26 replies to this topic

[Turbo Nick]

Sold my civic late last year and used the cash from it to buy myself a VW T4 caravelle that i can turn into a camper and use it to tow me mini down to the pod and avon park.

Managed to drop on one for £750 then sold all the rear seats & trim for £300 which was a massive bonus. trying to do all the work on a budget which is working out pretty well so far.

When i got her:





next out came the rear interior and the roof lining got recovered



front seats got ditched and swapped for a set of full electric and heated BMW X5 leather seats



next i set about laying down some batons for a false floor and made the ply panels for the sides. Used OSB for the flooring to keep costs down, then sealed all the panels with pva to stop any moisture knackering them.





next i set about building a frame for a bench seat that slides out into a bed





last weekend all the interior came back out so that i could a load of wiring in. Needed to big 12v feeds into the back for my amps and another big 12v feed from my leisure battery which will be under the bonnet to run all the lights and stuff in the back. Also ran all the speaker cable ready and all the 240v wiring for when i'm on an electric hookup. Seeing as the floor doesn't have to come up again i've put the covering down on it, nice cheapo vinyl tiles at £1.50 a pack, lol.







and thats where i'm up to so far. Off out in a minute to try and pick up a gas stove, already got a couple of bottles and a reg. Today will be hopefully be spent finishing making a battery tray for the 2nd battery up front. I've also started making the frame for all the cupbaords in the back so will see if i can get some more done on that.

Not got anything in the way of mods planned for the outside of the van other than a set of std audi alloys i picked up cheap off a mate and i'm planning on roller painting it, tried the bonnet as a test the other night and i'm impressed with the results. Gotta pull my finger out now though as i'm using it for the riv run instead of the mini

[Bungle]

another VW on the mini forum, we are taking over

just a quick note

when you MOT the van make sure that seat is in bed position other wise you will need seat belts

change the V5 to motor home makes finding insurance easier

[Turbo Nick]

good call about the seats, won't be carrying anyone back there anyway but will fold em out for the MOT

not sure if i'm going to change it to a motorhome, insurance is already pretty good through brentacre all mods and future ones declared etc.

[Calman]

You desperatly need to slap some Banded Steelies on there! http://www.bandedsteels.com/

[M44K TS]

Cool, I love T4's

I had toyed with the idea of buying a 2.5TDI T4 or even a T5 from totally T4 before I settled for the Range Rover. I'd still love one, they're such a cool van.

[Nicky II]

Brilliant! My bro wants a T4. Ill show him this later

[Bungle]

only problem with a T4 is they are a bit small on the inside

[Turbo Nick]

i'm finding this one quite roomy to be honest, even for a SWB.

lots more progress today anyway, frame finished for the units and a couple of panels made. 240v fusebox wired ready, amps wired and mids/tweets fitted up front just waiting for my modded door pockets to arrive to fit my woofers to. Temp sub wired up aswell untill i can afford a decent one. Battery tray made to fit the leisure battery up front, just gotta make a decent clamp then connect up the relay.







also a quick peek of the final colour for the van

[freaker]

nice build

very nice;

what engine is in there ?

freaker

[Pitcrew6464]

love the modifications to the living area! you could make a fold down work bench that come out the back once the doors are open and those back cuboards could be tool boxes

[Turbo Nick]

Freaker it's a 2.0l petrol, a detuned version of the golf gti lump apparently. IT's a bit thirsty compared to the diesel versions, but it's got a decent amount of poke for a big slab of a van and doesn't slow down uphill

Pitcrew, i'm planning on using one of the cupbaords to stick me tools in when i'm using it to tow the mini down to the drag strip, aswell as a big awning off the side to get out of the sun (wishful thinking i know)

Not impressed with how the sub sounds either, going to wait for my front speaker pods to turn up and see how it sounds with the woofers fitted aswell as the mids and tweets, if they sound ok then the sub will go to free up some extra storage.

[Pauly]

Christ dude, never knew it was there fair down the line, so we going to have a field support vehicle for avon .

[Turbo Nick]

Thats the idea Paul, when the mini goes bang i'll have somewhere to drink tea



bit of progress tonight after work





just got an email with some pictures from the chap building my door speaker pods, should be winging their way back to me on monday






Getting a bit close to the riv run now, gotta get it habitable in under 2 weeks..

[Turbo Nick]

All painted

really got to crack on and finish the interior now in time for the riv run...

[Turbo Nick]

managed to get the van habitable in time for the riv run, still got plenty i want to do but for now it's fully functional...it's also had a bit of a whack with the lowering stick.







Inside, the seat/bed



stove, units etc



and the best bit... 3" foam with 1" memory foam, soooo comfy!




Took it to lake vyrnwy in wales the other weekend to test it out wild camping and here's what i woke up to on the sunday morning