roadroamer
Forum Member
The TLDR (Too long didn't read - I'm a bit loopy, bought a low loader van - click photos)
Tomorrow I'll be collecting my new 21 plate Fiat van to start my conversionThis van has been about 3-4 years rough planning as I had to sort out moving house and all the rubbish that comes with buying/selling.
Previously I owned a 2006 MWB/MH Ford transit and like most people it was never meant to be a campervan, bought the van do to Go karting but after 2 years or so I wanted to get into climbing/mountaineering. I sold the kart and kept the van (built up NCB bonus) as I always had company cars. I started to convert the transit into a rough and ready camper so when I come down off the hill I had somewhere to eat and chill. But I'm 6 foot 2 so space was always a problem and I wanted to do the off-grid track as I don't to campsites. This van worked well, learnt good and bad of converting van.
Over the past few years I went through all my options of replacing the transit, new Jumbo/XLWB transit but at 4.3m in length felt it would be too small. Sprinter XLWB, very strong engine at and 4.7m in length would be a good option but the standard 1.9m height would be low, they do the super high at 2.1m but looks awful and rare to find! Then the next option was Iveco Daily 4100L, 5.1m length + 2.1m high, ladder chassis so rust less of an issue but they are twin rear wheels which I didn't really want.
Then it was on to the Box vans, seen the low loaders but not many options second hand. Tried one company who build new boxes on second hand vans but they wouldn't even give me a price, was chasing them for 2 weeks. Clearly wasn't interested in the sale/custom work I wanted. So my only option was to go new van....GLUP that is a lot of money! The conversion would have to be completed in stages as the budget I had would be going into the new van!
The house stuff was all sorted August last year and I placed my order for a new Fiat chassis cab with the following options.
- Fiat Ducato 2.3 140 Multijet Euro 6D
- Wide track
- 7in Touchscreen with DAB Radio - Bluetooth with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto 1RB
- Carter Seat 50E
- Glove Box Under Drivers Seat 7WV
- Heater - Predisposition On Fuel Tank 52X
- Single Passenger Seat with Armrest 297 (special order only)
- Tablet Holder 75Q
- DAB Radio Aerial in Door Mirrors 54Q
- Front Height Adjustable Saddle Head Restraint 188
- Glovebox – Central 6ZQ
- Height Adjustable Single Passenger Seat 454
- Techno Dashboard 6BL
- Manual air conditioning
- Cruise control
- Twin leaf suspension for heavy duty conversions
- Air Assist
- Side door
- Solid roof
Had get my order in earlier than I had planned due to not knowing what was going to happen with Brexit, would I get charged the 10% import taxes etc! The van landed in the UK just before New Year anyways, van should of been ready end of January but delays due to this and that.
Last week I went to see the almost ready van before it went in for its IVA on Friday and then back to Fiat for PDI so its now ready to be collected tomorrow.
View attachment 3561View attachment 3562View attachment 3563View attachment 3564View attachment 3565View attachment 3566View attachment 3567View attachment 3568View attachment 3569View attachment 3570
Style I'm going for will be expedition van type without the extreme in the middle of nowhere places but able to be off grid for 2 weeks or so at a time. My biggest challenge will be the weight, having 1000kg or so will get eaten up very quickly in such a big space but I've been doing my sums and I can make it work
Am I crazy? Yes COMPLETELY but at least I'll be having fun building the van over the next 18-24 months. You might ask why its going to take me so long, well its the funds and the choices I've made. No GAS! in the van, had it before and always a pain so heating will be Truma Combi 6DE. I have been using the Victron gear in the last van so got the 3000VA inverter/solar charger and BMVs but never got the lithium batteries. Planning on using 2x200AH Victron batteries and they are expensive. Roof will be covered in solar panels, 4x 360watt do have space for a 5th but I already need to buy another 100/50 solar charger not sure I want to buy another one just for the extra 5th panel. The 5th panel and controller might come at a later date.
