2007 Work van Camper Conversion for my Sister
- Emgee48
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- Engine size/power: 1.9 TDI (74bhp)
- Location: Victoria, Australia
2007 Work van Camper Conversion for my Sister
]I picked up this 2007 1.9TDI work van to convert to a camper for my sister.
It’s pretty straight and seems sound, but it’s no oil painting either.
My sister is on a budget so not a lot of money available for the project but I will see what I can do.
The first thing it needed was a little sprucing up, I picked up these golf rims on a buy/swap/sell site and they were only 10 minutes away from where I bought the van. So I bought the Caddy and the rims on the same day as they were 3 1/2 hrs from where I live.
Looking a bit better already with the new wheels I think.
It’s pretty straight and seems sound, but it’s no oil painting either.
My sister is on a budget so not a lot of money available for the project but I will see what I can do.
The first thing it needed was a little sprucing up, I picked up these golf rims on a buy/swap/sell site and they were only 10 minutes away from where I bought the van. So I bought the Caddy and the rims on the same day as they were 3 1/2 hrs from where I live.
Looking a bit better already with the new wheels I think.
Last edited by Emgee48 on Mon Nov 25, 2019 8:15 am, edited 1 time in total.
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- Caddy Fan
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Re: 2007 Work van Camper Conversion for my Sister
Plan sounds good but the image links aren’t working for me
- Emgee48
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Re: 2007 Work van Camper Conversion for my Sister
Managed to fix the photo links after a bit of investigation and playing around with the photos.
Okay, now i can continue the story
Okay, now i can continue the story
- Emgee48
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Re: 2007 Work van Camper Conversion for my Sister
Apart from the test drive when i bought the Caddy, my first real drive was the 250km and 3 hour drive home. I soon realised that these are really noisy cars, especially being a work spec van and travelling at freeway speeds.
The first real mod has to be fixing the acoustics.
Sound deadener is now affixed to the walls, floor and ceiling in the back and soon to be followed by acoustic foam covering.
Next job is to rip out the front seats and get more sound deadener in.
The first real mod has to be fixing the acoustics.
Sound deadener is now affixed to the walls, floor and ceiling in the back and soon to be followed by acoustic foam covering.
Next job is to rip out the front seats and get more sound deadener in.
- Emgee48
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Re: 2007 Work van Camper Conversion for my Sister
So I suppose everyone’s caddy looks like this to start with.
It’s just part of the fun doing mods to a car.
At least I was able to get sound deadened in the front and rear foot wells and under the seats, followed by waterproof carpet underlay.
Hopefully it will be a bit quieter inside now.
While I’ve got the seats out I’ll run some cables for the dual/leisure battery and rear speakers
It’s just part of the fun doing mods to a car.
At least I was able to get sound deadened in the front and rear foot wells and under the seats, followed by waterproof carpet underlay.
Hopefully it will be a bit quieter inside now.
While I’ve got the seats out I’ll run some cables for the dual/leisure battery and rear speakers
- reflectionghost
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Re: 2007 Work van Camper Conversion for my Sister
I'll be waiting to hear how much difference the footwell insulation makes. I'll be doing a similar job before the Irish summer. I guess I was hoping to laze out on that, but I may as well do a thorough job
- Emgee48
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Re: 2007 Work van Camper Conversion for my Sister
Doing the foot wells was worth the effort. I drove it just with the rear load area done and it was much better but still a bit noisy. The front foot wells at least had some fabric/flocking underlay, I just put sound deadener and underlay underneath it. The rear foot wells had nothing and under the false floor it was a real tinny sound when you tapped it. I think doing this area behind the two front seats has made a huge difference.
Today’s drive after putting it all back together was much quieter.
Today’s drive after putting it all back together was much quieter.
- Emgee48
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Re: 2007 Work van Camper Conversion for my Sister
Now the soundproofing and insulation is done and the seats are back in i could wire up the Leisure / Dual Battery setup.
I went with a 110Ah AGM which is about 30kg. i decided to fit it under the false floor on its side behind the passenger seat for 2 reasons. a) its easier to get out from the passengers side after i build a bed on the drivers side, and b) it will help balance out the weight in the van.
A ply base was carpeted and fixed to the side of the seat supports, the battery is strapped down to the board and then 2 angle brackets were fixed in front of it. No way is this coming loose to fly around the van if ever in an accident. The ply base also made an ideal spot to put the circuit breaker and the voltage sensitive relay.
