hello

[chris]

hello, my names chris im 25 from a small town called oswestry in shropshire, me and my long term girlfriend have decided to build our own camper van and i have been lookin for a forum which i can get tips and good information from people who have been there and done it, both our familys have always camped either tent caravan or motorhome, so now its time for me and the mrs to step up and do it ourselves,

as there only us two , we have decided our base vehicle will be either a bedford rascal of a daihatsu hi-jet.

would appreciate any in-put you could give.

regards

chris

[lunnie]

Hi Chris, Welcome to this forum. I cannot help with your project but to wish you well. Have you looked at Romahomes built on the base vehicles you mentioned??you can buy them for under 1K.

Joan

[Pauline]

Hi Chris and welcome

I cant help either but we do have some very talented members who excel with technical stuff and Yamaha converted his Bongo into a motorhome so perhaps he will be able to offer some tips.

Good luck, sounds an exciting project

[playallday]

Hi Chris
welcome..I wish you and 'the mrs' well in your project!

Mar 2, 2008 8:25:46 GMT lunnie said:

Have you looked at Romahomes built on the base vehicles you mentioned??you can buy them for under 1K.

Further to Joan's comment, there are sometimes unfinished romahome 'projects' on ebay which go for a song. Might be worth a look.

Good luck

[viv]

Hi Chris
I cannot offer advice but do wish you well in your endeavours. I am sure someone on here will be able to help.

Good luck

[pendel]

Hello Chris. Good luck with your venture. Only advise I will give is make sure your base vehicle has enough power to pull everything you will be carrying. Some of the Bedfords etc have very small engine size so you are limited to what you can carry. Our friend has just sold his Bedford Bambi camper as he said it didn't feel safe, especially at roundabouts. He was afraid it would tip over. He is looking for a Citroen Romahome like ours now. Good luck anyway. Maybe we will see you at a "meet" one day. Derek

[yamaha]

Mar 2, 2008 6:07:35 GMT chris said:

hello, my names chris im 25 from a small town called oswestry in shropshire, me and my long term girlfriend have decided to build our own camper van and i have been lookin for a forum which i can get tips and good information from people who have been there and done it, both our familys have always camped either tent caravan or motorhome, so now its time for me and the mrs to step up and do it ourselves,

as there only us two , we have decided our base vehicle will be either a bedford rascal of a daihatsu hi-jet.

would appreciate any in-put you could give.

regards

chris

Hi Chris - welcome to the site. Have you seen this site - probably the best one for Self-Build -

sbmcc.co.uk/forum/

Although Pauline very kindly said I'd converted my Bongo - not strictly true - I've taken out both sets of rear seats, ready to install a permanent bed in the back - this project is still ongoing, ie, still to be started!! Tis the weather - that's my excuse, anyway!!

Don't intend to convert it to a Camper - we use an awning on site, and prefer to live - wash - cook, etc in that - and house the Quad at night - so the Bongo only carries all the junk, and provides us with somewhere to sleep at night!!

Mike

[chris]

thanks for the warm welcome guys, much appreciated

i have looked at the romahomes, my girlfriends nan has one , and as i used to be into modifying cars, so i thought id do something a little bit differnt on the inside it, and add a different kind of camper to the family , something with my own perosnel touch , so a basic panel van i can can start from scratch and get everything just as we want it.

we wont be travelling many miles i it, mainly about 60 - 70 miles to our local seaside resort of barmouth or twywn, but im sure if i enjoy building it i will end up getting a bigger van and having al the home comforts.

[jayjay]

Mar 2, 2008 13:12:04 GMT pendel said:

Hello Chris. Good luck with your venture. Only advise I will give is make sure your base vehicle has enough power to pull everything you will be carrying. Some of the Bedfords etc have very small engine size so you are limited to what you can carry. Our friend has just sold his Bedford Bambi camper as he said it didn't feel safe, especially at roundabouts. He was afraid it would tip over. He is looking for a Citroen Romahome like ours now. Good luck anyway. Maybe we will see you at a "meet" one day. Derek

I can agree with that! My romahome is on a Bedford Rascal pick up base and my average speed is around 40mph. although it will go faster down a hill with the wind behind me (55mph!!). And going up a hill, well, you can be overtaken by a pushbike, very embarrassing. It's a 970 cc engine on my Bedford. I've heard the diahatsu engine is even slower, but I think it all depends on how old the engine is. Mine's 21 years old, so I'm not expecting miracles!

