Ex German Army T3 Conversion To Camper.

[eiret25]

So on my days off a bit of progress has been made.
The birch ply is a quality product. You can cut a strip a few mill thick and it retains its structure. Anyhow here is the front panel coming together. Using flush fit hinges. The front panel will be held using glue and tacks as it is not load bearing, the frame does that job


Fitted in the van on top of the new floor covering. As the van was ex german army, it came fitted from factory with c rails. The unit was fixed to the vehicle by using these rails and fittings that I actually found in the rails acc by 8mm bolts. The rails would have originally held the radio equipment, seating and tables when used in the army. A good sturdy fit.


Trying the bed.


Wardrobe in.

Again held by the c rails and a few screws into the lower unit. The light is powered by a take of from the rear courtesy light. The two act independent from each other. Start work again tomorrow on it, nearly there.

[Titus A Duxass]

Nice woodwork!

[eiret25]

Finished fitting the work top today, along with the seat/bed presses and table. To give the worktop a more substantial look I we ripped a strip and glued. Looks the part I think. All edges are rounded.

[HT]

Hi, your interior looks so good! I've been planning to use birch ply for mine. What thickness ply did you use? Also, will you be treating it with oil or anything? Cheers

[eiret25]

Thanks! I went with 9mm. Thin I know, but when built around a carcass you are left with an extremely strong and light weight units. The material is great to cut, route and finish. Also the contrasting layers from dark to light finish the edges. Look for furniture grade when buying.

[ladybird]

Excellant work there..

[eiret25]

Thanks guys. I will upload more photos when next at home. It was a straight forward process, and would recommend it to anyone who is half handy with timber. Now comes the dreaded Irish Revenue re classification from N1 to M1 and the hurdles that go with it.....I will explain the process as I go along. It will be of assistance to any body in the 26 counties reclassifying a van as a camper.

[eiret25]

Hi all. I am also at the stage of buying foam for the seat/bed. I'm just wondering has any person used efoam.ie or efoam.co.uk in the past. I am considering buying 3inch firm foam. Does anyone have any opinions on what thickness or density to use. Any advice will be much appreciated. Go raibh maith agat!

[Tobyt25]

Id say mine is 5-6inches soft foam. 3 inches doesn't sound enough

[HT]

Hi, yes I bought this one: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/T25-VW-CAMPER ... 5199cc65a1

It does make for a very firm bed but its pretty comfortable. Thicker would of course be more comfortable but I didn't want to spend too much money. One thing I would say though is I have a bluebird rock and roll bed and the sizes were rubbish. I had to do a lot of trimming and the seat and back board bit aren't really deep enough, so don't do what I did and assume it will fit well because of the description.

Harry

[ladybird]

i will look forward to the process of you changing your van to camper /paper work etc
i might be in the same process ..keep us posted eire t25

[eiret25]

Now the van is as good as completed. I am a wee bit stuck for time so I am keeping the electrics simple. I had bought a ZIG CF with the view of fitting it along with a hook up etc etc but this will just have to wait. I fitted a 12v socket in the front, and one more has yet to be fitted in the rear for the coolbox. The units are all varnished in a gloss finish. The gloss suits the birch a lot better in my opinion than the dull satin.


As I am converting a vehicle that is classed as an "N1" which is a Goods carrying vehicle not exceeding 3.5t to a passenger carrying vehicle with a special purpose, Class "M1" Bodytype "SA", I must declare it to Revenue by completing this form (and pay them 13.3% of the vehicles worth for the pleasure)

http://www.revenue.ie/en/tax/vrt/forms/ ... ration.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;‎

In this form you are required to fill out all requested information and also have proof of the conversion costs, ie. receipts.

Then, you must bring the vehicle to a center that is NSAI approved ( http://www.nsai.ie/Our-Services/Certifi ... nters.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ) or a test center that has a staff member who has the listed qualifications for a SQI. (listed on page 3 of the Revenue form)

If the tester is happy with the vehicle and the conversion, they certify that the vehicle complies with EU regulation 678/2011 and The Road Traffic Regulations 1963.

My vehicle was sent to the tester today so should have good news tomorrow all going well, I am also sending it in for its CVRT (Irish TUV, MOT). When it passes I will explain the next stage of re-classification.

[eiret25]

Good news, my van passed the engineers inspection of the conversion and also got 6 months of a CVRT (6 months as the vehicle was imported having been previously registered outside the state and having never been tested in the state before)

Now the second stage of the re classification process is to send the fully completed revenue form ( http://www.revenue.ie/en/tax/vrt/forms/ ... ration.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ) along with pictures of inside and outside of the vehicle along with all receipts to cvoffice@revenue.ie .

I did this today all via e-mail and I am currently waiting on a reply, fingers crossed there will be no hiccups When that comes then comes part three

[eiret25]

Still waiting on a reply form Revenue, hopefully tomorrow.......

[eiret25]

I received all the documents back from Revenue late last week requesting the SQI's declaration on headed paper with proof of qualifications etc. Got that sorted and sent it in. I received a email from Revenue yesterday saying that the application had now been sent to my local revenue office . Today I rang the local office and was informed of the VRT I had to pay, Happy enough with the valuation (VRT = 13.3% of Open Market Selling Price) So, will had over the money tomorrow and see what happens from there....