2007 Work van Camper Conversion for my Sister

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JustThisGuy
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Re: 2007 Work van Camper Conversion for my Sister

Post by JustThisGuy »

Great thread mate. Will keep an eye on this as I want to do similar.
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Emgee48
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Re: 2007 Work van Camper Conversion for my Sister

Post by Emgee48 »

Okay, so i have survived Christmas, Relatives, New Year Celebrations and so far, the fires in Australia.

My sister almost needed the camper as a home.
She lives where one of the major fires is burning now, and it got to within 3 streets of her house. Her town was cut off for 2 days with no power or phone reception, all roads in and out were closed. To give you some idea of the size, it was 250 km from one end of the fire to the other, and that's just one of the major fires burning here at the moment.

Thankfully its quietened down for the moment and everyone is safe, but this emergency has a while to run yet and the fires wont be out for months.

Okay so time to get back to the Caddy camper conversion now.
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Emgee48
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Re: 2007 Work van Camper Conversion for my Sister

Post by Emgee48 »

I've had a few quiet days and I've managed to finish off my part of this camper conversion.

Its not fully complete as there are some thing she has to live with and try before final decisions are made and the last bits are finished off. She has a friend locally who has offered to assist with the finishing touches.
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A bit of carpet and paint do wonders for the finishing off.
The observant ones amongst you have probably noticed that i haven't carpeted up alongside the bed. My sister thinks she needs a window added in the side so I've left the front window recess without sound deadening. Once she decides it will be either Window and carpet or sound deadening and carpet.

I have also left the panel above the cupboard on the passenger side uncarpeted. She may want a shelf or overhread cupboard here.
But everything else is done and finished off.
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Emgee48
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Re: 2007 Work van Camper Conversion for my Sister

Post by Emgee48 »

We managed to build a couple of storage cubby holes in the end of the bed frame and the rear of the cupboard.
Never waste an empty space in a camper,.
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The floor is loose lay vinyl planks that look like a timber veneer. I have only glued down the two outside planks to hold the rest in place. I have also used them on the bench top. The good thing is they are hard wearing, flexible and thin. Luckily they were leftover from my house build so they cost her nics.

The cupboard holds a 20 litre water tank and pump (see previous posts). It also has all the wiring and fuses.
There is a fill point on the end below the tap. The tap is powered, you flick the switch on the tap to activate the pump, great for filling up water bottles or the kettle, it works at 4 litres per minute, so quite ok for a camper.

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Emgee48
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Re: 2007 Work van Camper Conversion for my Sister

Post by Emgee48 »

We even managed to fit in a narrow shelf/cupboard just under the bench top. Hopefully this space will fit a small stove, if not then it will get used for plates and utensils i'm sure.


20200106_175200.jpg
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Emgee48
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Re: 2007 Work van Camper Conversion for my Sister

Post by Emgee48 »

A small fridge/freezer was the order of the day. A necessity in Australia when you head off to the beach.
I found one that will fit under the bed. This is another decision for her to make, put a fridge slide under the bed to pull the fridge out when you need it or anchor it to the floor just inside the side door. My preference is by the door, you can still easily get in and out, and the fridge is in easy reach. This option also frees up storage space under the bed. Anyway, not my decision to make.

The fridge still holds 20 litres and can also act as a freezer down to -16 celcius.

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The important thing is that it will fit under the slideout bed frame whichever way she decides.
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Emgee48
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Re: 2007 Work van Camper Conversion for my Sister

Post by Emgee48 »

Here is the power outlets and light switches.

This panel is in the end of the cupboard on the passenger side. All the switches are located just inside the sliding door.
Originally the four switches operated the 4 charging outlets. I rewired the panel so the switches operate the lights and the cig chargers are always live from the leisure battery, and the usb charger and voltage meter are switchable on/off.
20200106_175303.jpg
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Emgee48
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Re: 2007 Work van Camper Conversion for my Sister

Post by Emgee48 »

My sister will get the mattress made locally to size using one half as the backrest for daytime.
She is also going to make the blockout curtains for the windows and sew in magnets to hold them in place.

