Home built interior's

[Velgreeno]

Hey all. Just curious as to who has built their own interior's from scratch. At the moment I have a fully totally restored bus which has taken about 6 and a half years with the interior panels all done with pretty much all of it done with full width bed etc The only thing I haven't got is cabinets and a bit more storage so what I'm thinking is making a cabinet behind the driver's seat which incorporates draws, a water storage cupboard, a cooking section etc etc up to the window and 3 quarters back so you can still sit behind and open the bed with no probs. Also thinking of making a seat storage area behind passenger seat which has compartments maybe. I think that would be good. But trying to look like it's always been there. Have any of you done a DIY in you're buses and are you happy with it ? Cheers.

 

[ozziedog]

Hi you, this is another on my massive list of things to do. What I have done so far is to run a temporary (10 plus years) set up to work out what I really need. Somewhere along the line you’ll also work out what you can take with you and the storage required / available. I have a full width Rusty Lee rock and roll bed and that’s fitted. Behind the drivers seat I have a massive sea trunk which is a home made cool box for the Stella and a bit of food, behind the passengers seat I have an old bedside cabinet with two drawers that serves as a spare seat either in or out of the van and it can be a small table for my cooker for an early morning cuppa in bed, plus a buddy box between the front seats which can be in or out of the van as another seat. Alongside the van I tether a gazebo which I use to keep any weather out of the sliding door and like a living area with a table elcollapso which is where most cooking happens. As I eventually get around to building my units, I’ll pretty much replicate this set up as the portable cookers and I have two are way superior to the built in type and mostly I can use them and the frying spatters outside. The ultimate for me will involve the solar panel, leisure battery, compressor fridge combo. Oh and the washing machine drum :mrgreen:

Ozziedog,,,,,,,,,that’s the lot :mrgreen:

 

[thejinx]

As Ozzie says mate work out what you need. I’m not far off what Ozzie has.
Full width Rusty Lee R&R bed
I have a small cabinet behind the driver seat which holds a smev cooker, gas bottle and loads of handy things It has a draw for cutlery etc
Attached to that I have a stow away table
I have an army surplus aluminium box which doubles as a seat and storage behind the passengers seat
A buddy box in the walk through.

It works for me but then again it is just myself and the long haired general. We did a few days out to test our set up before hitting the continent and the only thing we forgot was a cork screw.
Viva screw top wine
https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/K~sAAOSwNIZffC8B/s-l1600.jpg

 

[KateLovesPurple]

I built from scratch the interior on mine back in 2009/10, based around a 3/4 width R&R bed of unknown origin, with rear overhead locker and cupboards like many basic camper conversion. It pretty much follows the basic layout of everything down one side and with 3 way fridge and gas cooker next to a sink and cupboards. The van was originally a Danbury conversion with most of a Devon interior when I got it back in 2003. It should be a walkthrough, but I have the leisure battery distribution board and 240V hookup and battery charger etc, and a lift up TV in the unit just inside the door on the left, behind the front seats. It is pretty much unchanged from the day I built it, everything just seems to work for us, as far as layout goes. These photos show the rebuilt overhead and cupboards after the first ones suffered with water damage.

 

[Fernando Pal]

Hi Guys there in England after building the interiors you need a permit to the bus ?????????????

 

[ozziedog]

Hey Fernando, there is not a permit required or needed. I think if you convert a much newer van than these old VWs then they will ask you to do certain things nowadays before they will change the documents to say ‘’camper van ‘’. One thing they asked my friend to do with her Renault Master, was to make nice graphics for the sides of the van and to provide photos too along with photos of the interior . But, no special permit required. I think it makes them easier to sell if they are already converted and confirmed to be a camper van.

Ozziedog,,,,,,,,I was talking about this two weeks ago :mrgreen:

 

[gvee]

Changing the interior can affect the vehicle's designation.

Mine is a panel van, not a camper van. Despite upgrades to my interior it doesn't tick _all_ of the necessary boxes to change the classification (that would need reflecting on the V5).

The classification has an effect on your insurance, so if in any doubt give them a bell and they should be able to talk you through it.

 

[Fernando Pal]

and when the police stop and check the van?

 

[KateLovesPurple]

Why would they?
The UK police wouldn't necessarily stop you unless you were driving illegally or the van was obviously in a dangerous condition.
There is no permit system. As long as the van is insured, taxed (if needed) and MOT tested (if needed) then that's it.
Tax and MOT are not necessarily needed in the UK if certain age and modification requirements are met.

 

[ozziedog]

and when the police stop and check the van?

