460 minibus.

[dumper]

I got Kev green from Lincoln a AC engineer to drain it cut the pipes and block it off and refill it then I removed the unit myself very easy and just sealed the floor underneath just search local for a independent who can do it.

[chris67493]

Cheers guys

[Stanyouphoto]

I am embarking on a Ford Transit 460 Minibus conversion too. One question I have for you though is that of the weight of the van. We took ours to be weighed after stripping out the rear (seats, trim etc) to it was a bare shell and it came in at 2.7 tonnes (2700kg), leaving us with 800kg left. Are you facing the same issue with yours, or am I just stressing based on the following weight predictions that I am planning (not even finished yet though);

Person weight (75kg pp) - 150kg
Fuel tank - max - 58kg
Fresh water tank - max filled weight - 100kg
Grey water tank - max filled weight - 50kg
Tech / Camera equipment - 20kg
Kitchen / Food etc. - 20kg
General belongings (20kg each) - 40kg

Total - 438kg
Remaining - 367kg

Also, for the aircon removal, I just had a local aircon engineer come and drain the system and then unbolted the unit from the back. I plan to remove the pipes and tig weld the ends off so that the system can then be re-gassed so I can use the aircon in the front again.

Let me know your thoughts on the weight.
Thanks,
Tristan

[JamesHow]

Does anyone know how much space there is in the ceiling lining either side could you put some storage in for light items either side?

Cheers James

[dumper]

I am embarking on a Ford Transit 460 Minibus conversion too. One question I have for you though is that of the weight of the van. We took ours to be weighed after stripping out the rear (seats, trim etc) to it was a bare shell and it came in at 2.7 tonnes (2700kg), leaving us with 800kg left. Are you facing the same issue with yours, or am I just stressing based on the following weight predictions that I am planning (not even finished yet though);

Person weight (75kg pp) - 150kg
Fuel tank - max - 58kg
Fresh water tank - max filled weight - 100kg
Grey water tank - max filled weight - 50kg
Tech / Camera equipment - 20kg
Kitchen / Food etc. - 20kg
General belongings (20kg each) - 40kg

Total - 438kg
Remaining - 367kg

Also, for the aircon removal, I just had a local aircon engineer come and drain the system and then unbolted the unit from the back. I plan to remove the pipes and tig weld the ends off so that the system can then be re-gassed so I can use the aircon in the front again.

Let me know your thoughts on the weight.
Thanks,
Tristan

Are you planning on down rating it to 3500 kg as the 460 gvw is 4600 kgs to loose some weight I know that someone who downrated a mk 7 bus had some spacers made up and removed the inner rear wheels.

[dumper]

Does anyone know how much space there is in the ceiling lining either side could you put some storage in for light items either side?

Cheers James

I would have thought that after you have insulated it about 3 inch behind it I have the kitchen cupboard recessed in to the lining and it goes in to the lining between 2 & 3 inch. I know that for VW campers they have door cards that have pockets in them if you could find mini ones off those they’d look good.

[StuartB58]

Just to let you know, I took my minibus in for it's MOT and it couldn't be tested.

I either had to refit the seats up to 13 passengers or send the log book away to Swansea and have them change it to a van and have it down rated or do the conversion as per Gov. regulations and then get it MOT as a camper once the conversion is done. ( It just needs to be a basic conversion but you must take pics of the conversion from start to finish. I wish I'd just bought a van now and saved some of the hassle.

[grantf]

Hello from Auckland New Zealand,

I'm starting a campervan conversion for a 2015 460 Coach, imported from the UK, Its interesting to see the questions here and I'm looking forward to accessing the resources of the forum as the work progresses. Finding a suitable van was quite a long winded process but we eventually settled the 460 which has pros and cons but seems the best option overall, here are a few observations from what we have learnt so far.

1. The 350 cargo vans all had a 3 seat configuration in the drivers cabin so there was no walk-thru access to the rear space and Converting to a two seater costs 5 to 6000 $NZ with recertification required, this was a deal breaker.

2. The Payload of the 350 was surprisingly low I think about 900 Kg or thereabouts so we did some math and figured that we would be nudging or exceeding the GVM before we even loaded the groceries and climbed on board. My experience is that all vehicles whether they float , fly or roll will get heavier with time as they collect more stuff so I suspect many cargo van conversions in NZ are overweight but luckily or not there isn't the resources in the NZ transport vehicle compliance unit to run spot checks on RV's and campervans but that might change, the 460 has plenty of payload .

3. I'm leaving the rear Air Con in place for now and will re-duct it into the rear cabin.

I'm going to make a new system of some sort to retain the spare wheel , the current set up has been disabled by someone but in any case its a weird design .

I will post some pictures as it progresses but can anyone tell me what the alternator output is for the 460 coach ?

Rgds from Auckland NZ (currently in lockdown)