Have you ever thought of building your own bike friendly campervan?

[GM]

This is my boy's camper, he converted a Fiat Dobio. Electrics, water and Wi-Fi. Currently in Belgium and hopefully my Brompton is still under the bed.....

 

[buzzy-beans]

Do you not need some insulation to counteract the condensation @Zimbob ?

Very arguably after selecting your ideal van (preferably one with a fully galvanised bodies such as Renault/Vauxhall/Nissan and the Sevel built Peugeot/Citroen/Fiat) vans and most certainly not tin worm Transits & Mercs, then after that the very detailed planning of the interior layout becomes the singularly most important and time consuming aspect of the entire build.

You ask about insulation Crackle, and in my mind this is where so many people get it wrong, by scrimping on this essential element of the build. For me, it had to be the best and so I went for spray foam lining which you can do yourself, but as the kits are very expensive and having absolutely no skills in applying the closed cell spray, I went to a specialist.
Some people use foil faced insulation that you can buy from any good DIY store, some use rock wool (yuk) and some use almost any form of thin carpet underlay. Whatever you use, it is better than nothing, but when spending several thousands ££££ on the overall build, I decided to use the best which only cost me £380.

Because it was my 1st conversion I decided to buy a quite travel weary 2008, 113,000 mile old Renault Master LWB, it is/was in excellent mechanical condition, it just had a few battle scars on the body, it cost me £4,500. On top of that I spent a further £6,000 on the total build and ended up with a van that ticks every single one of our boxes so darned well that although I yearn to make another one, I/we simply can't bring ourselves to even consider selling her!!!

Unfortunately from this lap-top I can't upload photographs, but as soon as I have dug out my old steam driven one I will put a few images up.

But for those of any of you who might be half interested in building your own van, why not pop along to our specialist forum https://diymotorhome.co.uk where you will find me and hundreds of others, all of whom are only too willing to answer any questions you might have.

All the best

 

[Racing roadkill]

For the first time in years, I'm off somewhere that's out of reasonable range for a single day ride ( with a time deadline ). So I asked a mate if I could borrow his VW transporter. He wasn't around this weekend, so I've had to bag the bike up, and sling it on the loser cruiser. I was thinking about how easy a job ( or not ) it would be, to buy a ropey old panel van, and convert it into a mobile gin palace / motor home / bicycle conveyance. I might do it when I'm retired, and I've got more time easily available.

 

[Vantage]

I had this, you could get at least two bikes in it. I used to travel about a bit doing audaxes here and there .

View attachment 374880

My dad had one of those up till a few months ago!
He has a new one now.

 

[alpine fenlander]

A very timely thread, I was just thinking of doing such a project and maybe you can give me some advice.

The idea is to take me and my two boys to camping and cycling trips. I'd also like to keep it small so we can use it as day to day car.

What would be the best way to store + transport the bikes? Maybe still keep a roof rack? Take a small pop-up tent for night time bike storage, but transport the bikes in the van?

I don't like camping in tents because of the cold and hard floors. Do you find a well insulated van be a big improvement comfort-wise? I'm not thinking of deepest winter but this time of year, say 5C at night.

 

[buzzy-beans]

A very timely thread, I was just thinking of doing such a project and maybe you can give me some advice.

The idea is to take me and my two boys to camping and cycling trips. I'd also like to keep it small so we can use it as day to day car.

What would be the best way to store + transport the bikes? Maybe still keep a roof rack? Take a small pop-up tent for night time bike storage, but transport the bikes in the van?

I don't like camping in tents because of the cold and hard floors. Do you find a well insulated van be a big improvement comfort-wise? I'm not thinking of deepest winter but this time of year, say 5C at night.

The best thing for you to do Alpine Fenlander is to pop over to the link I put up in a previous post.

But for the time being, if you consider a LWB Renault Traffic or their Vauxhall or Nissan counterparts then you would have a vehicle which could be used as a daily driver. By keeping the twin passenger seat as fitted as standard, the boys could sit up front with you, if on the other hand you wanted another adult up in the front, you could opt to buy a single passenger seat and fit a rock-n-roll twin passenger seat in the back that quickly converts into a bed.

The options honestly are enormous, do you want an on board loo and shower, do you want to fit underslung fresh water and waste tanks etc. etc.

With the two boys in mind it might be better to opt for a high roof van so that you can fit bunks etc. etc.

Have a darned good and long think about what your priorities are........................ Oh and as an aside, with my van I have slept very comfortably with overnight temperatures down as low as -7C and at the opposite end of the insulation spectrum, we have slept just as comfortably when the ambient temp has been in the mid to high 30's C the reason being that good insulation works at both ends of the heat spectrum.

All the best

 

[Banjo]

A Citroen Berlingo car has lots of space in back for bikes sleeping etc with rear seats out. Can be used as a 5 seater car the rest of the time.I have borrowed one a few times and really impressed .

 

[Brandane]

[QUOTE 4967730, member: 9609"]you left your bike outside

View attachment 374889 [/QUOTE]

FAO @User9609 .....

Since you can fit out a DIY camper van, you might be able to fit some of THIS currently on offer at £9

 

[alpine fenlander]

The best thing for you to do Alpine Fenlander is to pop over to the link I put up in a previous post.

But for the time being, if you consider a LWB Renault Traffic or their Vauxhall or Nissan counterparts then you would have a vehicle which could be used as a daily driver. By keeping the twin passenger seat as fitted as standard, the boys could sit up front with you, if on the other hand you wanted another adult up in the front, you could opt to buy a single passenger seat and fit a rock-n-roll twin passenger seat in the back that quickly converts into a bed.

