Caravelle to Camper self build.

[hicksy]

Hi all,

Quick one for you for a sunday evening. I havent done a lot this weekend as Ive been shattered through working away all week, but, luckily for the wife Ive had enough energy for her days shopping and an Ikea trip! The Ikea trip was mainly for the camper so I cant really blame all that on her!

Anyway, on friday I got home from work early afternoon, so while I was still in my work scruffs I made up and profiled the rear seat kick panel, and made provisions for the stereo.

So, kick board first draught...



Speakers mocked up to see how theyll look...the holes were then cut out.



The 6x9s will be powered by an amp which will be concealed under the seat. I thought the speakers needed sprucing up. So they went from this...



To this...



To... Youll have to find out later!

[hicksy]

So we also went to Ikea today to find some curatin fabric and other bits and bobs for the interior. We had searched locally for fabric and the type we liked costs £9.99 a meter. Fine, but this is on a budget. So we looked at the Ikea website and the fabrics are half the price.

So we went and found this for £5.90 a meter. Now, before you judge and comment on the pattern, we know its a bit odd, but we like it! We think its funky, colourful, interesting and fun, So



We also bought some storage bins to sort food in the cupboards, and clothes in the wardrobes. We also picked up some hangers too and by absolute fluke, it all fits in the slots perfectly!

Food storage and cutlery tray...



Little bins for undies etc. A packet of 6 boxes in assorted sizes were £6! this cupboard will have shelving to put all the boxes on..



And the hangers, perfect! and a pack of 6 for 50p too!

[StuM]

Loving this build - all looks great!

We got our curtain material from Ikea too

Cheers,
Stu

[hicksy]

Thanks dude, I've loved building it so far too, it has certainly been a labour of love. I hope this build will inspire others to do it them selves too, you dont have to pay a ton of cash for pre made units, just have an idea and try and stay with it!

More soon.....

[81AirCooled]

Nice work. We bought our curtain material from Ikea as well, got some bold stuff but ended up fitting some rather plain dotted ones.

I predict a change once I`ve finished the rustoleum and put some new covers on the bed.

[mattrsa]

good thread

I have just ordered some lightweight plywood boards to attempt to make an interior for my van. wish me luck, need to get the skates on as we are doing 5 weeks round europe at the end of july.

Might do a thread once I have made a start.

Matt

[paul66beetle]

Wow - pretty different. Gonna watch this thread, keep up the great work.

[hicksy]

Wow - pretty different. Gonna watch this thread, keep up the great work.

We went with them as they have a kinda european feel to them(?!) And the blue matches the van. The other patterns were a bit too boring! Im away with work atm and Domi said she will try to make the first one whilst I'm away!

[hicksy]

Hi all,

Ive been away for a week with work but I did manage to get some time in on friday evening and at the weekend. Visually I didnt get a lot done, but I did get it done!

Once again I concentrated my efforts on the seat base, mainly as its pretty important! It will contain most of the 12v electrics with the Huge battery, the 240V distibution panel and plugs, the amp, speaker boxes and freshly painted 6x9 speakers. Most importantly it will be the framework for the bed, so it has to be good!

So as always, pictures are more important than words.........

Right hand side of the seat base you can see the 240v distributer, 12v split charge relay and speaker box. I will box off this whole section to have some sort of storage on top for bedding...



And the left hand side houses the amp and other speaker box...



And the whole section with the battery in...



And finally the seat base front panel that houses the freshly painted 6x9s and a chrome 3 pin socket that I suprisingly picked up, along with the 240v distributer panel in a scrap T25 camper in my local scrappy!

[StuM]

Im making the entire interior out of this 15mm melamine beech effect chipboard.

Where did you get this from dude? Also - are your tyre white walls or flaps on regular rubber? Like them lots

Ta,
Stu

[hicksy]

Im making the entire interior out of this 15mm melamine beech effect chipboard.

Where did you get this from dude? Also - are your tyre white walls or flaps on regular rubber? Like them lots

Ta,
Stu

Hi Stu,

The melamine faced chipboard comes from Wickes, I think the smallest size is 300x2440mm and goes up to 600x2440mm sheets. The largest sheet is £28.
I have used the beech effect and white in building this interior and all the panels you cant see, like the bed base and door cards, are made from a mixture of 3mm hardboard, 3,6,9 and 12mm treated ply and 45x18mm batons. Other small bits ive made from MDF I had left over in the garage.
The melamine chip board looks great but is hard to get a good clean cut without chipping the edges of the cut. I have used expensive jigsaw blades but the best results have been using a decent hand saw, and with a bit of practice I can now get a good straight line!

