Well, bother. The field we were going to stay in and experiment is waterlogged so it's had to be called off.
Anyone got a field I can borrow
Anyone got a field I can borrow
Roadtripper's Caravelle tinkering
- Thread starter roadtripper
- Start date
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- Tags
- build thread. caravelle
As an experiment built a voltage cut off out of a basic voltage cutoff module, enclosure and a blade fuse (sits in a pair of crimped blade connectors just fine)
Managed to set it so it pulls in with the engine running and drops out when not even with a smart alternator. Only downside is it doesn't have a decisive change over, so the relay can chatter a bit, a more advanced module might be better if this proves the idea.
Aim is I can put it inline in the charging lead for my Beaudens power pack. It's not a long term thing as the module itself is still powered and there are three LEDs running but it would add a bit of reassurance.
In use the pack lives in the back of our rear kitchens pod, this will let me tuck a charge lead along the side of the bench seat to the 12v socket in the cupholder on the C pillar. Sadly I can't use the rear one right next to the pack as the kitchen pod is tight against it.
Managed to set it so it pulls in with the engine running and drops out when not even with a smart alternator. Only downside is it doesn't have a decisive change over, so the relay can chatter a bit, a more advanced module might be better if this proves the idea.
Aim is I can put it inline in the charging lead for my Beaudens power pack. It's not a long term thing as the module itself is still powered and there are three LEDs running but it would add a bit of reassurance.
In use the pack lives in the back of our rear kitchens pod, this will let me tuck a charge lead along the side of the bench seat to the 12v socket in the cupholder on the C pillar. Sadly I can't use the rear one right next to the pack as the kitchen pod is tight against it.
So a bit of tidying up my micro leisure battery solution on Friday.
The younguns miss the moonlight footlights we have in the front so I did a bit of a hardware hack with some eBay RGB led controllers and some "car mood light" strips. This is attached to a 30cm school ruler that tucks under the feet of the table unit, and the cable is tucked into the seat rail channel back under the bench seat. We don't move the chairs very much and it's moments to move out of the way when we move the table, and moments to take up and tuck in the table side pockets. We have it set on dull red which gives just enough in the back with no glare.
The USB cable and controller are tucked in the bench seat bay on the driver side - that's an IKEA box with our kit that normally lives in it.
In this bay I have fed 2 cables through from the back, a USB extension and a CCTV camera power extension (marked in red for a reason I'll mention later)
Now in the rear we have the Evo Motion kitchen pod. This has a void behind the water carrier. On the taller version there is a handy side hole so you can store spare gas etc and get to it, but the short version for the Caravelle (so the bench seat folds over it not to same level) most of this hole is obstructed by the side trim over the rear heating duct. However the space is great to tuck my small Beaudens LiFePo pack in and the hole lets cables through.
Great thing about the small pack is it has all the connections on one face and no fancy shape case or massive handle. Get some right angle extensions (or adapters) and it sits nicely in the bay behind the water carrier. Here it's sitting in the water carrier bay, the wall at the back is perfectly the height of the pack so once it's wired it all lifts into the back bay and a small block of foam wedges it firm. Only thing I have to do is to briefly remove the water carrier (which I will be filling anyway) and arm the pack for the trip.
The two large red items are USB right angle adaptors to extension leads with electric tape to keep them together. The pack has one USB3 and 2 USB power sockets but I can only use 2 with the right angle adaptors. So the high power USB3 extension just lives coiled up in the rear for our USB festoon lights, the low power goes down the side and underneath the bench to power the light.
The younguns miss the moonlight footlights we have in the front so I did a bit of a hardware hack with some eBay RGB led controllers and some "car mood light" strips. This is attached to a 30cm school ruler that tucks under the feet of the table unit, and the cable is tucked into the seat rail channel back under the bench seat. We don't move the chairs very much and it's moments to move out of the way when we move the table, and moments to take up and tuck in the table side pockets. We have it set on dull red which gives just enough in the back with no glare.
The USB cable and controller are tucked in the bench seat bay on the driver side - that's an IKEA box with our kit that normally lives in it.
