ScoTTyBEEE
Forum Member
Nabsim
Forum Member
I remain to be convinced, yes I do harvest power on overcast days but I need 65 amps a day before I am recharged. So far this year the highest I have seen from 300W is very brief mid 5 amps but then down in 2’s again or less. If the 25% better claims are correct for some technologies we are still limited to sun angle and hours. Isn’t mid winter sun roughly equivalent to 1 hour in Scotland, slightly increasing as you move South?
You need to get down to Spain, Portugal or beyond for mid winter solar. I haven’t done this yet but originally designed mine (I use the word loosely lol) for Mediterranean sun in winter but never actually seen if there is enough for my use.
ScoTTyBEEE
Forum Member
Low angles are still a problem even there over winter, but the sun is often shining, all be it for shorter days.
Nabsim
Forum Member
If you aren’t going to move in winter, not use any source of mains power then your useable battery bank needs to be a little more than your calculated usage. Doesn’t matter what battery size or technology you get you will need to recharge/replace.
It helps a lot if you can use hookup for 24 hours before a trip to get your battery bank 100% charged (or it did for me).
I don’t want to start a for and against side discussion but if you are going all electric and off grid I think you will need to budget (cost and somewhere to store) for a small generator.
It helps a lot if you can use hookup for 24 hours before a trip to get your battery bank 100% charged (or it did for me).
I don’t want to start a for and against side discussion but if you are going all electric and off grid I think you will need to budget (cost and somewhere to store) for a small generator.
Nabsim
Forum Member
I could stand a drop of 25ah a day for 7 days, do you know what an average would be over winter down there? I realise you can still get no sun though
RAW
Forum Member
There was a good Iveco for sale near to Leeds that I saw, needs work and at the 7.5T GWT limit
Here's an image they sent me (they are selling the van for an elderly friend I believe, (people have a farm so somewhere to store vehicles)
Would be good for you I think.
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/742047246218891
Sounded Good engine wise and looked solid body wise but I am no Mechanic
They have it up on FB Marketplace for £2500 but are keen to get rid I think so you could probably pick it up for under £2K
Needs a complete strip down inside IMO although you could re-purpose a few things that are in there.
Here's an image they sent me (they are selling the van for an elderly friend I believe, (people have a farm so somewhere to store vehicles)
Would be good for you I think.
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/742047246218891
Sounded Good engine wise and looked solid body wise but I am no Mechanic
They have it up on FB Marketplace for £2500 but are keen to get rid I think so you could probably pick it up for under £2K
Needs a complete strip down inside IMO although you could re-purpose a few things that are in there.
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RAW
Forum Member
As Nabsim says, small generator would also help in a potential all electric situation.
New Merc that I have has one of those cheaper Chinese heaters and runs pretty well, guy I bought it off said 10 litres lasted him about a week living in her. As Diesel is seperate tank then if you can get it you can put red diesel in and at 70p per litre, or therabouts, it makes it around £7 per week for heating, not bad.
Millie Master
Forum Member
I know it is your forum name, but and it's a big BUT, are you under contract to Ford or are you joined at the him to the Transit brand? I only ask as good as their mechanical components are, they are all inside what is arguably the worst put together and fastest rusting vans that are sold in the UK! I know of a lot of people who converted their Transit van only to have it fail the next MOT in such a resounding way that their only course of economical action was to scrap it!!
Why not go for a Sevel built van (Peugeot Boxer, Citroen Relay, Fiat Ducato) which had fully galvanised bodies from 2007 or the Renault Master/Vauxhall Movano/Nissan ???? which went fully galvanised from 2004 onwards, all of these are strong as oxes as is proven by the fact that they are the most widely used ambulances throughout Europe clocking up zillions of miles................ Only recently I enjoyed a blues and twoes ride down the A1 at speeds into the 90's in an ancient Master that had over 300k miles on the clock and was apparently still on the original engine and gearbox.
The Sevel vans give you the largest and squarest and easiest body shells to convert as their sides are so vertical.
Oh and whilst on about rust, very unfortunately until only very recently from the 311 series vans onwards, all Mercedes vans possibly rusted even faster than the dreaded Transit did!
Phil
ps. having now just seen Robert's post about the IVECO van, don't forget until very recently they also were fitted with a body which was widely known to dissolve which is such a great shame as they are superb vans with strong mechanicals and an excellent chassis.
trevskoda
Forum Member
Make sure the control unit is a mppt one
In Transit
Millie Master
My choice of a Transit Custom was because they are reported to be good to drive, easy to get spares for and they fit up my, rather tight, drive at home. Both your listed vans wont fit. I would like a slightly bigger van and yes, even one with more vertical side panels. It sounds like you have past experience with rusty Transits but are they still as bad?
