DIY Surf bus / campervan build - The Yellow Peril
Discussion
Next up was insulating the roof and cutting out the ceiling boards. We noticed that the van still got seriously hot in the sun and were getting really worried that we might not be able to leave the dogs in there ever on our Spanish/ French trip. That would have been a major hassle to not even have the option of going somewhere like the supermarket without one of us standing outside with them.
As such I went to town once I realised the ceiling is where all the heat comes in and goes out after touching the 5 ribs that were exposed on the ceiling between the sections I had glued yoga mat to, they were almost to hot to touch and needed sorting.
I glue the metal coated bubble wrap to the ribs after filling every hollow space with expanding foam. I pulled the driver cab ceiling down and glued layers and layers of yoga mats to it and replaced the ceiling panel. Then I cut out the ply wood to the shape of the ceiling. What a faff that was, best part of a day, putting in, holding up, taking down, adjusting, putting up etc etc. DEFINITELY a two man job for your own sanity.
Once I had the ply cut to the roof I figured out where the standard lights for the van are and cut out holes in the roof for them. Then put the boards up and figured out where we wanted the lights (Ikea dioder LEDs but maplins do exactly the same for nearly half the price).
I drilled the holes for the wires to come through, the benefit of the LED lights is they are only 3 mm thick at the most so sit flush without cutting out the ply. Upholstered the ceiling in the lightest coloured carpet I could get as I realised I went too dark with the interior walls so wanted to get as much light in as possible. Once that was done I glue a whole layer of foil lined bubble installation to the back of the ply to added an extra layer. The the lighting wiring was gaffered to the back of the first board and recycled plastic insulation was used between the rafters. It was a real squeeze to put the ceiling in but realised that would defeat the point of insulation so split it in half and compressed it as little as possible.
The noise in the van wasn't much at all before we did the ceiling but it is so quiet now at 80mph, also we have solved the internal temp problem, more later.
As such I went to town once I realised the ceiling is where all the heat comes in and goes out after touching the 5 ribs that were exposed on the ceiling between the sections I had glued yoga mat to, they were almost to hot to touch and needed sorting.
I glue the metal coated bubble wrap to the ribs after filling every hollow space with expanding foam. I pulled the driver cab ceiling down and glued layers and layers of yoga mats to it and replaced the ceiling panel. Then I cut out the ply wood to the shape of the ceiling. What a faff that was, best part of a day, putting in, holding up, taking down, adjusting, putting up etc etc. DEFINITELY a two man job for your own sanity.
Once I had the ply cut to the roof I figured out where the standard lights for the van are and cut out holes in the roof for them. Then put the boards up and figured out where we wanted the lights (Ikea dioder LEDs but maplins do exactly the same for nearly half the price).
I drilled the holes for the wires to come through, the benefit of the LED lights is they are only 3 mm thick at the most so sit flush without cutting out the ply. Upholstered the ceiling in the lightest coloured carpet I could get as I realised I went too dark with the interior walls so wanted to get as much light in as possible. Once that was done I glue a whole layer of foil lined bubble installation to the back of the ply to added an extra layer. The the lighting wiring was gaffered to the back of the first board and recycled plastic insulation was used between the rafters. It was a real squeeze to put the ceiling in but realised that would defeat the point of insulation so split it in half and compressed it as little as possible.
The noise in the van wasn't much at all before we did the ceiling but it is so quiet now at 80mph, also we have solved the internal temp problem, more later.
Edited by Tampon on Sunday 3rd August 15:28
Now for the nervous faff of a job. Installing the oak worktop and Smev hob. The units we got from ikea were not a deep as the cut out needed for the sink. So I practiced a few times on some ply wood to get the smallest possible cut out needed for the sink to work before cutting it out of the work top.
The template was used on the cabinets and as you can see it need some of the wall of the cabinets needing to be cut out as well.
Once that was done I shaped the oak top ( a leaf off a nice Oak table) to the profile at the back and then marked out the shape for the sink. Cut it, trimmed it here and there added the rubber trim to the edge, drilled holes for the waste pipe through the floor of the van, hooked up the gas and secured the bottle in the cupboard, wired up the water pump to the tap switch and protected the gas pipe work and job done.
Our beautiful sink and hob. Lift the glass lid and there is a sink and draining board, lift the draining board and there is a hob. Expensive but pretty (£280 for sink and all the pumps, taps, sink plugs, gas regulators etc).