In this bay I have fed 2 cables through from the back, a USB extension and a CCTV camera power extension (marked in red for a reason I'll mention later)
Now in the rear we have the Evo Motion kitchen pod. This has a void behind the water carrier. On the taller version there is a handy side hole so you can store spare gas etc and get to it, but the short version for the Caravelle (so the bench seat folds over it not to same level) most of this hole is obstructed by the side trim over the rear heating duct. However the space is great to tuck my small Beaudens LiFePo pack in and the hole lets cables through.
Great thing about the small pack is it has all the connections on one face and no fancy shape case or massive handle. Get some right angle extensions (or adapters) and it sits nicely in the bay behind the water carrier. Here it's sitting in the water carrier bay, the wall at the back is perfectly the height of the pack so once it's wired it all lifts into the back bay and a small block of foam wedges it firm. Only thing I have to do is to briefly remove the water carrier (which I will be filling anyway) and arm the pack for the trip.
The two large red items are USB right angle adaptors to extension leads with electric tape to keep them together. The pack has one USB3 and 2 USB power sockets but I can only use 2 with the right angle adaptors. So the high power USB3 extension just lives coiled up in the rear for our USB festoon lights, the low power goes down the side and underneath the bench to power the light.
So I said I'd explain the other lead. To date I've been prototyping with a simple led light and a single USB extension and charging the pack from the mains every now and then.
Having proved the concept and built the better light I also wanted to not have the hassle of taking the pack and decabling so the CCTV power extension cord connects to the 12v in on the power pack. I do have 2 12v out that I might use in the future and they are all the same plug, so the input lead is marked both ends with red electrical tape.
This means I can plug the Beaudens 12v charge lead into the 12v socket by the cupholder and into the extension. The whole cable run can then be tucked under the bench.
As you'll note this has the 12v cut off module I built above plugged into it. The way the 12v plugs/sockets are arranged I can have it in circuit or not bother.
I don't intend to have this rigged much, the extension lead is in under the bench semi permanently but the cut off module and 12v charge lead live in a little bag of adaptors that tuck down the side of the power pack. There is a MC4 adaptor should I tinker with solar some day.
And success, charging works fine
There is a small 150w AC out but I don't plan to use this, I'm treating it as an all in one 12v leisure battery. I have used it once or twice and theoretically if I needed to charge a laptop or use the CTEK to top up the starter I could, but I don't feel the need to rig an extension for regular use.
Having proved the concept and built the better light I also wanted to not have the hassle of taking the pack and decabling so the CCTV power extension cord connects to the 12v in on the power pack. I do have 2 12v out that I might use in the future and they are all the same plug, so the input lead is marked both ends with red electrical tape.
This means I can plug the Beaudens 12v charge lead into the 12v socket by the cupholder and into the extension. The whole cable run can then be tucked under the bench.
As you'll note this has the 12v cut off module I built above plugged into it. The way the 12v plugs/sockets are arranged I can have it in circuit or not bother.
I don't intend to have this rigged much, the extension lead is in under the bench semi permanently but the cut off module and 12v charge lead live in a little bag of adaptors that tuck down the side of the power pack. There is a MC4 adaptor should I tinker with solar some day.
And success, charging works fine
There is a small 150w AC out but I don't plan to use this, I'm treating it as an all in one 12v leisure battery. I have used it once or twice and theoretically if I needed to charge a laptop or use the CTEK to top up the starter I could, but I don't feel the need to rig an extension for regular use.
So today I went on a hunt for a fairy bell rattle. I know it's a van and rattles are a fact of life but there is one that is driving me INSANE and that's a random edge of hearing metallic ring like a bell that when I'm driving sounds like it's coming from the base of the passenger seat.
It's not the arm rests and it's not the A pillar trim (though they have rattles of their own) and I thought I'd cracked it a few weeks ago when I found a small gravel pebble sitting in the seat rail of the drivers side, but it's back.
So I went on a mission trying to stop loose modules (I think trailer module and high beam assist) with some foam backing and also trying to route the wiring a bit more out of the way. I hope to use the space under the seats to store some things.
