What Have You Done To Your Van Today?
- Thread starter Daneeyre
- Start date
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- mod modification mods retrofit
i'm sure "wheeler dealers" filmed somone making these for one of there cars
Removed seats and mat could not be ass to remove middle section work a round then lie down silent coat and dodo lining and lastly positive wire for dc dc charger to driver seat, cut hole for coming back air for night heater on driver step as tomorrow will instal night heater under but not sure where cut hole for incoming heat yet as need check under as there some wire ?.? Without lifting that beast no way to see.
Tomorrow as well want fix underslug water tank 69l wonder in 2h will be enough on ramp.
Next step today to put all back sort a bit wiring and fit swivel adaptors (yes Lee I didn’t even open them yet
)
More images to follow
Tomorrow as well want fix underslug water tank 69l wonder in 2h will be enough on ramp.
Next step today to put all back sort a bit wiring and fit swivel adaptors (yes Lee I didn’t even open them yet
)More images to follow
So took the plunge and ordered a relatively cheap solar panel from Amazon (150W, £85) and installed it this morning in about 60 minutes. I chose this one purely because it will fit between the already-installed T-tracks in my Reimo poptop (with a bit of extra drilling, obvs), and the length was a decent fit for the gap between the two T-tracks.
So far quite pleased with it. It's relatively light (just over 8kg), Current rating is Imax=8.2A, and even with a very cheap and nasty Chinese no-brand PWM it's delivering 5.9A to the Clayton LPS in the 10AM morning sunshine in Reading, flat on the poptop roof and not in full sun.
It also means I can take it off for the winter if needed and can move it up/down the tracks to accommodate a roof rack/box when needed. European tour next week will test it properly but at the moment it's enough to keep the beers cold for 24 hours
So far quite pleased with it. It's relatively light (just over 8kg), Current rating is Imax=8.2A, and even with a very cheap and nasty Chinese no-brand PWM it's delivering 5.9A to the Clayton LPS in the 10AM morning sunshine in Reading, flat on the poptop roof and not in full sun.
It also means I can take it off for the winter if needed and can move it up/down the tracks to accommodate a roof rack/box when needed. European tour next week will test it properly but at the moment it's enough to keep the beers cold for 24 hours
Very neat and tidy installation rails and solar panel, useful too. Room for another panel if you choose also. The small gap between panel and roof will help insulate the van from direct sun and might help in winter too. I like what you have done!So took the plunge and ordered a relatively cheap solar panel from Amazon (150W, £85) and installed it this morning in about 60 minutes. I chose this one purely because it will fit between the already-installed T-tracks in my Reimo poptop (with a bit of extra drilling, obvs), and the length was a decent fit for the gap between the two T-tracks.
So far quite pleased with it. It's relatively light (just over 8kg), Current rating is Imax=8.2A, and even with a very cheap and nasty Chinese no-brand PWM it's delivering 5.9A to the Clayton LPS in the 10AM morning sunshine in Reading, flat on the poptop roof and not in full sun.
It also means I can take it off for the winter if needed and can move it up/down the tracks to accommodate a roof rack/box when needed. European tour next week will test it properly but at the moment it's enough to keep the beers cold for 24 hours
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i guess that anything within reason could be run on the tracks so long as a bracket/runner is made up. Sat Dish, roof rack, awning mount, lamps, anything!
thanks, to be honest the hardest part was to find a panel that fit. I've haven't drilled through the roof yet, thought I'd wait till i've tried it out. And yes, if it works I'll add another panel. So far so good, it's delivering nearly 7 amps in this heat without even aligning it.
I forgot to say yesterday? I had new pads all 4 corners and new rear disks. I had that little orange warning centre instrument panel. So all good and the Down Hill Assist is still Working fine some time after it being retrofitted By Advanced In-Car Technologies Poole Dorset.
That is the switch that I thought looked like a duck sliding down a slope much to my wife’s amusement but it is a van going down hill carrying a speedometer on its roof.
That is the switch that I thought looked like a duck sliding down a slope much to my wife’s amusement but it is a van going down hill carrying a speedometer on its roof.
Spent 2 hours on the ramp today trying to sort out the night heater.
The plan was simple: drop the diesel tank, install the fuel line, then mount the heater and water tank on the back. Easy peasy, I told myself. I’d watched a few Autoterm install videos and was sure I’d have it all done in no time. Ha! I was definitely dreaming.
