Camper Conversion

rubbledoubledo

Hi All
Looking for advice here. Very experienced people on this forum. At the minute i know where there is a good transit for sale, thinking of doing the convert myself, of course i would need help or maybe i should buy complete.

Im single,no partner, or family, this will be just for my own use mostly weekends. I will not be going to camper sites.
I want to keep the convert as simple as possible.

This is what i would like. No camper sites so no mains wiring to do.
Bed, Fridge run by gas and battery, oven and grill run by gas. Sink say with two 5 gallons drums under press for waste and fresh water, maybe a pump also. Interior lights by battery, I can get my hands on a eberspacher night heater 24 volt. porta loo.. Just have a big bank of batteries on board.

Has a zig unit to be included in the wiring also and a good charging system for the leisure batteries. A ( B to B ) charging system is supposed to be excellent..
I am not well up on campers, so what would e change here .
Im camper mad at the minute, but i need some guidance also. Thanks

meercat

this thread from the legend himself may help you

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056060300

I think you're making more work in the long run by not running mains feeds.
How will you charge your batteries for one thing?
It'd be best to make the decision before you insulate and panel.
I don't use campsites but I still find good use for a hook-up every once in a while.
You might end up regretting the decision after a few nights of having to run leads in through open windows.

Two 5 gallon drums sounds excessive for weekend use also.

After learning how to conserve (nothing stressful involved) I get between 3 days and 2 weeks from 20litres.
Also the waste can be halfsize 10litre if you remember to empty it or drink what you carry (it's amazing how little fresh water actually gets drank).
It's a hygiene consideration as it has less time to stagnate and thus smell bad. Also carrying unnecessary weight will reduce mpg and space is always an issue in a camper.

Aidan_M_M

I don't mean to sound rude but if you build one to the spec you outlined you'll never be able to sell it.

spaceHopper

You need to think about insulation and vents as well.
I would add mains, it won’t add much extra to the cost and it would save you a lot of hassle, camp sites in France are a worlds apart from here in quality and cost you’d be limiting yourself –it also makes it easier to sell later.

I’d also add a small solar panel, 20 ish watts, you won’t be using it mid week so it in the summer it will keep your batteries charged.

Fridge wise a top loader would be a good idea, if I were doing a simple van I’d use a 12/220 cool box I bought it LIDL, if you put a block of ice it, it will say frozen for a few days, you can take it in to the house an plug it in to get everything good an cold first…

If you use a fridge with a door as soon as you open it all the cold air rushes out.

As others have said go with a smaller waste water tank, consider putting it under the van.

Two leisure batteries would be a good idea.

For things like heaters use heavier wiring that you think and as short as possible – lighter wire may carry 10 Amps but the resistance will be higher so you lose voltage and power across it , starving the heater of power to start up. Avoid cheap LED light that can use a lot of power and over heat

You may be single now but don't make it a "man cave" you might meet somebody and it could be hard to sell when you need to want to upgrade.

rubbledoubledo

Hi Lads
Great to listen to people that is in the know.
What ever i decide to do, build or buy it will be based on long term.
My circumstances will noy change.

I think it is difficult enough now to sell a camper.
A good few campers on donedeal has had price reductions on them more than once.

I had allowed myself a budget of up to 7000 euro.
A van type conversion i want, so i can blend in with the traffic.

rubbledoubledo

Bit confused about battery power.
The alternator would not be enough so to do the job .
I mean i would be driving this camper all year round,, during the weekend then may be staying out for an night.

When parked up , what power would i be using.
A night heater on for a few hours, then into bed.

I would not be using tele, laptops or dishs of any sort.
Pointed out by a member here to use a cool box. Good idea

Irishgoatman

My 2 berth camper wasn't designed for or had a leisure battery, also did not come with hook up connection facilities due to it's age. So I bought a solar panel, fitted it to the roof and connected it to a battery that is completely independant. I then diverted the wiring from 2 reading lights and the cigarette lighter to this battery. The 2 lights give more than enough light and the lighter socket can power a radio and 'phone charger by using a ( here I have to say "converter" although I know that's wrong but can't think of the proper name and am not going out in the rain to the barn, sorry).

The solar panel only needs daylight, not sunlight which is quite handy considering where we live.

Even after the camper being in the barn for 3 months of the year in comes out with, what appears to be, a fully charged battery.

Hope this helps with your ideas

If you're considering spending any considerable amount of time in a small space then I'd make it as good as I possibly can. Why cut corners when you're leaving yourself short?

The alternator can charge batteries if you run the engine long enough (depending on battery size). However it's not always viable to drive (for instance you don't want to go anywhere) just to charge batteries as it's unnecessary wear and tear on the engine that a secondary system could provide. Also I'd argue that alternator charging is not an entirely suitable primary charging system for leisure batteries but that's not a majorly significant issue. ( http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=81522992 )

Wiring needs to be thought about early because it gets buried and becomes hard to access later, so it does no harm to cater for the future. If you see yourself perhaps wanting mains sockets, inverted mains sockets, 12V outlets, speaker leads, lighting points and switches in the future at any point it is best to provide for them in the beginning.
I've almost 150m of cable running behind my ply-lining (label both ends of everything!:D)

As spacehopper says voltage drop due to resistance at 12V is huge so short runs on thick cable are best. I find even 32 amp mains cable (2.5mm diameter) is too thin after two meters when I want to pull 150watts; it does the job but I lose a lot of battery capacity to resistance and concurrently in the production of heat. Best croc-clip heavy draws like inverters/laptop chargers (I know you say you won't want one but I find that hard to believe) straight to the battery.

If you want to keep it stealth then skylights are essential as you will want natural light and may not want to put windows in the sides (although high narrow ones often go unnoticed by the untrained eye...until of course you turn the lights on inside at night time...tinting and curtains will avoid this though).

There was a school of thought that one should Waxoyl every nook and cranny inside before you start anything. It's the business for stopping sitting water from causing you grief down the road.
Use it at your own risk, I tried it and it took 2 months to become workable.
I painted over some of it later and that took a month to dry.
Three years later it's still pliable, sticky and dirty (albeit only really an issue when I have to remove the floor/walls etc.).

http://www.halfords.ie/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_11101_catalogId_15551_productId_156973_langId_-1_categoryId_212430


Insulate the be-jaysus outtov it.
Layer of thermawrap, as much rock wool as you can comfortably fit, second layer of thermawrap then plywood 8-12mm thick (12mm gets difficult to flex if your walls are curved).

http://www.homebase.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?langId=110&storeId=10151&partNumber=127033


Good luck finding a chassis!

rubbledoubledo

Thanks for all the feedback

Buford T Justice

rubbledoubledo wrote: »

Bit confused about battery power.
The alternator would not be enough so to do the job .
I mean i would be driving this camper all year round,, during the weekend then may be staying out for an night.

When parked up , what power would i be using.
A night heater on for a few hours, then into bed.

I would not be using tele, laptops or dishs of any sort.
Pointed out by a member here to use a cool box. Good idea

You'd be very foolish not to plan for using any electrical items like a telly, laptop etc.... Times and people change, and could be a major issue coming the time to shift it on.

Future proof as much as possible imo.