Ford Transit conversion to camper MKII

Buford T Justice

Following on from my previous build, ten years later I'm back with another conversion adventure.
I intend to use all my learning and experience garnered from the last build and apply them to this one.

I still have my last van, though it's suffered badly at the hands of tin worm. It got the better of the van before we realised it and it was too far gone to fix.

The van was old, noisy, slow and tough to drive around, but was my first foray into the world of converting, so no complaints from me about it.

That said, we had some fun times in the van including a trip to the euro's in poland at the time (my brothers, not me)

She was a tough old girl, and living up to the stereotype of the engine being bulletproof. Half a turn and it's away with it.

Buford T Justice

So here we go. I've picked up a 12 reg Jumbo transit (ex dhl) that has high mileage on it. It's had a new engine fitted 100K ago, and there was 40K on it when it went int.

Its a fairly straight van, with some surface rust that I managed to pick up at a good price. It has a 6 speed box and when I drove it home, it was really smooth & comfi on the road, not like the old girl.

There are some mechanical issues, such as:

• Handbrake cable broken
• Faulty ABS Sensor
• Axle slipped from its Locating pin on one side
• Occasional limp mode(MIL code is Turbo Underboost) which I believe is the vanes sticking in the turbo - I had another van that also did this.

Though nothing that couldn't be remedied fairly easily.
There is a bit of surface rust, but I've been under the van and can't see any of it on the chassis, or any rot - anywhere.

Buford T Justice

This van hasn't been looked after, it was filthy inside and needed a major scrubbing

Today, I removed everything from the van including the passenger seats (though may have use for them at a later stage.
I powerhosed the underside of the van as well and took off all the dirt that had build up under the arches.

I intend to spray the underside of the van with schutz, and waxoyl all inner panels. I want to keep rust at bay as long as I can.

Looks much cleaner now

colm_mcm

Can’t wait to see how this develops.

How crusty is it underneath?

Buford T Justice

So there is rust on this van, but it is all surface rust, as seen below. There is no rust underneath on the chassis.

I removed the plastic of the step on the passenger side as these are notorious spots for rot and its all clean. I didn't look at the driver side yet.







All of this rust, including the holes that were drilled for the timer flooring will be treated with Loctite Rust Remedy before getting some red oxide paint over them. Obviously the outside is going to be painted.



This has to be the worst spot for rust on the van. This will be cut out and replaced with some new metalwork.

Buford T Justice

colm_mcm wrote: »

Can’t wait to see how this develops.

How crusty is it underneath?

Unless I need to go back to specsavers, its solid. The only rust is what's in the photos, but nothing underneath. Will all be done in Schutz. Its the own brand from One Stop motor factors. I can't link the product because their website is offline.

colm_mcm

Is there signs of it being welded before?

I’d be shocked if it has survived underneath otherwise . The last van we did was a 50k mile Transit that had been babied from new and even that needed welding.

You’ve had a Transit before so I know you know the craic!

Have you any plans made yet?

Righto I best say something clever so I get notifications then.

I dunno about that waxoyl internally. I did it on my first then I waited 3 years for it to dry.

Axle slipped? Wow...hard miles...no better man!

Buford T Justice

colm_mcm wrote: »

Is there signs of it being welded before?

I’d be shocked if it has survived underneath otherwise . The last van we did was a 50k mile Transit that had been babied from new and even that needed welding.

You’ve had a Transit before so I know you know the craic!

Have you any plans made yet?

None. I want to re-use what I have from the old van, but I'm not tied to it either, If spending a few quid means a big improvement - I'm all for it.

Though, I do plan to have the bed / bunks to the back of the van, like a u-shaped bench with a table converting to a bed, and the kitchen further up overhanging the sliding door. That way I can have the gas cylinder in the cabinet but only accessible from the sliding door being open.

I'm not tied to this either. We have some time to plan this while the mechanical stuff is taken care of first.

If I can help it, with the exception of the night heater exhausts, waste pipes & drop holes I want to avoid any holes in the floor where possible - not like the last van.

I've not seen any signs of welding, or any signs that things have gotten out of hand underneath. I could be wrong, but I'll soon discover when I treat the underside. Whatever I find will be remedied first. That last van didn't need any welding underneath for its first test with me either, only in the engine bay and on the floors before I started.

Put it this way, I'll do my level best to keep it at bay - I didn't do that the last time and I paid the price for it.

