Camper Project
Having finished work early 2021 I set about one of the many things to do - adopt a camper. Not having the money to buy anything ready-made or fancy, and liking the idea of trying my hand at a self-build, I set to it.
The Camper-van-car
First, the car/a/van. I didn't spend a great deal of time on this, largely because the permutations are too bewildering. I bought a diesel 2015 Peugeot Partner Tepee (from an Audi S3!), wheelchair adapted vehicle (WAV). I didn't especially want the wheelchair adaptation, but there was a glut of them available locally when I was buying, and curiously (considering the cost of the conversion), they were good 20% cheaper and low mileage/dealer serviced. The one I ended up with had done 3000 miles a year and was immaculate. Then I got hold of it!
I should perhaps have given it more thought because it set in chain a number of issues I hadn't thought through. Insurance was slightly more (about £50) expensive. On hindsight, I'd have liked the rear seats. But I like the space and deeper floor, so hey. And the adaptation (by a major specialist, mind) is to my eye a little Heath Robinson. The underside looks untidy, and the service history lists a number of problems with the fuel tank and exhaust.
There is also the issue of taking an adapted vehicle out of circulation. I did spend some time on this, and in essence it seems 'it doesn't work that way'. The car I bought was ex-motability, and they are notoriously difficult to sell post contract. The potential users are likely motability eligible, so they simply get a new car when the current contract ends (5 years in this case). Or if they're not eligible, they have a ready choice of cars like this. Or they're rich and any of this isn't an issue.
And the change of user led to a change of use, and it was no longer taxable as a WAV. To use it as a WAV (I'd have liked to have kept the option at least) meant an annual inspection and insurance permutations I didn't fancy. So, I stripped out all of the adaptations, making sure they could be refitted relatively easily.
I should perhaps have given it more thought because it set in chain a number of issues I hadn't thought through. Insurance was slightly more (about £50) expensive. On hindsight, I'd have liked the rear seats. But I like the space and deeper floor, so hey. And the adaptation (by a major specialist, mind) is to my eye a little Heath Robinson. The underside looks untidy, and the service history lists a number of problems with the fuel tank and exhaust.
There is also the issue of taking an adapted vehicle out of circulation. I did spend some time on this, and in essence it seems 'it doesn't work that way'. The car I bought was ex-motability, and they are notoriously difficult to sell post contract. The potential users are likely motability eligible, so they simply get a new car when the current contract ends (5 years in this case). Or if they're not eligible, they have a ready choice of cars like this. Or they're rich and any of this isn't an issue.
And the change of user led to a change of use, and it was no longer taxable as a WAV. To use it as a WAV (I'd have liked to have kept the option at least) meant an annual inspection and insurance permutations I didn't fancy. So, I stripped out all of the adaptations, making sure they could be refitted relatively easily.
Fitting it out . . .
I got a good deal of inspiration and guidance from the UK Citroen Berlingo forum. The picture below shows progress after a couple of days. I've very little skill for this type of thing, and training such as it is was from forums and youtube DIY videos. I am fairly patient, though, and quite enjoyed learning as I went along, secure in the knowledge this was a low risk proof of concept. I wasn't even sure I'd like sleeping in a camper! But I did :-)
Cooker
This was lashed up with offcuts just to see if it worked, adapted from the Gravity build from the Berlingo forum. I did buy some fairly heavy duty runners for £5. Dimensions were taken from the one-burner stove, so no major thinking going on. I'll see how it works in use.
USB Socket
USB socket. I got round this slightly with a jump starter pack - it has a light, USB and cigarette lighter socket in amongst the 17Ah 12V battery. I'm going to keep it in the van as backup, but wanted something more accessible, so got one of these off ebay. The console had a 10A permanent feed in there anyway from the WAV (not sure if standard Partners do) so it was easy enough to fit. Also powers the wireless phone holder
Curtain(s) . . .
The first outing went really well. No problems at all, but a few things to improve.
The mattress/bed - working on it. I'm battling with parsimony, aesthetics and indecision. In the meantime I've got a double airbed that fits perfectly. The seat backs of the wooden frame fold back to horizontal to form a 1.85m bed area. The backs are supported horizontally by various boxes.
