7.5t Horsebox conversion.

Cinque

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6
I'm doubting the wisdom of my buying this but 'tis done.
The intention is to convert the horse bit into a bed-sitting room and extending the kitchen and shower room.
It's a 1998 Merc Atego 4.2L engine so not up for much touring (probably 10-15mpg).
The intention is to make it my main (only) habitation, however, finding somewhere to park it (hopefully with water and electricity) will be the biggest problem.
I don't think wandering from lay-by to lay-by will be workable.
Solar panels with battery backup to run a fridge freezer is a priority. Any advice on that would be great.
I am still working on MOT and upgrading my driving license at present and have temp parking at work while converting but long-term parking will be important.
Any and all advice/comments are welcome,
TIA, Paul

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I've looked at 7.5t vehicles a few times (bosses horsebox/race transporter/his ex library services transporter )

And love the idea of the big square box ....
Patio doors just inside rear door and use the ramp as a 'patio/sundeck'
BUT still plenty of light in on a wet winters day ....

At the end of the day it was running costs and difficulty of finding suitable park ups and parking when not used that put paid to my plans sadly ....

BUT if you can get over those they do offer a great chance for conversion with lots of space to play with .

Look forward to see how you go on .
 
Your biggest problem not being on a site with that will be powering a fridge freezer over winter in the U.K. while I love my 12V compressor fridge I carry a generator to recharge my battery’s every couple of days. You need to think about that if you do go off site with it as solar isn’t going to do it unless you spend an awful lot, a 3 way on gas would be better for you.

I have friends who live full time in big horse boxes and have done for years, they rarely go on a site but usually use byways, country lanes or lay byes.
 
You will have plenty of roof space for solar panels and you can get some really good deals on used large panels which could be ideal. You would have to make sure there is enough strength in the roof to take the weight of course.
If you had say 1000W of solar (which is doable I would think) and a big lithium battery, you should be good for quite a few days in winter before having to move to get the battery recharged.
 
It might be better if you joined our sister website: www.wildcamping. co.uk.

There's loads of self building advice and information on off- grid living.

No big payload worries, if you leave the grand piano behind.

Good luck, fella.
 
Having done this on a 7.5 tonne ex library I know how you are feeling. Be prepared to invest a lot of time and money to get it where you want it to be. If you can wait for the mot until after the conversion it will go as a class 4 motorhome. You will probably need to replace the floor in the horse bit that wood will have absorbed a lot of urine. I had 1000 watts of solar on the roof and 600ah of lifepo4 batteries this powered a domestic 240v fridge and seperate freezer along with tv etc no problem including full time in the winter however we did move around a lot.
Having all that space and massive payload is great and we thoroughly enjoyed it, but after three years the fuel economy restricted speed and size issues persuaded us to sell it and downsize to a conventional motorhome.
If you don’t intend on travelling as much this won’t be such an issue for you, good luck with your build and most of all enjoy it.
 
Pauljenny said:
It might be better if you joined our sister website: www.wildcamping. co.uk.

There's loads of self building advice and information on off- grid living.

No big payload worries, if you leave the grand piano behind.

Good luck, fella.
Click to expand...
One of my friends has an upright piano in his horse box Paul lol
 
Are you thinking of running 12v, 24v or 48v in the hab area?
 
Bouydog said:
Having done this on a 7.5 tonne ex library I know how you are feeling. Be prepared to invest a lot of time and money to get it where you want it to be. If you can wait for the mot until after the conversion it will go as a class 4 motorhome. You will probably need to replace the floor in the horse bit that wood will have absorbed a lot of urine. I had 1000 watts of solar on the roof and 600ah of lifepo4 batteries this powered a domestic 240v fridge and seperate freezer along with tv etc no problem including full time in the winter however we did move around a lot.
Having all that space and massive payload is great and we thoroughly enjoyed it, but after three years the fuel economy restricted speed and size issues persuaded us to sell it and downsize to a conventional motorhome.
If you don’t intend on travelling as much this won’t be such an issue for you, good luck with your build and most of all enjoy it.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the info. I’m so new to this.
Can’t I get the class 4 mot untill it’s converted?
I need to move it to do the conversion.
There’s no smell to it so I don’t think it’s had much use…
 
nabsim said:
Your biggest problem not being on a site with that will be powering a fridge freezer over winter in the U.K. while I love my 12V compressor fridge I carry a generator to recharge my battery’s every couple of days. You need to think about that if you do go off site with it as solar isn’t going to do it unless you spend an awful lot, a 3 way on gas would be better for you.

