Ford Transit conversion to camper MKII

Buford T Justice

Sir Liamalot wrote: »

Bus Bars? {like playing spot the ball}

Sorta

Sir Liamalot wrote: »

I saw that.
At first I thought the sticky mount was a piece of black tape you used to cover it. All's right in the world..phew!

I hate these scabby cable mount fuse holders



They mean you haveta put a janky butt crimp in the rig from the onset. Point of failure, mechanic stress and moisture ingress. It's all well and good putting a surreptitious butt crimp in because you don't fancy chasing and throwing away a 30m run of cable between the front locker and the rudder but buying a piece of harware with the intent of a shyte install is madness.

They're another instance of if they did less (gave spade terminals instead of cable) then it'd be better....ranty, macrant rant....

Buford T Justice

Did some work on the bathroom this weekend. I fitted the door for the cassette, which was more of a challenge than I though it would be.
I didn't remember the last time I did it being such an ordeal, but I spent a lot of time measuring to be sure I didn't cut the hole in the wrong place - which would've been bad.



When I fitted the door and screwed it in it wouldn't close properly as it had was out of shape due the curve of the van, and the swage liens. When the door was straight I had to pack behind the screws to ensure they were gripping tight and weren't wobbling around too much.





Tigerseal around it did the job. When the van is painted, this will look a lot better I hope.



Refitted the guide light that had to make way for the door.



filled the holes between the inner wall and the door to make it look decent and tidy.





Nice

Buford T Justice

Finished the inside of the bathroom and installed the toilet







Installed the exterior walls for the bathroom

Buford T Justice

Can't figure why this is raising it's head again.



Thinking I'll stonechip the bottom of the van and be done with it.

Buford T Justice

Sir Liamalot wrote: »

I just stone chip all that stuff. I buy 3 gallons at a time.

Any particular sort / brand? I see lots of it as underbody - none really as body paint. Thinking I might do the whole bottom of the van in it

Upol gravitex dries hard so you can work on it in the future without getting coated in sticky goo like schutz.

Cork spray and rubberising solutions are great f you can put the vehicle in an oven for a week before you apply it.

If it's a hairy scray mess of argi-welding and filler then bitumen.

I used to get gallons shipped from the Uk ~€40 cheaper than the local wholesaler. Now that's gone ta shyte in Brexit.
Usually, if you ask for a trade discount and yer willing to spend more than €100 then most motor factors will oblige.


You should see what happened all my battery suppliers!



The feckin' natives are trying to charge me more for come collect engine starting batteries with leisure stickers than I used to be able to get proper 3x better traction golf cart batteries delivered to my door from overseas for!

Buford T Justice

Sir Liamalot wrote: »

Upol gravitex dries hard so you can work on it in the future without getting coated in sticky goo like schutz.

Onestop motorshop do their own branded version which doesn't look to dissimilar. I used it on the underside of the van. Might deviate to this for the lower panels though. Getting pissed off with this rust nonsense. I need to blitz over the remaining stuff, but I think I'll do up to the swage lines maybe in stone chip

Sir Liamalot wrote: »

You should see what happened all my battery suppliers!



The feckin' natives are trying to charge me more for come collect engine starting batteries with leisure stickers than I used to be able to get proper 3x better traction golf cart batteries delivered to my door from overseas for!

Yup. You can't get anything anymore. Brexit has fucked everything. It's even impossible to get stuff on amazon without paying three times the amount for shipping.

Buford T Justice

Buford T Justice wrote: »

Onestop motorshop do their own branded version which doesn't look to dissimilar. I used it on the underside of the van. Might deviate to this for the lower panels though.

Upol can be expensive for the brand name alright. Their fiberglass prices are through the roof when you compare it to what shipwrights are paying.
You can use stone chip anywhere you want I did my beater cars in it up to the water line, including the bumpers, handles, mirrors, wipers etc. Looks fine covered in mud easy get colour match paint.

Buford T Justice wrote: »

Getting pissed off with this rust nonsense.

:pac: My T1 Merc ate a Transit worth of necromancy potions every year of the last 6.
It's right boring alright.
I tell ya though everything else I work on since is a piece of cake.
I'm always amazed when suspension bolts come out without hours of fighting.