The template was used on the cabinets and as you can see it need some of the wall of the cabinets needing to be cut out as well.
Once that was done I shaped the oak top ( a leaf off a nice Oak table) to the profile at the back and then marked out the shape for the sink. Cut it, trimmed it here and there added the rubber trim to the edge, drilled holes for the waste pipe through the floor of the van, hooked up the gas and secured the bottle in the cupboard, wired up the water pump to the tap switch and protected the gas pipe work and job done.
Our beautiful sink and hob. Lift the glass lid and there is a sink and draining board, lift the draining board and there is a hob. Expensive but pretty (£280 for sink and all the pumps, taps, sink plugs, gas regulators etc).
Edited by Tampon on Sunday 3rd August 15:56
Another rainy day here in Viladrau.
I finished off the electrics with a quick control panel. I put in a electric cigarette socket with a voltage meter next to it on a switch. The other switch is for the lights in the roof. Simple set up to start and get my head around 12v electrics.
On the morning of our ferry I dashed about to get the curtains fitted. I saw kits from megavanmats around the £200 mark. I decided to get one from a local guy for £70. Everything is exactly the same except that the curtains aren;t blackout. That isn;t a problem in the morning as the windows are tinted but you can see that there is someone in the van at night with the lights on although you can't see what going on behind the curtains. All in all I think it was worth the massive saving.
Installing them is another matter. Everybody online say they are a right a
hole to fit and they weren't wrong. I don;t have any tips to help as I just swore and punched things as I had the clock ticking down to leave for our evening ferry.
I finished off the electrics with a quick control panel. I put in a electric cigarette socket with a voltage meter next to it on a switch. The other switch is for the lights in the roof. Simple set up to start and get my head around 12v electrics.
On the morning of our ferry I dashed about to get the curtains fitted. I saw kits from megavanmats around the £200 mark. I decided to get one from a local guy for £70. Everything is exactly the same except that the curtains aren;t blackout. That isn;t a problem in the morning as the windows are tinted but you can see that there is someone in the van at night with the lights on although you can't see what going on behind the curtains. All in all I think it was worth the massive saving.
Installing them is another matter. Everybody online say they are a right a
hole to fit and they weren't wrong. I don;t have any tips to help as I just swore and punched things as I had the clock ticking down to leave for our evening ferry.Edited by Tampon on Monday 4th August 17:42
Another job done quickly just before we left was the undersea storage draw. Knocked it up in plywood and will figure out a more elegant solution when we get back. It has made a big difference finally having it as it gets all the food and cooking stuff out of the cupboards. Also I put double magnetic push fixings on the cupboard doors so I don;t need to have handles and can keep the clean look and stop the doors flying open when turning left.
Now for the really good cooling of the van. I was worried that even with the wind deflectors on the front and the windows wound down but still secure there wasn't flow of air through the back.
I researched it and found a company called Ventlock, who make extensions to the rear door catch so you can close the door ajar and still lock the door. They come in lengths up to 2ft. Because we don;t have a tailgate the door looks open even slightly ajar so I wanted to keep the van as secure as possible so bought the 4in version.
So with the back open that much ( I can't get my arm through there) and the front windows down this much
Which looks like this from the outside
There is a lovely breeze through the van. With the insulation there is no issues with heat now, and it give us a breeze when we are camping as well.The slight gaps don;t worry us as the dog go mental at anyone by the van any way so it would be a brave lad to try and stick their arm through with two big dogs going bat st inside.
To make it even better, i thought that on a still day or in direct sunshine there might not work so I knocked this up.
Which is a computer fan from maplins with 2-3metres of left over wiring, wired into a fused ciggy plug.
I then hang it from the ceiling at the back blowing the hot air at the top out of the back door which draws air into the van from the front.
It works a absolute treat, we tested it on a 30 degree day in full sunshine on the windscreen with out the wind screen thermal covers on, just the windows down 5 inches and the rear door vent lock on and fan running. After 1 hr went back to the van and it wasn't any real difference to being sat in the shade. Perfect, now we know that if we have to go to the supermarket and can;t find a shady spot we can leave to dogs for half and hour with water and they won;t die a sweaty death.
I also wanted a campsite hookup as we are going to one campsite for 5 days with family and I wanted to charge the battery. After seeing rcd hook ups at £45, and non rcd ones at £25, I decided to by a hook up plug from screwfix for £2 and attach it to my 25 metres extension lead. Job done for £2 ! As it is only running a trickle charger I am not worried about the rcd.
