I have seen an aftermarket high top made out of ? fibre glass, then sprayed to match the body of the van.
Unfortunately, it was lumpy/dented in places and looked awful, and felt sorry for the owner of the van as it was new!
DK
------------- Apple The Campervan - A Van For Work, Rest & Play!
- 2027: ? NL+DE+FR
- 2026: FR+DE
- 2025: 17/77
'24: 10/49; '23: 9/47;'22: 8/46; '21: 9/34
* Ex-tenter
* Treat life events like a dog: if you can't eat it, play with it or hump it, p1$$ on it and walk away!
Quote: Originally posted by franbee on 25/11/2024
Our previous van had a similar interior base though we had a pop top.
A tip for summer holidays. We left the supplied table at home and used our lightweight camping table instead which was great for using outside too, and in times of sudden bad weather could be lifted into the van. That table when folded slipped into the small slot behind the drivers seat.
That was something we discussed just this past weekend, and looks likely to be the approach we will take.
I'm tempted to mutter something about "Great minds...", but I'm not sure I qualify!
Quote: Originally posted by dk168 on 25/11/2024
The high top and interior look good.
I have seen an aftermarket high top made out of ? fibre glass, then sprayed to match the body of the van.
Unfortunately, it was lumpy/dented in places and looked awful, and felt sorry for the owner of the van as it was new!
DK
Yes, ours is an aftermarket roof conversion in Fibreglass (by "Leisuredrive", I believe, but only for the roof. Not sure who did the main internal conversion).
Didn't notice any lumps/dents as such, but then the inside is all lagged and carpeted. There's the obvious moulded shape/contours of course, which I must say, I really loved the look of, and am delighted to have found one like this (from an aesthetic view point, at least).
Both our vans were Leisuredrive converted, they are very good at what they do. But if they had done the whole conversion, they would have put their own decal on the outside.
Quote: Originally posted by franbee on 25/11/2024
Both our vans were Leisuredrive converted, they are very good at what they do. But if they had done the whole conversion, they would have put their own decal on the outside.
Their name/logo is etched/moulded/monogrammed (???) into the rear face of the fibreglass roof. Not a decal/sticker).
The dealer seems to think they only did the roof, and the internal fit-out was done elsewhere. Must admit, I'm not sure why he thought that, unless that was something he discussed with the previous owners?
Maybe we'll find a clue buried deep in a cupboard somewhere, once we have it?
Where is the oven? LD fit one underneath where your table is, next to the fridge. Your pic shows cupboards? When the bed is pulled out, it should stop just before the fridge door, so you can have that important morning brew in bed.
Another tip. At the back, if you have channel shaped spaces under the bed, search out (from the loft?) plastic crates that fit the channels exactly, then use those for extra storage. Shoes maybe, or books, or waterproofs or tools. We had 2 crates per channel, and it was dead easy to pull them out for access.
Quote: Originally posted by franbee on 25/11/2024
Where is the oven? LD fit one underneath where your table is, next to the fridge. Your pic shows cupboards? When the bed is pulled out, it should stop just before the fridge door, so you can have that important morning brew in bed.
Another tip. At the back, if you have channel shaped spaces under the bed, search out (from the loft?) plastic crates that fit the channels exactly, then use those for extra storage. Shoes maybe, or books, or waterproofs or tools. We had 2 crates per channel, and it was dead easy to pull them out for access.
Cheers Franners.
No oven/grill in this one. (We'd have accepted an oven/grill if it was already fitted, but wouldn't have chosen one in the spec, preferring the storage).
That suited our preference, in all honesty, as we're not big on cooking on site. When we do, we tend to make do with one pot and/or ridgemonkey style meals. 2 rings + sink is more than enough for us. If we have room, we'll still take the 2 ring campingaz stove and cook outside in suitable weather (but the inside hob may well come in handy for winter camps!)
Unusually (I think?), this one has no access to the under bed storage from the rear, as it's a full board all the way across. We have two access doors from the front, and of course from above, when the seat is flipped. It'll likely be cleaner stuff under there anyway, with any "dirty stuff" (Peg bag & Guylines, poles/tarp, breathable carpet, etc and hopefully the camping chairs too) all "in the boot" from the tailgate access, so we "THINK" this full divide won't actually be a problem for us, and may even be an advantage. Time will tell, of course.
Even I'm not gullible enough to imagine we'll have the perfect solution at the first time of asking!
Also a little "out of the norm", the right hand side of the lower level unit (before reaching the tambor door "wardrobe"), there is no front cupboard door, but a lift up lid (Part of the worktop).
It's very deep of course, and may well result in stuff being buried below other stuff, so we're currently unsure how to make this as practical as possible, and will no doubt try a few options until we suss out what suits best!
Yes, the bed ends just shy of the fridge, so I can still make Muckerette her cuppa in bed! (I don't take milk!) It will also leave (just) enough room for me to make my coffee and drop onto one of the front swivel seats... with or without side door open, subject to weather!
Any snow, and I'll probably keep it closed!
As our van was converted to our spec, we asked for a microwave instead of an oven, as I couldn't see any chance of using an oven whilst on holiday. However the microwave does get used now and then, we heat up the odd ready meal if it's too wet to cook outside. On EHU of course. We do most of our cooking outside on a suitcase gas stove, on that table. OH will cook fish, sausages etc and I cook some veg inside on the gas rings.
Re that deep storage space, we had a similar one in the previous van. I found a softish tote bag in my stash and used it to store my clothes, undies, T shirts etc. Because the bag had handles it could be hauled up when necessary, but I could still reach down to find clean clothes. You could use another bag on top of it.