Curtains. part way there. Got a £10 springy curtain rod from Dunelm and found some old IKEA blackout curtains for the front. It ain't elegant but it works!
The mattress/bed - working on it. I'm battling with parsimony, aesthetics and indecision. In the meantime I've got a double airbed that fits perfectly. The seat backs of the wooden frame fold back to horizontal to form a 1.85m bed area. The backs are supported horizontally by various boxes.
Curtains. part way there. Got a £10 springy curtain rod from Dunelm and found some old IKEA blackout curtains for the front. It ain't elegant but it works!
Mark II!
Here we are, April 2022, one year on. Obviously not used it much as a camper over the winter, but plenty of time to reflect. The main issue I found was folding out the 'bed'. It wasn't especially stable, and there's very little room/height to move once it's all flat. Of course this isn't a major problem, but I thought I'd explore a design that made more use of the extra height the lowered floor offers, and a more stable and convenient bed arrangement. I also had a bit of money from some temporary work. So, onwards!
Bed II
I spent quite a bit of time trying to work out what would fit - and work. In the end I made a fairly impulse buy and bought (£170) a rock/roll type bed from Atlantic Fabrications. I think they only sell via ebay, but I went to the factory to collect.
A couple of decisions. I did want an MOT-compliant type. In the end, the much lower cost, and some uncertainty about whether it would be a good fit, I bought this 'basic' version. It means that I can't carry passengers on it, but there is room for the third seat should I need it. The second decision was size. There really isn't very much room in the van, and I wanted some space when it's all folded out. So I went for this slimline version. And my partner's got a T4 anyway, so we use her van when we go away together.
The basic frame is pictured below. Very nicely welded together and sturdy, and I assembled it in about 20 minutes. Disassembly is straightforward - undo the four hinge bolts and it separates into 3 sections. The frame is built of 15mm and 20mm box section steel and a 6mm mounting bar. The coating is paint - not powder - so likely to scratch. It weighs about 30kg fully assembled, adding about 10kg overall. I reused (12mm, 9mm would have been fine) ply and cushions from the old build. The unfolding mechanism involves lifting the seat front and sliding the lower frame out. It then opens flat, located with the hinges and guides within the frame. Folding up - lift at the point between the two hinges. Flat as a bed it's about 184cm x 75cm (just fits, a few cm to spare, with both seats forward). Up as a seat 110cm x 75cm.
A couple of decisions. I did want an MOT-compliant type. In the end, the much lower cost, and some uncertainty about whether it would be a good fit, I bought this 'basic' version. It means that I can't carry passengers on it, but there is room for the third seat should I need it. The second decision was size. There really isn't very much room in the van, and I wanted some space when it's all folded out. So I went for this slimline version. And my partner's got a T4 anyway, so we use her van when we go away together.
The basic frame is pictured below. Very nicely welded together and sturdy, and I assembled it in about 20 minutes. Disassembly is straightforward - undo the four hinge bolts and it separates into 3 sections. The frame is built of 15mm and 20mm box section steel and a 6mm mounting bar. The coating is paint - not powder - so likely to scratch. It weighs about 30kg fully assembled, adding about 10kg overall. I reused (12mm, 9mm would have been fine) ply and cushions from the old build. The unfolding mechanism involves lifting the seat front and sliding the lower frame out. It then opens flat, located with the hinges and guides within the frame. Folding up - lift at the point between the two hinges. Flat as a bed it's about 184cm x 75cm (just fits, a few cm to spare, with both seats forward). Up as a seat 110cm x 75cm.
Fitting in the van - this should have been quite straightforward! In the event I've lashed something up that seems to be strong enough. Bolted to the floor and supported on wood at the back to compensate for the ramp's slope, and tapped into a steel plate at the front (the petrol tank is underneath). I didn't account for the front legs resting on the metal chassis of the front seats, so there's a slight height difference. This shouldn't be too difficult to fix - just trim an inch or so off the front supports.
Storage and Hob/Sink
Hob and Sink - I did this slowly, over a month or so. It was a series of mistakes and rebuilds, trying to get everything to fit and work together. I'll only know how well it works on a few trips I've got planned, but for now, reasonably happy.