The options honestly are enormous, do you want an on board loo and shower, do you want to fit underslung fresh water and waste tanks etc. etc.

With the two boys in mind it might be better to opt for a high roof van so that you can fit bunks etc. etc.

Have a darned good and long think about what your priorities are........................ Oh and as an aside, with my van I have slept very comfortably with overnight temperatures down as low as -7C and at the opposite end of the insulation spectrum, we have slept just as comfortably when the ambient temp has been in the mid to high 30's C the reason being that good insulation works at both ends of the heat spectrum.

All the best

Great thanks! Yes I've had a look at a bunch of web sites and there is loads of tutorials on Youtube as well for doing insulation etc. Should be a fun project :-) Good to know that low and high temperatures are less of a problem than in a tent.

 

[videoman]

Great forum for self builders and will sign up ASAP.

 

[MacB]

What would people recommend as a base van? Interior design would be along the lines of the high rear bed Crax has mentioned to allow for a mini garage/bike store at rear.

Say requirements were stealth only, no windows, no or easily removed bulkhead to allow for swivel chairs. High or extra high to allow standing, minimum MWB but probably LWB or more....no VW.

Is it worth buying a cheap van, good bodywork, but with knackered engine and fitting new engine - rather than buying a used 'runner' for more but may break down on you and cost more?

 

[buzzy-beans]

What would people recommend as a base van? Interior design would be along the lines of the high rear bed Crax has mentioned to allow for a mini garage/bike store at rear.

Say requirements were stealth only, no windows, no or easily removed bulkhead to allow for swivel chairs. High or extra high to allow standing, minimum MWB but probably LWB or more....no VW.

Is it worth buying a cheap van, good bodywork, but with knackered engine and fitting new engine - rather than buying a used 'runner' for more but may break down on you and cost more?

Well @MacB possibly the best idea would be for you to pop along and join us on the free diymotorhome.co.uk where there are a lot of like minded people quite literally brimming with details, ideas and help for someone like you.

As for me, I bought a 2008 Renault Master LWB with slightly more than 110,000 miles on the clock and not the most loved exterior, i.e. it had quite a few dings and dents, but that was of no concern as I thought I was going to convert this one, learn how to convert a van and then sell it on before buying either a new or very nearly new to carry out the conversion on the one I was going to keep............. WRONG! We love 'Millie' so much, she is so perfect for us and we have now driven so many miles in her that we can't even consider selling her!!

If you buy sensibly, you will only consider either a Renault Master/Vauxhall Movano or what are called the Sevel built Fiat/Peugeot/Citroen ranges of LWB L3 or L4 length vans, the reason being that they have fully galvanised bodies and nice low load bay floors. The problem with any Ford van or those manufactured by Mercedes is that they all rust like hell warmed up!

The Sevel Fiat/Peugeot/Citroen vans are the easiest to convert as they have the squarest and widest bodies, so most people can easily build in a full sized bed across the width of the van at the back end with a thumping great big garage for the bikes underneath, and yet there is still enough room to build in a decent seating area, a proper loo/shower and a kitchen.

One of your most important objectives is to get the van re-registerd by the DVLA as a motorhome as this will save you a veritable fortune on insurance and ferry or Channel Tunnel charges.
You are best advised not to make a stealth van as camping and caravan sites don't like them and many will tun you away, furthermore if you are into 'wild camping' you are far more likely to get knocked up by the boys in blue in a stealth van than you are in a motorhome, and lastly, whereas a van has in theory lower speed limits imposed on it, that doesn't apply to one that looks like a motorhome.

But best of all MacB, pop along to the best and most friendly diymotorhome forum to be found on the entire internet, I will be looking out for you.

All the very best

BB

 

[The Rover]

This is my money pit, it was a panel van when I got it and I've done most of the work myself so far. Fortunately I repaired cars in a previous life and a good friend has a garage so lets me use the facilities.
It's still work in progress for one reason or another but I've got a tow bar going on this week so I can use the bike rack I picked up. It's more of a day van but designed to cope with a few nights away, I've fitted folding seats for the bed and a cab bunk bed for my lad. The plan is to get to some camp sites and cycling events from next year.

I'll certainly have a look at the site mentioned.

Cheers.

 

[Nebulous]

We converted an ex MOD LDV convoy minibus, not really to carry bikes. Used an old caravan as a donor vehicle. It worked well, but wasn't the best of vehicles and ended up with a couple of breakdowns, most notably a wheel bearing went in France and we had to wait in a hotel several days for a spare. I towed a trailer with a lot of gear on the back, including four bike racks on top of it.

Earlier this year I sold our second car and have been considering a van to carry bikes. My wife doesn't think we need two vehicles and encouraged me to buy a new bike as an alternative.

There is a possibility that retirement will be upon me more quickly than I expected and the plan then would be to buy a motorhome with a large garage to carry bikes, with a fixed bed.

 

[buzzy-beans]

There is a possibility that retirement will be upon me more quickly than I expected and the plan then would be to buy a motorhome with a large garage to carry bikes, with a fixed bed.

Just recently we have seen quite a few new cycling enthusiast members join us over on diymotorhome and are currently having some quite interesting discussions about interior layouts..................... But @Nebulous please don't buy a ready built flimsy as you will almost certainly be disappointed with your choice!