T4 from Caravelle to Camper

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Bought a Caravelle on 09/03/13 with the intention to have it ready for a jaunt round France in June/July in camper form. Its just been serviced incl having the waterpump and cambelt done, seems to be straight enough and looked after by previous owner.



So... first on the list... out with the interior :





Plan is to keep this seat here:



This is as far as I got today :



Interior is provisionally sold.
Next up... flashing, bubble wrap + plastic bottle insulation.
Only faults I could find in it is that it needs driver's door lock(will re-tumble it) and possibly new heater cable/tab (only blowing cold at the moment).

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Discovered this eve that the reason the heater wasn't working was a broken heater switch (rotary type), so I've pulled the valve lever manually under the bonnet to leave it on full, I was frozen in it today.

Started on the panel insulation today

Layer of flashing tape, layer of foil covered bubble wrap, layer of insulation and a layer of bubble wrap again.

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I went for the Caravelle as it has windows, when reclassifying I shouldn't have to pay any extra VRT (with a van I believe you still need to pay 13%), it also has seat belts in the rear and a removable single seat which I want to keep for the young lad. I know I could have retro fitted but.. didn't need that hassle with backing plates, sourcing seats/belts/etc.

This is the one :


I've sold the rest of the interior. Have been suprised at how much fun they are to drive, the gear change feels v.strange at first (v.long throw, need to bend each time if you are tall-ish).

Insulation, the flashing tape and foil backed bubble wrap I picked up from Atlantic Homecare, the Eco wool (recycled plastic bottles) from B&Q. I went for the Eco wool as it won't absorb/hold moisture and doesn't have fibres that will stick to your skin/lungs. You could pick up sound deadening foam from Atlantic also (they have a range of the stuff), it wasn't a priority for me to have it v.quite so went with just the flashing tape. This will give a little bit of deadening but more importantly will reduce resonance in the flat panels and make it feel a bit more solid. When you knock on the outside it now sounds like "dunk dunk" rather than "dink dink" ;-)

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Got some more done this eve, flashing on the wheel arches and more insulating. Just the sliding door and rear hatch door to do.






Also took out the rear blower motor but still trying to figure out what to do with the rear vent tubes and the large vent behind the window..

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The leisure battery I ordered arrived today + ordered a split charge relay last night.
Going to pick up the hardboard for the sides this weekend and figure out how I'll put the leisure battery in beside the starter battery under the bonnet.
Think I've decided to remove the rear blower as it'll be useless when the poptop is fitted (vents are in the middle of the roof).
This will leave a vent behind the rear window on the drivers side, need to figure out how I'll block that up. Am thinking some 3mm black plastic cut to size and reuse the original interior vent mounting holes + some sealant.

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Had a 2nd key cut, went to Argos and bought a camp bed to turn into a cab bed and some foam bed rolls for under ply floor insulation.
Took the headlining out tonight, someone has glued it at the rear so had to break it. I guess that solves my "keep it or not" dilemma with the rear blower...

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Dumped old headliner and old rear carpet. Bought couple of sheets of ply and a sheet of hardboard :


Part of the insulation put on the floor (layer of foil covered bubble wrap, layer of foam camping mats):


Ply cut and fitted, left some space for tucking in flooring. Its held down via the rear cargo tie-down fixings.


The step fits too :

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Thanks for the encouragement, I needed it today... was suffering after last night ;-)

Got the side panels cut today





Will carpet them before attaching.

Removed rear vent assembly for the rear blower and used the original as a template to cut something to block the hole. I've screwed it in but want to remove and cover with black plastic + seal with silicone this week. Its only held on on the right hand side with the handy man's secret weapon at the moment.

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Carpet arrived today so did a bit this eve :

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today, covered every hole I could find with alu tape + rerouted wiring pre carpeting.


decided to do each side in one piece


Had a minion "help" out too. Nearly finished one side