Now for the really good cooling of the van. I was worried that even with the wind deflectors on the front and the windows wound down but still secure there wasn't flow of air through the back.
I researched it and found a company called Ventlock, who make extensions to the rear door catch so you can close the door ajar and still lock the door. They come in lengths up to 2ft. Because we don;t have a tailgate the door looks open even slightly ajar so I wanted to keep the van as secure as possible so bought the 4in version.
So with the back open that much ( I can't get my arm through there) and the front windows down this much
Which looks like this from the outside
There is a lovely breeze through the van. With the insulation there is no issues with heat now, and it give us a breeze when we are camping as well.The slight gaps don;t worry us as the dog go mental at anyone by the van any way so it would be a brave lad to try and stick their arm through with two big dogs going bat s
t inside.To make it even better, i thought that on a still day or in direct sunshine there might not work so I knocked this up.
Which is a computer fan from maplins with 2-3metres of left over wiring, wired into a fused ciggy plug.
I then hang it from the ceiling at the back blowing the hot air at the top out of the back door which draws air into the van from the front.
It works a absolute treat, we tested it on a 30 degree day in full sunshine on the windscreen with out the wind screen thermal covers on, just the windows down 5 inches and the rear door vent lock on and fan running. After 1 hr went back to the van and it wasn't any real difference to being sat in the shade. Perfect, now we know that if we have to go to the supermarket and can;t find a shady spot we can leave to dogs for half and hour with water and they won;t die a sweaty death.
I also wanted a campsite hookup as we are going to one campsite for 5 days with family and I wanted to charge the battery. After seeing rcd hook ups at £45, and non rcd ones at £25, I decided to by a hook up plug from screwfix for £2 and attach it to my 25 metres extension lead. Job done for £2 ! As it is only running a trickle charger I am not worried about the rcd.
Edited by Tampon on Monday 4th August 18:31
The trip started on the 23rd of July with a 8pm ferry from dover. Landed at 11.30pm and stopped around 2am outside of paris at an aire.
Made it to the house in the south by lunch time the next day and stayed there for a week and meet up with the family. Bit of fishing, washing the van and sunbathing to kickstart the holiday.
Dog walks in by the river
The farmers ponds first light, fishing for big carp with my nephew
Well he was chuffed with it...
We went to Perigueux for the market, got there and could;t get to the centre as there were police everywhere. Turns out it is the penultimate day to the tour de france and the end stage of the time trial was there. So we wandered around the team camps and soaked up the atmosphere. Walking along we saw a few people ahead and a commentator on the mega phone so wandered over. Stood there for 2 minutes and helicopters started flying over head. Coming down the street was the winner of that days time trial someone Martin? then saw the yellow jersey ad eventual winner come through 30 minutes later. Brilliant bit of luck "bumping into" it.
Quick video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7auaYUygq6Y
After the first week we were going as a family to northern Spain for a week to a villa in Viladrau, http://www.cancapella.com, and then off to a campsite on the cliffs on the east coast then me and my wife bugger off for a little wild camping.
We decided to leave France the day before everybody else and camp somewhere in the Pyrenees for the night. The tunnel to Spain was shut so had to go through Andorra. I had romantic notions of it being like monaco, oh no, utter st hole. We drove up the mountain and when we got to the top it felt like god was trying to smite us. The temp dropped from 22 to 4 deg in a minute, slowed to 10 mph and hail covered the road. I refused to stop and drive through manic laughing whilst people were pulling over.
Got stuck at Boarder crossing into spain for 1 and half hours as it was a friday evening and the queue was massive. Drove around the otherside of the mountain to find a spot to wild camp and ignored the no camping signs everywhere and drove down a forest track and found a lovely spot. Parked up set up and chilled out. Few foresters and hunters came past fording the river, we smiled waved hello and they were friendly.
Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5dfQ_wlJOw
Everybody tucked up
Then set off for the villa
We went into the national park and drove around the mountains. Stopped for the fantastic views dotted around
Although driving down a mountain in 30 deg heat with 5 people, 3 dogs and a fully loaded camper got the brakes seriously hot on the switchbacks. They really started to smell so I pulled over and saw they smoking away so we had a bit of lunch and I put the fan I made to good use formula one style....ish.
Made it to the house in the south by lunch time the next day and stayed there for a week and meet up with the family. Bit of fishing, washing the van and sunbathing to kickstart the holiday.
