Hillside Birchover
- Thread starter Grainfoot
- Start date
P
Phil_G
Guest
They seem very popular at the moment, cant comment on mods or reliability as mine only arrived two days ago! Very happy with it
It has a footwell light on the sliding door, but not a ceiling light.
The only mod I'd considered was a proper B2B charger but I was surprised to read in the manual that it already has one, if so, after a brief search I can t find it, its not with the LB where you'd expect, and in the pile of tiny manuals you get there was no B2B manual. I suspect it may have a conventional split-charge relay which isnt good with BMT, with its 80% float and huge charge current surges on braking. I'll have a proper look when I get a mo
Cheers
Phil
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The only charger I've aware of is the 240v one (Amperor 3 stage) which is installed near the consumer unit (somewhere in the cupboard below the cutlery tray). I have no idea how charging works via the 12v system but, whatever is there, seems to work very well, e..g powers the hot water heater very well on journeys. I wonder if its under the bonnet with the starter battery?
Blimey that is one up on a Cali Ocean the one we had only gave cold water not that we ever used it. Don't think the new ones even have hot water
Lol - the hot water works well and is very useful - 12v whilst travelling and 240v on site. What we tend to do is heat a tank en-route especially when using sites without EHU and/or just rocking up somewhere for the day.
Love ours. Had it a couple of years now.
Main mods done:
1. Wired up step light - bit of a faff, but took feed directly off courtesy light so that it works on the same delay etc.... Not really that useful imo (see 3 below).
2. Fitted flush led light into middle of tail gate door card - providing working light when tail gate is open when dark - switched at top of wardrobe unit.
3. Wired up main van interior lights to work on a two way switch arrangement - replaced original switch (on main consul) with two way switch. The second switch is down to the right of the side sliding door. Absolutely brilliant mod (imo!). We can switch on the van interior lights on when we get back in the dark and want a bit of illumination without having to step into van etc with muddy boots etc....!
4. Extra reading light above passenger seat - map reading on the go, or reading on site (Hillside fitted).
5. Covered battery compartment and under passenger seat - mainly cosmetic.
6. DIY sliding door pockets.
Ours is a T28 base vehicle (a small mistake in hindsight), and have therefore 'tweeked' suspension set up to stop droopy bottom when fully loaded with bikes etc.... (plenty elsewhere on here on this subject).
PS. Wife loves the luxury of the hot water, and therefore I like it to
.
.
Main mods done:
1. Wired up step light - bit of a faff, but took feed directly off courtesy light so that it works on the same delay etc.... Not really that useful imo (see 3 below).
2. Fitted flush led light into middle of tail gate door card - providing working light when tail gate is open when dark - switched at top of wardrobe unit.
3. Wired up main van interior lights to work on a two way switch arrangement - replaced original switch (on main consul) with two way switch. The second switch is down to the right of the side sliding door. Absolutely brilliant mod (imo!). We can switch on the van interior lights on when we get back in the dark and want a bit of illumination without having to step into van etc with muddy boots etc....!
4. Extra reading light above passenger seat - map reading on the go, or reading on site (Hillside fitted).
5. Covered battery compartment and under passenger seat - mainly cosmetic.
6. DIY sliding door pockets.
Ours is a T28 base vehicle (a small mistake in hindsight), and have therefore 'tweeked' suspension set up to stop droopy bottom when fully loaded with bikes etc.... (plenty elsewhere on here on this subject).
PS. Wife loves the luxury of the hot water, and therefore I like it to
..
Your light switch inside the slider is great - fancy doing mineLove ours. Had it a couple of years now.
Main mods done:
1. Wired up step light - bit of a faff, but took feed directly off courtesy light so that it works on the same delay etc.... Not really that useful imo (see 3 below).
2. Fitted flush led light into middle of tail gate door card - providing working light when tail gate is open when dark - switched at top of wardrobe unit.
3. Wired up main van interior lights to work on a two way switch arrangement - replaced original switch (on main consul) with two way switch. The second switch is down to the right of the side sliding door. Absolutely brilliant mod (imo!). We can switch on the van interior lights on when we get back in the dark and want a bit of illumination without having to step into van etc with muddy boots etc....!
4. Extra reading light above passenger seat - map reading on the go, or reading on site (Hillside fitted).
5. Covered battery compartment and under passenger seat - mainly cosmetic.
6. DIY sliding door pockets.
Ours is a T28 base vehicle (a small mistake in hindsight), and have therefore 'tweeked' suspension set up to stop droopy bottom when fully loaded with bikes etc.... (plenty elsewhere on here on this subject).
PS. Wife loves the luxury of the hot water, and therefore I like it to
.
