My Camper Conversion

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With the new Emission Laws coming from the EU and other Circles I decided it was time to upgrade letting go my 16/17 year old 4x4 and buying a Van, which was a tug on the heart strings I must admit, My intensions were to buy an RV but I found dealers to be less than economic with the Truth So my brother and I went back home and did a search and He found what turns out to be the perfect Vehicle for my needs,

That Night we sent the dealer an Email and the next day "31-12-2019" Cash in Hand I bought the Van/MPV, I ended up buying what is known in the UK the Ford Grand Tourneo Connect Titanium Serie's, In the Panel Van version is called the Transit Connect LWB " Long Wheel Base", With 7 Seats Top Specs with all the bells and Whistles and only 30403 miles on the Clock, Not having the need for so many seats I was trying to work out away that I could use the Ford as an everyday Vehicle and still go off camping or travelling all over, All the seats fold flat making a flat area of around 78/79" by 4 feet wide +/-, which is perfect but not wanting 7 seats and removing the rear 2 seats would cause me no end of problems when it comes to laying down, Fuel economy with this Van/MPV is incredible with figures between 54.3 to 76.4 MPG which is 4.55 litres , So far with about 8 hours City Driving and around 8 hours Highway Driving I am averaging about 51.5mpg /82.86ks / or 18.21 ks per Litre according to the Computer which is real good and once out of the City I should get well over 65 mpg / 104.58K's which is about 22.98K's per Litre fingers crossed.

Again My Brother with his Ninja Computing Skills comes to the Rescue and found a company near by ( 90 Miles ) who makes a Kit that is made for my Very Vehicle, and it all folds up and sits behind the second row seats still Allowing me to have full access to the 5 remaining seats, So much so you would never know it was there unless you opened the Tailgate, and the best part is the it can be completely removed in about 10 minutes giving me back my full load space,

Anyways back to the Conversion, It all unfolds to make a full size Double bed or I can just set up one side of it as a bed and set the other side as a seating and Dining Area complete with a Dining Table, The version I bought came with a long storage box that goes from left to right just behind the back seat and a Single Box that functions as a Kitchen with a Slide Out Draw, The List of accessories that came with this conversion is impressive, It comes with the above mentioned but also 240v Hookup and a 240v 3 gang Socket board complete with RCD Protection and it came with a 240v Hookup Power lead and a 3 socket extension lead for powering other Items, Add to that the small self contained Lithium/Charger/ Power Pack with 2 USB sockets and a 12v Cigar Socket and 2 plug In LED Light Sockets is a really nice touch and of coarse it comes with the LED Lights to Match and much to my surprize was it also came with a small Solar panel just to keep the small lithium battery topped off, And to my amazement it also came with a 24L / 27Qt Cooler that can also heat up food, As I already have 3 compressor fridges I was not sure with having a 12v Cooler as such but then I took it in doors and tested it and I saw that it can go below -2*c / 28*f in less than an hour and it works really well, The rear Slide out Draw also contains a portable Gas Stove and a Kettle for boiling water etc and a rubber mat to sit the little solar panel on while parked up and has enough storage for other Kitchen utensils etc , The hard part about that is making up my mind what I want Where, lol.

Now all this equipment is enough to get you on your way for a long weekend etc, And the Mattress comes with a choice of many Colours etc and all the cushion covers are removable for ease of washing which is a nice touch too The standard kit "Above" costs 2250.00 or $4275.00 AUD which is an absolute Steal at those prices, I paid an extra 150.00 or $285.00 AUD for the faux leather Option ( Vinyl ) because I wanted a surface that I can Wipe clean in a heart beat, But saying that I can flip the Cushion over and use the soft material side if I want too, My Kit cost me 2400.00 or $4560.00 AUD because I wanted the Vinyl on the Cushions and this kit has turned my MPV in to a True Multi Purpose Vehicle and the beauty of it I can switch it back to a Load Hauler or a people carrier in minutes, and This was fully fitted in less than an hour including having to route the wiring and install the whole Kit and with the Kit removed the wiring etc gets neatly tucked away and the conversion part only takes minute to reinstate.

