Having always been very fascinated by 'functional' investments I'm considering to purchase a van (in relevant good condition) and start a camper van conversion to mobile home.
The seats are decent seats they came out of another van, i wasn't sure what details are on the conformity certificate as ive never seen one. i didn't know if it included the seats/seating arrangement.
what about if i fitted such things as a night heater and water inlet/outlet would that be classed as altering it structurally do you think. ive already taken the double bench seat out and fitted two swivel seats and that was something else i was concerned about.
Hi Dave. The simple answer is no: my projects were done in the UK and brought over here in the case of the 2 fire engines. The Dodge is still in use and belongs to a friend who lives not far from me. (22) The Dennis was given to a friend who had let me park it on his farm in Calvados for several years. It's moved on since. Fun whilst it lasted.
I understand what you mean regarding having any vehicle that is "non-conformist" in France; you could find yourself jumping through several annoying bureaucratic hoops. This is one of the reasons for simply converting the interior of a standard 3.5 tonne blind van.
It's often the case where it's best to keep information sharing with the bureaucrats to a minimum.
All the same, it's a pity that you rarely see any custom vehicles over here; I've built a few in my time and it was lots of fun. It's just too much hassle here.
Indeed! Great vehicles. I was recently discussing Unimogs with my son who has a hankering for one. (Cat/Mog = same beastie.) I like the idea myself but I've already got twenty million things to do.
Here's a Youtube clip of a Unimog conversion that may titillate. Love 'em!
Be sure to keep us all posted if you start an interesting conversion project, Ivan, as it seems there are plenty of SFNers who share that "gypsy in the soul" wanderlust/conversion bug.
Take a look at this site, vantocampervan.co.uk i've bought a sprinter with the intention of converting it, the guy whose site it is is really helpful if you contact him.
I’ve been involved in a few “camper” conversions over the years, the biggest being my 6 ton Dennis fire engine which I lived in for 2 years in Normandie. I also did a 4 ton 4 x 4 Dodge fire engine which included a hidden tail-lift “garage” for a motorbike in the back and still looked as though it was a fire engine.
On that point, one thing worth considering is the restrictions on parking a “camper” just anywhere, to which end it may be worth considering a “blind” van: a camper that just looks like a regular van from the outside; nobody bothers where you park a van but there are often restrictions/local regulations against overnight parking of campers.
My current vehicle is a 3.5 tonne Peugeot Boxer L2, H2, which gives you 3.25m long in the back with full standing headroom and sufficient width to put a bed across the width but not too ridiculously long for parking. I’m thinking that I may get away with a smoked glass window on the sliding door that can be completely blacked out with a dark curtain but, as I said, if you make it too obvious that you’re kipping in it and you could get moved on from certain spots.
Another recommendation would be that you make/instal things in easily removable units so they clip/strap/bolt in place; it will give you more versatility. Also, if it’s just for camping holidays, you shouldn’t need anything too serious for cooking and washing up, etc as you’ll probably find yourselves dining out for most serious meals.
Well, I would; I’m not a big fan of cooking.
Another thorny problem is the “thunderbox” - apart from a curtain around a Porta potti, I have no great solutions to that other than keep a box of matches handy.