Sir Liamalot wrote: »

Righto I best say something clever so I get notifications then.

I dunno about that waxoyl internally. I did it on my first then I waited 3 years for it to dry.

Axle slipped? Wow...hard miles...no better man!

Waxoyl never dries :eek:, but it'll be only on the inner panels at the bottom of the van, before the insulation goes in. help keep the rust out where it can't be seen. There and inside all the panel supports and so on - at the bottom anyway

As for the axle - the last owner said the handbrake cable broke a few weeks ago and it's been like that since, though he didn't notice it until it was pointed out to him.
My theory is that he hit something, and the u-bolts are stretched enough that the axle popped off the locator pin from the spring

Buford T Justice

Buford T Justice wrote: »

I'd be interested to see what other solutions I can use in the build rather than a copy of the one I did previously such as the power distribution board and things like that

Here's one I built earlier. 440Ah golf cart traction battery. 200A design load. 600W Solar. 100A Alternator Charge. 1.2kVA True Sine Inverter. LVD everything. 15A Mains charging with automatic compressor fridge transfer.
365 Autonomy.

12V Dimming for 12V lighting.
230V lighting has no place in a Mh other than the battery compartment for service work.













High fidelity SOC meter

Buford T Justice

You have a Sprinter too?

Ha...nah rusters....that's a client's. I'm a fitter.
Although the owner of that one had the foresight to spray it top to toe in stone chip.

Those are genuine figures by the way. It's not a 100A alternator...it's an alternater setup that delivers 100A continuous to the house battery.

I've been working on this today, it's for a boat.
800A distro. 200A nominal design load. 250A (Design load not plated number) of alternators (three of them)




Usually I would advise if you need more than 150A change the battery voltage...3kW at 12v is insane. I've cables fatter than my thumb to run tomorrow.

Buford T Justice

Certainly seems excessive for the demands of a humble campervan.

Sure, liveaboards are another matter.
Vehicle dwellers use about 4 times less energy a day than brick and mortar dwellers.

How much energy is in a bottle of gas or a tank of diesel?
Would you rather run your engine 1 hour or 8 to charge the same battery.
I don't believe in hook-ups. It's a mobile application and you do not have to replace batteries on these systems. They live healthy lives for decades.

We are dawning an era of electric cooking in campers. Gas is dieing arguably dead. The gas fridge has been obsolete 5 years.

Buford T Justice

Sir Liamalot wrote: »

Sure, liveaboards are another matter.
Vehicle dwellers use about 4 times less energy a day than brick and mortar dwellers.

How much energy is in a bottle of gas or a tank of diesel?
Would you rather run your engine 1 hour or 8 to charge the same battery.
I don't believe in hook-ups. It's a mobile application and you do not have to replace batteries on these systems. They live healthy lives for decades.

We are dawning an era of electric cooking in campers. Gas is dieing arguably dead.

Possibly, but achieving the equivalent of a gas cooker in electrical terms is no mean feat, and certainly not a trivial venture at this point.

True and I would fit a gas redundancy for Winter.
However there is an awful lot of synergy from a one fuel onboard policy.
I can put solar in a laptop, or a fridge or a cooker or a light.
I cannot power my laptop with gas.
You can get a domestic fridge for €100 instead of a camper one for €600 and run it from the inverter that was bought to power the induction hobs.
100W of solar with run a well insulated fridge 365. It'll be €8 a week to run a gas one.

I feel like I'm thread hi-jacking...maybe we ought to discuss in one of your's Mr T if there's anything to add?

spaceHopper

Sir Liamalot wrote: »

Sure, liveaboards are another matter.
Vehicle dwellers use about 4 times less energy a day than brick and mortar dwellers.

How much energy is in a bottle of gas or a tank of diesel?
Would you rather run your engine 1 hour or 8 to charge the same battery.
I don't believe in hook-ups. It's a mobile application and you do not have to replace batteries on these systems. They live healthy lives for decades.

We are dawning an era of electric cooking in campers. Gas is dieing arguably dead. The gas fridge has been obsolete 5 years.

Are there many liveaboards out there. With a 300W+ setup do much from it this far north. Agree about induction hobs they can boil the same water much faster than an electric kettle, but how much extra weight are you adding for larger batteries and inverters to power them.

What do you use for heating? Gas or diesel.

