Stockwell Camper - Van conversion

I cut up the old 9mm ply floor to make some spacer battens and used Sikaflex to fix these to the floor, we had some Silent Coat left so used this between the battens it seemed to make a noticeable difference to the “knock test”;

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Pre cut 12mm ply floor needed a bit of trimming because of the insulation and carpet on the wheel arches but was a good fit;

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Anyone have any tips how to get the barn door handle surround to fit properly now we have carpeted;

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hi buddy, I'm at this stage now as there many variants of sikaflex can you recommend which one to use ?
 
Test fitted the fridge which so far has been the biggest let down from the Evo Designs order, it is the single most expensive item we have bought for the van and there are two small areas of damage on it. Along with this when we tried to swap the door hinges over to have it open to the left we found that 3 or 4 of the screws stripped when removing them, for a unit that is the best part of £600 this felt really poor quality! Maybe it is just the one that we have, anyone else have any issues with the Dometic CRX50?
Soon after my CRX50 was installed I damaged the ‘stainless steel’ door panel, when I removed it to replace the panel I found it was brushed aluminuim with some kind of anodising. What ever it was it wasn’t durable enough and I fitted a sheet of 316 stainless that I had left over from another job.
You’re right, for the money you’d expect better.
Also watch out for the bottom catch on the door, it isn’t very strong.
 
hi buddy, I'm at this stage now as there many variants of sikaflex can you recommend which one to use ?
I used Sika 221 which was recommended somewhere and seems to have held really well. I also used a bit of Sika EBT from Screwfix in a couple of areas where I had run out and it worked ok although clearly not as strong.
 
hi buddy, I'm at this stage now as there many variants of sikaflex can you recommend which one to use ?
Hi Sam, pretty sure I used this one;


Used the same product when sticking the 12mm ply on top as well, just make sure you test fit it before and don't make it quite as tight as we did as there is a bit of a panic when it is covered in adhesive but doesn't quite want to fit around the wheel arches!

Cheers
 
I used Sika 221 which was recommended somewhere and seems to have held really well. I also used a bit of Sika EBT from Screwfix in a couple of areas where I had run out and it worked ok although clearly not as strong.

I used the EBT+ as above, not planning for the floor to move around too much once it is in and has furniture/R&R on top of it etc.

Used Sticks Like Sh*t for bonding the wooden blocks to the roof to support the overhead lockers, they have held out so far :D
 
Hi Sam, pretty sure I used this one;


Used the same product when sticking the 12mm ply on top as well, just make sure you test fit it before and don't make it quite as tight as we did as there is a bit of a panic when it is covered in adhesive but doesn't quite want to fit around the wheel arches!

Cheers
thanks buddy I'll get some ordered today waiting for the van back this afternoon so gives me plenty of time.

thanks, sam
 
Got out for a test run in the van a couple of weeks back at my brothers new place in Devon, currently still on a cheap air bed on the floor whilst waiting for our SmartBeds R&R due in 8 weeks or so!

Everything went great for a first trip, we used the hook up with no issues at all. Fridge operating as planned, all lights working, phones and iPads charging and battery ticking over on the hook-up charger.

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And since then, Kiravans double seat swivel fitted and Smev 9222 sink in place.

Seat swivel was more of a pain than maybe it should have been, you have to trim down the front 4 bolts to ensure they don't catch on the swivel in operation. When trimming one of them (with a hacksaw) I did think that maybe I hadn't taken enough off, when it came to moving the swivel it went so far then didnt want to budge. I realised it was catching on this 1 bolt so had to keep removing the swivel plate and used a file to take more off of the top of the bolt.

Problem soon resolved and the swivel works, it is tight to get around and it could be easy to damage the arm rest on the drivers seat or the B-pillar cover on the passenger side but it makes a world of difference to staying in the van overnight.

Sink is in place and screwed down but not plumbed in yet. Again another job that should have been easier than it was, EVO motion said the worktop was cut for this sink but it was so tight that it didnt want to sit down on all edges at the same time, I used a jigsaw in the end to open up most of the edges to allow it to fit in place.

When installing the sink I had to countersink the screw holes to accept the little metal bowls that the screws go through, this results in the screws not holding on to too much worktop but it seems solid and hasn't moved yet.

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Trip up to Camper Site for the weekend just gone, long old drive up from Somerset with some sh1t traffic resulted in it taking 5.5 hours to get there but it was a great weekend and atmosphere with plenty of beer :D

Our outside space set up wasn't as epic as some of the rigs we saw but we got plenty of inspiration as to how to spend more ££££

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Is anyone able to offer any advice on the best way to run the drain pipe for the Smev 9222? I was originally thinking about using a dual bottle system but have decided that the space is too premium to waste on a permanent empty container so would like to run the drain out through the bottom of the van.

I saw a thread/some pictures of someone that had done this previously but typically now I cant find it!
 
Is anyone able to offer any advice on the best way to run the drain pipe for the Smev 9222? I was originally thinking about using a dual bottle system but have decided that the space is too premium to waste on a permanent empty container so would like to run the drain out through the bottom of the van.

I saw a thread/some pictures of someone that had done this previously but typically now I cant find it!
Are you planning to have a bottle / container outside or just drain away on the ground? I had heard that any waste water had to be contained but don't quote me on that. i suppose if you had a means of catching it outside it would be ok? but again don't quote me on that.
 
Ours drains out under the van, we just use a collapsable bucket to collect it when on site. It was all done by our converter so I don't know details about how he did it, but could share some photos of the underside of the van if that would be useful
 
On my old van I used a combination of Hozelock connectors and brass plumbing fittings to make a bulkhead outlet through the floor. This meant that I could attach a short hose to the outside to route to a catch tank and I used something like this.
 
Yea my intention is to have the drain pipe straight out of the bottom of the van as YannMcHaggis says, on a site you can just use a collapsible container or specific grey water tank to catch anything. If just parked up having a cuppa we would just rinse the mugs in the sink and drain to the ground.

I found the pictures I was thinking of here;

Quite a handy little blog for an overview of a camper conversion from start to finish. I think I will just need to get on and take the plastic under trays off and see what I am working with!

@YannMcHaggis if you are able to get any photos that might help that would be great, I think you may only be able to see the plastic under trays though?
 
If you are plumbing a drain through the floor avoid any fitting that throttles the bore - like a hose fitting. It will obviously slow the flow and is prone to blockage.
 
I was thinking of just a straight hose, something like this;


Drill a hole, treat the bare metal, feed the hose through and seal it in place. Finding where to drill the hole is my biggest fear....
 
I was thinking of just a straight hose, something like this;


Drill a hole, treat the bare metal, feed the hose through and seal it in place. Finding where to drill the hole is my biggest fear....
To locate a safe position for drilling a hole take measurements from a known datums that is visible inside and outside the van.
Start with a pilot hole and don’t drill through stiffeners.
 
Sounds like, close your eyes and hope :)

Most of the bits needed for the water side of the Smev have arrived today, small pump should be here by tomorrow so once I get cracking with the job I will take some pictures of how I go about it
 
Had a 2nd key coded to the van this morning to the tune of £240! Order the key a couple of weeks ago from our local VW dealership, it is delivered directly from Germany and then took about 30 minutes for them to code it.

During this visit the Mrs was informed that our oil level was over the maximum mark on the dipstick and that this should be corrected, rather than trying to take out the sump plug for a few 100ml of oil I have ordered a strong plastic syringe and some tubing from Amazon and hope to drain some of the oil from the dipstick tube, wish me luck....
 
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