Hey Fernando, I think the police are much more relaxed about things like this over here and don’t really have the time or the inclination or the knowledge/ ability to check out things . I used to live in Australia in Melbourne and that was a very much more rigid system of policing :mrgreen:
The police are a lot busier with other stuff over here :mrgreen:
Mine was also a panel van at one time , but I put different sides in the van but it’s always since I’ve known it, been classified as a camper van. Devon used to cut the windows into the sides of panel vans for some of their conversions but they were a recognised conversion company :shock: But things also change with time, as specifications change, a lot of the older vehicles just do not comply so they are exempted for various reasons :mrgreen:

Ozziedog,,,,,,,,,just as well really :mrgreen:

 

[Velgreeno]

Cheers for the replies guys all good. Ozzie it sounds like we kind of have the same projects lined up ha. I'm designing at the mo. Just thinking what I want in there and where it's going to go but looking good and looking 60s but with modern functioning if that makes sense.. I need inspiration ha.

 

[ozziedog]

Cheers for the replies guys all good. Ozzie it sounds like we kind of have the same projects lined up ha. I'm designing at the mo. Just thinking what I want in there and where it's going to go but looking good and looking 60s but with modern functioning if that makes sense.. I need inspiration ha.

One of the things on my wish list has been to build a fridge unit that’s partially powered by the sun and partially powered by leeeeeesure battery. The idea for it is to load it full of Stella bottles and have a releasable trap door at the bottom to free cold bottles of Stella one at a time on command allowing the said cold bottle of Stella to roll across the van floor and drop neatly into my hand as I’m sat outside under my gazebo and my sole input will appear to be opening and disposing of the cold Stella :mrgreen: :shock: :shock: :mrgreen: .
Triggering should be fairly straightforward as in a piece of string and a tug, or elecktrickery type switchery which then gradually becomes more subtle with lots of different triggers like maybe even an app :msn4: :shock: :msn4: or a loud noice like we had with the little alarms that you could put on your keys and clap your hands to set the alarm off and find your keys. :roll: I could still do it with the coolbox approach I guess just to get it working :idea: I’ve made several prototypes for the release mechanism but I’ve complicated myself out of it, so I’ve left it for a bit until something new drops into my head. One of the prototypes involved a plastic one gallon (empty) paint tin with slots in to accept the bottles and to let them out again, great fun making it but the bottles were proper dissy when they came out :lol:





Ozziedog,,,,,,This might be the only surviving pic of one of these prototypes :lol:

 

[gas1man]

Awesome Ozzie :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

J & P

 

[ozziedog]

Awesome Ozzie :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

J & P

Don’t know if you spotted it, but I’ve been trying to grow pineapples in the background with absolutely no success whatsoever :x :roll: :x. I’ve got a couple of nice three or four foot avocado trees grown from seeds off stuff I’ve eaten,but these pineapple bushes / plants are very reluctant to spring into life in my garage window :roll:

Ozziedog,,,,,,,,,,,I like trees better :mrgreen:

 

[sparkywig]

Remind me not to sit next to you when you open these Stellas.....

 

[Velgreeno]

That looks like a cool idea Ozzie ha. I'm also thinking of leisure and solar . Alot to think about.

 

[ozziedog]

That looks like a cool idea Ozzie ha. I'm also thinking of leisure and solar . Alot to think about.

Quite a good thread over on The LateBay.com with lots of slightly different twists and versions too and they’re actually in real life in a bay, so well worth a read as to what suits who. I’d been waiting for the flexible panels to be extra good as in performance which they are now, however the longevity seems to be more of an issue in the flexi types with the lack of all round ventilation and overheating causing premature breakdowns. As I have a late ish style Devon pop top :mrgreen: with a small two bow roof rack at the front, I’m thinking of permanently wiring in but fitting it under the roof rack and out of the way mostly :msn4: but pull out drawer styleee when camped :roll: and possibly have different angles available for best sun usages but there’ll never be a perfect angle unless it’s motorised possibly clockwork to achieve maximum burn time , it’s possible I’m thinking, so you park with your bus’s ass to the morning sun and you’ve pulled out your drawer styled Solar Panel nice and level with the roof rack and lift the front of the panel to help it face the sun behind you, then during the course of the day, the panel gradually loses its lift and just after mid day it becomes level as the sun is overhead, then gradually the front drops until it’s almost flat on your screen for the last rays of the evening sun then as night returns, either slide it back under the rack if you’re off the next day, or tilt it ready for the morning sun :mrgreen:

Ozziedog,,,,,,,,,,no I haven’t thought too much about it :shock: :lol: :shock:

 

[Velgreeno]

Oh right. I've never been on the latebay before. Il have to have a look. That wouldn't be good the breakdowns. That does sound good though Ozzie. I'm quite intrigued.

 

[Coda]

Ozzie, I always knew you were a bit mad, now it's official...

 

[ozziedog]

Ozzie, I always knew you were a bit mad, now it's official...

Ozziedog,,,,,,, I seem to feel a bit better now it’s official :mrgreen: