Who lives in a van? Or wants to?

[bmd]

I'm still working on getting Part 2 to come with me. He's a bit reticent but I think that's simply the enormous excitement he's feeling about living in a van with another human.

 

[Yuwipi Woman]

I love car camping. I've car camped in a Ford Taurus for a couple weeks at a time and really enjoyed it. I've bought a van with the idea of doing this more, but I'm not planning on living in it full-time.

 

[Part 2]

I'm still working on getting Part 2 to come with me. He's a bit reticent but I think that's simply the enormous excitement he's feeling about living in a van with another human.

By next April I might need somewhere!

My own van gets very little use while the weather's good and with the scarcity of diesel and price going through the roof. Although it's been delayed, if the plans for the Manchester CAZ remain unchanged it will see be unusable as a day to day vehicle aswell.

 

[bmd]

By next April I might need somewhere!

My own van gets very little use while the weather's good and with the scarcity of diesel and price going through the roof. Although it's been delayed, if the plans for the Manchester CAZ remain unchanged it will see be unusable as a day to day vehicle aswell.

All the more reason to drive into the middle of a forest, become self sufficient and never leave.

faint sound of the first bar of Duelling Banjos

 

[klang]

I‘ve just read this. It sounds quite a good life.

Couple halve cost of living by moving into a van

It took around a year to complete the van while they both worked to fund the conversion

www.hulldailymail.co.uk

terrible speakers placement.

 

[bmd]

I have found some cheap and decent LiFePo4 cells. Cells aren't an actual battery but not very complicated to make into one. Anyway! A 100Ah LiFePo4 leisure battery is around £500. Five hundred. Pounds.

I think you could actually get away with using a single 100Ah if you're on your own and not hammering the leccy. But yeah, well expensive. These cells are 230Ah and they are $80 each. They will need a box to put them in, a few other bits and a piece of tech called a battery management system (BMS) to make them into a working battery. Plus, obviously some way to charge them.

I've ordered 4. As they're 3v cells then I'll need that many to make a 12v battery. There's $70 for shipping from China and then VAT. Total is around £620 to buy and then another £50 to make them into a working battery. I have a BMS already but a decent one is around £60.

Basically, a 230Ah battery for around £700. Still a bit woo but better than the alternatives. The seller has loads of feedback on the DIY Solar forums, Jenny Wu.

Now I need to get a B2B system in the van to charge them from the alternator. I'll probably get a Victron one.

 

[bmd]

Passenger side seats in. They're the back single and double from a Toyota Alphard people carrier lol. Obviously that meant making a whole new frame for the rails. The whole double seat swivels 360, so that's nice. The single too. The rails they're on are far too long for the cab of the van but I'm learning towards leaving them that length so I have a 3 piece suite to slide into the living area.

The original seating (bottom picture is what I'm talking about) was secured by 3 bolts at the front and 1 in an absolutely knackered bracket in the back. I don't think they would have moved in an accident but the seat belt points are on the floor so your body would probably have taken a lot more of the force because of how they were mounted. Now? Not so much.

 

[bmd]

Also, I'm having a mate who used to be an actual signwriter, like with a brush and paint, put "no gold for me, just the rainbow" down one side. Just in 1" letters. I'm still looking for a decent graffiti artist to put Stealth Camper in 6' letters on the other.

 

[bmd]

I love car camping. I've car camped in a Ford Taurus for a couple weeks at a time and really enjoyed it. I've bought a van with the idea of doing this more, but I'm not planning on living in it full-time.

Does it need 'modifying' at all? I'm quite into van faffing atm. I will be into something different next week. Basket weaving, probs.

Oh and the last time I spoke to you, you had been on a first date and snogged her. Are you married now?

 

[bellaozzydog]

Passenger side seats in. They're the back single and double from a Toyota Alphard people carrier lol. Obviously that meant making a whole new frame for the rails. The whole double seat swivels 360, so that's nice. The single too. The rails they're on are far too long for the cab of the van but I'm learning towards leaving them that length so I have a 3 piece suite to slide into the living area.

The original seating (bottom picture is what I'm talking about) was secured by 3 bolts at the front and 1 in an absolutely knackered bracket in the back. I don't think they would have moved in an accident but the seat belt points are on the floor so your body would probably have taken a lot more of the force because of how they were mounted. Now? Not so much.


View attachment 320620View attachment 320622View attachment 320623View attachment 320624

Is there a standard way of attaching new seats to be compliant with whatever regs are involved or is it just a matter of bolt them down wherever?

 

[bmd]

Is there a standard way of attaching new seats to be compliant with whatever regs are involved or is it just a matter of bolt them down wherever?

No idea! I think it's about being aware that if you don't want the people in the vehicle to eject through the windows if you stop quickly, then ensure that you bolt the seats onto the floor quite well. I'm sure that insurers will have something to say but the MOT should help.