Things actually started off okay. Got the van on the lift, began removing trims—bit of a fight with some star fixings (one needed a full-blown manhunt just to move), but all pretty steady. I checked where to drill the hole for the hot air intake—couldn’t see properly from above, so had to plan it carefully. The return air hole was already done yesterday on the driver’s step.
Then came the fun part: unplugging the tank and removing the AdBlue and diesel pipes. AdBlue was a breeze, no problem at all. Diesel… not so much. That one gave me nightmares. Ended up having to call in the mechanic for help
Finally loosened the tank fixings and got ready to drop it. Then it hit me—I hadn’t unscrewed the filler pipe yet. And that’s where the real problems began. After unscrewing everything, we tried to drop the tank, but the AdBlue and diesel pipes were stuck in the tunnel. Took us a good 30 minutes of wrestling to get them free… Looked so easy in the videos!
Once the tank was down, fixing the new line was straightforward. Routed the pipe over the exhaust, across to the other side, and got the heater bracket mounted. Put the tank back in place—then cue round two of fighting with the AdBlue and diesel pipes to reconnect everything. Eventually managed it with the mechanic's help… and my foot pushing them into place!
Just as we got everything buttoned up and the shop was about to close, I dropped the van and turned the key. Boom—diesel on the floor
The owner gave me that look, saying his wife expected him home by 5pm, and started shouting: “Why does something always have to go wrong?!”
Lifted the van again, removed trims, and reattached the diesel pipe properly—it was stiff and hadn’t locked in. Gave it a bit of love and got it sorted.
Everything’s finally back together… but no time left to mount the water tank or do anything else. Tomorrow’s job: fit the rest while crawling on the ground. Not even thinking about the water tank yet. What a pain in the ass—should’ve just paid someone to do it!
Some images taken as reference where pipes and connections goes to be sure I don’t mess up.
The plan was simple: drop the diesel tank, install the fuel line, then mount the heater and water tank on the back. Easy peasy, I told myself. I’d watched a few Autoterm install videos and was sure I’d have it all done in no time. Ha! I was definitely dreaming.
Things actually started off okay. Got the van on the lift, began removing trims—bit of a fight with some star fixings (one needed a full-blown manhunt just to move), but all pretty steady. I checked where to drill the hole for the hot air intake—couldn’t see properly from above, so had to plan it carefully. The return air hole was already done yesterday on the driver’s step.
Then came the fun part: unplugging the tank and removing the AdBlue and diesel pipes. AdBlue was a breeze, no problem at all. Diesel… not so much. That one gave me nightmares. Ended up having to call in the mechanic for help
Finally loosened the tank fixings and got ready to drop it. Then it hit me—I hadn’t unscrewed the filler pipe yet. And that’s where the real problems began. After unscrewing everything, we tried to drop the tank, but the AdBlue and diesel pipes were stuck in the tunnel. Took us a good 30 minutes of wrestling to get them free… Looked so easy in the videos!
Once the tank was down, fixing the new line was straightforward. Routed the pipe over the exhaust, across to the other side, and got the heater bracket mounted. Put the tank back in place—then cue round two of fighting with the AdBlue and diesel pipes to reconnect everything. Eventually managed it with the mechanic's help… and my foot pushing them into place!
Just as we got everything buttoned up and the shop was about to close, I dropped the van and turned the key. Boom—diesel on the floor
The owner gave me that look, saying his wife expected him home by 5pm, and started shouting: “Why does something always have to go wrong?!”Lifted the van again, removed trims, and reattached the diesel pipe properly—it was stiff and hadn’t locked in. Gave it a bit of love and got it sorted.
Everything’s finally back together… but no time left to mount the water tank or do anything else.
Tomorrow’s job: fit the rest while crawling on the ground. Not even thinking about the water tank yet. What a pain in the ass—should’ve just paid someone to do it! Some images taken as reference where pipes and connections goes to be sure I don’t mess up.
Camperbabe
New Member
Looks awesome
Replaced my shelf above the kitchen as I've never really liked and one of the bracket failed a couple of weeks back.
Old
New
Cupboard brought from Ebay and added the little shelf made from the old one.
Rewired the lights to a new cob LED strip which also runs inside the cupboard and a couple of pop lights.
Old
New
Cupboard brought from Ebay and added the little shelf made from the old one.
Rewired the lights to a new cob LED strip which also runs inside the cupboard and a couple of pop lights.
