Camper - honest opinions please

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Tusses

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So - I've designed a camper layout for a VW t4 Van

Some will have windows , this one doesn't, but the design will work with both.

So - as I am planning on doing a few of these , I would like to know what y'all think . I dont like the new plastic and Ikea look that seems to be the norm these days ??? So this one is 'old school' ' retro' cosey feel to it

My thinking is that , if you are going to spend any time inside the 'van' you really dont want to feel like you are in a 'van' !


.... here goes ....


New respray - New camper conversion.

Stock Height so nice and smooth ride.

Loads of pics , so grab a beer and have a look

1st the exterior. New spray job - colour coded bumpers and mirrors.
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The Cab ... Captains Driver seat with good firm arm rests. and a twin passenger seat with 2 seat belts. MP3/radio with SD/MMC card slot - USB - and Aux inputs. Storage under seats.

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Now for the interior. I didn't like the standard T4 set up. It was not well thought out, and inefficient on its use of space - so I designed my own. Based on the dinette layout. The Table drops to form the bed which is plenty big enough and room to sit on the edge and get changed / make a cuppa etc.
Loads of storage space in the back , under the seats and in the cupbaords. The diner seats 4 easily. with the table stored 2 can lounge with feet up. The washing up area has a plate rack next to the sink for conveineint plate and bowl storage. top shelf for cups or whatever. and a cupboard the other side. the rear load area is disigned so the top shelf area is accessible from inside or ourtside. Fron outside there is loads of storage cupboards/shelves and space between these and the tail gate for larger items.

The rear load area - with the tail gate up to keep you dry while you unpack :)
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bottom center you can see the custom cook unit which contains the Gas bottle cooker with 2 hobs and a grille. and room for pots / pans / and cutlary.

This was made to sit on the front passenger seat when it is folded down
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The cooking unit can easily be used outside or in an awning.

With the table up - the Diner
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With the table tucked away between the seat and the sink unit, we now have the lounge
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plenty of 'lounging room , with the coffee (beer) table for your drinks :tup:
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under the beer table is more storage
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as is under the seats
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With the table down between the seats, there is a full length double bed (i'm 6'2" and its plenty big )
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And at night there is LED lighting above the bed
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and in the rear cupboards
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As you can see , the trim is solid oak - which gives that quality feel

Custom builds - conversion from van to camper - will work out between £1k and £2k depending on appliances and design and will take around 3 to 4 weeks (to the customer- approx 1 week labor)

does the price seem ok ?

cheers

Rich
 
Who are you selling to? I must admit that it seems a little unfinished to be selling to the public. If it's still work in progress then I think it's heading in the right direction. I know nothing of caravans and campers, so whether this would suit the enthusiast, I couldn't guess.
 
WiZeR":julnmmij said:
Who are you selling to? I must admit that it seems a little unfinished to be selling to the public. If it's still work in progress then I think it's heading in the right direction. I know nothing of caravans and campers, so whether this would suit the enthusiast, I couldn't guess.

I'm selling this one in the £3k price bracket - just as a second hand camper. It is the prototype and has been taken apart and put back together a few times !

Very interested to know what you think looks unfinished ? as I have lost sight sort of with this one - it was a right mess when I bought it ! Like I said - honest opinions - and I wont be offended

The 'finished' vans go for 10 - 15k ish !

This is an exapmle of what I dont like oh - and as a reference - this is the sort of 'typical' thing I dont like




oh - and as a reference - this is t...50265290319&_trksid=p3286.m14.l1318]ebay link

Just like that. :roll: DaveL with his MOD hat on.
 
Well I understand what you're trying to do, comparing it to the eBay link. Certainly a big improvement on that
 
Thanks Dave - but how ??? I clicked the url thingy but it didn't give any clues !

it does seem to be an issue with this board ! ?

maybe there should be a sticky for idiots like me :)
 
Hi Rich

I think you have made a good job of it, I think maybe Wizer means when he says looks a bit unfinished he probably means the back picture looks like it could do with a coat of varnish or even painting to finish, just a thought...
 
Three questions to ask about these pictures..... :?:

1. What about the safety aspect of using the portable cooking stove inside the van? As far as I am aware, these stoves shouldn't be used indoors...?

2. Are them plates secured in that nice little rack by the sink, while driving?

3. Where are the curtains for nightime privacy?

I must say though, I like the pictures and as a camper myself, a canvass one myself, however..... I would like a nice little upgrade to something like this, performing the basics.......... Just the gas stove looks dodgey to me!

If it were my van, I'd have another part that would go ontop of the bed area (without the cushioning) to make it a normal van, without damging the parts underneath, but that would only be for my own preference.
 
joiner_sim":3n5wyld7 said:
Three questions to ask about these pictures..... :?:

1. What about the safety aspect of using the portable cooking stove inside the van? As far as I am aware, these stoves shouldn't be used indoors...?

2. Are them plates secured in that nice little rack by the sink, while driving?

3. Where are the curtains for nightime privacy?

I must say though, I like the pictures and as a camper myself, a canvass one myself, however..... I would like a nice little upgrade to something like this, performing the basics.......... Just the gas stove looks dodgey to me!

If it were my van, I'd have another part that would go ontop of the bed area (without the cushioning) to make it a normal van, without damging the parts underneath, but that would only be for my own preference.