To be honest I may have spent around £250 on wood alone (and still need a bit more), countless hours getting it looking good and fitting right and I havent even started dressing the edges with Iron on edging which will take time too. I think it will be worth the effort in the end as I will have a good, personal interior designed and built by me.
However, If I was to do it again, I would spend £4-500 on a good used interior and work from there. Worth considering.

The white wall flaps were from ebay (about £45 delivered) and look great when fitted, but, in my experience they were loads of effort to get on and after my 2000mile european road trip last year they all cracked around the wheel rim and were rendered useless. I bought replacements this year but when they kept slipping off I binned them all and now prefer the van without!

Sorry for the essay, but I thought I would share my experiences! Are you considering your own self build?

[StuM]

Thanks very much for that Hicksy, really useful.

I've got a full width RnR bed in ours and nothing else (although recently a mate donated a crusty Devon seat box). Plan is to build new seat box using old one as a template and another unit to go behind passenger seat. Still in design phase

It's really helpful to see how other people put theirs together.

Wheel flaps sound painful so will heed your advice, thanks.

Self building a house extension and garage at the moment so precious little van time but once done will have a great space to do the work

Cheers
Stu

ps. have just read your thread on Frank. Excellent! Bug is on my 'must own at some point' list!

[hicksy]

Thanks very much for that Hicksy, really useful.

I've got a full width RnR bed in ours and nothing else (although recently a mate donated a crusty Devon seat box). Plan is to build new seat box using old one as a template and another unit to go behind passenger seat. Still in design phase

It's really helpful to see how other people put theirs together.

Wheel flaps sound painful so will heed your advice, thanks.

Self building a house extension and garage at the moment so precious little van time but once done will have a great space to do the work

Cheers
Stu

ps. have just read your thread on Frank. Excellent! Bug is on my 'must own at some point' list!

No worries! Im glad to help and advise, thats what makes these forums tick! Nice to hear your doing your own extension, I would love to own my own place to do that kind of work, but in today financial climate, i wont be on the ladder for at least another 5 years!

Thanks for the comments on the bug, my first love is air-cooled really. Its a wicked little car and I have some very cool plans for it. I wont be working on it until after the wedding though so looks like it will be a busy winter! Hope for it to be on the road for next years season, so keep your eyes peeled.

[mattrsa]

Hi Hicksy

This is a good thread although the photo's seemed to have disappeared now.

I'm about to start making an interior for my van and was wondering what type of saw are you using to cut your board. I have looked high and low for the best option and so far now found anything that I think will do.

One one has suggested using a jigsaw and getting worktop blades so's not to damage the veneer.
Anyone got any thoughts on this?

[hicksy]

Hi pal,

Thanks for your interest. I have seen the pics not working and its my fault as I had a sort of my photo bucket account. I will sort this out at the weekend.
I have found the best way to cut the board in straight lines with the minimum of damage to the veneer is with a fine tooth hand saw. Spend about £15 quid on a good one and it should last you. I bought mine from B&Q. Get in some practice and you will be able to make great straight lines with ease!

I bought a cheapy jigsaw from B&Q at about £20 (the grey one!) and spent good money on blades. The Bosch Chipboard blades are about £6 a pair and very good. They have a downward cut so always make sure you mark, and cut the surface you want showing. The blades are great but you will know when they start to get blunt. Most of all, take your time. I have learnt to be very meticulous and patient during the build.

I always make sure to cut about 0.5 or 1mm outside of the line you cut as the veneer WILL chip in some places and you may get a bit of a wavy line. So, buy a rubber sanding block, and good coarse sand paper (i use the yellow stuff from my chippy pal) and with a bit of effort your mistakes can be easily rectified!

Best of luck with your build. I have enjoyed this, but its taken loads of time and effort, and I have at times wondered wether it is worth it!! However, as you will see in the up and coming pics, things are starting to come together and I am starting to install all my new shiny bits. Stay tuned!