the Boxer build

john1974

Hi all, I will ramble here until I am kicked out, about the months of pain and joy that lie ahead.. ;)

As a resume,
I bought an old (2004) Boxer high roof - LWB in September, a 2.2 HDi. I generally know my PSA as that's all I have ever worked on and owned but don't know near enough really..
I have worked hard on the base van since it stalled it's way all along the 20 miles home.. its getting there but now I need to do some fun work on it.

Yesterday I went to Wales and grabbed a few Seitz (spelling) windows and I think they will do, they are hinged at top but don't look to bad at all. they have blinds and fly screens in them.

Today I went to a local wrecker and grabbed a drivers seat base, some trim, other bits and bobs - A good 2 days really.

The yard today had two very nice rear doors (but with windows).. I may go and grab them in the morning, and fit them as is, even though they are red and mine are white.. I cant really work out how well they were fitted, I suspect they are sealed in and then rubber trim added too. Has anyone removed windows from rear doors before from this type/age of van? - I am thinking of a re-paint anyway so....

The yard also has a full length roof rack, which I think will be a useful addition and much used! (I always fit roofbars to every car but somehow a rack seems more sensible now for a camper)

no pics, will post some soon.
John
 

john1974

evening all..

have done a lot of driving and shopping over the last few days..

can I ask your opinion on gas tank size..

I bought an LPG tank, and when I picked it up, and got it home today I realised that due to the handbrake cable position under the van, and the exhaust snaking around forward of this, the tank cant really be fitted underneath..
I feel a bit silly !

If I end up with gas heating, hot water, fridge and a 2 ring hob, and I do end up planning to wild camp fairly often, how big ought a tank to be? what is pointlessly small or oversized? I can/could fit tank under the rear fixed bed, so at least its mostly over the back axle..

thanks for any input,
John
 

Nesting Zombie

Yep, My base vehicle is a 1996 Boxer 2.5 TD. Been great & doesn't miss a beat, Although it DOES sound like a Bag of Bolts at times on starting up lol lol.
Get approx 25-28 to the gallon.& Drive's like a car.
Good luck with yours, it will be good seeing the Pixxes & Progress.
But I think as far as Tank size & location goes,,,,Well you need a Tape measure, and sketch pad then a cuppa to think about it.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

john1974

thanks all very much ! :)

you helped well with my gassing issues..

I will put some pics up! soon--- today I removed the last remaining part of the original van except the cab glazing.. the dash is out and on the floor.. I took lots of pics but they are quite uninteresting ;)
feels a backward step at this stage removing this part.. but the matrix has sprung a leak and must be fixed..

I have decided on a simple layout, and I have to decided to cut some windows so I cant change my mind again! its just a boring layout really but it is what works, I hope ..


John
 
campervanannie

campervanannie

Forum Member
n brown said:
ooh that's nice Annie !
Click to expand...

I know it looks even better now it's almost painted and the cushions are coming back from the upholsterer the 6ft ones are being shortened to 5ft and the trike fits in perfectly and it's all down to this cracking little guy in Bristol who knows his stuff . XX
 

Lee

campervanannie said:
I know it looks even better now it's almost painted and the cushions are coming back from the upholsterer the 6ft ones are being shortened to 5ft and the trike fits in perfectly and it's all down to this cracking little guy in Bristol who knows his stuff . XX
Click to expand...

A little complement goes a long way, doesn't it Annie.
 
campervanannie

campervanannie

Forum Member
Obanboy666 said:
Very nice but where is the loo and shower or are you still using the sh-te in a bag method lol ????
Click to expand...

The loo slides out from under the bed and the shower is a hula hoop on the roof as a shower curtain rail I have a child's paddling po that I blow up and the shower curtains drop into it a 12v shower clips on a small bracket shower then stow it all away in a small box I cannot waste space on a shower cubicle as I need to transport my mobility trike inside the van with me.
And yes I still **** in a bag lol.
 

Obanboy666

campervanannie said:
The loo slides out from under the bed and the shower is a hula hoop on the roof as a shower curtain rail I have a child's paddling po that I blow up and the shower curtains drop into it a 12v shower clips on a small bracket shower then stow it all away in a small box I cannot waste space on a shower cubicle as I need to transport my mobility trike inside the van with me.
And yes I still **** in a bag lol.
Click to expand...

Sounds good and as you mentioned it meets yours needs.
 

john1974

I made many journeys in the last 10 days, the joys of free time after being made redundant!.. but the last two were for a wind out awning, a tv, and a toilet, a kitchen sink and hob, fridge, and an LPG tank..all second hand..


