I've Done it now

bjh

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Well I've been and gone and done it now! Yes, I've bought a van to convert. Sold our motor home back in May as the layout no longer worked for us. Spent months trying to find something that would fit the bill, but too big and much too expensive. Seemed the only way to get what we wanted was to build our own, so here goes. It's a Peugeot Boxer, L3H2, 2017 so Euro 6 compliant. Will probably be asking a few questions along the way. From what I've seen so far, many of you have lots of knowledge and experience which I hope I can tap into.

To kick the ball off, two or three things I need to sort soon to prepare the van.
  1. I know about the importance of insulating the van and ensuring it is all sealed to prevent moisture getting to the steel walls. Any suggestions for the type of insulation to use around the curvy bits such as over the cab and wheel arches, and where are best (cheapest) places to buy it.
  2. Any pointers on where best to get PIR insulation for the flat areas and floor?
  3. Windows. I like the look of the black bonded windows like Vanpimps do, but the caravan windows like Shield do seem more practical. Bigger open area and can be used in the rain. Any thoughts or suggestions.
Thanks for any suggestions and I hope to see some of you around when its finished
 
An idea of your budget would help as things can get out of hand fast, also what style of van do you want, how many berths, proper shower/loo, kitchen etc.

As a preference I'd go with spray foam insulation there is nothing better, Seitz windows are the best, and can be found on evil bay.
 
My build might give some ideas of layout etc but I had the L4H2.

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Hi Pudsey Bear. Tried your Dropbox files and it would not let in on my old email and password. Will try again tomorrow.

2CV, thanks for that. Apparently I am a member on there as well. Will have to have a look at it.

Re layout, we are going to put bunk beds across the back of the van. Saves a lot of space, I get a good nights sleep and I don't disturb the better half when I get up in the night. Bathroom and kitchen down one side opposite the sliding door leaving plenty of space in the middle of the van. Not much room for socialising though! Water tank is going inside, as we quite often go for long weekends in Winter. If the tank freezes in this layout then we will be in real trouble!! Probably refillable gas bottles, combined water and space heater, gas hob and grill (any ideas where to get one?), and an electric fridge. Thanks Trevskoda, am planning wiring routes now, but still not sure which solar panel and control setup to use. Very early days yet. Have removed the ply panel and other fixings, scraped dust and gunge up and prepared to paint parts of the floor.
 
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bjh said:
Hi Pudsey Bear. Tried your Dropbox files and it would not let in on my old email and password. Will try again tomorrow.
Click to expand...
Your email won't let you in anyway, only to your own account, but you shouldn't need to log in anyway, I must have linked it wrongly.

I'll have another look later when the grey matter wakes up,
 
As for insulation, try Greg Virgo’s YouTube channel. He might bore you to tears sometimes. But almost everyone building a van uses a variation of what he’s done.
If I were to build one, and if I had the skills, I’d build it the same way as Greg.
I’ve an idea, he might be a member on here. He has been to some of our meets.
Somehow, I think I’ve only stated the obvious.🙄
 
That link worked and Wow. Great reference point, thanks. That was a lot of work. How long did it take you?

Really envious of your workshop. Yesterday tried cleaning and treating any rusty bits on the floor and treating with a rust converter. Put the primer on top and it would not dry. Had to use a hair dryer to get the primer to dry. I have started this project at the wrong time of year, but this was the first decent van at a reasonable price that I found in the last 5 months.

Thanks also to Trotter. I had seen some of Greg Virgos videos before, but could not remember the name and could not find them again. Must get some more RAM for my brain.
 
I just had a single garage but it was stuffed full of crap so I got some pallets and a sheet of shuttering ply and made an 8x4 bench on the drive, I only need it for cutting the sheets of lightweight ply really and assembling stuff I had a sheet of plastic to cover it when I didn't need it, as most of the real work is inside the van. I worked steadily 10 to 4 most days but it still took about 18 months, I needed it to be the best that I could do as I'm my worst critic, but I was mostly happy with it, and it was a great learning curve and I loved almost every minute of it except the sleepless nights trying to get my head around a lot of stuff I had no idea how to do, nowadays you just look on YouTube, back then you only had the SBMCC forum to get advice.
 
I did a sort of blog which may or may not help, links to pictures may all be dead but the other link has them anyway.

Blog link
 
Trust me to find a reasonable van just as the weather turned very cold! Not been able to do anything, not even finishing off the cleaning and rust proofing of the floor, its just too cold. Managed to buy quite a lot of stuff though, including insulation, windows, skylight and sink/hob unit. Can't move for stuff now. Hope it warms up soon so I can start fitting things.

Is it better to use a submersible pump in the tank or an external pump. the submersible pump is much easier and a lot cheaper?
 
bjh said:
Trust me to find a reasonable van just as the weather turned very cold! Not been able to do anything, not even finishing off the cleaning and rust proofing of the floor, its just too cold. Managed to buy quite a lot of stuff though, including insulation, windows, skylight and sink/hob unit. Can't move for stuff now. Hope it warms up soon so I can start fitting things.

Is it better to use a submersible pump in the tank or an external pump. the submersible pump is much easier and a lot cheaper?
Click to expand...
If the submersible one means having micro switched taps, then get the external pump.
Taps for micro are ridiculously expensive and prone to fail. Where as, with the submersible pump you can fit domestic taps, shower units and the like. Saving a small fortune. Same goes for electrical fittings. Motorhome stuff may look pretty, but as you'll probably the only one to see it, it' got to be domestic everytime.
Best of luck with the build (y)
 
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Have a lookie on you tube at:- Vanology ,,,,,, or Liam the terrible ,,,, as they do van conversions from scratch & loads of info on products & best practices ,,,,
 
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