Then I went through both seats rails and slide locking mechanism with a combination of silicone and GT85 PTFE sprays.
The seats move like a dream now, time will tell if any of it removes that damn fairy bell though. Most rattles I can tune out but this one just makes my teeth grind in frustration.
Also good news, no Lights of Doom on the dash from moving a few wiring looms about.
It's not the arm rests and it's not the A pillar trim (though they have rattles of their own) and I thought I'd cracked it a few weeks ago when I found a small gravel pebble sitting in the seat rail of the drivers side, but it's back.
So I went on a mission trying to stop loose modules (I think trailer module and high beam assist) with some foam backing and also trying to route the wiring a bit more out of the way. I hope to use the space under the seats to store some things.
Then I went through both seats rails and slide locking mechanism with a combination of silicone and GT85 PTFE sprays.
The seats move like a dream now, time will tell if any of it removes that damn fairy bell though. Most rattles I can tune out but this one just makes my teeth grind in frustration.
Also good news, no Lights of Doom on the dash from moving a few wiring looms about.
Fairy Bell Tinkle Rattle update: still there DAMMIT
On the plus side the front seats now glide super smooth when adjusted.
On the downside the cabin now has the rich smell of Eau De PTFE Spray - which is an acquired taste.
On the plus side the front seats now glide super smooth when adjusted.
On the downside the cabin now has the rich smell of Eau De PTFE Spray - which is an acquired taste.
So we're coming up nearly our first anniversary of joining Club T6 so I've been spending the remaining "fighting fund" from the purchase budget on a few things.
Alpicool P18 fridge - more details on it and why on these threads:
www.t6forum.com
www.t6forum.com
NoCo GB70
I've always had jump packs for both myself and to help others but my two older Lead Acid ones don't really fit in the van. So when @Dellmassive decided to move one of his one I grabbed it.
Lee was also kind enough to pop some T6 Forum merch in so now I feel like a proper member
Footwell Lights
I have a small mission to change the interior lights to warm white as I hate the "operating theatre" sterile cold white. So I'm trying to collect second hand OEM units to tinker with.
I'm also considering tidying the under seat areas to use more storage and a couple of electrical projects so having spares would be useful.
We run the seats "train table style" in the back so the rear ambient lights don't work so well, I'm considering ways of moving them or replacing them to throw more useful light in the rear.
www.t6forum.com
Alpicool P18 fridge - more details on it and why on these threads:
Freezing ice packs in compressor camping fridge
So to get to the point I'm trying to find a compressor camping fridge that will also freeze ice packs that's not a massive wheeled chest thing. Why? Well we do road trips rather than camping so drive to an area and set up base somewhere and then do days out. The van kitchen pod has a well...
Alpicool Battery Bay - P18 review
While the discount is on I'm considering an Alpicool fridge. I had wanted the T36 dual zone so I could freeze but the space with all seats in the Caravelle is not enough so I'm looking at the P18 which looks to be the dimensions of our existing long serving CampingGaz thermoelectric one that...
NoCo GB70
I've always had jump packs for both myself and to help others but my two older Lead Acid ones don't really fit in the van. So when @Dellmassive decided to move one of his one I grabbed it.
Lee was also kind enough to pop some T6 Forum merch in so now I feel like a proper member
Footwell Lights
I have a small mission to change the interior lights to warm white as I hate the "operating theatre" sterile cold white. So I'm trying to collect second hand OEM units to tinker with.
I'm also considering tidying the under seat areas to use more storage and a couple of electrical projects so having spares would be useful.
We run the seats "train table style" in the back so the rear ambient lights don't work so well, I'm considering ways of moving them or replacing them to throw more useful light in the rear.
Connector Identity help - 6.1 footwell lights
I potentially want to change the backs of my seat bases to store some items and want to move the ambient footwell lights or replace them with something else. Rather than crop into the existing cable I'd like to retain the option of going back to the original seat backs and lights. To do that I...
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Because I want to start some modest electrical tinkering but want to keep it stock (or returnable to stock) I took the advice of another forum member, apologies I forget who now, that rather than buying repair wires at great expense just look out for salvage VW car fuseboxes on eBay that haven't been cropped silly short and depin them.