 

[pinkmonkey]

I have found some cheap and decent LiFePo4 cells. Cells aren't an actual battery but not very complicated to make into one. Anyway! A 100Ah LiFePo4 leisure battery is around £500. Five hundred. Pounds.

I think you could actually get away with using a single 100Ah if you're on your own and not hammering the leccy. But yeah, well expensive. These cells are 230Ah and they are $80 each. They will need a box to put them in, a few other bits and a piece of tech called a battery management system (BMS) to make them into a working battery. Plus, obviously some way to charge them.

I've ordered 4. As they're 3v cells then I'll need that many to make a 12v battery. There's $70 for shipping from China and then VAT. Total is around £620 to buy and then another £50 to make them into a working battery. I have a BMS already but a decent one is around £60.

Basically, a 230Ah battery for around £700. Still a bit woo but better than the alternatives. The seller has loads of feedback on the DIY Solar forums, Jenny Wu.

Now I need to get a B2B system in the van to charge them from the alternator. I'll probably get a Victron one.

I’m gonna upgrade our boat batteries system to a hybrid system with LiFePo4 - they’re the way forward!

 

[bmd]

I’m gonna upgrade our boat batteries system to a hybrid system with LiFePo4 - they’re the way forward!

Boat! Oooh! What is it? Rowing or a bit more substantial? Row boat would still have more room than a van tbf.

They are good. I think that you can also vastly improve the life of them by using a decent monitoring/charging system. Like double or triple the lifespan.

 

[Part 2]

No idea! I think it's about being aware that if you don't want the people in the vehicle to eject through the windows if you stop quickly, then ensure that you bolt the seats onto the floor quite well. I'm sure that insurers will have something to say but the MOT should help.

Are you doing it to be MOT'd as a motorhome then?

 

[Boudicca]

No idea! I think it's about being aware that if you don't want the people in the vehicle to eject through the windows if you stop quickly, then ensure that you bolt the seats onto the floor quite well. I'm sure that insurers will have something to say but the MOT should help.

I think they have to comply with some rule of other before you can legally carry passengers in them. 'Crash tested' or something. It could well fail the MOT if you are not careful. There are some useful self build Facebook groups, South Central Self Build Get Together is good and they have a meetup in May in Shaftesbury, if you are roadworthy.

 

[bmd]

I think they have to comply with some rule of other before you can legally carry passengers in them. 'Crash tested' or something. It could well fail the MOT if you are not careful. There are some useful self build Facebook groups, South Central Self Build Get Together is good and they have a meetup in May in Shaftesbury, if you are roadworthy.

Thanks for the suggestion.

The only thing with Facebook is the people who are absolutely certain about their statements. I find it rather confusing tbh. You'll get people saying stuff that they clearly wouldn't apply to their own situation. Like "yeah just leave the fuses out, waste of money mate!" Then arguing like mad when anyone challenges them.

 

[bmd]

Are you doing it to be MOT'd as a motorhome then?

Apparently it is almost impossible to get the use of the van changed over. There's stuff that needs to be in place for it to be a van still but that will be there. So I'm keeping it as a minibus.

 

[Boudicca]

Thanks for the suggestion.

The only thing with Facebook is the mongers of doom who are absolutely certain about their statements. I find it rather confusing tbh. You'll get people saying stuff that they clearly wouldn't apply to their own situation. Like "yeah just leave the fuses out, waste of money mate!" Then arguing like mad when anyone challenges them.

Well yes, but this lot are generally quite helpful. Mostly big old vans and very few VWs.

I went to the last meetup and fed cake to famous Youtuber Greg Virgoe so that my friend could persuade him to come to her festival.

 

[bmd]

Well yes, but this lot are generally quite helpful. Mostly big old vans and very few VWs.

I went to the last meetup and fed cake to famous Youtuber Greg Virgoe so that my friend could persuade him to come to her festival.

Sounds good. I'm probably going to be nearer than usual to Shaftesbury during the summer months so I may well swing by.

 

[pinkmonkey]

Boat! Oooh! What is it? Rowing or a bit more substantial? Row boat would still have more room than a van tbf.

They are good. I think that you can also vastly improve the life of them by using a decent monitoring/charging system. Like double or triple the lifespan.

Liveaboard canal boat / many boaters go hybrid and thats my plan - lithiums under the back steps charged by our solar, which then keep the lead acids in the engine bay fully charged, its a cheaper way of doing things. Otherwise you might have to replace alternator and add extra pulleys due to increased load. Our set up is obviously a lot bigger than in a van.