Instead of a domestic fridge have you looked at top loaders, that way you don't let all the hard won cold air fall out when you open the door.

Car99

Sir Liamalot wrote: »

I feel like I'm thread hi-jacking...maybe we ought to discuss in one of your's Mr T if there's anything to add?

You have alot of very valuable knowledge and know how for self build MH and existing MH owners. A thread of your own would be a great addition to the forum.

_Brian

This is great timing Beauford.

Am a wee bit behind you but hoping to pick up a van over next month to have it ready for next year with a view to retiring the caravan.

Bring on the knowledge 😃

biko

Posts from Sir Liamalot moved to this thread on suggestion of colm with agreement from Liamalot

spaceHopper

spaceHopper wrote: »

Are there many liveaboards out there. With a 300W+ setup do much from it this far north. Agree about induction hobs they can boil the same water much faster than an electric kettle, but how much extra weight are you adding for larger batteries and inverters to power them.

What do you use for heating? Gas or diesel.

Instead of a domestic fridge have you looked at top loaders, that way you don't let all the hard won cold air fall out when you open the door.

300W solar = 1kWh > 1.5kWh per day. Give or take. Summer time (solar takes a dive during daylight saving time).


Wood burning stove in my van. There's a convection diesel eber in the truck I'm going to replace with a hydronic diesel.


12V/24v fridges are insane money and domestic fridges are more efficient (however after the inverter it might not be depending on the inverter make)


My 12v side opening fridge works grand. If you fill it with a thermal mass instead of air it maintains temperature. Yes top loaders are better but less convenient. I've externally insulated mine with 10mm of car insulation and I'm using the danfoss compressor to trigger condenser fans.
As I say 100W of solar powers it year round.
The gas jobber I replaced was a nightmare. The electric paid for itself (bought used) inside a year through reliability and instead of changing a gas bottle every 3 weeks I'm on my third in three years

Buford T Justice

Got under the van today to have a look at the issue surrounding the back axle.

Turns out that the spring is broken on the passenger side, which was suggested to me by a parts dealer last week.

Will pick up another spring this week and replace it next weekend



As I was looking, there does seem to be a bit of rust around the spring hanger, but again it's all surface rust that hasn't gotten all the way through.

Will be treated as part of the Schutz-ing of the underside




Look ok other than that

Buford T Justice

I tackled some of the fiddly bits in the van today. The headlight switch was knackered so I replaced that with another one from a breakers - no photo's of that though, its only small.

Door handle on the sliding door was broken - replaced

I got the code generated for the radio and it works, but every time the ignition is turned off, the van is completely dead. There's no secondary power so the code gets forgotten and back to square one.

The boffins on the transit forum have said that there are two batteries under the seat, and the first one is for the dash power, the second is for starting the van. They rekon the first battery is dead so it needs replacing. For now, I'm going to swap the batteries around, as it should still start since there's a relay connecting the two. Hopefully that'll fix this little niggle.

I need to source replacement keys since there's no barrel lock in the drivers door. I have FORScan, which will allow me to reprogram new fob's to the van. Think I'll ask a breakers.

There are two fault codes. Both are for the abs on the rear - it's not getting a signal from either side. I've not investigated yet, but there's a broken handbrake cable that needs fixing, and I can take a look a this at the same time.

Buford T Justice

I wire brushed down all the surface rust inside the van and treated it with Loctite Rust Remedy and then gave them two coats of red oxide primer to keep the rust at bay.

I'll do the same with the surface rust on the outside too.

Buford T Justice

Tackled the batteries today. The battery for running the van was knackered and I was lucky enough to find one suitable lying around. That fixed all of the fault codes with the exception of the abs issues.

The radio retains its memory so no more code, and the lights and so on work outside of the ignition on.

Like everywhere else in the van, it was rank so I gave it a good clean out



While I was at it, I started the van and checked the voltage to see if it was charging. Went from 12.6 to 13.34V or thereabouts, so I'm happy enough with that.



I took the plastic shroud out from the step to see the state its in, and like the rest its fairly solid - just needs a wash. I need to get under the van in the next week or so to give it a proper cleand own before shutzing. Need to get rid of the dried dirt that's hanging on there. Thinking it would be more effective than the air gun.




Also spotted a broken droplink on the anti roll bar, so that'll need replacing too.