Thanks to Jason at Redcote leisure for all his help in getting this right and the Speed in which from my first phone call to finish product was 7 Days which is totally Awesome,

Redcote Leisure also sells late model Vans that are already converted as well as the Conversion Kits.

https://redcoteleisure.co.uk/removable-camper-conversion-kits/

Here is a picture of a Van like mine, Sorry but I don't have any pictures at the moment,

1581882426_ford-tourneo-connect-5858_11.jpg
 
You really do seem to utilise the best out of everything RR.
Congratulations on your purchase and looking forward to reading some of your adventures.
Sounds like your chomping at the bit for a good run.
Good luck.
 
Gem in I said:
You really do seem to utilise the best out of everything RR.
Congratulations on your purchase and looking forward to reading some of your adventures.
Sounds like your chomping at the bit for a good run.
Good luck.

Yeah it is coming together nicely, Oh and I forgot to mention that this conversion also came with 8mm heavy Felt Blackout Blinds for every window although it already had factory Blackout Glass the windows are not covered with window film, And it has a huge window in the roof for star gazing, LOL.

the big RV type camper was not as advertised So that was a waste of a 400 mile drive there and back but later that night my brother found this Van/MPV and then it all clicked, although I thought all the seats were over kill they all had to be there to create a flat surface for sleeping and then Jason at Redcote had the solution and that meant removing the third row of seats which was alright with me because just by doing that gave me 1200/1300mm of load space

From the back of the front seats it measures 2260mm long inside and I can sit on the Bed or the seats and not bang my head which I am pleased with, My Brother got a conversion for his VW Touran but he can't sit up in it and if he lays on his side his shoulder is within an inch/25mm from the roof. and it cost him a bit more and it does not have the Table or the 12v and 240v power installed,

The most impressive thing about it apart from being removable is NONE of the 12v or the 240v electrics are connected to the Vehicles electronics, So all three systems are independent from each other so if something goes wrong with one of them the others are safe,

J.
 
Would luv to see pic of the inside when all set up. :)

Funny how accepted standards change, you not kms per litre, but most here in Oz work in lt per 100kms, lol. I guess the larger distances make that more meaningful and easier to work out costs for a trip. i.e. It's about 600 kms from home to the GT and I get just under 14 lt/100 towing my caravan, so 6 x 14 = 84 lt. So, @ $1.50 lt = $126

"Emission laws come from the EU", is that one of the many reasons for Brexit, or will that kind of thing still happen into the future?
 
condor22 said:
Would luv to see pic of the inside when all set up. :)

Funny how accepted standards change, you not kms per litre, but most here in Oz work in lt per 100kms, lol. I guess the larger distances make that more meaningful and easier to work out costs for a trip. i.e. It's about 600 kms from home to the GT and I get just under 14 lt/100 towing my caravan, so 6 x 14 = 84 lt. So, @ $1.50 lt = $126

"Emission laws come from the EU", is that one of the many reasons for Brexit, or will that kind of thing still happen into the future?

Well I am lucky because I use both metric and Imperial, Anyways I have converted it for you, Sorry about that, :Y:

Well after 8 hours of City Driving and 8 hours of Highway Driving I am getting a City/Highway fuel cycle of 5.49L per 100ks and on the Highway it is using less than 4.35L per 100ks, It has a 60L fuel tank which gives me a fuel range of 1379 Ks, with careful driving it can achieve up to 1618.9 K's per 60L, Or 3.70L per 100 K's.

hope that makes things a little more clear,

As for the layout it is much like what is in the off Road Trailers except it's fitted in to a Van, It is compact but it is large enough to live in if needed.

J.
 
I will be going away In it on Tuesday or Wednesday until the weekend because I am going to a Camping Expo and hopefully the Weather temp stays below 0*c so I can get to try every thing out including my New 5 Season Sleeping Bag.

I am also buying a rear Awning/Tent and an Awning for the side Or I am thinking about one of the Howling Moon 270* Awnings, But the One Big modification I am thinking of is adding a Poptop Roof to it and then I can extend the Cupboards up to the roof height giving me about another 50% more storage space as well as Sleep 4 People using the Top Double Bunk and the one that it already has. :Y:

J.
 