I still remember waiting for our first van, we had booked a holiday with it, and had 4 days to work out how to pack our previous tenting stuff. We spent the first few days saying 'where did we put the.....?'
Quote: Originally posted by Mucker1884 on 25/11/2024
Also a little "out of the norm", the right hand side of the lower level unit (before reaching the tambor door "wardrobe"), there is no front cupboard door, but a lift up lid (Part of the worktop).
It's very deep of course, and may well result in stuff being buried below other stuff, so we're currently unsure how to make this as practical as possible, and will no doubt try a few options until we suss out what suits best!
We had a similar cupboard in our first van. Handy for tall bottles but otherwise things did get lost in the bottom. My solution was a sort of jigsaw of lidded stacking boxes that fitted the space making it easier to get at and find things.
I used Really Useful Boxes as they come in a range of sizes and are made to stack and fit together.
I used the space for groceries with the non perishable storage cupboard things such as tins in boxes towards the bottom and more frequently used and fresh stuff at the top. Just had to remember to get everything out before I started cooking and used the cupboard lid as a worktop.
You may find a different use for it but whatever you use it for I recommend using lidded boxes and/or packing cubes otherwise you'll find all sorts of stuff at the bottom when you come to clean it out.
A final tip is that you put something waterproof or at least a tea towel on the top of everything as, as I learned the hard way when I knocked over a bottle of cider that was on the worktop, anything spilt will quickly find it's way to to the bottom of that cupboard and they are a ****** to clean out.
It's not until you actually have your grubby mitts on your unit that you learn it's idiosyncrasies (quirks!) and that initial impressive visual assessment is often compromised by things you looked straight past without registering!
The amount and size of cupboard/locker space on my caravan (and pretty much all others really!) looked impressive, BUT once you try and use them in real life, you come to realise that protruding hinges and catches, and shelf lips actually restrict the size of things you can stow to a substantial extent! You end up playing a game of '3D stack the small bags/boxes' rather than stuff the big bag/box in! Even the illusionary cavernous under bench lockers are compromised by the limited openings of front doors and lifting seat slats! Because of the angled door on the floor to ceiling wardrobe in my bathroom, you struggle to get larger bags/boxes in, that the actual floor/shelf space can easily accommodate!
You adapt and overcome, but it can be a learning curve to beat what your eyes initially deceived you on! Perhaps best not to invest too heavily in stowage solutions until you have the camper to physically assess.
TBH, you do sometimes wonder what was going on in the heads of the designers, things have not always been well thought through! As a professional design engineer who's headed departments and run my own design consultancy, I suppose I do have an edge on many laymen, but I can often see how things could have been done so much better!
You WILL overcome and enjoy, all part of the fun of 'tin tenting'!
Echoing what some have said: soft bags for packing / stuffing eg into awkward shaped upper cupboards with sloping back walls. And one bag goes out with the clean bedding & becomes the dirty laundry bag (ours travels in the washroom with the bags of footwear); we used to be overrun with odd socks (and more) before we had a designated dirty clothes bag.
We take very little in rigid boxes except small stuff like spare batteries, too much wasted space where square shape meets wedge shaped cupboard in our MH.
Suggest your first trip is a weekend not a month.
Fudge - I had a long post pending, then closed the window and lost it, DOH!
My 2p based on my own experience and observation for those with smaller vans since I had my van.
Boxes are very useful, and I have seen one as big as a trunk that I used to have when I was at school (still have one in the shed).
However, I would prefer to use smaller Really Useful Boxes so that I could better organise my gears based on their function when I was a tenter, e.g. one box for the kitchen, one box for setting up the tent etc...
An utility tent has small pack size, quick to set up and use for additional storage. I personally prefer a drive-away awning as I would be able to walk from the van to the storage area while being protected from the elements especially when it is foul.
The Outdoor Revolution Screenhouse 4 I won from submitting a site review recently is quick to set up and take down, however, it is quite long when packed and would take up lot of floor space in my van. Therefore, it is unlikely I would carry and use it for camping on my own when I am unlikely to entertain.
For cooking outside, I would only entertain that idea if the weather conditions are favourable under the Fiamma retractable canopy/awning, as in dry or light rain, little or no wind.
Hence one of my must-have when I was spec'ing my own van's conversion was a fully functional kitchen with a sink, 2-burner induction hob and a small convection oven (I only use the microwave function on my combi microwave for defrosting and reheating).
If I were to cook outside and need to get a new stove, I would consider getting the low wattage Vango 2-burner induction hob which is designed to be able to use outdoors.
I kick myself to this day for selling my two dual-fuel Coleman stoves as they would be very handy for a quick cooking set up as charcoal takes a lot longer to reach the right temperature when using the Cobb or Weber Go Anywhere BBQ.
Each to their own at the end of the day as we all have our own needs and preferences.
What fun to have a new toy that is a campervan though!
DK
------------- Apple The Campervan - A Van For Work, Rest & Play!
- 2027: ? NL+DE+FR
- 2026: FR+DE
- 2025: 17/77
'24: 10/49; '23: 9/47;'22: 8/46; '21: 9/34
* Ex-tenter
* Treat life events like a dog: if you can't eat it, play with it or hump it, p1$$ on it and walk away!
A day of all things motorhome and campervan. The show is held both in the main indoor arena and across the grounds. Catering, hot drinks and food options are available. Easy access to the site and free parking included. Win one of five pairs of day tickets
Topic: Is this the place to say hello?...
via mobile 27/11/2024 at 1:45pm