Buford T Justice

Buford T Justice wrote: »

Went from 12.6 to 13.34V or thereabouts, so I'm happy enough with that.

14.4V + 0.03V per °C below 25°C is the desired input for that battery.

Buford T Justice

In regards to insulation, for the sides I have ordered some of that recycled stuff that people rave on about.

However, when it comes to the floor, I'm open to peoples suggestions on what I should do. I want to raise the floor as little as possible because I'm a bit on the tall side, so I was thinking 2 x 1 batons and 12 - 18mm ply on top.

Any suggestions as to what to put in between?

Buford T Justice

In case anyone is interested in the potential layout of this build, these are some sketchup drawings of potential layouts that I can use.

colm_mcm

Buford T Justice wrote: »

In regards to insulation, for the sides I have ordered some of that recycled stuff that people rave on about.

However, when it comes to the floor, I'm open to peoples suggestions on what I should do. I want to raise the floor as little as possible because I'm a bit on the tall side, so I was thinking 2 x 1 batons and 12 - 18mm ply on top.

Any suggestions as to what to put in between?

I’d go with Antinox https://www.homebase.co.uk/antinox-temporary-protection-black-2mm_p396649 plastic sheets (you can get them in Homebase very cheap) to fill in the low points in the floor, it’s great stuff. We used it on the Transit floor.


then cover with a layer of this https://www.coopsuperstores.ie/Building/Flooring/Flooring-Accessories
You don’t need batons IMO, 12mm ply would probably be ok, 18mm is heavy but less bendy too.

Buford T Justice

Have plenty of the flooring underlay lying around so I can use that..
Did you screw them directly to / through the floor?

What purpose does the antinox serve?

colm_mcm

The antinox has air cavities in it and is more rigid than the foam. It’s another form of underlay. We found it didn’t squash as much as the foam would while still providing extra insulation.

Yeah we just fixed the floor on to the metal. You’ve gotta be strategic about where you have your joins, if you are you won’t get squeaks.

The description on the site says 2mm but it’s more like 4mm.

Buford T Justice

Fixed a few broken bits today, found some more broken bits.

The spring wasn't without it's challenges, but given the state of the underside of the van (meaning really clean), and the fact that I dosed the bolts with GT-85 a few times last week - it went remarkable swimmingly.

All the bolts came out very easily. We did have a pneumatic air gun which helped immensely.
Since the spring was broken and about two inches of a gap between each piece, the axle had shifted backwards on that side. It was crabbing on the road when it was been driven, and the tyre was occasionally rubbing against the wheel well.
We tried pulling the axle forwards, hitting it with a sledge and tying a strap to it and pulling as it was ratcheting in. No dice, it wouldn't come forwards enough to the locating pin. We disconnected the shock from the axle and there was no tension on the drive shaft.
I figured that the other side of the van's u bolts were holding the axle at the wrong axle and since they were tight there was no give.
I loosened these bolts and bang, it flew back to its normal position.
A little sprinkling of copper grease, all torqued back up to 180nm and job's a good-un.

Replaced the drop link on the passenger side and the two rubber bushings on the anti roll bar are knackered. They need replacing.
The ECU was reporting open circuit on both rear wheels, and the culprits were most likely broken wires. They were. One of the sensors had a broken wire at the plug, there was another broken wire where the loom goes around the chassis. Repaired the wire and no more abs faults - Yaay.

Took the van for a run and the Battery light came on as I was driving. I got back and the alternator isn't giving out power, or it is at about 12.5v so it needs re-conditioning. Well spotted by Sir Liamalot



I didn't realise the image was blurry until long after I was finished.

Buford T Justice

For posterity, here's the old girl, now a donor van.

The years, and rust haven't been kind to her. There's a massive hole in the middle if you look closely.
The body is completely rotten all along the bottom, including both A pillars at the front of the van

Buford T Justice

That ugly builders bumper was cracked, and was catching on the passenger side rear door when it opened.

I got rid of it.

Buford T Justice

Have been ordering things all this week and they've been arriving in dribs and drabs

I have 6 x 12V Puck leds, or downlighters
4 x strip LED lights. I ordered two spot lights and i got two strip lights instead, so some of these ones were free
1 x Roll of 2 core cable
5M water hose
Reversing Camera
12M of lining carpet with 10x ht spray adhesive. (waiting on a roll of insulation)

alias no.9

I fought with a drop link one day, trying to get it back on after changing an upper wishbone on an Alfa 156, had the side i was working in up in an axle stand, jacked up the other side to take the tension off the anti roll bar and hey presto everything lined up. It wasn't the first or second wishbone I'd replaced on that car. You've got to deal with axels when working on suspensions.

