Campervan conversion, reclassification and insurance

Alem12

Hi guys,

I have just purchased a 2002 Ford Transit mini bus with 14 seats. The plan is to rip everything out, insulate and fit r 'n' r bed, kitchen and storage. The van will be used by me and my little family. Based on a research I've done so far it seems like the conversion is the easy part. Getting the reclasification and insurance is the hard part. With this in mind I was hoping to get some guidance and steps and learn from your experience. Also, so far the two biggest challenges I have are around r'n'r bed and the height. Does r'n'r bed need to be M1 certified or can I buy a bed and get it approved/certified by a SQI? Regarding the height, the van is currently 160cm high which is likely to be even lower after insulation. This as I understand could make it un-insurable. Any help would be much appreciated. Cheers, Alem

kadman

Why would you buy a van without confirming the exact height specs you need for the project vehicle,before you purchase.

Alem12

Thank you so much for your reply. Very helpful and understanding.

kadman

Alem12 wrote: »

Thank you so much for your reply. Very helpful and understanding.

Sorry my post caused offense, it wasn't meant to.:o

I,ll bow out now, so as not to cause any further...

colm_mcm

Insurance shouldn’t be a problem, the motorcaravan club will be able to help there.

How many people does it need to sleep?

Alem12

Thank you. It would sleep / carry 4 people. 2 people would sleep on r'n'r bed and two kids on hammocks. I also found out yesterday I might need to remove at least two Windows in the back and replace with metal sheets. Don't even know where and how to do that... 🀨

autumnalcore

Alem12 wrote: »

Thank you. It would sleep / carry 4 people. 2 people would sleep on r'n'r bed and two kids on hammocks. I also found out yesterday I might need to remove at least two Windows in the back and replace with metal sheets. Don't even know where and how to do that... 🀨

That was what the motorcaravan club requested of someone, I would try to get it insured theough stuarts first.

Youre not going to want all those windows anyway as at night you will lose a lot of heat and have a huge amount of condensatuin. My friend had opague security vinyl ovee inside of his rear windows to blank them out then insulation and wall lining inside that. Was no issue with insurance.

Alem12

Very good point about the condensation and yes it would cause heat loss issues for sure. Does your friend have 1.8m inside of the van? Who is he insured with? I think Stuarts are asking for 1.8m.

colm_mcm

Alem12 wrote: »

Thank you. It would sleep / carry 4 people. 2 people would sleep on r'n'r bed and two kids on hammocks. I also found out yesterday I might need to remove at least two Windows in the back and replace with metal sheets. Don't even know where and how to do that... ��

Motorcaravan club asked us to do this on the Transit we converted, the basis was that they didn’t want it looking like a Minibus. They wouldn’t have accepted inserting metal behind the (bonded, flush) glass, it was a purely visual thing IMO.

We didn’t end up having to do this.

jace_da_face

Alem12 wrote: »

Thank you so much for your reply. Very helpful and understanding.

That made me laugh out loud. Sorry Kadman, I’m sure you didn’t mean to offend but thanks I needed that 😆