Final pics for this conversion from me.




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Showing the water tank fill point and the small shelf below the tap, so you can fill your water bottle while the back doors are closed. The small shelf developed as i was allowing for the curve in the rear door while building the cabinet.


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Also had room to fit a small portable toilet under the bed frame. Very handy for female campers, especially at night.

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Ended up with 4 cubby holes under the bed. Fridge, toilet, and two for food and utensils.
Clothes can go above the driver/passenger seats and the footwell behind the driver is still free for extra stuff, ie sleeping bag or duvet.

So that's about all from me,

She has ended up with
New radio/sound system including reversing camera
Alloy wheels
External awning with LED strip light
Slide out bed frame
2 x LED lights in rear cabin
LED light in liftup tailgate
20 litre water tank, pump and powered tap
2 x cig chargers
2 x usb chargers for phone/ipad
Fridge Freezer
Portable toilet
Sound proofing
Leisure battery
Under bed storage spaces.

Hopefully we have ticked all the boxes.

If anyone wants any further info or detailed pics just send me a comment and i'll see what i can do

cheers for now
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Re: 2007 Work van Camper Conversion for my Sister

Post by MaxiQ »

Looking really good @Emgee48.

I've been watching this one closely as I plan to do a lot of what you've done to my own van. May well give you a shout for a how to on the bed, loving the storage underneath too. Oh, and the light in the tailgate is a genius idea, I plan to have somewhere to cook at the back of my van so that would be perfect, I may be nicking that one!
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Re: 2007 Work van Camper Conversion for my Sister

Post by mrmann007 »

Wow, great work. This is exactly the kind of thing I have planned for mine when I pick it up. Will certainly be using your build for inspiration.
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Re: 2007 Work van Camper Conversion for my Sister

Post by Dalero »

Ive enjoyed your build, also taken a few of your ideas so thanks for that. Any chance of a few photos of the finished job when your sisters done your bit.
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Re: 2007 Work van Camper Conversion for my Sister

Post by cat_luvr_4 »

Loved reading this! - Would you mind sharing the dual battery components? I have been thinking I will do the same.
Glad everyone is safe in the fires, we got stuck in Merimbula for an extra few days over that period. Quite a scary few days.
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Re: 2007 Work van Camper Conversion for my Sister

Post by nomadave »

Thanks for the update! Been waiting all holidays for this!
Looks great! Thanks for the inspo to finish my mini camper for the NZ summer!

Hope your family is safe, those fires are no joke!


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2012 VW Caddy Van. Current fitout project.
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Emgee48
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Re: 2007 Work van Camper Conversion for my Sister

Post by Emgee48 »

Thanks for all the positive comments on the conversion.

I’ll definitely get some pics once my sister has done her bit to finish off the cosmetic things.
I also want to see what the finished camper looks like.

It may be a while till I can get the van up to her as the roads I will use are still closed due to the fires.
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Emgee48
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Re: 2007 Work van Camper Conversion for my Sister

Post by Emgee48 »

Hi cat_luvr_4,

Glad you got out of Merimbula ok with fires on the south coast.

You are obviously in Australia so the following ebay links will work for you for the dual battery setup.

I purchased a 110AH agm battery that fits nicely under the false floor behind the passenger seat.
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/110AH-12V-A ... 0005.m1851

The cable and vsr to connect the two batteries is a Kings kit from 4wdadventure centre.

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Dual-Batter ... Sw4e1dW8W-

I also used 2 circuit breakers, one next to the starter battery and the other between the vsr and the dual battery.

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/100A-AMP-Ci ... db2768f40a



The negative from the dual battery runs to a screw I drilled into the seat support.

I purchased about 3 metres of heavy duty twin core cable from autobarn to run from the battery to a fuse box.

This is the fuse holder I used
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/6-Way-Blade ... 4542af0a36

And this is the USB outlets and light switch panel.

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/AU-Switch-P ... 0005.m1851

Hope that helps
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