Cars are so easy I only ever have to escalate the violence to 3/8" impacts. That's about a 5 on the "bring the hurt" arsenal I have.


Raptor paint is even harder than gravitex and a modicum more posh looking.

Buford T Justice wrote: »

Yup. You can't get anything anymore. Brexit has fucked everything. It's even impossible to get stuff on amazon without paying three times the amount for shipping.

The batteries are a kick in the {censored}. €175 for a £100 leisure lemon? Schwim on! ..feckin' Paddies! That's a 300 cycle battery. I used to get 1200 cycle batteries for the same delivered.


It may come back Tayna is warehousing outtov Holland and was offering 2 day shipping across Europe I bet they're hurting more than I am.


Amazon.de is usually better than amazon.co.uk
Use this.

Amazon.de is in English too.

Buford T Justice

Finished the exterior wall of the bathroom and bolted the seat to the floor. It's now quasi installed as it'll have to come out no doubt to do the floor.



I've run out of lining carpet, so I'll have to order some more to finish the job.


Also got my hands on a half a length of kitchen worktop so that's another thing sorted at least. Just have the fun of fitting the sink now

Buford T Justice

Shit day today - which isn't too bad considering it's the only one really that I've had in this build.

I started building the gas box, and initially built it too small so that was a complete balls.

I have two cylinders, a standard 11KG one and a smaller one that was part of the original van. I'm not convinced that I'll be easily able to get another smaller cylinder so I've build one to accommodate the 11KG one. I built another one, which actually fits this time, but it's causing all sorts of issues.

It doesn't go all the way to the left of the door as I wanted it to, if I install the water heater directly behind as mocked in this photo and now has to sit right in the middle of the van.

I think I can mount it over the water tank and have the outlet near enough to the water inlet, and that looks like it might do the job.


Alternatively I can rotate the water tank 90 degrees and mount the heater over it. It will clear the sliding door and sit above the swage line on the outside. However, i intend to have the fridge under the bed at the kitchen area, so I'm not 100% if doing this will cause the tank to interfere with the position of my non existent fridge.

I can put it to the right of the doors beside the electrics, but I'd have to stretch around it to get at the isolator for the power.



Either way - this is a right ballache.

Mwahaha....arah give up on the gas altogether! 5kgs cylinders are easy to get just a lot more expensive to run.

I made a 3D drawing of a cheap solar install fer ya. I rather circuit breakers myself but some people aren't that fussy.

Buford T Justice

Sir Liamalot wrote: »

Mwahaha....arah give up on the gas altogether! 5kgs cylinders are easy to get just a lot more expensive to run.

Yeah, if you've not mastered the no gas option then there's no hope for me. :pac::pac::pac:

I have the answer is diesel, stereo alternators, 1.5kW of solar anna a half ton of lead.

Woodies do calor 5kgs.

colm_mcm

Why don’t you put the water tank over the wheel arch?


Is that my patented bed slat design I see?

Or undersling it for that matter?...back seat conversions are so much easier..MWAhaha

Buford T Justice

Sir Liamalot wrote: »

I have the answer is diesel, stereo alternators, 1.5kW of solar anna a half ton of lead.

Half a ton of lead = overweight :eek:

Sir Liamalot wrote: »

Woodies do calor 5kgs.

Good to know. I'd prefer the 5kg one if it's easy enough to get your hands on.

colm_mcm wrote: »

Why don’t you put the water tank over the wheel arch?

Water inlet is already fitted (genius move there) and it's below the top of where the tank would be if it was over the wheel arch, so It'd never fill properly

colm_mcm wrote: »

Is that my patented bed slat design I see?

What's that now? :cool:

Sir Liamalot wrote: »

Or undersling it for that matter?...back seat conversions are so much easier..MWAhaha

Underslung gas install? Lets call that phase 2

colm_mcm

Ah I see the water fill now.

If you want some sort of boot area, and accessing from the back doors, would you put the gas cylinder on drivers side up against toilet wall, beside wheel arch?

Buford T Justice

Buford T Justice wrote: »

Half a ton of lead = overweight :eek:

Van's too small.