Structure - as you can probably see(!), I've reused as much wood as I could, but bought a sheet of 9mm ply this time to keep the weight down. It sort of works, but next time 12mm or 15mm in some of the more bendy parts. I experimented with hinges - the 'table' stay-open hinge and a couple of flush hinges replaced the piano hinges in a few places and seem to work well. Magnetic catches on all the openings this time too. It's all bolted to/through a piece of 18mm ply, into some conveniently provided threaded M10 holes.
Bed/seat cushions - I messed about with this for an age. Long story short I just cut down the foam in an old Z-bed and stuffed it all back into the covers. Come the day, and when I've decided whether a bigger bed is needed, I'm probably going to have to bite the bullet on this and pay for some proper foam and covers. Or learn to sew. Place your bets ;-)
Bed - I've seen a couple of Berlingo conversions while I was doing all of this, and they used a slide-out bench running along the side opposite the hob and sink unit. On hindsight I would have tried that first (but see below!). It would have been cheaper and lighter, but not as sturdy or convenient.
Water and gas - squeezed in as per pics. The gas has a vent to a hole provided behind the trim - you can see it just next to the regulator/orange pipe.
Electricity - the tap needs a 12V supply. I could have taken it off the USB socket (above), but I think I'll just use the 12V jumper battery I've got anyway. This is probably something I'll need to look at, but so far the combination of the vehicle and jump battery seems to cover what I need - which isn't much beyond a radio, phone charging, the tap, and a couple of LED lights. We'll see.
Structure - as you can probably see(!), I've reused as much wood as I could, but bought a sheet of 9mm ply this time to keep the weight down. It sort of works, but next time 12mm or 15mm in some of the more bendy parts. I experimented with hinges - the 'table' stay-open hinge and a couple of flush hinges replaced the piano hinges in a few places and seem to work well. Magnetic catches on all the openings this time too. It's all bolted to/through a piece of 18mm ply, into some conveniently provided threaded M10 holes.
Bed/seat cushions - I messed about with this for an age. Long story short I just cut down the foam in an old Z-bed and stuffed it all back into the covers. Come the day, and when I've decided whether a bigger bed is needed, I'm probably going to have to bite the bullet on this and pay for some proper foam and covers. Or learn to sew. Place your bets ;-)
Bed - I've seen a couple of Berlingo conversions while I was doing all of this, and they used a slide-out bench running along the side opposite the hob and sink unit. On hindsight I would have tried that first (but see below!). It would have been cheaper and lighter, but not as sturdy or convenient.
Water and gas - squeezed in as per pics. The gas has a vent to a hole provided behind the trim - you can see it just next to the regulator/orange pipe.
Electricity - the tap needs a 12V supply. I could have taken it off the USB socket (above), but I think I'll just use the 12V jumper battery I've got anyway. This is probably something I'll need to look at, but so far the combination of the vehicle and jump battery seems to cover what I need - which isn't much beyond a radio, phone charging, the tap, and a couple of LED lights. We'll see.
Bed III(!)
Bored yet? :-) Bed II worked pretty well, but then I came across this video on Youtube - a pull out bed. I had a week at my BiL/sister's and access to some decent space and facilities, so why on earth not?! I basically followed the guidance in the video, with adjustments for the smaller space. No major changes needed, but if you're trying it, especially in a Berlingo/Partner, think fully about the supporting frame, and particularly how you're going to fix it to the body. What you see in the pics is very sturdy, but took longer to think through than the bed assembly. The back rail (use decent wood) is fixed the the side using bolts, and three points along the floor are secured with self tapping screws. Be *very* careful with self-tappers - think about rust, and what's on the other side (petrol tank, for example).
The last photo shows the area available to the side, once the carpets are lifted. There was some damp and rust in this area, possibly from the wheelchair ramp. Something to watch.
Anyhoo, onwards . . .
The last photo shows the area available to the side, once the carpets are lifted. There was some damp and rust in this area, possibly from the wheelchair ramp. Something to watch.
Anyhoo, onwards . . .