So, one Passat fusebox later, I have a collection of both sizes of fuse connector and a bunch of OE spare fuses:
So, one Passat fusebox later, I have a collection of both sizes of fuse connector and a bunch of OE spare fuses:
And today a Golf fuse box to get some relays and connectors, also more spare fuses including the less common cube ones.
So a small update to the tinkering log.
We've not had the van out much recently for various reasons so the Trailer Socket 12v EHU has been doing a sterling job keeping the one-and-only vehicle AGM happy.
I've used the NoCo Boost 70 in anger for the first time to start... a train. Needless to say I'm quite impressed with it
Following on from reading a thread about the bottom channel of the side sliders I got worried enough to do something about it. So the side doors now sport these little postage stamp sized wedges of dense self adhesive foam. Since fitting I've had no gush of water on opening the drivers side like I had (almost) gotten used to:
We've not had the van out much recently for various reasons so the Trailer Socket 12v EHU has been doing a sterling job keeping the one-and-only vehicle AGM happy.
I've used the NoCo Boost 70 in anger for the first time to start... a train. Needless to say I'm quite impressed with it
Following on from reading a thread about the bottom channel of the side sliders I got worried enough to do something about it. So the side doors now sport these little postage stamp sized wedges of dense self adhesive foam. Since fitting I've had no gush of water on opening the drivers side like I had (almost) gotten used to:
SO many good ideas here - thanks for sharing - particularly the flyaway awning rail as I have the same concerns as you. My issue is keeping it dog clean and child clean. Just ordered interior carpets (to go over originals) from Rugs for Bugs, but really need something to protect all those precious beige side panels. Still thinking.
I ended up, for non T6 reasons, getting a slightly larger but still portable power unit that I might use for mobile work days in the van. I put some thoughts in it's own thread over here:
www.t6forum.com
BLUETTI EB3A initial review
So for non T6 reasons I ended up buying a Bluetti EB3A so I thought I'd let folks here know my initial review thoughts. There are lots of threads about the bigger systems but less about the more modest ones. Basic impressions So this is the Bluetti EB3A alongside my small Beaudens I use as a...
Thought I'd do a bit of a post of how we pack the back as another thread was asking and we were away so I could take some pics as we loaded up.
Coming from an XC70 and 450l top box was a bit worried first where we would put everything, especially as leaving the kitchen pod behind would negate the point of having it.
The basic principle that works for us is "think UP and SAFE"
So the first thing is to remove the luggage cover, it sits down at the back of the pod and some thin foam packing wrap around the ends to prevent marking. We have some non slip matting on the pod anyway.
Then the first layer is 18litre Really Useful Boxes. I can get 3 of these across the pod top with the bench in our usual location. I use longer strips of the thin foam packing wrapped over them to stop the handles marking anything and then sliding.
This trip we only needed 2 but they make loading and unloading super fast and ideal for food. On longer trips if we move the bench forward a few inches the luggage cover drops between the pod and the bench and I can double stack the 18litres (6 total) or swap a pair of 18 for a single 36litre (better for bottles)
Next layer after this is big duffle bag. On very long trips we stuff this with coats and fleeces and then it can live on the middle of the bench seat between the younguns held by the seat belt but in shorter trips it's ideal to pack smaller bags, pillows etc that MrsRT loves to take into a nice solid shape.
Next layer is barrel bags. We've got a lot of 32litre barrel gym bags, basically enough for 2 each per person for clothes. When we have a lot of stuff stacked in the back you can get a good number of these vertically between the stack and the roof. We put the headrests up and you can see in the pictures we have a number of bungee cords on them. With care you can pack these bags almost down the side of the bench into the window void but still have everything safely held from flying forward.
This trip we didn't need as much so I could stack 4 of them in the space by the boxes and duffle bag.
I can then run bungee cord through bag handles and around them to secure them from falling out. This is also a good time to tuck a couple of coats under the bungee so they are handy.