I'm not that bothered about getting anywhere fast, but I do think my vehicle is too slow for motorways except in the middle of the night. It's virtually uncontrollable when a 'fast' lorry overtakes you and at 40-45mph that is every two minutes or so. Happens on dual carriageways as well.

It does have its up side though. Petrol consumption is pretty good overall.

[malcolm]

Hi Chris and welcome. 20 odd years ago I converted a Transit 12 seater. First removed the seats. All units were made as removable boxes. Cooker, fridge sink were all good 2nd hand units. it served us well for several years as a multi purpose vehicle.

Before starting I would look at as many different vans as you can, decide on your layout, check all the technical bits - gas, electrics and plumbing and then off you go. You have already made contact with the best site for tips and help.

Good luck with your project and look forward to seeing the result at one of our meets

Malcolm

[Derek]

Mar 2, 2008 6:07:35 GMT chris said:

hello, my names chris im 25 from a small town called oswestry in shropshire, me and my long term girlfriend have decided to build our own camper van and i have been lookin for a forum which i can get tips and good information from people who have been there and done it, both our familys have always camped either tent caravan or motorhome, so now its time for me and the mrs to step up and do it ourselves,

as there only us two , we have decided our base vehicle will be either a bedford rascal of a daihatsu hi-jet.

would appreciate any in-put you could give.

regards

chris

Hi chris, sounds like a great project, I did a basic conversion on a bay window VW a long time ago. It was OK but the 20 mpg was too much for us so it had to go, I was using it as an everyday vehicle.

Are you going to fit a rising roof? Lots of inspiration on www.bedfordrascal.com/index.html

If you want a more trendy motor how about getting some ideas from www.littleguy.co.uk/ , the daihatsu has sliding doors on the side and a tail gate, another way of doing it.

Some things to be aware of.

Basic cars and vans are cold to sleep in, condensation is a big problem. best to line and insulate and use silver screens.

You need ventilation so an opening roof light is good.

It is not compulsory to fit a cooker, sink and fridge.

A lot of micro conversions have very little storage space for kit so it is all in there with you, I would consider raising the sleeping platform for stowage space

If you are gong to use campsites, electric hookup is the best thing since sliced bread, you can use a travel kettle, cooking ring, fan heater and cool box. You can also use lights without running down the vehicle battery.

Lots more ideas, I was thinking of converting another van but I am getting lazy.

Best of luck with your conversion, have fun ------- Derek

[jayjay]

just seen this on ebay -

It's just the van and a roll top sort of fibreglass body, might be the perfect thing to start from scratch!
cgi.ebay.co.uk/Bedford-Rascal-reliable-versatile-two-bodies-styles_W0QQitemZ320222951502QQihZ011QQcategoryZ108851QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

There's another on there, a complete romahome body without the pick up which might be worth a look.

[chris]

wow thankyou for all the input , its been really helpfull, im glad i joined
ii have thought about the rascal and maybe its not the way to go as its abit small and i have a very heavy right foot and 45mph would do my nogging in as i have a 50cc moped thats quicker,

so what ive thought is a toyota hi ace with its 2.0 diesel engine in, pritty much a indestructable engine, and the vehicle will now give me more room and a much tidyer layout to get exactly what i would like in there, and i havnt really gota worry so much about wait , yes it will be a factor but with a decent diesel unit pulling it , i shouldnt have so much trouble

[pendel]

Hi Again Chris. Dont think you will go wrong with a Toyota, pretty long life engines. I see a lot of oldies still on the road and looking good. Someone earlier said that a fridge and cooker are not compulsory. Thats a good point. We have just bought ,(off ebay) a Movelite awning that is perfect for our Romahome and has plenty of room, if you wanted to cook and wash up in it. Gives you lots of storage space too when you are on site. They can be zipped up and secured and can be left on site while you drive off for a day sightseeing etc. We got our awning for £102 including postage which was a bargain as they are £170 new. Another tip for you is to go to your local council tip and ask if they have any caravans in as our local tip sometimes has one that has been dumped . They are a great source for items that can used in a self build. The SBMCC is a great site to look at. Hope this helps and does'nt confuse. Derek & Penny

[chris]

oo thanks for the tip derek, i will have to pop along and see what my local tip has, i was going to look in scrap yards aswell as sometimes they might have a old caravan or camper in there , if it hasnt been stripped already