Donor Wanted

elaverty

Hi Folks does anyone know of a Ideal Donor caravan for sale that would suite a van to camper van conversion,,Im going to make a start at converting my 08 LWB Sprinter to a camper,,,
Early days and still havnt decided on the right layout yet,,any advice on this would be great aswell,,Thanks,,

moodrater

elaverty wrote: »

Hi Folks does anyone know of a Ideal Donor caravan for sale that would suite a van to camper van conversion,,Im going to make a start at converting my 08 LWB Sprinter to a camper,,,
Early days and still havnt decided on the right layout yet,,any advice on this would be great aswell,,Thanks,,

Nice van, how many berths are you planning?

stevire

First camper I converted was a 94 308D Merc (pre-Sprinter model). I got my hands on an old doner caravan and ported most of the things over. Second camper I converted was a 98 VW T4, using IKEA units and a professionally fitted Rock N Roll bed.

In hindsight, if I was to do it all again, I'd go with IKEA units. They are well built, adaptable and a modern finish to them. The bed you'd have to potentially make yourself but once you have a layout in mind the bedding will become the easiest part. Storage, presses and kitchen were the hardest to fit in my experience. If you have a room for a toilet/shower then I'd expect this to be quite complicated too and perhaps a caravan unit would fit well.

Quick google of sprinter camper ikea and found this:
http://www.sprinter-rv.com/2013/08/21/all-the-colors-of-a-sprinter/

Best of luck in your journey! A self-build is never complete

I'd rather go to a dentist than Ikea.

+1 never finished a self-build.
I'd take an empty panel van over a coach build any day.

elaverty

moodrater wrote: »

Nice van, how many berths are you planning?

Thanks
I want a 2 birth,but with the option of have it a 4 birth without much trouble,regards fixing up a second bed etc,something like if the seater could double up as a second bed,,,

elaverty

stevire wrote: »

First camper I converted was a 94 308D Merc (pre-Sprinter model). I got my hands on an old doner caravan and ported most of the things over. Second camper I converted was a 98 VW T4, using IKEA units and a professionally fitted Rock N Roll bed.

In hindsight, if I was to do it all again, I'd go with IKEA units. They are well built, adaptable and a modern finish to them. The bed you'd have to potentially make yourself but once you have a layout in mind the bedding will become the easiest part. Storage, presses and kitchen were the hardest to fit in my experience. If you have a room for a toilet/shower then I'd expect this to be quite complicated too and perhaps a caravan unit would fit well.

Quick google of sprinter camper ikea and found this:
http://www.sprinter-rv.com/2013/08/21/all-the-colors-of-a-sprinter/

Best of luck in your journey! A self-build is never complete

A few ideas on that site all right..I hadn't thought of the IKEA route..
I would probably consider a donor more for the electric end of things,fridge,cooker,heater etc.

elaverty

Would anyone know of a breaker who would break minibuses, I see some lovely tinteed windows in the sprinter minibuses,and some that slide open even,if you could get them second hand I would imagin they would be a lot cheaper than new purpose factory camper ones,as the panels in the sprinter are massive and anything too small would look stupid I think

moodrater

Mercedessprinters.ie bridgevan.co.uk Traynors.co.uk dempseydismantlers.com

moodrater

elaverty wrote: »

Would anyone know of a breaker who would break minibuses, I see some lovely tinteed windows in the sprinter minibuses,and some that slide open even,if you could get them second hand I would imagin they would be a lot cheaper than new purpose factory camper ones,as the panels in the sprinter are massive and anything too small would look stupid I think

Even new they're cheaper by area than seitz etc. One way around the aesthetics of a small window is to use vinyl panels to ameliorate the small window to you'll see that used in a lot of van conversions. Rather than reinvent the wheel take a look at the Adria twin et al.

I would recommend Seitz. Bus windows are single glazed so they suffer from condensation and have poor insulation so the van will be too cold in winter and too hot in summer. The difference in condensation between Seitz and cab windows when cooking etc. is unreal.

*Kol*

I would go the caravan way. I saw a sprinter last week which had all the windows roof lights and interior from a caravan. It was a very neat job and the equipment looked like it was supposed to be there.

moodrater

*Kol* wrote: »

I would go the caravan way. I saw a sprinter last week which had all the windows roof lights and interior from a caravan. It was a very neat job and the equipment looked like it was supposed to be there.

Careful if using the caravan windows they have to have a safety stamp for DOE as outlined here: http://rsa.ie/Documents/Vehicle%20Std%20Leg/Information%20Notes/Motor%20Caravan%20Roadworthiness%20Testing.pdf

reelkidmusic

Personally, I think that using a caravan as a donor restricts the layout that you can use, the units rarely look 'right' when transferred from a caravan in to a panel van. I think it is much easier to build units to your own needs and to suit the space that you have. In terms of the electrical components, Fokker, fridge, etc. I think you will also find these cheaper to buy separately using the likes of donedeal and adverts or gumtree or eBay. It may take a little more time but it allows you to choose the components that you want as opposed to what you get if you buy a donor caravan. Don't forget that you will be left with a shell that will need to be disposed of if you don't have the space and don't want the unsightly thing in your yard.

*Kol*

moodrater wrote: »

Careful if using the caravan windows they have to have a safety stamp for DOE as outlined here: http://rsa.ie/Documents/Vehicle%20Std%20Leg/Information%20Notes/Motor%20Caravan%20Roadworthiness%20Testing.pdf

Do caravan windows not have a safety stamp?

reelkidmusic

*Kol* wrote: »

Do caravan windows not have a safety stamp?

It depends on the age of the caravan. Older ones will not have a stamp.

*Kol*

reelkidmusic wrote: »

It depends on the age of the caravan. Older ones will not have a stamp.

It was a big deal when the DOE test came in for camper vans. Everybody was concerned about windows. It doesn't seem to have become the issue people thought it would be though. I have windows with no markings and there has never been a problem.

moodrater

*Kol* wrote: »

Do caravan windows not have a safety stamp?

They're not meant for carrying passengers theres no need for one, if they use standard cassette windows such as seitz they will have them.

Whether its an issue or not is down to the local DOE center or who you get on the day at our one they are absolute sticklers.

I wouldn't cut caravan sized holes in my van if I wasn't 100% they'd pass although as previously suggested you could probably order up some transparent stickers.