New conversion

foxhund

Hi Folks

I've researched a lot of threads and read a lot of posts and now I'm ready to take on a conversion. So I sat down with paper and pencil and the bosses van and transfered dimentions to paper and designed a layout I was happy with. Brilliant. Then the "other arf" said "of course we'll need a showerroom" so out came the rubber and a little while later we had a layout I could live with.

Then it was "We'll need a travel seat in the back" so more rubbering and a little while later we had a layout that was possible.

Then I read the insurance requirements and they feel a fridge is necessary so after a re-design I come up with a layout that could be done, using tolerences normally associated with insides of a high performance engine. I mean one dent in the bodywork and we're back to the drawing board.

So I start looking out for a suitable van, which has to be smallish because the "other Arf" won't drive anything too big. So a high top Transit!!

So I go to see one and the guy waxes lyrical and tells me he always wanted to do a conversion himself but couldn't come up with a design he liked so I show him mine and he says "But the bed has to be six feet long" AAAAAAAAGh.

So some questions

Does the bed need to be six feet long or is that the UK requirement?

What is the "accepted" minimum size for a toilet cubicle (the showerroom is long gone).

At the moment I'm planning to use a combined sink and cooker which is just 380cm long. I know this sounds silly but does anybody know of a smaller one, perhaps out of a wendy house?

Hope you can help

FoxHund

spaceHopper

Go out and by a converted van or at least see a few and bring the trouble and strife with you. It should give you some ideas.

Look on
www.gumtree.ie
www.donedeal.ie
There is a lot of value out there

Why are you putting in toilet cubical most small vans have a hatch that the toilet is kept in and taken out for emergency use - if you are going to have a cubical you may as well put in a shower!

foxhund

Hi spacehopper.

Due to medical condition very little of the stuff out there offers a useful layout. Number one requirement is a toilet that can be used quite a lot in transit (excuse the pun) and when parked up. Also it needs to be quickly accessable so partial bulkheads/fitted furniture between cab and body is out.

It's doesn't need to be wheelchair accessable so quite a narrow space would do. All I'm short of doing is setting a porta pottie up in a wardrobe at home to see if it is enough room. Any ideas on dimentions?

Thanks

peasant

foxhund wrote: »

All I'm short of doing is setting a porta pottie up in a wardrobe at home to see if it is enough room. Any ideas on dimentions?

Actually, that's not as mad an idea as it sounds
I've looked at a few camper interiors where at first glance everything seems grand (and spacious) until you actually sit down on the toilet only to find that you have to squat and an angle because yer knees won't fit.:D

Porta-potty and some large pieces of cardboard for imaginary walls could make a good testing ground before you start building.

stapeler

My bathroom is 1356mm by 896mm. Toilet stuck in them middle and a very silly design.
The thetford toilet units are typically 670mm wide so I'd build it that width should you decide to put in a permanent toilet at a later stage. This shower tray on ebay would allow you build a bathroom 760mm wide by 1018mm (258mm toilet+760m tray) probably too big for your liking. Ebay is a very useful tool for planning this kind of stuff as a lot of the products list dimensions allowing you to plan better.

I doubt you'll find a sink & hob less than 380mm, bare in mind for VRT purposed it needs to be a double burner.

foxhund

Thanks Lads

Believe it or not the sink/cooker unit I mentioned is a double burner.

Yup, no matter how silly I feel it's going to be cardboard "walls" quite a lot for the next couple of weeks. Somebody said in post here not to fall into the trap of convincing myself everything will fit so I better try all the measurements out.

Anybody know if the "six foot bed" mentioned earlier is real or will I get away with 5'9"?

Thanks

Aidan_M_M

I've seen beds less than 6 foot in factory built ones . The Revenue will never measure a bed , once all the proper cooking and appliances are installed .

[QUOTE=foxhund;63068468 snip
So I start looking out for a suitable van, which has to be smallish because the "other Arf" won't drive anything too big. So a high top Transit!!
[/QUOTE]

The extra long transit has same wheelbase as slightly shorter ones so should not be much different to drive from it's shorter cousins. IMO, LWB van is a way to go unless you use ferries a lot, in which case a vehicle length of less than 6 meters would save some cash.

My wife does not like driving in general but she's getting very handy behind the wheel of a LWB Sprinter.

foxhund

Thanks Samih

She's against the sprinter and she described a Transit jumbo as "the starship enterprise".

Since I'm a Trekkie from way back I'm still working out how to take that but I think LWB is as big as I'm going to get away with.

I'm hoping the camper will trigger a lot of ferry crossings in summers to come.