And there's the final stack for a long weekend roadtrip. The trick is to consolidate into shapes that stack well and the secure them, a couple of cheap big duffle bags can really help a jumble of smaller bags be organised.
In the spirit of full disclosure the soft power close on the tailgate often has a bit of sulk closing up. However I know that the kitchen pod is clamped in the correct clearance on the rails so, so long as nothing solid sticks out beyond and anything soft will squash into place, I've always had the tailgate shut once it has a bit of a shove.
The one to watch is if something you expect is soft enough gives just enough resistance to trigger the power tailgate collision. I now watch the tailgate closing from the side after standing behind it and looking around it as it shut and it baulked and quickly reversed right into... It wasn't fun OK and MrsRT had a laugh at my expense.
Coming from an XC70 and 450l top box was a bit worried first where we would put everything, especially as leaving the kitchen pod behind would negate the point of having it.
The basic principle that works for us is "think UP and SAFE"
So the first thing is to remove the luggage cover, it sits down at the back of the pod and some thin foam packing wrap around the ends to prevent marking. We have some non slip matting on the pod anyway.
Then the first layer is 18litre Really Useful Boxes. I can get 3 of these across the pod top with the bench in our usual location. I use longer strips of the thin foam packing wrapped over them to stop the handles marking anything and then sliding.
This trip we only needed 2 but they make loading and unloading super fast and ideal for food. On longer trips if we move the bench forward a few inches the luggage cover drops between the pod and the bench and I can double stack the 18litres (6 total) or swap a pair of 18 for a single 36litre (better for bottles)
Next layer after this is big duffle bag. On very long trips we stuff this with coats and fleeces and then it can live on the middle of the bench seat between the younguns held by the seat belt but in shorter trips it's ideal to pack smaller bags, pillows etc that MrsRT loves to take into a nice solid shape.
Next layer is barrel bags. We've got a lot of 32litre barrel gym bags, basically enough for 2 each per person for clothes. When we have a lot of stuff stacked in the back you can get a good number of these vertically between the stack and the roof. We put the headrests up and you can see in the pictures we have a number of bungee cords on them. With care you can pack these bags almost down the side of the bench into the window void but still have everything safely held from flying forward.
This trip we didn't need as much so I could stack 4 of them in the space by the boxes and duffle bag.
I can then run bungee cord through bag handles and around them to secure them from falling out. This is also a good time to tuck a couple of coats under the bungee so they are handy.
And there's the final stack for a long weekend roadtrip. The trick is to consolidate into shapes that stack well and the secure them, a couple of cheap big duffle bags can really help a jumble of smaller bags be organised.
In the spirit of full disclosure the soft power close on the tailgate often has a bit of sulk closing up. However I know that the kitchen pod is clamped in the correct clearance on the rails so, so long as nothing solid sticks out beyond and anything soft will squash into place, I've always had the tailgate shut once it has a bit of a shove.
The one to watch is if something you expect is soft enough gives just enough resistance to trigger the power tailgate collision. I now watch the tailgate closing from the side after standing behind it and looking around it as it shut and it baulked and quickly reversed right into... It wasn't fun OK and MrsRT had a laugh at my expense.
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I continue to be impressed with our pizza delivery bag + shed foil inner kitchen pod fridge solution. It fits the shape really well and 2 1kg ice packs worked fine for our recent long weekend.
Actually better than fine. On the Friday night we put 3 nights of frozen meal prep in and all the fruit, salad and veg. When I came to pack the van on Sunday evening I realised I'd forgotten to refreeze the packs where we were staying but it turned out both were mostly still frozen...
Actually better than fine. On the Friday night we put 3 nights of frozen meal prep in and all the fruit, salad and veg. When I came to pack the van on Sunday evening I realised I'd forgotten to refreeze the packs where we were staying but it turned out both were mostly still frozen...
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caravelle_hopeful
Member
This is excellent packing! How deep is your kitchen pod? What model do you have?
It's only about half of the load we can get in for our 6 person roadtrips 
I must do a walk through of the way we store stuff as it took me a long while to get my head around not having the normal large estate cubby holes everywhere and it may help others.
