Road Trip Plans

Finally, the last week of a month's-worth of public transport (which hasn't been too bad) before picking the van up, we're planning on going away pretty much straight away to give the interior a good test and make any final tweaks. Here's the plan:

Friday: Pick the van up from Campershak, head home and grab the wheels, scoot up to JC Motors for fitment (fingers-crossed what with everything that has gone on!) Get back home, wash the van, pack, eat, sleep.

Saturday: Early start, head on down to BVF at Malvern. We're just buying a day ticket as that evening will be spent camping (with some friends at the end of their week away) at the Blackmore site a couple of miles down the road.

Sunday: By now we should've chilled-out, so after a lazy start we'll probably head up into Malvern for a few beers and a bite to eat. As everyone leaves BVF for the long journey home, we'll head back to the campsite for another night there.

Monday: Just a couple of hours on the motorway will see us camping in Oxford on the club site there. Close enough to the city centre, we hope to walk in for the evening and then again on Tuesday morning.

Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday: After another look around Oxford we'll be doing another hour or so on the motorway to get to the Camping & Caravanning Club's Chertsey site. From here we're hoping to do a couple of days exploring in and around London. Maybe a quick trip around the Brooklands Museum too which is quite local.

Friday: Leaving Chertsey, we'll head over to the club's Oldbury Hill site. This is just a one night stay in which, for us, is uncharted territory. Maybe a nice pub or two and a country walk?

Saturday/Sunday: Leaving Oldbury Hill in the morning we head to Peppercorn: a classic and vintage VW show not far from Leeds Castle in Kent. It is a show we've not been to for a number of years but recall it having a really nice 'vibe' about it. And it is a great way to end a holiday.

Sunday night: Will either be one long blast home up the A1. Or a final overnighter at the club's St. Neots campsite.

We'll be taking a laptop with us so, if I get chance, there might be the occasional blog update during the week.

Got to say I'm counting down the minutes before we hit the road!

Any suggestions for things to do along the route will be gratefully received...

The interior: an inside story...

You've probably noticed the lack of posts during June and you're probably aware that the van is over at The Campershak having the interior built and fitted.

Things have been progressing nicely and we've already seen the first mockups to determine the final proportions of worktop vs. cupboard.

One little stumbling block has been then electrics. Rather than go for a standard Zig unit, leisure battery and split-charge relay setup - the inner-geek in me wanted something a bit more up-to-date. Whilst a Zig unit looks fine in older vans, they tend to look a little out-of-place in a modern vehicle. So I've chosen to go with this:

It is a complete kit from CBE electronics, an Italian company that supplies to many modern motorhome manufacturers.

At first glance it may seem a little like overkill; the spec includes:

• digital clock
• car battery test
• services battery
• drinking water tank level (We've toyed with the idea of fitting a water tank at a later date)
• internal and external temperature test (looking forward to trying this when we camp in the depths of Winter!)
• control lights
• control water pump
• control external light (or probably secondary internal lights in our case)
• batteries parallel relay
• control fridge (not required)
• protection fuses
• car battery recharging control (handy when the van becomes a second vehicle again and is laid-up for periods)

The kit includes a mains consumer unit, 12v distribution, leisure (and vehicle) battery charger - all of which is controlled from the panel which can be fitted independently of all the bulky stuff which can be tucked away in the depths of the van.

Whilst browsing the blogs of other van converters, the general consensus is that the instructions supplied are far from great, and this has left the guys at Campershak scratching their heads - which is fine by me; I never expected them to be auto-electricians when quality woodwork is their business.

Thankfully they've sourced a reputable local auto-sparky to undertake the wiring. The downside is that has put the final build back by a week - but it will be worth it!

As usual, watch this space for further updates.

Know your limits

Something we're keen to do when the van returns is to have it re-classified from a Van to a 'Motor Caravan'. Doing so may increase the amount of insurance paid but it also means we can travel at the legal speed limit.

This is something I wasn't immediately aware of when becoming a van owner (taken from the Department of Transport's site): 

It is very important for drivers to bear in mind that vans (and all goods vehicles not exceeding 7.5 tonnes) are subject to lower national speed limits than cars on both single and dual carriageway roads.

Whilst a car may travel at up to 60 mph on single carriageways and 70mph on dual carriageways vans are only allowed to travel up to 50mph on single carriageway roads and 60mph on dual carriageway roads.

(Remember that the speed limits quoted here are national limits, a lower speed limit will apply in built up areas and on many local roads.  Where a lower speed limit is signed you must comply with those lower limits)

The main reason for these lower speed limits is that goods vehicles are designed to be able to carry heavier loads and when laden they will tend to take longer to slow down than a car traveling at the same speed. 

The national speed limits apply to the vehicle type and it makes no difference whether the vehicle at a particular time is fully loaded, partially loaded or traveling without a load.

So how do I go about this reclassification process? Having scouted around on the internet I have read that the vehicle needs a fixed seat/bed arrangement, permanent furniture and water/cooking facilities. The vehicle then needs a fresh V5 and an inspection by VOSA.

I'm just not sure in which order we go about doing all this? Can you help? Is this something you have done? I'd be grateful for any advice...

It's gone...

The van has just been handed over to CamperShak for the interior work.

The interior work involves fitting a new vinyl floor, electrical system (more on this soon), sink and hob, gas bottle, holes for sub and speakers, cupboards, drawers, worktop, etc... I could go on but don't want to reveal everything just yet...

We had one last trip away (with no interior) over the bank holiday weekend to Abersoch in North Wales - I'm hoping Mrs. Stone174 will sleep better once the void at the side of the bed has been filled with cupboard!

Keep an eye out for periodic updates over the next four weeks...