Camper conversion

Liamy115

Hi All, I'm converting a 01 ford transit to a camper. Can someone tell me how long the paperwork side of things roughly takes? Also I know when the inspection takes place that you aren't meant to change anything after but what can you change? I'm looking at saving some initial costs by going with a gas stove I already have and just using a freezer box instead of a fridge. Or do all items have to stay the same or can an inspection be redone with new items.

Thanks in advance 👍.

Spear

Moved to a forum that's related to the topic instead.

You can change your fittings later, but a reputable "Suitably Qualified Person", who you will need to certificate your conversion, will insist on a gas cert which will only be issued by a registered gas fitter. This makes things a bit more expensive up front.

One way around this is to use a spirit stove - but these are not cheap and not a great long term solution.

Spudmonkey

I think there are only two or three requirements to get the certification.

1. You need to be able to cook inside
2. Have to have a bed
3. Have to have the gas bottle isolated

Think that was pretty much it. Talking to a few others while I was doing the conversion said that to get the whole ball rolling they did the very basics of this, got a lad to certify them and then did the rest of the work around these few items. In fact I've heard it can benefit you doing this as the more complete the van is (along with pictures etc) the more the conversion will cost in the end. Back when I was doing in a couple of years back it took ~2/3 months from me sending in the details to getting the new log book.

mikelan

SQi doesn't necessarily insist on a gas cert. I had a standard Lidl dual gas burner mounted on the worktop with the canister in a holder and there wasn't a problem. I don't cook in the van anyway, always outside in the awning, but on the day I had it screwed down.

Biggest problem was insurance wrt the low roof. Richardson's were ok with it though. Stay away from the MCCI.

It is a requirement to have a fixed cooker of some sort in the back of the van. If there is a fixed gas cooker it is a legal requirement that if it uses a bottled gas which is housed in the cab then the bottle has to be in a suitably vented gas locker. A gas locker has to have a gas dropout inside and has to have at least a lip below the door to prevent pooling gas from rising up and leaking into the living space. A top opening door is even better. The gas locker must be airtight but can be made of wood. The cooker itself and all joins in the pipework from the gas locker to the cooker have to have there own gas dropouts. Any pipework must be pressure tested ie pressurized and held at that pressure for a defined time. If you use a camper stove with screw in bottles it is still a legal requirement that the cooker has its own gas dropout. The consequence of this is that if you intend to install a temporary camper stove with the intention of later upgrading it - it would be wise to install it in the location that the cooker will always live so that you do not have an unnecessary hole in the floor.

It is the duty of your SQI to ensure that all legal requirements for your conversion are met - so if he isn't insisting on proof of a certified gas install he is breaking the law and there is a very high probability that in the case of a claim related to the gas - your insurance company will refuse to pay out, in fact it is highly likely that they will refuse insurance in the first place.

Insurance is always going to be the hardest thing to get because they really do not want the business of none commercial conversions.

Alkers

Has anyone got certified with an induction hob? What about if it's only mains operated?

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119694014#Comment_119694014

I recently saw a camper with just an induction hob. Means you need a serious leisure battery for anything but campsite use. Massive cost involved.

But if you do go down that path - you need to get your electrics certified.

All this legislation is there to protect you from yourself. A poorly implemented gas install will poison you if it leaks, or it can blow up. An ungrounded electric setup with mains and no earth connection is similarly lethal since you can never be certain of the safety of the mains hookup so you must ensure your install is safe within itself.

I would rather do it right and have the peace of mind that it brings.

Alkers

Well your electrics should be done properly regardless of an induction hob.

I was just wondering about the induction hob (without expensive batteries) and whether you could use that to satisfy sqi requirements even if it's not capable of operating without 240v hook up.

colm_mcm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119667896#Comment_119667896

Just oh this, there is no requirement for a gas cert from Revenue, the SQI, or most insurers.

Obviously it’s good to have one .

dzer2

Is it possible to add a shower and fridge at a later stage as we are setting up for a 4 berth one, but will change to 2 berth when the teenagers leave the nest. Also we would like to reinstate the bulk head.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119867531#Comment_119867531

Most insurance companies will not like you reinstalling the bulkhead. Most insist on front to back access.

notthereyet

Stupid question here why is there a need to change from a commercial to a camper like OK say I have a long base high roof transit and I just put windows in the back of it insulation in it and a bed and some furniture that can be easily installed and removed can I just not remove all ones a year and test it as a commercial.

I am not certain if you are allowed windows in a commercial unless its a crew cab. I had a friend who painted his windows the same colour as the van when he re-registered it as a commerical after it been a camper.

Alkers

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119868629#Comment_119868629

If the furniture is easily removable, it officially wouldn't meet the revenue requirements so you could leave them in for the test. Camper tax and insurance is cheaper than commercial vessels.