For the money I've spent on the base van plus the money I'm going to spend on the conversion yes I could of just bought a motorhome but they wont fill my off grid requirements and carrying my 15foot kayak, been through all those options as well! Before you ask
I need a new name for this van, last van was Sheila... I was meant to go on holiday to Oz but thought buying a go kart would of been more fun so family named the van for me. Need a fiery Italian female name for this one I think
The TLDR (Too long didn't read - I'm a bit loopy, bought a low loader van - click photos)
Tomorrow I'll be collecting my new 21 plate Fiat van to start my conversion
Previously I owned a 2006 MWB/MH Ford transit and like most people it was never meant to be a campervan, bought the van do to Go karting but after 2 years or so I wanted to get into climbing/mountaineering. I sold the kart and kept the van (built up NCB bonus) as I always had company cars. I started to convert the transit into a rough and ready camper so when I come down off the hill I had somewhere to eat and chill. But I'm 6 foot 2 so space was always a problem and I wanted to do the off-grid track as I don't to campsites. This van worked well, learnt good and bad of converting van.
Over the past few years I went through all my options of replacing the transit, new Jumbo/XLWB transit but at 4.3m in length felt it would be too small. Sprinter XLWB, very strong engine at and 4.7m in length would be a good option but the standard 1.9m height would be low, they do the super high at 2.1m but looks awful and rare to find! Then the next option was Iveco Daily 4100L, 5.1m length + 2.1m high, ladder chassis so rust less of an issue but they are twin rear wheels which I didn't really want.
Then it was on to the Box vans, seen the low loaders but not many options second hand. Tried one company who build new boxes on second hand vans but they wouldn't even give me a price, was chasing them for 2 weeks. Clearly wasn't interested in the sale/custom work I wanted. So my only option was to go new van....GLUP that is a lot of money! The conversion would have to be completed in stages as the budget I had would be going into the new van!
The house stuff was all sorted August last year and I placed my order for a new Fiat chassis cab with the following options.
- Fiat Ducato 2.3 140 Multijet Euro 6D
- Wide track
- 7in Touchscreen with DAB Radio - Bluetooth with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto 1RB
- Carter Seat 50E
- Glove Box Under Drivers Seat 7WV
- Heater - Predisposition On Fuel Tank 52X
- Single Passenger Seat with Armrest 297 (special order only)
- Tablet Holder 75Q
- DAB Radio Aerial in Door Mirrors 54Q
- Front Height Adjustable Saddle Head Restraint 188
- Glovebox – Central 6ZQ
- Height Adjustable Single Passenger Seat 454
- Techno Dashboard 6BL
- Manual air conditioning
- Cruise control
- Twin leaf suspension for heavy duty conversions
- Air Assist
- Side door
- Solid roof
Had get my order in earlier than I had planned due to not knowing what was going to happen with Brexit, would I get charged the 10% import taxes etc! The van landed in the UK just before New Year anyways, van should of been ready end of January but delays due to this and that.
Last week I went to see the almost ready van before it went in for its IVA on Friday and then back to Fiat for PDI so its now ready to be collected tomorrow.
View attachment 3561View attachment 3562View attachment 3563View attachment 3564View attachment 3565View attachment 3566View attachment 3567View attachment 3568View attachment 3569View attachment 3570
Style I'm going for will be expedition van type without the extreme in the middle of nowhere places but able to be off grid for 2 weeks or so at a time. My biggest challenge will be the weight, having 1000kg or so will get eaten up very quickly in such a big space but I've been doing my sums and I can make it work
Am I crazy? Yes COMPLETELY but at least I'll be having fun building the van over the next 18-24 months. You might ask why its going to take me so long, well its the funds and the choices I've made. No GAS! in the van, had it before and always a pain so heating will be Truma Combi 6DE. I have been using the Victron gear in the last van so got the 3000VA inverter/solar charger and BMVs but never got the lithium batteries. Planning on using 2x200AH Victron batteries and they are expensive. Roof will be covered in solar panels, 4x 360watt do have space for a 5th but I already need to buy another 100/50 solar charger not sure I want to buy another one just for the extra 5th panel. The 5th panel and controller might come at a later date.