@Wieczor I did look at creating a drawer here but struggled to see how could get fixings to work so ended up using Euro boxes instead. Although your postmay make me revisit. Did you need to drill into the seat for fixings or did you use pre-existing holes? Many thanks in advance.
Morning,
Between top rear leg and bottom front one exists seat frame enforcement - it looks like upside down letter U.
I drilled (didn't notice any existing holes I could use instead to be honest - hopefully didn't miss anything
) single (until verified side panels shape is correct) hole over there. It's open profile with no seat frame mechanism around, so it is not harmful at all in my opinion.I've to do some mods and shape corrections (most likely at the weekend), so will take some more detailed pictures then (if interested in of course).
Ahh, I'd forget - front legs are enforced with profile "C" from top to bottom roughly speaking. It means I had to cut some kind of the groove (router is my friend
) in the side panels. That's the reason why side panels can't be thinner than 18mm (unless there is different design 
)Have a good weekend!
As jigsaw and router are my friends in last days 
had to do something to prevent items from falling off the bed.
I made a filler between the bed and the van side panels. The current challenge is to fit the back (at the tailgate) of the newly created panels / filling to something stable (the filling stays in place when the bed is raised) without drilling the van body. I don't have a good idea I'd be happy for this yet. The natural candidate seems to be bed leg
Going to carpeting once all challenges (hopefully just brackets) completed.
Also finally fitted storage nets as already had screwdriver next to me
Have a nice weekend all!
had to do something to prevent items from falling off the bed.I made a filler between the bed and the van side panels. The current challenge is to fit the back (at the tailgate) of the newly created panels / filling to something stable (the filling stays in place when the bed is raised) without drilling the van body. I don't have a good idea I'd be happy for this yet. The natural candidate seems to be bed leg
Going to carpeting once all challenges (hopefully just brackets) completed.
Also finally fitted storage nets as already had screwdriver next to me
Have a nice weekend all!
Night heater install – almost done!
Managed to finish installing the Autoterm heater today. Didn’t have proper jacks, so had to improvise—built a mega jack from random bits of unit, screwed together into one big (slightly sketchy) support. Spent the entire day on my back, watching YouTube and crawling under the van.
For some reason, all the T5 videos made it look like there was loads more space than I had in my T6... but I got there in the end. All sorted—except the testing part, of course. Would’ve been too easy if everything worked first time!
Turns out I’ve got two control harnesses… but not the one for the fuel pump. So now I’ve got to wait for the right part to arrive before I can fire it up.
Tomorrow’s mission: water tank install. Will probably need to build another jack to lift both sides of the van’s rear end. Also need to sort out the plastic trim around the heater—it’s currently in bits. Hoping I can salvage and rebuild it instead of forking out £100 for a new one!
Was trying to take some photos but my potato phone did bad job
Managed to finish installing the Autoterm heater today. Didn’t have proper jacks, so had to improvise—built a mega jack from random bits of unit, screwed together into one big (slightly sketchy
) support. Spent the entire day on my back, watching YouTube and crawling under the van.For some reason, all the T5 videos made it look like there was loads more space than I had in my T6... but I got there in the end. All sorted—except the testing part, of course. Would’ve been too easy if everything worked first time!
Turns out I’ve got two control harnesses… but not the one for the fuel pump. So now I’ve got to wait for the right part to arrive before I can fire it up.
Tomorrow’s mission: water tank install. Will probably need to build another jack to lift both sides of the van’s rear end. Also need to sort out the plastic trim around the heater—it’s currently in bits. Hoping I can salvage and rebuild it instead of forking out £100 for a new one!
Was trying to take some photos but my potato phone did bad job
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Fantastic effort. Looks good to me! As a youtube educated specialist on these installs I believe the silencer for the system has a drip hole for condensation that needs to be pointing downwards though. If yours has this I'd flip it over. Lovely job and very well done!
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Fantastic effort. Looks good to me! As a youtube educated specialist on these installs I believe the silencer for the system has a drip hole for condensation that needs to be pointing downwards though. If yours has this I'd flip it over. Lovely job and very well done!
Fantastic effort. Looks good to me! As a youtube educated specialist on these installs I believe the silencer for the system has a drip hole for condensation that needs to be pointing downwards though. If yours has this I'd flip it over. Lovely job and very well done!
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Thank you
I wonder if mine got it lol dint notice and still need wait for pump harness might check when connecting it. Ye you tube its your friend
Borrowed some wheels for our Europe trip
