Not at all mate, i was half expecting this to be moved by a mod to the modding section or whatever. I do hope that i can keep it here though, get it properly updated. I have a few links, with soem decent pics and to be honest, its these guides that have given me the guts to go ahead with this myself. http://www.stealthcamper.com/index.htm - that guy has some really good ideas http://www.sbmcc.co.uk/ - good place to get some more ideas http://www.loftsites.co.uk/jj.html I have 7 months to get it ready to live in, thats when the tenency runs out on my house and although it wont be finished by then, i do hope to have working plumbing, insulation and obviously a comfy bed!!! I have plenty of mates willing to put me up until i set off in March next year. Naberius: well i will be keeping a FULL blog of the whole travelling/camper thing on my myspace, but if theres insterest i'll post up some links and piccies on here too. I think that the power and circuitry stuff would be of great interest to some, and i'm sure there is advice to come from you lot if/when i slip up!! Trying to keep this as techy as possible though. I saw a thread to do wth a power inverter in a car, i'm sure there'll be lessons to learn from that in the coming months. widmod: its an interesting idea, and dacust posted up a link to a 12v atx power supply that i could fit, woudl be interesting to see the difference in power draw between the two. Obviously that needs to be kept down to a minimum. Kinda throws the idea of a 8800GTX out the window, my 7900GS draws enough as it is!! Main difference between this and a regular 'camper' is the techy bits - i wanna be able to play Quake 4 and play rinsing drum and bass whilst also being able to make a cup of tea... we'll see how it goes Next week - a trip to B&Q to get some ply board for the insulation, and probably about six hours of scrubbing and washing to get the 12 years of delivery van grime from all the internal bodywork. Lovely pics to follow. again cheers for your interest all of ya oh and for the doubters the internal loading bay is 6'6" high (enough for me to stand with shoes on), just over 6' wide at the base down to just under 5'6" at the top. Loading bay is about 12' long (havent properly measured it yet, but will do some engineering drawings soon as i can touch the inside without getting diesel grease on my hands!!). Plenty big enough to live in, and with an awning, i'll even have space for visitors!!
With that much vertical space, are you going to have a bed with storage above, or a loft type bed with storage below? Either would work I would think. I know you'll be going for a stealth look, but it seems like you might want to think about putting some kind of storage rack on the roof and/or off the back like you see on RVs. Storage out the back would let you put a bike or scooter and maybe exterior fuel tank. As for the electricals, you might get a separate UPS for your PC just in case the internal supply runs too low. I know it seems kind of strange to have a battery backup after running on batteries, but better safe than sorry. If you want a really car friendly PC, have a look at using a mini-ITX. It won't set any records in a FPS, but it should do all the navigation/automation frontend sort of stuff you'd need. Plus it would just be really cool to have the little low power system in the cab for when you're driving around and then your real PC for games and whatnot.
May i suggest using a solar shower, basically its a big bag and a shower nozzle at the end you leave it in the sun or fill it up with hot water and your set to go when i was working a burger van going to leeds festival and many others that was what i used!
I haven't looked at the 12v PSs lately, but when I did look, the amps were kinda low, so they may not power anything powerful enough to do much gaming. But I wouldn't be surprised if they have stronger ones out there. And the reason I mentioned those in the first place was because of efficiency, as mentioned above. They also have some larger 12v LCD displays (larger than the 7"-8" ones usually used with carputers), but they are mainly for heavy-duty applications, bright light situations and water-proof. They are usually thousands of dollars. Just for grins: 12v displays $1,200-$9,800 - Ouch. These are waterproof marine displays. Touchscreen is an additional charged option.
Why don't you just have some storage space under your bed and over it... speaking of beds what about a couch/bed with the shower and toilet right behind the passenger side... but then again who needs a passenger side
some good ideas being thrown about here. bed hopefully will be across the width of the van, about 2' off the base, with an overhead storage rack aswell. The dog kennel will take up half the space underneath, and the toher half for gas bottles and the hot water tank (right near my bed mmmmmm) got a few sketches that'll explain everything when i get a chance to upoad them.
My little brother has been begging me to do a stealth camper van project for years. Nice to see it can be done. Good luck with the project m8, looking forward to seeing your progress.
Interesting project I've fancied doing something like this but never knew about the legal side. Would it still fall under the usual MOT test? Do you have to get the gas/electrics signed off by a certified fitter?
this weekend - i'll be removing the drivers side bulkhead, and taking out the front passenger seats. Not sure if the bulkhead will be returning or whether an 'open plan' design woudl be better, it'd be nice for the driver (i.e. me) t not be isolated from any passengers whilst driving, so its a big consideration, however, it does leave it open as to where the toilet shower cubicle will go. Going for an integrated shower tray with cassette toilet base, and tip -up wash basin. These are expensive, but will make all the difference when out and about. If i can't have a shower, i aint gonn smell pretty for all those beautiful eastern european women i plan to encounter After that will be cleaning the entire internal bodywork and fitting some wooden veins to the inside ready to accept the ply lining. But that can't be fitted until the entire electrical and plumbing system has been designed and wires laid into the relevant areas, but for now, [and especially as i dont have any money until payday ] not a hell of a lot. I hope to get some simple construction drawings made up this weekend take some full measurements of the inside and get some CAD stuff up and running to start playing with layout ideas.
hey how did i miss this? just the sort of thing that i love to watch evolve lol whats your myspace adress cos i would like to read your blog as it goes along me thinks good luck with the project
project over - back to the drawing board the van has been stolen. It broke down a week and a half ago - no biggie really, but i couldn't get it home, had to leave it about 500 yards from ym house out on the main road - when i went to go and meet a mechanic there to fix it, there was a small pile of glass on the floor next to where the passengers door was, alas, the van wasn't there. I put all my money into this, and even spent an entire month eating beans on toast, because i had spent so much on the van. Its all gone to sh*t. B*stards nevermind there will be another, but the summer festivals are now top priority. Glastonbury, EXIT (serbia), Glade and Pukkelpop. At least i have my health (cough cough)
Damn, that sucks big time, I was really hoping to see this thing made. And no insurance of course? Hopefully you'll be able to buy a new one and modify it to the max, I'll be watching...
if it broke down surely the theifs must be mechanic's, or it didn't break down? now the question i am thinking is if you have insurance then, when is the new van appearing, if you dont have insurance then what were you doing driving it and breaking down 500 yards away? those chavs nick anything!!!! first thought i had when read previous plans was 'were's the water tank for the taps, and shower?' and 'were's the chemical toilet tank going to go?' can you put the computer in the glove box in the front? then mount a small 7'' TFT in the dash and have pc control in the drivers seat. GPS and music display. hell you could even wire in sensors to tell you how much water you have on board and the amount of juice left in the batterys all via samurize!!! Personally if i was to do a similar project i would convert one of these!!! http://www.busesworldwide.org/asscania.jpg the kitchen down stairs and office/bedroom up stairs!!
it was insured, but with excess of £350 - basically basic basic insurance and to be honest, its not worth it, for an extra £300 i coudl get another one, and not lose my no claims. nevermind. Cheers for the kind words - there WILL be a daisy MKII, however, this one will not break down, and hopefully it'll be a bigger, longer wheelbase Mercedes Sprinter. Watch this space.
You really got me thinking with this thread. I decided to have a look around also, And came to the conclusion that i really liked the iveco 4*4's. Probably a lot more expensive, but how cool are they? Just imagine going snowboarding in one of those. Chains, what for? If you're interested, i can give you some links that i gathered Will take me some time to get the money together, though.