Pod details are up in the second post:
www.t6forum.com
I must do a walk through of the way we store stuff as it took me a long while to get my head around not having the normal large estate cubby holes everywhere and it may help others.
Pod details are up in the second post:
Roadtripper's Caravelle tinkering
Hey folks, been lurking for a while gathering useful advice as we considered if a van was right for us and now we have one on the drive the time was right to join fully and do the VIP thing to (potentially) do some electrical tinkering. Thanks everyone who posts advice here, it's a massive help...
Didn't realise this was a known issue, but mine does this too, it's always got some water by the front of the sliding door seals.Following on from reading a thread about the bottom channel of the side sliders I got worried enough to do something about it. So the side doors now sport these little postage stamp sized wedges of dense self adhesive foam. Since fitting I've had no gush of water on opening the drivers side like I had (almost) gotten used to:
I'm presuming this is just a caravelle thing with the extra door seals?
I've got some 3M mastic rubber tape (used for protecting the chainstay of my mtbs) which is about 3mm thick so I'll try that. Might need something thicker though, it's hard to tell - do your foam squares follow the L shape of the panel?
Edit:
Drone mine like this, putting it into the the lower part of the panel resulted in it sticking out with the door was closed and the seal only seems to come down halfway on the vertical bit.
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A day of tinkering with the van today.
First job was fitting a switch to disable the power tailgate so it doesn't close on the kitchen:
www.t6forum.com
I also trialled a bungee from the base of the tailgate ram to the locating peg on the tailgate, this allows me to wrap the rear of the rain guards around it and secure with a couple of small clamps. It might help in wind.
Also trialling some designs of rain guards for having the side door open in on off drizzle. Last time we tried the door card got far wetter than I expected so MrsRT is making a panel with magnets to go between the open door and roof.
I'm toying with battens and magnets to see if we can make a stub awning over the doorway
First job was fitting a switch to disable the power tailgate so it doesn't close on the kitchen:
Disabling Electric Tailgate Auto\Pressure Sensitive close
This has been a concern of mine for some time and rather than continue to accidentally hijack this thread I thought I'd start a new one. The problem The short summary is that I have an electric powered tailgate on my T6.1 and, as can be seen in my avatar, I also have a rear kitchen and rig...
I also trialled a bungee from the base of the tailgate ram to the locating peg on the tailgate, this allows me to wrap the rear of the rain guards around it and secure with a couple of small clamps. It might help in wind.
Also trialling some designs of rain guards for having the side door open in on off drizzle. Last time we tried the door card got far wetter than I expected so MrsRT is making a panel with magnets to go between the open door and roof.
I'm toying with battens and magnets to see if we can make a stub awning over the doorway
So I said I'd add some details of our "full" pack, this is for our annual large roadtrip to Loch Tay and we travel 6 up (4 adults 2 younguns)
Hopefully this can give some inspiration for how to get a lot of stuff into a Caravelle. Coming from the massive capacity of a XC70 estate boot and a 450l top box I'm amazed how much we can actually get in. This is in addition to the "standing equipment" that lives in the van and kitchen pod - must do a post on that some time.
As for the shorter road trips noted above the first set of packing is in Really Useful Boxes. We can fit 3 lots of either a 36l or pair of 18l across the top of the kitchen pod. To do this I need to move the bench a couple of inches forward, but this opens up a useful slot to drop the luggage cover unit in to - with foam strips around it to stop damage and rattles:
Then we stack the boxes in, again wrapped over with dense foam strips to prevent rattle and damage. In this case a 36l with younguns toys and crafts, a 36l of tall food and bottles, an 18l with all our tech and another with more food items:
We then pack almost everything else in 32l barrel bags, the softer squishy ones go in around the boxes at the sides, this is also a good place for hiking boots:
You'll note we have the headrests up and a selection of flat bungee webbing straps. I now pack the remaining bags vertical and secure with those straps. You can tuck softer ones right around into the window voids, otherwise they fit 2 deep on top of the boxes. This trip we got 11 bags in but I could probably get 14 in:
Inside we use the big duffle bag from before to pack everyone's coat hats scarves etc. This goes between the younguns seats in the middle seat belt for the trip up and back, but during the week it lives on top of the kitchen pod and allows use to lift all that gear in and out of the van in one lift, handy to dry everything in the apartment's drying cupboard:
It's a 12 hour trip up so the "cabin" needs to support us during that time. So the kitchen pod coolbox actually gets used packed full of frozen food for the first couple of nights (when we don't want to cook) but it works so well with a couple of 1kg ice packs nothing much defrosts. We take our electric coolbox (not our fridge) in between seats with all the fresh food to picnic on the way up, it fits well between the bench and the table unit as we have the back arranged "railway" style not "airplane" style. We don't normally bother plugging it in as it's fine on ice packs for that time.
