Citroen Relay - The Enterprise! Camper Build
Discussion
So, we have been toying with the idea of a new van but nothing we could find in our budget fitted the bill.
Needed to be smart enough to tour with and not draw sneers from sites.
Needed to be able to tow my race car without the continual worry of even the slightest of gradients.
Needed to be able to stash tools, wheels, spares etc for said race car in the back without impeding to the cabin space.
Needs to be able to keep the wife in comfort when I am running around organising the Compact Cup weekends in the paddock.
Needed a permanent bed we don't have to take down and put up continuously.
Needed other things that I can't be bothered to type out
So off we went budget in hand and sought out a van. Enter the mighty Relay. High mileage but with a bucket load of history on a van that had spent a significant amount of time on the motorway transporting motorbikes about. It's the Enterprise edition (hence the name) so has aircon, bluetooth and electric things
Pics
We are aiming for something like this
Rough draft in paint
First up get the bulkhead removed, took 10 minutes on my lunch break (working from home for a few days, rather handy)
Removed the ply lining from the sides as well for templates and stuff, no pics of that yet. Next up is floor removal.
Ordered so far (today has been busy for deliveries)
Insulation both foil wrap and polyester stuff used in the VW stuff.
Waeco CRX50 Fridge Freezer
Smev 8322 hob and sink
Carpet lining
Side window kit (passenger side on the sliding door will slide open, drivers one will be fixed.
Other bits and bobs.
I am keeping a spreadsheet of costs although by the end I suspect by the end of it I will wish I hadn't
Design is with these guys (http://www.convertyourvan.co.uk/), just waiting on specs and a cost to produce the interior kit but I have plenty to be getting on with for now!
So thats where I am, having only picked the van up Sunday I can't complain so far. Have a small wager with my mum as to if it will be ready in time for the round of the season in April. Theoretically possible but I am away a lot with work these days..
Needed to be smart enough to tour with and not draw sneers from sites.
Needed to be able to tow my race car without the continual worry of even the slightest of gradients.
Needed to be able to stash tools, wheels, spares etc for said race car in the back without impeding to the cabin space.
Needs to be able to keep the wife in comfort when I am running around organising the Compact Cup weekends in the paddock.
Needed a permanent bed we don't have to take down and put up continuously.
Needed other things that I can't be bothered to type out
So off we went budget in hand and sought out a van. Enter the mighty Relay. High mileage but with a bucket load of history on a van that had spent a significant amount of time on the motorway transporting motorbikes about. It's the Enterprise edition (hence the name) so has aircon, bluetooth and electric things
Pics
We are aiming for something like this
Rough draft in paint
First up get the bulkhead removed, took 10 minutes on my lunch break (working from home for a few days, rather handy)
Removed the ply lining from the sides as well for templates and stuff, no pics of that yet. Next up is floor removal.
Ordered so far (today has been busy for deliveries)
Insulation both foil wrap and polyester stuff used in the VW stuff.
Waeco CRX50 Fridge Freezer
Smev 8322 hob and sink
Carpet lining
Side window kit (passenger side on the sliding door will slide open, drivers one will be fixed.
Other bits and bobs.
I am keeping a spreadsheet of costs although by the end I suspect by the end of it I will wish I hadn't
Design is with these guys (http://www.convertyourvan.co.uk/), just waiting on specs and a cost to produce the interior kit but I have plenty to be getting on with for now!
So thats where I am, having only picked the van up Sunday I can't complain so far. Have a small wager with my mum as to if it will be ready in time for the round of the season in April. Theoretically possible but I am away a lot with work these days..
Rosscow said:
Hmmmm..... sounds like a great project and good luck with it!
However, having had 3 Citreon Relays at work from a 57 reg up to a 64 reg, all I can say is I hope you have more luck with them than we have. Reliability not a strong point!
Cheers, feeling a bit terrified right now However, having had 3 Citreon Relays at work from a 57 reg up to a 64 reg, all I can say is I hope you have more luck with them than we have. Reliability not a strong point!