Thanks Joiner_Sim

The cooker - loads of 'us' use them inside our VW vans - never heared of anyone having any problems. As long as there is ventilation near the floor (lpg is heavy) then all should be ok. - but I hear what you say , and will double check any regs :) On boats its a big no no as there is no where for the gas to 'drain' but cars/ vans are quite 'leaky' :)

The plates - no , they have to be packed for traveling ( I stack them in the sink) Even for normal traveleing they might be ok - but in a crash the would go eveywhere. - one of the reasons I didn't include a knife rack :shock:

Curtains - again personal choice , peep's seem to be using 'silver screens' these days as they keep the warm in/out. I store them under the seats and they have 'suckers' to stick them to the windows.
 
I like to see this kind of thing and from my viewpoint of no experience with camper vans what you have done looks really quite good...As you have asked for opinions then I will share some but I guess some of these things will be personal preference:
1. When doing something like this where space is at a premium..it appears that a lot of wasted space is created because of the room taken up by the passenger and driver seats...Obviously you have utilised the space with the passenger seat folded down but it just got me to thinking whether there was any "sound" way of having seats there that could be rotated? I am sure someone or many will say that there are some regs about not having that but was just a thought....
2. The plywood sections at the back of the plate and cup rack parts do not seem to go fully across and there is a gap..I don't know if there is any reson for this?..
3. From the back with the tailgate up I can see a lot of unfinished plywood..particularly where the edges meet...I think I would like to see those painted or even covered in carpet or something like the walls of the van...
Apart from that I think it looks really good and please don't take any points I have made as critcism...just things that I would like to see if I were to buy one..
Hope that is of some help to you but it looks damn good and a lot better than the one in the link you posted..
Cheers
Timmo
 
Hi Timmo

Thanks for your comments - critisism IS what I am after so your view point is usefull to me.

The ply at the back - I agree could be better presented as a few have said. Which is why I am glad I posted here as I had put less importance on this bit.

The front seats ... you can get road legal swivel bases and some van conversions use them. as it happens - this van has a half bulkhead which I would have to remove.

Some people like to see the seats turned round and it is a good idea for a seating arrangement. the problem I have thought of is that the front seats are quite high up and even the front cab floor is about 4 inches higher than the rear floor. this presents a problem of turning it into a sleeping area. Again - this is solved by making the rear double seat pull out into a bed. In reality - you dont gain any useable space and you loose some storage area under the fixed seat. Also - you cant have a double passenger seat that swivels , meaing you loose a seat with a seatbelt.

I have thought about making a double passenger seat where the back will sit forwards or backwards - like on the old trams.


Again - thanks you for your thoughts :)

Rich
 
No worries Rich,
I find that a lot of stuff posted on here is a learning experience for quite a few of us so thank you for educating me in some of the problems around doing these conversions..either way it is still a brilliant use of a comparatively small area so well done...
Another queston that I thought of - The table top seems to stretch between the 2 seats to form the bed yeah? Is there any support under the table top?
I only ask this because although it doesn't seem like a very big span I am also over 6 foot and weigh in at 19stone so might have a bit of a problem there...
Pictures can be decieving so it could well be fine but just thought I would ask..
Cheers
Timmo
 
The span is 25 inches. The table is approx 15mm thick. I got the table out of a caravan and they have been used this way in caravans and boats for years. When I start making my own table tops - I will use ply (I believe this is chip board)

I know what you mean tho - I just have to have faith in the tried and tested design !

Maybe I should mock one up and test it to destruction - see how sturdy they actually are :)
 
Tusses":skpyot3u said:
Maybe I should mock one up and test it to destruction - see how sturdy they actually are :)

Sounds like a fun experiment for you and the missus...
 
Bit disappointed with the paint job...I thought that all VW camper vans were painted lime green or gaudy orange with pink flowers...Oh and don't forget the beads dangling from the rear view mirror. Groovy man :lol: - Rob
 
tusses,
this is a great little project you are having going on here.
i have been pondering with the idea of buying a vw bus and doing it out in real high quality gear (curved seating etc...) but to do this as a business is something else.
say for example you buy the bus for 1k
spend 1k on materials
spend 2 weeks (full time) working on it
the buss must sell for at least £3000 to make any kind of profit, and at the end of the day its a 1k van (worth prob 1.5 wit ha new spray job), now when your asking 2x the market value there needs to be a market (selection of people) who will pay top cash for this.

i think doing it on a westfillia, split screen etc.... is a great idea because they have such a price range, but on this type of bus its a smaller market.

hope i havent dampened your inspiration too much.

but i am real interested on what you are doing and please keep me posted.

also do you have the van layout plans? or is it templates? because like i said i am very interested in doing an old T2 out and wondered if there is anywhere i can buy plans for internal sizes etc...

regards
 
Hiya Dude

I have patterns (templates) of all the woodwork for this.

I have some for a split and bay too - but I have spent many years gathering the interiors and wont be publishing any plans - sorry.

If you search for motor caravans - you will see that £12k - 15K is common :shock:

if you look in the Vee-Dub scene - than a couple of K for an old T4 is about all you will get ! - Two completely different markets :)


I am a V dub nut - and have aboiut 15 dubs from split's bays pickups beetles v-dub based kit cars ....... but the money seems to be away from the scene - unless you have a 23 window samba 8)


Rich
 
Looks Ok to me but i'd find another place for the bottle of gas. If you have a fender bender and someone ploughs into the back of you, that bottle could explode and the van will be no-more!!!!!!!.

(alway's looking on the bright side of life)

jonathan.
 

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