My choice of a Transit Custom was because they are reported to be good to drive, easy to get spares for and they fit up my, rather tight, drive at home. Both your listed vans wont fit. I would like a slightly bigger van and yes, even one with more vertical side panels. It sounds like you have past experience with rusty Transits but are they still as bad?
Millie Master
Forum Member
No personal experience of rust pot Trannies, but I have been around on these forum groups for a long time and I have read a large amount of sad tales, and yes, from what I have heard, for some unknown reason, Ford still don't give two hoots about the fact that their vans melt!
Possibly as an alternative considering your drive width etc. problems, it might be a fully galvanised Renault Traffic (and Vauxhall equivalent) in LWB medium or high roof form, some of them have the same engines as the Master series.
Phil
RV2MAX
Forum Member
You need to be aware of how the recent change to rules will have different consequences depending on weight of vehicle .
Below 3500kg whether carrying non MoHO items (eg motorbikes inside) now will have very little effect other than in very limited situation (eg speed limit) ( type of MOT) So possibly no valid MOT offence . Over 3500kg different situation if carrying non MOHo living items changes to living van which requires ministry plate and HGV MOT . I have not heard of any van with windows over 3500kg registering change to Motorcaravan knock back , anyone else ?
wildebus
Forum Member
St3v3 on the forums had to essentially threaten the DVLA with further action (legal/MPs etc) in order to get his 7.5t truck to be reregistered.
The >3.5t aspect of Motor Caravan vs non-Motor Caravan is a real life potential concern and one that would make me think hard about buying an "HGV" to convert nowadays. It is not just HGV MOT (DVSA) testing to be considered, but depending on how it is used (carrying non MoHo items as you say), you could end up in a quadmire of tachos and operators licenses. Nightmare!
Stay at 3.5t or lower and life becomes much easier with just a speed limit to really have any concern over.
In Transit
So if I carry motorcycles I cant register as a camper van. What would happen if I was configured as a camper and got stopped?
Would the fact I had a bed and kitchen in the van mean trouble for not registering as a camper van. Also what would I tell the insurance about usage?
Would the fact I had a bed and kitchen in the van mean trouble for not registering as a camper van. Also what would I tell the insurance about usage?
Millie Master
Forum Member
It's a bloody stupid minefield that is long overdue action to sort out the stupid mess that it has become!
wildebus
Forum Member
Firstly, you tell the insurance company EXACTLY what you are using the vehicle for. It will make little to no difference to policy costs I would think.
the theoretical rule is if you have converted a vehicle to the specification of a Motor Caravan (aka Campervan), you are legally obliged to reclassify. So you send the forms in and if your application gets rejected, then it gets rejected. But you have done your duty (so you keep the rejection letter as proof).
If you DO have it registered as a Motor Caravan, then you are perfectly at liberty to use it for non-motor caravanning activities if you want and are insured for (so not a policy that says "only allowed to use for Camping holidays" for example, if such a policy existed?), but what you are not allowed to do when in "non Camping use" is do things which only Motor Caravans are allowed to do e.g. drive at 70MPH on Dual Carriageways.
Apart from carrying Motorcycles internally, other non-caravanning activities which would reduce speed limits are things like driving to the recyling centre to throw away an old mattress, or going to a car boot sale to sell stuff.
Like all things motoring in this country, the rules are deliberately written to have ambiguity baked into them, so if you use common sense and err on the side of caution, should be little to worry about on the type of vehicle you are converting (as long as you are not in Northern Ireland where they literally a law to themselves, and very strict on MOTs despite the fact no one can actually get an MOT there anyway as all the lifts have been condemned
)
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In Transit
Thanks for that wildebus.
Would you bother trying to reclassify even if you know your van doesn't meet all the dvla's requirements.
Also, apart rom the speed limits, are there any other disadvantages for not being a motor caravan?
Would you bother trying to reclassify even if you know your van doesn't meet all the dvla's requirements.
Also, apart rom the speed limits, are there any other disadvantages for not being a motor caravan?
wildebus
Forum Member
The (undeclared) rules changed around 8 months ago and many requests are getting rejected despite ticking all the boxes on the guidelines.
I don't think the [stated] requirements are unreasonable at all so if I were doing another conversion, I would likely meet them and send in the form, expecting it to get rejected. But there is no cost to requesting it apart from the cost of the stamp.
Cons to not reclassifying ... might get turned away from some of the more snooty campsites. Some car parks are not available to commercial vehicles (so would be open to Motor Caravans) - but then, some car parks are not available specifically to Motor Caravans, so could be ok in a commercial vehicle?
Your insurance options are much wider in a Factory Motor Caravan, less so on a self-conversion Motor Caravan and further reduced on a non-reclassifed conversion, but having said that, there are still loads of brokers who will cover you at perfectly reasonble premiums.