Interesting have a mate who swears by Relays and Ducatos. We had a budget and a reasonable choice and this was the best in budget
fingers crossed its as reliable as he says, or I shall have his testicles in a vice I look forward to updates, be good if you could come up with a layout that would allow you to have the bed go across the whole width of the van. Could you potentially go without the wardrobe and store clothes in a cupboard above the seating area, then putting the W/C where the wardrobe would be?
Did consider that but at 6'1 I don't fit width ways unfortunately. Well I won't once the lining is in we did consider that but ultimately it didn't seem to save much space. We will see, still very open right now it could potentially change but we are pretty sold on this so far. Next plan it to put some masking tape down on the floor marking everything out and see how we do!
Edited by geeks on Wednesday 1st February 08:57
geeks said:
Rosscow said:
Hmmmm..... sounds like a great project and good luck with it!
However, having had 3 Citreon Relays at work from a 57 reg up to a 64 reg, all I can say is I hope you have more luck with them than we have. Reliability not a strong point!
Cheers, feeling a bit terrified right now However, having had 3 Citreon Relays at work from a 57 reg up to a 64 reg, all I can say is I hope you have more luck with them than we have. Reliability not a strong point!
Interesting have a mate who swears by Relays and Ducatos. We had a budget and a reasonable choice and this was the best in budget
fingers crossed its as reliable as he says, or I shall have his testicles in a vice Rosscow said:
geeks said:
Rosscow said:
Hmmmm..... sounds like a great project and good luck with it!
However, having had 3 Citreon Relays at work from a 57 reg up to a 64 reg, all I can say is I hope you have more luck with them than we have. Reliability not a strong point!
Cheers, feeling a bit terrified right now However, having had 3 Citreon Relays at work from a 57 reg up to a 64 reg, all I can say is I hope you have more luck with them than we have. Reliability not a strong point!
Interesting have a mate who swears by Relays and Ducatos. We had a budget and a reasonable choice and this was the best in budget
fingers crossed its as reliable as he says, or I shall have his testicles in a vice Skyedriver said:
Called ito the local village garage for advice on vans a couple of days ago, his thought was "they are all s
te too!
Modern diesels, all the paraphenalia that goes with them plus big bills for silly parts that fail.
Yeah seems to be a theme, Sprinters are known for injector issues, transits leak rust and the fuel pumps aren't known for longevity, VW LT's are known for blowing heads and cooling issues, the relay/ducato/boxer is known for electrical bits and clutches.te too!Modern diesels, all the paraphenalia that goes with them plus big bills for silly parts that fail.
Seems no matter the van there is a known issue for it. We selected one we liked the look of and the drive of and then bought it. We will have to see i guess, as with any used vehicle you just hope for the best and fix it when it breaks!
Spuffington said:
Good luck with this - will be keeping a close eye on the thread. Would love to do something like this but have neither the time nor the patience.
Thanks, no time like the present, or the winter in the rain and wind DuraAce said:
Looks good so far, interested to see how this turns out.
Cheers Best of luck with it. It's hard to beat the satisfaction of heading off in your own handiwork.
I've done 2 home-conversions. First one on a Citroen Relay that took us to all 4 cardinal points of the UK mainland, and lasted us 8 seasons with very little effort until we decided to move up the years with a fresher van. The Relay had been so good to us, I wanted another, but found a good Renault Master for the 2nd conversion.
I'm tall too, so went with the lengthways bed. I'd go wider on the bed if you can, other fitments permitting.
If it helps your build process, here's mine :
http://retrorides.proboards.com/thread/168690/rena...
I've done 2 home-conversions. First one on a Citroen Relay that took us to all 4 cardinal points of the UK mainland, and lasted us 8 seasons with very little effort until we decided to move up the years with a fresher van. The Relay had been so good to us, I wanted another, but found a good Renault Master for the 2nd conversion.
I'm tall too, so went with the lengthways bed. I'd go wider on the bed if you can, other fitments permitting.
If it helps your build process, here's mine :
http://retrorides.proboards.com/thread/168690/rena...
Edited by Darryl247W on Friday 3rd February 18:40
Darryl247W said:
Best of luck with it. It's hard to beat the satisfaction of heading off in your own handiwork.
