Hi, just posting my MK5 2.5D SWB HI-TOP camper build.

[rachelemily]

Wow - looks FAB! And you've carperted the doors (unlike professional conversions companies!!)

Bet you're looking forward to your first trip after all that work - really EXCELLENT

[dachre]

Cheers eiretransit, dirtydog, rachelemily..... thanks for the nice comments.... ...

It would be nice to get it going.... don't think I've started the engine in a year..... ...



Had a bit of time today so I put some carpet on the cupboard doors.








Going to do the kitchen unit cover panels tomorrow. One carpet and two stainless.

Maybe try and knock up a cover panel for the water filter/surge pump area as well.....If the rain stays away.....



Hope you are having a nice weekend.

Cheers guys... ....

[AlanN]

This conversion, is going to have to be a charging side attraction at Transitmania inspirational

[Paul 1]

looks briliant, I love the stainless edging detail on the cupboards.

[transitandy]

very nice work m8y

[dachre]

Cheers guys.... ..


Found out I had a setting on my camera to take close ups...."macro photography" I believe its called... ...

So, I took a close up of some old Bakelite knobs I have just modified.... Look at the state of my cup.... A friend of mine reckons tea tastes better out of a stinking dirty cup....





Anyway... the knobs are for my false roof I've finally got around to making.

It was made from thin 6mm ply with stainless edging trim. The trim will be bent to follow the curve in the roof so it all fits nice and flush. There are two little pipe clips in the middle of the roof panel which clip onto the stainless rods in the roof to give the centre of the panel a bit more grip and to stop it from bouncing up and down whilst driving..... Ha, driving!... that'll be the day..... .....





Fits ok at the mo but I will make it a bit better later on....








Then I started to make the other panels/covers for the van. The ones that cover the water filter and fit on the drivers side of the kitchen unit will be carpeted.





And the ones that fit on the front of the kitchen unit will be covered in stainless. Just cutting out the air intake and air out-take for the Propex heater.





And after modifying/fitting the Ikea pull out draws so they could fit in the kitchen unit I can now say that the kitchen unit is basically done..... Not bad.... Only taken 3 years all in all........ .......






You can see a thin and tall hole next to the draws on the right hand side... this will be a cubbyhole for a fold away table which I'll make later on.





The draws are the full extending type.... If I make a tray that can fit into the top of them, the top one or two draws may come in handy for extra table space. Perhaps even a pull out table for dinner if it works out to be the right height. Just ideas really....





Not too sure what I should tackle next.... Perhaps the stuff to do under the van if its good weather over the weekend....

Well, cheers guys.... have a nice weekend...... ...

[Anton2k3]

Looking exceptional as usual! I wouldn't expect any less now though! So what remains to be done before its maiden voyage? I decided not to high roof our swb van in the end, instead bought a mercedes vario 814 to turn into an expedition camper!

[spudmab]

the work gets better and better,

u maust have a very understanding other half for allowing u so much time to work on the van,

so r u gonna make any shows this year, what about Transitmania 2010, would be nice to see this van in the flesh,

keep it up and u will get to the end sooner then later,

[ake]

The finish line comes ever closer

[poppyabe]

nice 1 it looks the nuts

[greek]

Quality work as always, just a little tip if you havent had a camper before, make sure draws & doors have that extra restraints because they tend to open on corners or bumps & yours being stainless & a little bit heavier may move.

[Tran59]

Awesome! What makes me smile the most is the way you put things so modestly. "I couldn't find a fridge the right size, so I decided to design and make one on my own', or "the carpet wasn't the right thickness, so I built a loom and wove some".

[dachre]

Cheers guys..... Thanks for all the comments..... ....


Thanks Tran59..... I do like building things.... and I have really enjoyed building this little camper so far, its been fun...... ...


Thanks for the tips Greek..... I am hoping that the Ikea self restraint/self close mechanism on the inside of the draws will hold them shut as I really don't want to put any extra fittings on the outside.... I think I'd cry if I had to put clasps on the outside of the draw units, but we shall soon see I guess...... .....cheers...


Cheers Ake, Poppyabe, Spudmab...... Yeah it would be nice to go to some sort of show, maybe the Transitmania 2010..... Its just a question of time tho....



Hey Anton2k3........ You bought a Merc?.....Didnt you cut the roof off a transit ready to take a hi-top fibreglass roof?.... Perhaps you could make a trailer out of what's left of the Transit and pull it behind the Merc...... .....
A big Expedition camper does sound fantastic tho.... I've heard of people driving the whole way around the Mediterranean and off down into Africa/Asia with those big Mercs.. Great stuff........ .... So what remains to be done to my camper before its maiden voyage, Anton?... Ah well.... Lets check the old Build List and see what's been done and what's left to tick off....... ...