Bonus - there was room to mount the jack, i was able to screw the factory jack holder to the ply base and fabricate a retaining bolt so the jack holder screw had something to fasten into.
I went with a 110Ah AGM which is about 30kg. i decided to fit it under the false floor on its side behind the passenger seat for 2 reasons. a) its easier to get out from the passengers side after i build a bed on the drivers side, and b) it will help balance out the weight in the van.
A ply base was carpeted and fixed to the side of the seat supports, the battery is strapped down to the board and then 2 angle brackets were fixed in front of it. No way is this coming loose to fly around the van if ever in an accident. The ply base also made an ideal spot to put the circuit breaker and the voltage sensitive relay.
Bonus - there was room to mount the jack, i was able to screw the factory jack holder to the ply base and fabricate a retaining bolt so the jack holder screw had something to fasten into.
- Emgee48
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Re: 2007 Work van Camper Conversion for my Sister
Now the stuff you can't see is done its time to start on the fun stuff to make this a functional camper.
This van has a one piece lift up tailgate (not the barn doors) so when its open its a great place for a light to use at night when cooking / sitting outside.
i used a caravan led light that is switched on by touch, it has 2 levels of illumination by touching the sensor switch in the middle of the light, this avoids having to put a separate switch in for the light and you can turn it on/off from the tailgate wheth.er its open or closed.
This van has a one piece lift up tailgate (not the barn doors) so when its open its a great place for a light to use at night when cooking / sitting outside.
i used a caravan led light that is switched on by touch, it has 2 levels of illumination by touching the sensor switch in the middle of the light, this avoids having to put a separate switch in for the light and you can turn it on/off from the tailgate wheth.er its open or closed.
- reflectionghost
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Re: 2007 Work van Camper Conversion for my Sister
Thanks for the response. That empty rear footwell is a real echo chamber. I might even stuff an old cushion down there to damp it a little until I'm doing the permanent work.
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Re: 2007 Work van Camper Conversion for my Sister
where did tou take the power from for that light ?
Sent fra min SM-G973F via Tapatalk
Sent fra min SM-G973F via Tapatalk
- Emgee48
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- Engine size/power: 1.9 TDI (74bhp)
- Location: Victoria, Australia
Re: 2007 Work van Camper Conversion for my Sister
The light in the tailgate is powered from the leisure/dual battery. I ran twin core cable alongside the wiper motor loom back into the cabin, then along the roofline and down inside the pillar next to the sliding door where I am placing a fuse box from the leisure battery. This will also power the car fridge, charging points, internal lights and water pump when I get around to them
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- Caddy Fan
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Re: 2007 Work van Camper Conversion for my Sister
thanx 4 info. nice work your doing
- Emgee48
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Re: 2007 Work van Camper Conversion for my Sister
Thanks fazerfreak (Tommy) , i enjoy doing bits and pieces to cars, its also a chance to help my sister out and do something i enjoy at the same time.
- Emgee48
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Re: 2007 Work van Camper Conversion for my Sister
Just got around to setting this up today so i could take a picture.
This awning is pretty much standard on any camper or 4wd in Australia. We dont need closed in tents due to the climate, really just use them for the shade. In fact its so hot where my sister is (this camper is for her) that they have raging bushfires near her at the moment on the New South Wales coast.
It literally takes 5 min to setup, All the poles are permanently fixed to the awning, you just unzip the cover, unroll the awning, drop down the legs and secure with guy ropes.
Bonus, it also has a LED strip light included.
It has a sailtrack on the outside so you can easily add walls and make it into an enclosed space.
The whole unit simply bolts to the roof rack so its always with you and ready to go. Surprisingly very little noise from having it permanently mounted to the bars.
This awning is pretty much standard on any camper or 4wd in Australia. We dont need closed in tents due to the climate, really just use them for the shade. In fact its so hot where my sister is (this camper is for her) that they have raging bushfires near her at the moment on the New South Wales coast.
It literally takes 5 min to setup, All the poles are permanently fixed to the awning, you just unzip the cover, unroll the awning, drop down the legs and secure with guy ropes.
Bonus, it also has a LED strip light included.
It has a sailtrack on the outside so you can easily add walls and make it into an enclosed space.
The whole unit simply bolts to the roof rack so its always with you and ready to go. Surprisingly very little noise from having it permanently mounted to the bars.