Buford T Justice wrote: »

Water inlet is already fitted (genius move there) and it's below the top of where the tank would be if it was over the wheel arch, so It'd never fill properly

Pump + check valve.
{Edit} you can use mains pressure instead of a pump that's usually around 50PSI. You just need a sealed inlet and a vent/overflow tube.

Buford T Justice wrote: »

Underslung gas install? Lets call that phase 2

Undersling the water tank.

There's a lottov issues with underslung gas. The oultet has to be on top, impact resistance, refiller availability and expense make it not worth it.

Buford T Justice

Sir Liamalot wrote: »

Undersling the water tank.

There's a lottov issues with underslung gas. The oultet has to be on top, impact resistance, refiller availability and expense make it not worth it.

I'll see if the tank will fit, but I have my doubts. I already have to get a grey water tank and fit that to the underside of the van. Just need to double check some measurements before ordering

Only amatuers get it right the first time.

Buford T Justice

So yeah, given the last incidence of gas related funsies I now have two boxes for a gas bottle. If the 5kg is common enough to get around the place, I might go with that one since it's smaller and less akward.



I've ordered some bits and pieces like a grey water tank, a 116PSI water pump (mostly cos it was cheap), some more lining carpet, table brackets and sundries, so I have to wait for them to arrive. Looking like some time towards the end of next week.

Once they arrive I'll look to under-slinging the two tanks

Buford T Justice

I picked up a half length of worktop for a song, so I though I'd keep myself busy and install it and the sink, or at least cut the worktop out for the sink.

I drew it out on some scrap ply first, as I do like to measure twice



I cut it out and did a test fit





Cut the end of the worktop at an angle for space





Chop, saw, route....



It fits






By the looks of things, I need to drill out under the screw holes so the wee bowls (no pics of it) sit into the holes so they can be screwed down into the worktop.

colm_mc_m might know

colm_mcm

Yes, you need to drill out slightly for those.

Make sure your hinges don’t catch the worktop too underneath once it’s sitting more tight, that caught me out.

Buford T Justice

colm_mcm wrote: »

Yes, you need to drill out slightly for those.

Make sure your hinges don’t catch the worktop too underneath once it’s sitting more tight, that caught me out.

On my test fit with the scrap plywood, the sink was lifting when I opened the lids hence the small cutouts at the back. Seems to be ok, but good to be aware. Naturally I won't be installing the sink for a while for fear I'd drop my cordless drill on it or something

colm_mcm

Generally you wouldn’t screw it down for good until you plumb the gas in. People usually do a slight loop of gas pipe to allow the unit be lifted in/out.

colm_mcm

Buford T Justice wrote: »

So yeah, given the last incidence of gas related funsies I now have two boxes for a gas bottle. If the 5kg is common enough to get around the place, I might go with that one since it's smaller and less akward.



I've ordered some bits and pieces like a grey water tank, a 116PSI water pump (mostly cos it was cheap), some more lining carpet, table brackets and sundries, so I have to wait for them to arrive. Looking like some time towards the end of next week.

Once they arrive I'll look to under-slinging the two tanks

On the gas bottle how much space are you actually saving by having 5kg vs 11kg bottle, doesn’t look like much size difference?

If you fitted a bulkhead regulator and a gas bottle with an F type valve on top - I think it would solve your height issue, plus i think it would be more suitable than a domestic regulator.

You’d only be changing bottles half as often.

Buford T Justice

colm_mcm wrote: »

On the gas bottle how much space are you actually saving by having 5kg vs 11kg bottle, doesn’t look like much size difference?

If you fitted a bulkhead regulator and a gas bottle with an F type valve on top - I think it would solve your height issue, plus i think it would be more suitable than a domestic regulator.

You’d only be changing bottles half as often.

Interesting.

How common are gas bottles with F type valves and where can they be got?

The box for the 5kg cylinder is the one I made for the 11KG cylinder that was too small. Arguably I could trim it down a considerable amount.


Oh, started doing some stone chipping today. Ground back all the rust and treated it with Loctitie rust treatment before hand.





Also did the foot wells on the inside.
I've only one side of the van done today but ultimately it should mean:

• Underbody has been treated with Schutz
• Inner Chassis legs treated with cavity wax
• Inner lower panels treated with cavity wax
• Bottom of outside of van treated with Gravitex stone chip

So hopefully that should keep the rust at bay.