For the money I've spent on the base van plus the money I'm going to spend on the conversion yes I could of just bought a motorhome but they wont fill my off grid requirements and carrying my 15foot kayak, been through all those options as well! Before you ask
I need a new name for this van, last van was Sheila... I was meant to go on holiday to Oz but thought buying a go kart would of been more fun so family named the van for me. Need a fiery Italian female name for this one I
Hi I see you are going to order 2x200ah lithium battery's if it any good to you I have 3x100ah battery's for sale got them of Phil (admin) 2.5 years ago hardly used so good as new if you are interested in them £1000 for the 3The TLDR (Too long didn't read - I'm a bit loopy, bought a low loader van - click photos)
Tomorrow I'll be collecting my new 21 plate Fiat van to start my conversion
Previously I owned a 2006 MWB/MH Ford transit and like most people it was never meant to be a campervan, bought the van do to Go karting but after 2 years or so I wanted to get into climbing/mountaineering. I sold the kart and kept the van (built up NCB bonus) as I always had company cars. I started to convert the transit into a rough and ready camper so when I come down off the hill I had somewhere to eat and chill. But I'm 6 foot 2 so space was always a problem and I wanted to do the off-grid track as I don't to campsites. This van worked well, learnt good and bad of converting van.
Over the past few years I went through all my options of replacing the transit, new Jumbo/XLWB transit but at 4.3m in length felt it would be too small. Sprinter XLWB, very strong engine at and 4.7m in length would be a good option but the standard 1.9m height would be low, they do the super high at 2.1m but looks awful and rare to find! Then the next option was Iveco Daily 4100L, 5.1m length + 2.1m high, ladder chassis so rust less of an issue but they are twin rear wheels which I didn't really want.
Then it was on to the Box vans, seen the low loaders but not many options second hand. Tried one company who build new boxes on second hand vans but they wouldn't even give me a price, was chasing them for 2 weeks. Clearly wasn't interested in the sale/custom work I wanted. So my only option was to go new van....GLUP that is a lot of money! The conversion would have to be completed in stages as the budget I had would be going into the new van!
The house stuff was all sorted August last year and I placed my order for a new Fiat chassis cab with the following options.
- Fiat Ducato 2.3 140 Multijet Euro 6D
- Wide track
- 7in Touchscreen with DAB Radio - Bluetooth with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto 1RB
- Carter Seat 50E
- Glove Box Under Drivers Seat 7WV
- Heater - Predisposition On Fuel Tank 52X
- Single Passenger Seat with Armrest 297 (special order only)
- Tablet Holder 75Q
- DAB Radio Aerial in Door Mirrors 54Q
- Front Height Adjustable Saddle Head Restraint 188
- Glovebox – Central 6ZQ
- Height Adjustable Single Passenger Seat 454
- Techno Dashboard 6BL
- Manual air conditioning
- Cruise control
- Twin leaf suspension for heavy duty conversions
- Air Assist
- Side door
- Solid roof
Had get my order in earlier than I had planned due to not knowing what was going to happen with Brexit, would I get charged the 10% import taxes etc! The van landed in the UK just before New Year anyways, van should of been ready end of January but delays due to this and that.
Last week I went to see the almost ready van before it went in for its IVA on Friday and then back to Fiat for PDI so its now ready to be collected tomorrow.
View attachment 3561View attachment 3562View attachment 3563View attachment 3564View attachment 3565View attachment 3566View attachment 3567View attachment 3568View attachment 3569View attachment 3570
Style I'm going for will be expedition van type without the extreme in the middle of nowhere places but able to be off grid for 2 weeks or so at a time. My biggest challenge will be the weight, having 1000kg or so will get eaten up very quickly in such a big space but I've been doing my sums and I can make it work
Am I crazy? Yes COMPLETELY but at least I'll be having fun building the van over the next 18-24 months. You might ask why its going to take me so long, well its the funds and the choices I've made. No GAS! in the van, had it before and always a pain so heating will be Truma Combi 6DE. I have been using the Victron gear in the last van so got the 3000VA inverter/solar charger and BMVs but never got the lithium batteries. Planning on using 2x200AH Victron batteries and they are expensive. Roof will be covered in solar panels, 4x 360watt do have space for a 5th but I already need to buy another 100/50 solar charger not sure I want to buy another one just for the extra 5th panel. The 5th panel and controller might come at a later date.
For the money I've spent on the base van plus the money I'm going to spend on the conversion yes I could of just bought a motorhome but they wont fill my off grid requirements and carrying my 15foot kayak, been through all those options as well! Before you ask
I need a new name for this van, last van was Sheila... I was meant to go on holiday to Oz but thought buying a go kart would of been more fun so family named the van for me. Need a fiery Italian female name for this one I think