Buford T Justice

Power washed the underside of the van today. Dirty job, but its done now. Some minor repairs needed to the wiring loom , so I'll be tacking that soon. Van is now ready for underbody shutz treatment.

Switch on the clutch pedal was not closing properly. The bracket that engages with it was bent (common fault) and so there was no cruise control working.

Quick tweak and bingo - jobs a good'un. Also adjusted the handbrake.

colm_mcm

There’s a very handy camera you can get for the Transit, it replaces one of the number plate lights, we put one in ours a few years ago


Depending on your screen size, it might fit where the ashtray is, (unless they changed the ashtray in the facelift

WildWater

Fair play Buford T. I remember the old girl through I never did meet you on the road. Can’t believe it’s been that long.

Buford T Justice

Buford T Justice wrote: »

1 x Roll of 2 core cable

:pac:


You might want to bolster that supply. I go through about 200m assorted per motor.

(ballpark depending on requirements)

60m x 1.5mm² Thin wall twin

30m x 3mm² Thin wall twin

10m x 16mm² x Red Thin wall Single
10m x 16mm² x Black Thin wall Single
10m x 35mm² x Red Thin wall Single
5m x 35mm² x Black Thin wall Single


50m x H07RN 1.5mm² 3 core mains



More fuseblocks with ground buses.
Bus Bars with insulated covers.

Albright contactors for split charge & a used Smartbank.

Lugs, terminals 3:1 glue lined clear heatshrink, enclosures.



I'd also stick to warm white high CRI LEDs colour temperature 2700°K unless you want the interior to look like a building suppliers yard at night. GreenCo are exceptionally good and not at all expensive.


Zero chocy blocks.

Buford T Justice

The lights are listed as warm white, so should be ok, though they don't mention what kelvin they are.

I've bought this as a split charge relay
This as a step up transformer to power my 24v night heater

colm_mcm

How many batteries are you fitting?

Buford T Justice

colm_mcm wrote: »

How many batteries are you fitting?

I've not decided yet. I was thinking of just one say 120AH battery. Something not too dissimilar to what the transit already uses in fairness. I'm open to suggestions on this. I need to replace one of the transit batteries as it is.

I know the absorption fridge isn't working on 240v - i think its the stat that's failed so I'm not decided if I'll change to an electric only and keep Sir Liamalot happy or re-use the existing one.

I'm open to suggestions.

Buford T Justice

Some more minor updates for this week.

Picked up a set of anti-roll bar bushings for the van this week and fitted them this evening. Not a difficult job, but movement was quite restricted with a ratchet and socket and the effort needed to remove the bolts.
I ended up using a torque wrench because of the leverage I got with it. Bit of copper grease on them and they flew back in again. Nothing really exciting about it to be fair.

Buford T Justice

I got a replacement set of locks and barrels for the van and replaced them too.
The ignition was the same as the old van, just a pin to pop it out.
The bonnet lock was only a few bolts to replace it, but like every other door lock out there it needed to be adjusted to catch the bonnet tightly.



There was no barrel on the drivers door lock, just a hole. The new barrel fitted in after a little wiggling and is now secured in place. However, it's not engaged the locking mechanism so it won't lock or open the van at all. Now I need to figure out how to wiggle the barrel out again.

Fun times.

colm_mcm

Buford T Justice wrote: »

I've not decided yet. I was thinking of just one say 120AH battery. Something not too dissimilar to what the transit already uses in fairness. I'm open to suggestions on this. I need to replace one of the transit batteries as it is.

I know the absorption fridge isn't working on 240v - i think its the stat that's failed so I'm not decided if I'll change to an electric only and keep Sir Liamalot happy or re-use the existing one.

I'm open to suggestions.

Where is the van battery in yours? On the older ones it was under the drivers seat.

Buford T Justice

colm_mcm wrote: »

Where is the van battery in yours? On the older ones it was under the drivers seat.

There's two batteries under the drivers seat - one as a starter battery and one as an accessory battery.

colm_mcm

I had a feeling that was the case on the newer ones. Was a great place for one on the pre-facelift