I've done 2 home-conversions. First one on a Citroen Relay that took us to all 4 cardinal points of the UK mainland, and lasted us 8 seasons with very little effort until we decided to move up the years with a fresher van. The Relay had been so good to us, I wanted another, but found a good Renault Master for the 2nd conversion.
I'm tall too, so went with the lengthways bed. I'd go wider on the bed if you can, other fitments permitting.
If it helps your build process, here's mine :
http://retrorides.proboards.com/thread/168690/rena...
Loving your work! I have pinched a couple of your ideas and incorporated them into my design, along with LeighW and Tampon I've done 2 home-conversions. First one on a Citroen Relay that took us to all 4 cardinal points of the UK mainland, and lasted us 8 seasons with very little effort until we decided to move up the years with a fresher van. The Relay had been so good to us, I wanted another, but found a good Renault Master for the 2nd conversion.
I'm tall too, so went with the lengthways bed. I'd go wider on the bed if you can, other fitments permitting.
If it helps your build process, here's mine :
http://retrorides.proboards.com/thread/168690/rena...
Edited by Darryl247W on Friday 3rd February 18:40
So an update. Not much progress. Work, weather etc the usual excuses. However today I did go and mock up the interior on the floor from the drawings from the conversion kit guys. It's come out a bit more cramped than anticipated and we have decided to head on with a more traditional layout. Bed across the back etc. Am mocking some new paint images up for the van guys to cad up for me will post a pic later on. Have also ordered some sikaflex and bits and bobs. Floor will be coming up tomorrow and the inside will get a good clean before we start insulating however am driving some 150 miles south tomorrow evening to start work with a client on Monday and will be away until next weekend... DOH!
So update...
First up the layout. Having mentioned that the original planned layout was a bit cramped we went back to the drawing board and came up with something a little more conventional. New layout is below. Has a couple of advantages, gives us the option of pulling out the sofa to a bed so in theory makes the van a 4 berth and the kitchen no longer extends past the door as much..
So having had the mock up done by the interior company we are happy and they are cracking on with the cutting etc should be ready in a couple of weeks.
So cracking on with the van itself, just general bits and pieces really. All the lining is out now, the holes in the floor cleaned up and painted and filled (sikaflex is awesome stuff) started filling the struts and the beams in the roof! (apologies for the lack of pics, note: dog is useless )
Oh and then this happened cutting big fk off holes in the side of a van is more nerve wracking than I had realised top tip, I used a nibbler I bought from ebay, its the type that attaches to a drill and by christ it does a fking excellent job. Probably the best £20 I have spent in a while!
Really pleased with how they turned out
Not really much done unfortunately, working away still (typing this out from the hotel!)
However the pile of bits is stacking up, the underslung fresh and waste water tanks have arrived along with: the side step, the sterling battery to battery charger, a st ton of wiring, 240v distribution stuff, 12v distribution stuff and other things.
So there we are! Home this Friday and a big weekend is planned of wiring, insulation and with any luck fresh ply lining!
First up the layout. Having mentioned that the original planned layout was a bit cramped we went back to the drawing board and came up with something a little more conventional. New layout is below. Has a couple of advantages, gives us the option of pulling out the sofa to a bed so in theory makes the van a 4 berth and the kitchen no longer extends past the door as much..
So having had the mock up done by the interior company we are happy and they are cracking on with the cutting etc should be ready in a couple of weeks.
So cracking on with the van itself, just general bits and pieces really. All the lining is out now, the holes in the floor cleaned up and painted and filled (sikaflex is awesome stuff) started filling the struts and the beams in the roof! (apologies for the lack of pics, note: dog is useless
)Oh and then this happened
cutting big fk off holes in the side of a van is more nerve wracking than I had realised top tip, I used a nibbler I bought from ebay, its the type that attaches to a drill and by christ it does a fking excellent job. Probably the best £20 I have spent in a while!Really pleased with how they turned out
Not really much done unfortunately, working away still (typing this out from the hotel!)
However the pile of bits is stacking up, the underslung fresh and waste water tanks have arrived along with: the side step, the sterling battery to battery charger, a s
t ton of wiring, 240v distribution stuff, 12v distribution stuff and other things. So there we are! Home this Friday and a big weekend is planned of wiring, insulation and with any luck fresh ply lining!
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