 

[bmd]

Liveaboard canal boat / many boaters go hybrid and thats my plan - lithiums under the back steps charged by our solar, which then keep the lead acids in the engine bay fully charged, its a cheaper way of doing things. Otherwise you might have to replace alternator and add extra pulleys due to increased load. Our set up is obviously a lot bigger than in a van.

So did you always have battery power or something else? I've got solar but just a small system. 1000Kw pure sine wave inverter and a 40A b2b charger.

I've got a generator which will be all the power I need but also a massive pain to get in and out of the van. I have a pulley system but probably different kind of pulleys. 2 double pulleys that lift the generator in and out of the van.

 

[Yuwipi Woman]

Does it need 'modifying' at all? I'm quite into van faffing atm. I will be into something different next week. Basket weaving, probs.

Oh and the last time I spoke to you, you had been on a first date and snogged her. Are you married now?

I'm doing an off-the-shelf conversion. I have a kitchen unit and a bed that fold up and store in a small area in the back when not in use.

It must not have worked out, because I don't remember it.

 

[l'Otters]

Is there a standard way of attaching new seats to be compliant with whatever regs are involved or is it just a matter of bolt them down wherever?

There isn’t a single standard way but you definitely need to do it safely. The seat belt anchors need to be bolted to the chassis, & if they’re 3 point belts the top anchor needs to be fixed to one of the ribs if it’s a panel van.

There are belted seats with lap belts that are integrated solidly into the seat frames & with these it’s just a case of bolting or welding the seat legs to the frame of the chassis.

I did this with a van some years ago; it came with side facing seats that were installed in the 80’s. In theory it was legal to carry passengers sitting sideways with the lap belts because they’d been installed before the regulations changed. In practice this was never going to happen legally because you’d have to find insurance to cover them & no insurer would do that.

There was indeed a shedload of nonsense advice dispensed on facebook groups when I put the problem on there. I got some proper advice eventually and sorted it out. Lot of faff. Better than having your passengers die in a collision due to useless seatbelts tho.

 

[pinkmonkey]

So did you always have battery power or something else? I've got solar but just a small system. 1000Kw pure sine wave inverter and a 40A b2b charger.

I've got a generator which will be all the power I need but also a massive pain to get in and out of the van. I have a pulley system but probably different kind of pulleys. 2 double pulleys that lift the generator in and out of the van.

We've a genny which we never use - the engine charges the 4 x 110 amp hour leisure batteries but we've got nearly 700w of solar panels and for 6 months of the year they run everything on the boat including quite a big 12v fridge freezer. The fridge freezer gets switched off at the autumn equinox and then by the time we get to the end of October we start running the engine for battery charging again. If we go lithium we might be able to improve things further. The other thing we're considering doing is adding another 2 panels only for the autumn and winter, a friend does that. We've only got a 600 w invertor and I use that for the hand blender and spin dryer - everything else runs off 12v.

 

[bmd]

I know absolutely nothing about electricity so please feel free to mock. I want to have a 230v hook up from an external (outside of the van) point that will connect to my generator or whatever and then into the van to some 3 pin sockets. I think I need some fuses on whatever uses electricity, be it 12v or 230v, is that right? If so, how do I know which fuses to use? Also, instead of getting a junction box to put these into, can I simply mount them on a wooden board or is there a safety reason why I need to spend at least £20 on a plastic lunch box?

 

[Boudicca]

I know absolutely nothing about electricity so please feel free to mock. I want to have a 230v hook up from an external (outside of the van) point that will connect to my generator or whatever and then into the van to some 3 pin sockets. I think I need some fuses on whatever uses electricity, be it 12v or 230v, is that right? If so, how do I know which fuses to use? Also, instead of getting a junction box to put these into, can I simply mount them on a wooden board or is there a safety reason why I need to spend at least £20 on a plastic lunch box?

View attachment 320676

I have no idea, but have direct you to my new friend Greg's youtube channel:

 

[spitfire]

I know absolutely nothing about electricity so please feel free to mock. I want to have a 230v hook up from an external (outside of the van) point that will connect to my generator or whatever and then into the van to some 3 pin sockets. I think I need some fuses on whatever uses electricity, be it 12v or 230v, is that right? If so, how do I know which fuses to use? Also, instead of getting a junction box to put these into, can I simply mount them on a wooden board or is there a safety reason why I need to spend at least £20 on a plastic lunch box?

View attachment 320676

The box will keep liquids, dust and peoples bits out of the wiring. Get a box.

 

[spitfire]

The box will keep liquids, dust and peoples bits out of the wiring. Get a box.

And having read the first bit of your post again, get an electrician!

 

[bmd]

And having read the first bit of your post again, get an electrician!

Where's the fun in that?!

 

[l'Otters]

I made a load boxes to contain the electrics in my old van, got a sheet of rigid plastic that could be cut with a stanley knife, cut the panels to make the cuboids to size & taped them together with gaffa.