I have friends who live full time in big horse boxes and have done for years, they rarely go on a site but usually use byways, country lanes or lay byes.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the info. I’m very new at this.
What do you mean by ’a 3 way on gas’?
 
Bouydog said:
Having done this on a 7.5 tonne ex library I know how you are feeling. Be prepared to invest a lot of time and money to get it where you want it to be. If you can wait for the mot until after the conversion it will go as a class 4 motorhome. You will probably need to replace the floor in the horse bit that wood will have absorbed a lot of urine. I had 1000 watts of solar on the roof and 600ah of lifepo4 batteries this powered a domestic 240v fridge and seperate freezer along with tv etc no problem including full time in the winter however we did move around a lot.
Having all that space and massive payload is great and we thoroughly enjoyed it, but after three years the fuel economy restricted speed and size issues persuaded us to sell it and downsize to a conventional motorhome.
If you don’t intend on travelling as much this won’t be such an issue for you, good luck with your build and most of all enjoy it.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the info. I’m so new to this.
Can’t I get the class 4 mot untill it’s converted?
I need to move it to do the conversion.
There’s no smell to it so I don’t think it’s had much use…
 
Cinque said:
Thanks for the info. I’m so new to this.
Can’t I get the class 4 mot untill it’s converted?
I need to move it to do the conversion.
There’s no smell to it so I don’t think it’s had much use…
Click to expand...
"Tested as presented"
so as long as it looks like a camper ...
Bed/table/cooker/toulet/sink etc then it should be tested as class 4
 
mistericeman said:
I've looked at 7.5t vehicles a few times (bosses horsebox/race transporter/his ex library services transporter )

And love the idea of the big square box ....
Patio doors just inside rear door and use the ramp as a 'patio/sundeck'
BUT still plenty of light in on a wet winters day ....

At the end of the day it was running costs and difficulty of finding suitable park ups and parking when not used that put paid to my plans sadly ....

BUT if you can get over those they do offer a great chance for conversion with lots of space to play with .

Look forward to see how you go on .
Click to expand...
Patio doors just inside rear door and use the ramp as a 'patio/sundeck' Was my plan but just moving it the short distance to work on it is the first big problem.
Don’t think I can get a class 4 mot till it’s converted.
Something of a dilemma.
 
Book an MOT somewhere in the direction you want to move it to this will allow you to drive it on the road.
You may need to cancel the appointment at short notice.
 
Might be worthwhile getting the vehicle weighed before you start any conversion , that way you will know what you have to take out before adding more stuff
 
At 15 mpg you wont be galloping around much or horseing it down the m ways, lots of solar lipo 4 batts and refillable gas, mind you i only got 15 mpg boot to the board last week running up from around dunblin to belfast, cant beat a big box though.
 
I would get a new MOT before you start any conversion to give you the maximum time possible before a new one is due.
I converted a Minibus and after I took the seats out, I had it reclassified as a Van with Windows PHGV. Backfired doing that as when a minibus I could get a PSV (or MOT test as for some reason it was down as a PLG not HGV), but as a >3.5t van, it had to have an HGV test but had no HGV plate. Impossible situation it seemed and the VOSA help desk were totally useless on how to resolve.
As it happens, when the next MOT was due, I was nearly finished and quickly cut a hole in the worktop, dropped a hob in (didn't connect it up) and presented the van as a Motor Caravan. Got class 4 MOT (y)

As far as 12V or 24V goes, it is easier to go 12V in the living space overall, but 24V would tend to be more efficient if you are looking at AC 'mains' kit such as fridge, cooking kit, water heater, etc.
You would use a DC-DC convertor to present 12V to the general habitation electrics so all your DC stuff is the same as any other typical Camper.
 
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