The LPG tank is a monster, too big at 100L ..bad buy..

The TV didn't work (at least it didn't play DvD's)

The awning was an unknown, and I think turned out to be a different model than for the boxer..

the Loo, however, was good!
The hob worked well after some cleaning.
The fridge got to _7 on 240v, crept towards that on 12V, very happy.. doesn't seem to behave on gas though :( the pipes get warm, the flame looks good.. but no luck so far.. still happy with it for now

today the weather was bad from late lunchtime.. I couldn't do much on the van, so I started to ponder the awning.. how to test it even worked - by myself. They are not exactly light.. my eyes wandered down to the workshop floor and I spotted the old seat bases from last week and noticed some metal and thought 'that would fit perfectly in the awning rail, if I grind it off and g-clamp it to the barn door and hang the awning off!'
I did, it hung well, it opened perfectly :) .. now I have started to think about making my own mounts using these strong steel sections, and other ones to clamp down.. I have a very minimal amout of roof about the sliding door, and plan to fit the huge roofrack I bought last week.. so I may be able to combine the awning and rack quite easily..

Tonight I tried the TV, an Avtex model which people seem to rate.. it switched on fine and will be ok with TV, but I took it apart anyway and found the ribbon to laser had come out ! :p

now the dvd player works too!
I then added a movie and an mp3 onto a USB stick and that was fine.. what a great piece of kit for a campervan! HDMI inputs although I may not have much use for them, sound in and out (I think) to combine with main speaker system, and doesn't weigh that much either


I know bad luck is around the corner, but these recent purchases have been great, albeit a long long lot of driving.

Today I also offered up my caravan windows, and I think they will look ok.. they are not fancy, but functional and reasonably cheap..

I am getting near to 3 eberspacher testings, knowing nothing about them... and also concerned about gas supply, time and funds are not great, but the gas needs to be planned quite soon..

John
 

john1974

losing my way this week a bit.. which is a horrible feeling..

I started out ok, by getting some timber and making 3 window frames for the caravan windows.. then my attention turned to the eberspachers, the latest one is brand new I think.. and I went and bought a brand new timer to go with it.. but they are not talking to each other and I think the timer is too new now.. £100 ouch..

I removed the panel anti flap structure from the sliding door earlier today, and of course the van curve is now much more obvious when offering up the window frame.. I don't really know if the windows will seal ok or not, and if the frames/seals will look odd from inside, as they will be a different thickness towards the middle of the frame verticals..

I think I need to forget about hot water for a week, again, and keep moving onwards... its frustrating as once things get covered up, fitting any pipes and cables is a much harder job..

I have replaced the dash after a matrix change, so at least I can start the van and move it around..

the cold is getting to me, despite 3 pairs of socks, thermals, 2 fleeces etc I am feeling drained :(
 

FULL TIMER

RE the Eberspachers, take a look here Eberspacher D2 loads of info and help if you get stuck give me a shout and I'll try and help mainly worked on D2 / D4 models
 
n brown

n brown

Forum Member
john1974 said:
losing my way this week a bit.. which is a horrible feeling..

I started out ok, by getting some timber and making 3 window frames for the caravan windows.. then my attention turned to the eberspachers, the latest one is brand new I think.. and I went and bought a brand new timer to go with it.. but they are not talking to each other and I think the timer is too new now.. £100 ouch..

I removed the panel anti flap structure from the sliding door earlier today, and of course the van curve is now much more obvious when offering up the window frame.. I don't really know if the windows will seal ok or not, and if the frames/seals will look odd from inside, as they will be a different thickness towards the middle of the frame verticals..

I think I need to forget about hot water for a week, again, and keep moving onwards... its frustrating as once things get covered up, fitting any pipes and cables is a much harder job..

I have replaced the dash after a matrix change, so at least I can start the van and move it around..

the cold is getting to me, despite 3 pairs of socks, thermals, 2 fleeces etc I am feeling drained :(
Click to expand...
there's enough give on the window rubbers to get over the curve of the panel - fear not !
 

john1974

thanks both :)

re eber:
I bought a d5z hydronic II I think.. but the latest easy start timer ..2015 onwards..


the window rubber should give. the gaps in the inside can be filled.. I think the double glazed window will take the bend and I am going to practice with the sliding door first as I can replace that if it really goes wrong ;)



I have made a note to cut the paintwork back on the outside whenever I am lost or cold or both.. mindless task that needs doing and will get me warm..
 
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