Finally we need a place for everyone's personal bags/backpacks and non cool food snacks. With the seating style there is a useful space between front and mid seats to stack bags and we got some rather nice VW Camper decorated medium hessian shopping type bags that let us organise things behind the table unit and between the front seats:
And that's how we get 6 people from one end of the country to the other in relative comfort and self sufficient apart from the occasional loo stop - we try and hit every Tebay group services from Gloucester to Cairn Lodge!
When we get there everything unloads very quickly and then during the stay I move the bench back to it's normal position and put the luggage cover back. The duffle bag gets all our outdoor gear in and out easily and we fill the kitchen pod coolbox with the day's picnic and icepacks frozen in the apartment.
Hopefully this can give some inspiration for how to get a lot of stuff into a Caravelle. Coming from the massive capacity of a XC70 estate boot and a 450l top box I'm amazed how much we can actually get in. This is in addition to the "standing equipment" that lives in the van and kitchen pod - must do a post on that some time.
As for the shorter road trips noted above the first set of packing is in Really Useful Boxes. We can fit 3 lots of either a 36l or pair of 18l across the top of the kitchen pod. To do this I need to move the bench a couple of inches forward, but this opens up a useful slot to drop the luggage cover unit in to - with foam strips around it to stop damage and rattles:
Then we stack the boxes in, again wrapped over with dense foam strips to prevent rattle and damage. In this case a 36l with younguns toys and crafts, a 36l of tall food and bottles, an 18l with all our tech and another with more food items:
We then pack almost everything else in 32l barrel bags, the softer squishy ones go in around the boxes at the sides, this is also a good place for hiking boots:
You'll note we have the headrests up and a selection of flat bungee webbing straps. I now pack the remaining bags vertical and secure with those straps. You can tuck softer ones right around into the window voids, otherwise they fit 2 deep on top of the boxes. This trip we got 11 bags in but I could probably get 14 in:
Inside we use the big duffle bag from before to pack everyone's coat hats scarves etc. This goes between the younguns seats in the middle seat belt for the trip up and back, but during the week it lives on top of the kitchen pod and allows use to lift all that gear in and out of the van in one lift, handy to dry everything in the apartment's drying cupboard:
It's a 12 hour trip up so the "cabin" needs to support us during that time. So the kitchen pod coolbox actually gets used packed full of frozen food for the first couple of nights (when we don't want to cook) but it works so well with a couple of 1kg ice packs nothing much defrosts. We take our electric coolbox (not our fridge) in between seats with all the fresh food to picnic on the way up, it fits well between the bench and the table unit as we have the back arranged "railway" style not "airplane" style. We don't normally bother plugging it in as it's fine on ice packs for that time.
Finally we need a place for everyone's personal bags/backpacks and non cool food snacks. With the seating style there is a useful space between front and mid seats to stack bags and we got some rather nice VW Camper decorated medium hessian shopping type bags that let us organise things behind the table unit and between the front seats:
And that's how we get 6 people from one end of the country to the other in relative comfort and self sufficient apart from the occasional loo stop - we try and hit every Tebay group services from Gloucester to Cairn Lodge!
When we get there everything unloads very quickly and then during the stay I move the bench back to it's normal position and put the luggage cover back. The duffle bag gets all our outdoor gear in and out easily and we fill the kitchen pod coolbox with the day's picnic and icepacks frozen in the apartment.