We got 30 C Friday, don't ya miss it, lol. Still it gets to zero in the GT in winter, sometimes.

That's good economy on the bus, however, what will it do when loaded for a trip. :) time will tell.
 
condor22 said:
We got 30 C Friday, don't ya miss it, lol. Still it gets to zero in the GT in winter, sometimes.

That's good economy on the bus, however, what will it do when loaded for a trip. :) time will tell.

I got 80 to 100kph winds here on and off and to day is the first day without heavy rain for the past 2 weeks but there's more to come :(

Yeah it's not bad fuel economy, It has a payload of 800kg's.

I drove it back home at 90kph and it was boring so then I tried it at 100kph and it was better and then I drove it at the National limit which is 120kph and it purred like a kitten, and no matter how steep the hill it just didn't want to slow down and the rego is half the cost of my Mitsubishi because it is a EURO 6 Compliant,
 
condor22 said:
We got 30 C Friday, don't ya miss it, lol. Still it gets to zero in the GT in winter, sometimes.

That's good economy on the bus, however, what will it do when loaded for a trip. :) time will tell.

Well On Tuesday the 18th of FEB I loaded it halfway up the back windows with enough food and Camping Gas and personal Gear to last about 2 or 3 months, fridges and a compressor 2 battery packs and the NOCO GB-150 Jump Starter pack, levelling ramps and solar panels etc etc And with a plan to try out my New 5 Season Sleeping Bag at the same time,

The Temp was 3*c with the wind Gusting to 35 to 40mph / 56 to 64kph which put me in a nice ambient wind chill Temp of -4.4*c, It was pretty Cool in the Van because I kept a window open by about 13mm on either side of the Van to avoid condensation build up so it was pretty breezy inside,

That's where my new sleeping bag came in to play because it is a 2 bag system designed for sleeping outside in the open on UK River Banks and it totally waterproof, The inner bag of this 2 bag system is reversible with fleece on one side and pertex on the other and it all zips in to the Main Bag, With this system you not only get a choice of having a choice of which bag you sleep in depending which time of year it is you also have a choice of material that comes close to your body and then you can zip them together as one, Once zipped together you can then decide if you want 2 layers on top and 2 underneath or 3 on top and 1 underneath OR 3 on top and 1 underneath,

Although it was a bit on the cool side I opted to use it with 1 layer covering me and 3 underneath me because these Carp Fishing Sleeping Bags are way OTT, Using just the 1 layer seemed more than enough because within 30 seconds I could feel the heat this bag was generating, No need for fires or heaters etc and the only down side was getting woken up by a Gritting Truck putting Salt down on the road at around 03:30am and the getting up at 5am for a leak, I must admit that was refreshing @ -4.4*.

As for the fuel economy worked out to be 5.09L / 100ks

Battery power was absolutely perfect, and ran the fridge without having to hook up the Solar and it kept the fridge going all through the night, and when I ran the fridge direct off the battery pack it only used 14% of the batteries power In 27 hours and was fully charged within 20 to 30 minutes, without running the engine, with all 3 systems being stand alone systems it worked a lot better than anything else I have ever used,

The Only thing I would do different is get set up for the night before It gets dark, The Vehicle and the Gear I used was perfect and I would be more than happy to do it again in a lot colder temps.

J.
 
goldtrapper said:
Sounds great, you'll be able to go and find the next great nugget in the UK now. :Y:

Yeah that was my original plan but then I was not feeling the best for a while.

I just added a fold out 120w Solar Panel which arrived today and I am waiting on some Snow Chains to turn up and then that just leaves the Awning/Tent that clips over the back door which I will order this week. :Y:
 
This is the Conversion I was going to get but I decided to go with the conversion I bought because this one takes away all the rear seating while traveling, while mine still allows for the vehicle to seat up to 5 adults, and still have a bigger than full size bed while the kitchen layout and dinning are is like what you get in those off road Trailer / Campers.

This Ford Eco Boost is the base model of my van and then there is the Zetec and then my one which is the Titanium,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9GyDgIaN_I
 

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