first sound deadener. Then a layer of "bubble wrap" which has metal foil on each side. Pictures are in this thread.
And then a mixture of Cellutex/Kingspan (builders insulation for stud walls) for the larger depth panels and shredded plastic bottle insulation to stuff in all the spaces. I then followed this up with another layer of Bubble wrap.

I hope this helps

[mishnish]

How is that working? Is it a worthwhile improvement to road noise?

[sitdownsurfer]

mishnish,

It wasn't done to improve road noise. It was done to insulate the van for sleeping in. But it has made a significant difference to road noise... I don't have a bulkhead in it, and it sounds as though I have one!

[mishnish]

Cool! Yep, I'm on the same wavelength. Would be nice to kill some road noise while I'm at it for a couple of long journeys planned this summer! So much still to do... :-£

[sidewaysjas]

Thanks for the info'

Love what you've done to the Connect, I plan to do something similar but I've got a lwb MK2 to play with.

Jas

[mishnish]

Started the back of mine this evening! Flash band and bottle insulation going in!

[Van Damn]

Very nice job. Congrats.I have a similar project underway. A T220 I am converting into a camper/paddle van.

[Vr6ginge]

Looks good, well done. I have done similar - i just use my connect as my cycle van, its all insulated etc in the back, just not as neat as yours

[hibernator]

Bought a Tourneo connect a couple of weeks ago and plan on doing similar. This thread has given me many ideas to get me started . Some great work on here and a very motivating thread. Once i have sold my factory Fiat Murvi I can fund the Tourneo conversion and will post pics from the start. Great stuff.