But before that... another little milestone passed..... I took the camper for a little drive around the farm the other day.....







....Yey........ ......Most things worked and nothing fell off........ which is always a bonus....... ....



I had always worried about the water tank under the floor of the camper being too low and hitting a sleeping policeman but it seems to have worked out ok.... there's a few good inches to spare.






Back to that list of things to do............ Most of them have been done now.



Make 8 wooden cupboard doors and shelves then fix them into the steel frames of the camper.-------*DONE*

Fit shower head/mixer assy.--------------------------------------*DONE*

Buy 2 meters of speedfit pipe for shower.--------------------------*DONE*

Buy 2 pipe adaptors from ½ “ to 10mm for shower pipe.-------------*DONE*



Trim the bases of wooden seat boxes so they sit level with each other.-------*DONE*

Finish off the internal wood frame of the seat boxes.-------------------------*DONE*

Buy another 4 meters of the Silver upholstery carpet for the seat boxes, ect.----*DONE*

Finish off the stainless seat frames.-----------------------------*DONE*



Make some nice foam seats for the back of the van.

Get some foam for the seats.

Buy some upholstery material for seats.

Get someone to sew it all together.

Figure out if I can re-upholster the front Galaxy seats to match the rest of the new seating.

Sort out what to do with the lack of curtains.

Make the fold down false roof section that goes over the shower curtain frame.----------*IN PROGRESS*

Sort out a nice shaped carpet for the cab floor and the rear.

Buy a camping toilet thingy... and make a wooden box for it to sit in (with wheels) that matches the rest of the seating with a nice upholstered foam seat. Make sure it all sits as the same height as the rest of the seating so it sits flush....( Flush... d’ya get it?.. flush...lol...) and then it can be pushed to the back of the van and then the rear seating can have an ‘L’ shape arrangement to it.... and really hope it don’t smell....



Bolt/fix the stainless kitchen unit down.--------------------------*DONE*

Make blank plates for some parts of the kitchen unit.--------------*DONE*

Fit/adjust draws for the kitchen unit.-----------------------------*DONE*

Cut holes for the inlet and outlet air supply vents for the Propex heater.-------*DONE*

Fix kitchen sink to kitchen unit.---------------------------------*DONE*

Fit the fridge in properly.. align fridge to outside vents ect, re-connect gas... ---*DONE*



Finish off Mains electrics.--------------------------*DONE*

Wire up 240v inlet to the consumer unit.------------*DONE*

Wire the 240v to the fridge.------------------------*DONE*

Wire the 240v to the plug sockets on the kitchen unit.--------------*DONE*

Wire up water pump and pressure switch.--------------------------*DONE*

Wire up the LED lights on the inside of the rear door.

Wire up the rear lights.

Sort out restrain brackets for the batteries.



Finish water pipe work for water heater.--------------------------*DONE*

Finish gas pipe work on water heater.---------------------------*DONE*

Finish electrics on water heater.--------------------------------*DONE*

Hope 2nd hand water heater (that has never been tested or run) doesn’t go into meltdown.-------*DONE*

Run the vans entire water system to see if it works..........--------*DONE*

Finish off the grey waste drainage pipe work under the van.



Connect the dash heater air hoses.--------------------------*DONE*

Fit dash speedo and clocks ect.-----------------------------*DONE*

Sort out wiring for head unit and speakers.

Bolt seats in.----------------------------------------------*DONE*

Bolt the steering wheel on........ Find a steering wheel bolt first....lol....-------*DONE*

Get the brakes to brake.

Build some sort of spare wheel holder to go under the van.

Get the front wheels to point generally in the same direction.----------------*DONE*

Fit an anti-roll bar to the front and look into the possibility into fitting one onto the rear to stop the van from falling over and sliding along the road on its side.

Oh, and at some time I really must get around to tightening all of the front-rear suspension/axle nuts and bolts up a little bit tighter than just hand tight.--------------------------*KINDA-DONE*




Gonna build the spare wheel holder, fit new hand brake cable and fit/weld a back section of the exhaust system on this weekend.

Have a nice weekend guys.... cheers........ ...

[madmark]

superb job ,alot of work you have put into this camper!

[AlanN]

No excuses, Transitmania 2010, Ive got to see this puppy!!! Or I'll send round the managment, Luke