making a van into a campervan?

[youngcamper]

Hi all,

My brother has just got himself a saloon and as a result his van is now surplus to requirements, we are thinking of doing a conversion to a campervan but are worried about the space limitations inside, has anyone ever done a similar conversion?

Cheers,

Will

[chrisryder]

at least one person has removed the entire back (not sure if it was a van or pickup, but it comes to the same) and grafted a small caravan onto the back. made for interesting handling, especially in side winds!

also, a common addition to a van is throw a mattress in the back, instant camper van!

[youngcamper]

me and my brother have done that before, and it works !

we were looking into putting a small pop top roof in etc.

Cheers,

Will

[LouiseM]

at least one person has removed the entire back (not sure if it was a van or pickup, but it comes to the same) and grafted a small caravan onto the back

Yes, don't bother with a conversion, just stick an old caravan on the back and have your very own 'snail' [frame][/frame][frame][/frame]

Seriously, there won't be much room in the back of a van, even with a pop up roof, so I'd keep the van as it is, or sell it and invest in a 'proper' camper with a bit more space.

[youngcamper]

fair enough,

to be honest I thought that would be the answer.

Cheers,

Will

[bmcecosse]

You could have a deal with a fold-out tent or awning added on the back..........

[Alec]

Hello all,

I'd hate to drive the 'Snail', it looks terribly imbalanced and as someone mentioned, side winds?

I have a Transit based camper van and although it's a four berth it is just OK for two in my opinion, so a Minor would be far to small, except as shelter. We did Glastonbury in our Traveller years ago but that was only as an alternative to a tent.

Alec

[IaininTenbury]

There was a camper conversion based on a standard van at a National Rallyquite a few years back at Knebworth. It had a side and rear awning, folding cooker and sink onthe inside of each back door, and possibly a lift up roof, or just some sort of roof box. Memories a bit fuzzy about that. I did get a photo but its in a box of photos somewhere (pre digital!). It was built by an Morris employee on a new van, so the nearest to a factory produced conversion I guess.

Basically no reason why you can't use a normal van without going to the lengths of a special body. If you use two passenger seat withthe folding backs theres plenty of length for a bed. I used to use a camping mattress with a pillow on the folded seat back for weekend shows and it worked a treat. For my rebuild of my '65 van with side windows I've sourced a set of seats from a Suntor motorcaravan (Austin A60) which will just fit in a Minor and give a proper fold out double bed, with just enough room for a tiny sink and cooker unit just inside the back doors. Should be a bit of fun if not exactly luxurious, and look semi 'proper'. You can get tent type awnings to fit over the back doors for extra living space which you can drive away from and leave in place. Got one for the Land rover, years ago and it fits the Minor van back end quite well.
Its cosy, but look at other tiny motorcaravans for ideas - Citroen, Bedford Rascal, Suntor, etc.

[pyebibby]

ask topgear how they did...

[dougieboard]

Space will always be a bit tight, but that hasn't stopped people converting lots of little commercials. The Maestro Tandy was one of the more recent ones - Bit of info here - http://www.chriswicks.co.uk/tandy01.html.

Romahome still make a tiny one based on the Citroen Nemo -
http://www.romahome.com/romahome-produc ... ome/r10/92

Big advantage of both these is FWD, giving a lower rear floor. For what it's worth, I think a little day van conversion on a Minor van would be ace. The mistake would be trying to squeeze too much kit inside. Little sofa/bed, stove and a cool box would make a cracking thing to take to shows and have days out in. As a proper live-aboard touring vehicle, a Minor is a little bit too tight. Me and my wife lived in Sherpa van conversion for four months and that was a bit snug. I think a Minor LCV would have led to divorce!

[rossrox]

http://www.oxforddiecast.co.uk/MM032%20 ... Camper.htm
how about these??? click on the pics for larger images.

[chrisryder]

how about grafting a trailer tent onto the back? i think that might have been what bmc was getting at, but it could work! it'd just look like a pickup when all folded up, the only trouble could be having to fold it all up if you wanted to go anywhere. but you could make it removeable. but then you'd be driving round with just a cab and chassis, which would make for interesting rear end control!

[Jefftav]

There is one for sale on the other site in the for sale section http://mog.myfreeforum.org/ might be useful for ideas or even sell yours buy his???

[LouiseM]

Youngcamper - Is this your brother's van? [frame][/frame]

I was thinking that it was a standard enclosed van back which would be a bit claustrophobic. Is it just for one person to sleep in or more? As the windows are already there I suppose you could maybe add a small cooker/sink unit and a bench seat (bed) and fold out table then use a tent/awning to sleep in if there's more than one person going to be using it (or if you need to stick your feet out the end). And put some nice curtains up at the windows

[rayofleamington]

If it was me, I'd get a tax exempt Suntour camper and either keep or sell the van as it is.

[IaininTenbury]

Yes, a Suntor wether A60 or Marina would save a lot of effort. I only know of one tax exempt Marina version and its Rays - so a diffcult vehicle to source. Had been toying with the idea of selling my '76 version and if I can get the spare set of folding Suntor seats to work in the Minor it may happen.
Had forgotten about the Maestro Tandy. That looks quite neat, again I suppsoe its a rare vehicle, probably always was when new.
The converted Minor ont he 'other site' looks fascinating. A nice early 1000 with a proffesional lookign conversion. Even the tiny windowed back doors have been opened up for bigger windows - not an easy job and obviously prempting the factory's revised back doors of '63 onwards. Presumably theres an internal framework supporting the trim too. Scope for an interesting sympathetic rebuild... (Write out 100 times: Must resist temptation...)

If the yellow van Louise has posted is the van this discussion is about it looks ideal for doing something similar with. The side windows really make them airy and spacious inside (mainly illusion i know!) and thers over 6 foot of length between back doors and dashboard so plenty of room for a bed. Thinking about it you could simply arrange a quick release for the front seats and turn them to face backwards if you dont have folding ones and run whatever mattress padding you use over them.

[chrisryder]

proper vw campers had the front passenger seats on a quick release, so that they could be swivelled inwards to create a more friendly, spacious environment. could be onto a winner there!

[DICKIEMINT64]

Here are two photo's of 2 campers,'THE SNAIL' as it looked in 1986, and the 2nd photo taken at Harewood House 7th July 1985.[frame][/frame]

[youngcamper]

Thanks for all the replies, yes that Yellow van is the one in question, I can't really sell it as it has been in the family for a good 30 years coming form my granddad and then mum.

We are seriously looking into doing a conversion, with swiveling seats a small sofa/bed and a stove and some storage space. Could be onto a winner hear. is there anywhere I can find the internal dimensions of a van?

Cheers,

Will

[LouiseM]

Dimensions are in this thread although you could of course just measure your own

http://www.mmoc.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f= ... dimensions