Category: Conversion

Diary of a camper conversion

Today I took 3 hours to put up a sum total of 2 bits of wood. It took 2 attempts.

I also moved some previously installed roof batons so I would have a point to fix into with the hardboard.

But what really took the time was fathoming the floating shelf to skylight interface. For a while Ive thought of running the LEDs around both the shelf and the skylight, but the thickness difference was causing my OCD to flare up. So I’ve ditched that and just going for a simple rectangular floating light shelf (it will make more sense when you see it) I may give it some sort of zoning by connecting it visually with the electrical panel… Not thought that bit thru yet but the general build up, is fathomed.

I also tested a hunch about bending hardboard. I wet it for 20 mins and then slowly bent and clamped it to the final radius. Its a little wrinkly on the inside, but holds its shape surprisingly well. This is how Im going to bridge that annoying gap that will be left by the skylight trim.

Diary of a camper conversion

Needed to add more wood batons to the centre of the roof ribs to support the floating light shelf thing. Still not quite worked out how to do it, so left them oversized.

Also labelled up a load of conduit so I can keep track of which cables run in which conduits, from where to where. Right now I’m just banging in conduit all over the place incase its needed. Mostly between areas that will tricky to cross when the van is boarded out. I can run all other cables within the cabinets so it will be hidden anyway.

Diary of a camper conversion

Using WAYYY too much duct tape I made little dividing walls in the door cavities. This will – in theory- keep the fluffy insulation from getting tied up in the mechanism of the door and locks.

This is the first time I’ve had a really good look at my back door and it looks like it’s been bashed in… Andy… But it’s still functional and will be almost completely covered, so it’s not important. A bit of spray paint to cover bare metal and it’s time for more insulation and spray glue.

Diary of a camper conversion

This was a big one. Can’t do much else without the floor being sorted out.

All the mounting points unbolted, and as many screws as i can find are unscrewed. A few were to buried or rounded to dig out, a few just sheared off. They all got removed one way or another.

Rust blocker was used everywhere there used to be a hole, and then 4 coats of professional spray paint to seal the metal up again.

This is how it will have to remain until ridged foam insulation is put in with some batons and I seal all those holes.

Diary of a camper conversion

I’ve got the best brother. While I was in a work training course, he was taking on one of the most stressful jobs I had been putting off.

Installing skylights means cutting whopping great big holes in your nice new, clean, smooth and watertight roof. I was dreading it because I’ve been so many examples online where people have installed them and then after the build is complete, they find water running down inside their van walls.

That would be the worst thing so I’m grateful he took this on and completed the first one for me. And it looks great! Huge thick sealant bead around the inside and it’s fitting nice and flush.

However… When it hinges up to open, the glass hits the roof, so it doesn’t fully open 90 deg, meaning it doesn’t stay open by itself. This is a bit of a disappointment as this was a feature I was looking forward to. But thinking about it, I probably wouldn’t leave a huge glass panel balanced up there unattended, so I would probably have made a stay for it anyway at some point.

The only other downside to this is that if you push it to hard, it’s going to lever up the whole skylight and break the sealant… But we will conveniently ignore this blatant design flaw and move on!

The second skylight was left for me to have a stab at. Cutting huge holes, then jig sawing around the carefully drawn line. Deburring and painting the edge to prevent corrosion. And finally, squeezing out half a Sikaflex tube of sealant to glue it in place.

Now we really for it to cure, and I check it for leaks when it next rains.

Diary of a camper conversion

Working around the insulation is a pain, but it kept Kai and I warm-er when we took the van out on its maiden overnight trip to Sussex. It did mean that the odd bit of fluff got covered in wood glue, but that’s not the end of the world.

Today David helped me start framing out the van with batons. These were ripped strips from 18mm ply because it’s structurally more consistent than plain wood, is thick enough to fill the depth of the van pillars and will be strong for mounting the bed to it later. It was counter sunk with a spade bit and then metal self tapping roof screwed into the ribs. We added a little glue behind it to prevent squeaks.

Diary of a camper conversion

I used this stuff in the last van and it seemed to go well. I didn’t open her up to check, but 11 years of service speaks for itself.

This is recycled bottle insulation. It’s cheap, readily available from B&Q, not itchy like the rockwool stuff, and doesn’t hold moisture so it’s widely used in camper conversions.

To install you just use spray glue and then whack it up. It’s very satisfying to see so much progress being made.

Diary of a camper conversion

My roller didn’t arrive in time so I built one from spare wheels I had laying around.

I basically spent the day peeling and sticking sheets of butyle rubber to the ping-ey parts of the van bodywork. This adds mass and reduces vibrations that are really noisy in the van. It’s a quality of life job, but I think it will be worth it in the end for a quiet van.

I used my DIY roller all day and prefer it to the “professional” one, for the majority of the install. Only when I needed to reach behind a panel was the handle useful.