Dog walks in by the river
The farmers ponds first light, fishing for big carp with my nephew
Well he was chuffed with it...
We went to Perigueux for the market, got there and could;t get to the centre as there were police everywhere. Turns out it is the penultimate day to the tour de france and the end stage of the time trial was there. So we wandered around the team camps and soaked up the atmosphere. Walking along we saw a few people ahead and a commentator on the mega phone so wandered over. Stood there for 2 minutes and helicopters started flying over head. Coming down the street was the winner of that days time trial someone Martin? then saw the yellow jersey ad eventual winner come through 30 minutes later. Brilliant bit of luck "bumping into" it.
Quick video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7auaYUygq6Y
After the first week we were going as a family to northern Spain for a week to a villa in Viladrau, http://www.cancapella.com, and then off to a campsite on the cliffs on the east coast then me and my wife bugger off for a little wild camping.
We decided to leave France the day before everybody else and camp somewhere in the Pyrenees for the night. The tunnel to Spain was shut so had to go through Andorra. I had romantic notions of it being like monaco, oh no, utter s
t hole. We drove up the mountain and when we got to the top it felt like god was trying to smite us. The temp dropped from 22 to 4 deg in a minute, slowed to 10 mph and hail covered the road. I refused to stop and drive through manic laughing whilst people were pulling over.Got stuck at Boarder crossing into spain for 1 and half hours as it was a friday evening and the queue was massive. Drove around the otherside of the mountain to find a spot to wild camp and ignored the no camping signs everywhere and drove down a forest track and found a lovely spot. Parked up set up and chilled out. Few foresters and hunters came past fording the river, we smiled waved hello and they were friendly.
Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5dfQ_wlJOw
Everybody tucked up
Then set off for the villa
We went into the national park and drove around the mountains. Stopped for the fantastic views dotted around
Although driving down a mountain in 30 deg heat with 5 people, 3 dogs and a fully loaded camper got the brakes seriously hot on the switchbacks. They really started to smell so I pulled over and saw they smoking away so we had a bit of lunch and I put the fan I made to good use formula one style....ish.
Edited by Tampon on Monday 4th August 22:23
Great write up once again, love the build and the colour. One question though, where do the dogs go when your moving? We are also looking to get a camper and have a big dog. Wouldn't have her running free in the van but not sure how to keep her safe? I was thinking a collapsible travel crate but at the moment she has a doggie seat belt and lies across the back three seats in the car.
Shinobi said:
Great write up once again, love the build and the colour. One question though, where do the dogs go when your moving? We are also looking to get a camper and have a big dog. Wouldn't have her running free in the van but not sure how to keep her safe? I was thinking a collapsible travel crate but at the moment she has a doggie seat belt and lies across the back three seats in the car.
Too be honest with you it is a bit of a problem. I the previous cars we had a dog gate and chucked them in the boot. Now as the floor is vinyl they side arou d. They sat right behind the front seats but some time one of the crawls up on to the rear bed when on the motorway. That is a big issue as there is a good 8ft space for him to smash into us. We normally get one in the front with us. Also ikea bathroom mats help as the grip the floor and give them somewhere comfy to lie down.
None of that helps with the secure in a accident and to be honest I am not sure what we can do. I have been thinking about ditching the front double seat and putting in a single and adding a colapasable crate for them but I think I will be too big to travel with. If I had one I would have them on the front double passenger seat with a harness. It is great fun having three of us sat up fro t having a look around.
I have also though of a harness and attaching it to the frame of the rear bed but they would slide forward everytime I braked hard.
Anyone one have any ideas?
Just be careful in Spain, not sure about France but it is illegal to have any animals loose in your vehicle (unless you are a Spaniard) the police seem to ignore them.
The only way we travel is with the dog in a basket with its collar on and a dog seat belt clipped into where you would clip yourself into.
With 2 dogs not an easy answer unless you fit a couple of seat belt harness points through the floor of the van,somewhere they would be hidden if possible.
The only way we travel is with the dog in a basket with its collar on and a dog seat belt clipped into where you would clip yourself into.
With 2 dogs not an easy answer unless you fit a couple of seat belt harness points through the floor of the van,somewhere they would be hidden if possible.
Tampon said:
Damn. I read your thread over on VxON and I rather like the work you've put into this. I rather wish I could justify the cost to purchase.
But you have given me some excellent ideas for use of Ikea furniture in vans...
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