Dipping my toe in to Campervan life with a Westfalia Nugget
Discussion
I've managed to locate a fitter for the cruise control in Telford, gives me a great excuse to travel up the night before and do a solo camp at a nearby camping & caravan club site.
The next decision is do I want to have a solar panel installed at the same time, its reasonably priced but it may be something for the next van.
The next decision is do I want to have a solar panel installed at the same time, its reasonably priced but it may be something for the next van.
Cruise control is a game changer for the van, really extended how we'll keep it as the quality of life whilst driving has been massively improved.
I'm getting a small patch of rust near the steering column repaired this week that was identified during the chassis service last week. As it requires dropping the subframe and gearbox I am also replacing the clutch & flywheel at the same time.
Once thats done, we're off camping again this weekend (already did 3 nights away last week!).
Remaining items to tick off:
Replace spare tyre (current one is 20 years old)
Figure out some rear storage option to go on the bike rack
Fit a wind out awning
I'm getting a small patch of rust near the steering column repaired this week that was identified during the chassis service last week. As it requires dropping the subframe and gearbox I am also replacing the clutch & flywheel at the same time.
Once thats done, we're off camping again this weekend (already did 3 nights away last week!).
Remaining items to tick off:
Replace spare tyre (current one is 20 years old)
Figure out some rear storage option to go on the bike rack
Fit a wind out awning
Sounds like a nice space upgrade.
The van is back from its trip to the garage and with a fresh MOT, new clutch, flywheel and slave cylinder - drives a treat! They’ve also sorted the small amount of rust nicely.
Next camping trip is this friday! Third in 2 weeks!
Now that the major work (hopefully) is now sorted - I'm thinking about storage, has anyone used one of these before:
https://www.agentfiamma.co.uk/fiamma-ultra-box-360...
It fits on our existing bike rack and seems to offer a decent amount of storage and convenience (i.e. you can take it off easily once you reach a site).
The van is back from its trip to the garage and with a fresh MOT, new clutch, flywheel and slave cylinder - drives a treat! They’ve also sorted the small amount of rust nicely.
Next camping trip is this friday! Third in 2 weeks!
Now that the major work (hopefully) is now sorted - I'm thinking about storage, has anyone used one of these before:
https://www.agentfiamma.co.uk/fiamma-ultra-box-360...
It fits on our existing bike rack and seems to offer a decent amount of storage and convenience (i.e. you can take it off easily once you reach a site).
Edited by LincolnLovin on Tuesday 7th June 17:52
According to this https://www.gocaravanning.com/motorhome-specificat... I have a payload of 496kg which will need to include passengers, camping equipment etc, I'm going to to a test fit of all our stuff and head to a weigh bridge next weekend.
As we are traveling to Europe, there's no point doing a big foodshop before (just incase it all gets seized at the border), and I wont fill up the water tank until we get to the site. So that will save a decent chunk of weight.
As we are traveling to Europe, there's no point doing a big foodshop before (just incase it all gets seized at the border), and I wont fill up the water tank until we get to the site. So that will save a decent chunk of weight.
toon10 said:
That's my thought process. I've just bought a T6 conversion which should be with me next week. My theory is it will make a good family car/tip run/ikea run and day van for weekend hikes or trips to the coast. I work from home so don't need another "normal" car. I suspect it will only see very occasional overnighters. I can't help but think that my attitude will change on my first overnight trip when I see people enjoying the space and convenience of full on campers though ;-)
We dived in with both feet for our first van, its transformed our holidays - I *hated* camping but love camper van life.100% they are always useful to have around imo, I could remove the rear seats/bed for extra storage but they way about 100kg so not likely to happen often.
I'm glad we've got the ferry booked and are not worried about plane travel this summer - sounds like its going to be a right pain for a lot of people.
I'm glad we've got the ferry booked and are not worried about plane travel this summer - sounds like its going to be a right pain for a lot of people.
Fitted a Fiamma ultra box 360 last night, installs onto the bike rack and gives about 35kgs of extra storage. We’re not going to be putting anything heavy in it but it’s great for light but bulky items such as:
Windscreen cover (big blue thing)
Water roller
Two large camping chairs
Installation was pretty simple but the guide holes supplied turned out to be slightly out for my older bike rack (Fiamma carry bike), so I had to make some extra speed holes. Typically I’ve misplaced my caravan sealant in the garage so will need to seal the holes at a later date. There was no torque settings on the instructions so I’ve done them reasonably tight and will go for a test drive in the next week to see how they do. I’ll likely install some heavy duty bungee cords to it to help secure it should one fail.
There’s still some space at the front for smaller items so might be able to fit our travel Webber there too.
Edited by LincolnLovin on Saturday 2nd July 07:32
I’ve been doing some further work on the van to get it ready for the upcoming camping season, even recorded it for your viewing pleasure!
Overall went well, and the van is feeling a lot smoother as a result! I also noticed the washer fluid bottle has cracked, so will need to replace that soon.
Overall went well, and the van is feeling a lot smoother as a result! I also noticed the washer fluid bottle has cracked, so will need to replace that soon.
I used https://www.davenewell.co.uk/, AP900 with stalk control CM30/35 which was £418.86 fitted inc vat
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