View attachment 19339 View attachment 19338 View attachment 19337 View attachment 19339 View attachment 19341
Sliding door card looks really useful - I think my main concern would be stuff getting left in there, hanging out and scratching the side of the van when it opens?
The battery box cover looks a lot better than having it open but are there any safety issues with heat, i.e. battery and Eberspacher duct now in an enclosed box??
Your light switch inside the slider is great - fancy doing mine
Sliding door card looks really useful - I think my main concern would be stuff getting left in there, hanging out and scratching the side of the van when it opens?
The battery box cover looks a lot better than having it open but are there any safety issues with heat, i.e. battery and Eberspacher duct now in an enclosed box??
No problem with pockets in sliding door - just need to be careful.
The Battery cover only 50% it rests on the battery securing bracket but clears all terminals and still allows seat to swivel - its 3mm board. The Hillside boys have seen and approve!
What have you got inside the cutouts in the sliding door pocket? Also, did you cut the existing card or start with something else?
Started from scratch with new 3mm ply door card (using original as template etc...).
I used a cardboard door card to establish the max size /depth of the recesses and then built the back pockets from a combination of 5mm mdf (surrounds), and 3mm ply (the back of the pocket) - all glued and screwed and then all carpeted to match.
The final cut outs in the new door card are half the height of those on the image - to provide the front lip of the pocket.
A tiny mod I had done was to swap out the mini rocker switch, just inside the slider, that operates the upstairs lights with one that had an LED in it - once the roof was down you couldn't see if the lights were on or off and my OCD made me raise the roof a couple of times to check!! Hillside are aware of this and may have started using something similar as a matter of course??
ON/OFF Mini Rocker Switch, Round, With/Without Dot Illumination - 16A@12V
ON/OFF Mini Rocker Switch, Round, With/Without Dot Illumination - 16A@12V
Yes managed to leave lights on a couple of times.
P
Phil_G
Guest
Indeed they have Dave. Its good that they take suggestions on board
I've said it before; The Birchover is a brilliant van. It maybe not as pretty or aesthetically pleasing as some conversions you will see and it won't win any show and shine competitions but you won't find many, off the shelf, T6 conversions that are as practical to live with and use the same high level of components and fixtures throughout, e.g. SCA 194 roof, RIB bed, Eberspacher Heating, Waeco fridge, SMEV hobs, etc., etc. - I like to think of it as "Function over Form"!! Hillside's trade body approval with the NCC and VW recognition as a registered campervan manufacturer, also give a degree of confidence in the safety and standards set and adhered to when they undertake the conversions. We also have the benefit of insurance recognition meaning you can select "Hillside Birchover" from some of their drop down lists which negates the need to quantify what has gone into the conversion - in my case all Camping and Caravan Club Care wanted was "Hillside Birchover" together with purchase price with all accessories.
@Grainfoot - thanks for starting this thread - maybe, with the readily searchable title you used, it can become the the central reference and information sharing point on the Forum for Hillside Birchover owners and/or potential buyers?
@Grainfoot - thanks for starting this thread - maybe, with the readily searchable title you used, it can become the the central reference and information sharing point on the Forum for Hillside Birchover owners and/or potential buyers?
Simple, cheap but effective (switch costs less than a £1 more than the one without LED) - glad they now seem to be using as standard!
P
Phil_G
Guest
When researching vans I stumbled across "Vicky & Bernie" who have a red Birchover called Ruby and run a youtube channel called "Campervan Capers"
this link is to the first of three videos which are purely about Ruby herself, covering internal layout, awning, storage, the poptop, the rib-bed, tank locations, etc... these three videos were a big help when I was comparing the Birchover with Bilbos and others as they're taken from the perspective of an actual user.
Vicky & Bern have a host of other videos, full of destination ideas & stuff to see. Well worth subscribing as they post new videos quite frequently, and they're happy to chat and answer questions.
Here are their videos, the three introducing 'Ruby the Birchover' are towards the bottom of the page, labelled 'part 1, inside tour' 'part 2, poptop & awning' & 'part 3, bed up in 10 seconds'
Campervan Capers
Cheers
Phil
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Yep, stumbled across and subscribed a while back.
Cool. Glad I clicked on this thread. Thanks very much for this information.
I love the fridge door (if you know what I mean). I am shocked that other companies haven't started copying this as it is a great feature and makes brilliant use of spare space.
I will have a nosey at their youtube channel. I am currently watching a few so one more won't hurt.
I love the fridge door (if you know what I mean). I am shocked that other companies haven't started copying this as it is a great feature and makes brilliant use of spare space.
I will have a nosey at their youtube channel. I am currently watching a few so one more won't hurt.
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