Only a week until the clocks change and few weeks until Bustypes, Stanford Hall and plenty of camping weekends, see you out there!
Saturday, 19 March 2011
Summer's coming!
We're getting there; no more gritters, filthy roads and dark nights. time to get the wheels back on:
Only a week until the clocks change and few weeks until Bustypes, Stanford Hall and plenty of camping weekends, see you out there!
Only a week until the clocks change and few weeks until Bustypes, Stanford Hall and plenty of camping weekends, see you out there!
Sunday, 27 February 2011
When is a camper not a camper?
When there's no tap with the sink...!
It was always something we were going to add later. Too many variables that had to be looked at first would've held up the interior build - exterior water tank, interior container, waste tank, water pump, etc, etc.
So we fitted the sink with no tap and just a waste pipe running out under the van (we have a waste tank if we're on a posh campsite). It has worked to date and gets little use - the odd wash and toothbrushing, the occasional rinsing out of a mug - that sort of thing.
This was all fine for the DVLA when it came to reclassifying the van as a camper, no problems whatsoever.
When first discussing the van conversion with the Camping & Caravanning Club's Insurance people, again, this didn't seem to be a problem. Being members of the club we've got a pretty good deal, as discussed in a previous post.
But now they have asked for photographs of the conversion including evidence of a sink, running water and a fixed container...
Thanks. So in the DVLA's eyes it is a motor-caravan, but in the C&C Club's eyes it is a panel van!
Thankfully we've got 120 day's grace to sort the issue - we had already been looking into a tap, internal container and submersible pump -it just means we're going to have to bring-forth the purchase and fitting of these items. It may also mean a trip back to the Campershak to lift out the sink/hob unit as access to the underside is minimal.
The route we're looking to go down is the combination of a small water container that can be strapped into the cupbards, a submersible pump:
And a folding tap to fit in the Smev unit:
Plus associated pipework and wiring.
Stay-tuned for further updates of the van 'finally' becoming a camper!
It was always something we were going to add later. Too many variables that had to be looked at first would've held up the interior build - exterior water tank, interior container, waste tank, water pump, etc, etc.
So we fitted the sink with no tap and just a waste pipe running out under the van (we have a waste tank if we're on a posh campsite). It has worked to date and gets little use - the odd wash and toothbrushing, the occasional rinsing out of a mug - that sort of thing.
This was all fine for the DVLA when it came to reclassifying the van as a camper, no problems whatsoever.
When first discussing the van conversion with the Camping & Caravanning Club's Insurance people, again, this didn't seem to be a problem. Being members of the club we've got a pretty good deal, as discussed in a previous post.
But now they have asked for photographs of the conversion including evidence of a sink, running water and a fixed container...
Thanks. So in the DVLA's eyes it is a motor-caravan, but in the C&C Club's eyes it is a panel van!
Thankfully we've got 120 day's grace to sort the issue - we had already been looking into a tap, internal container and submersible pump -it just means we're going to have to bring-forth the purchase and fitting of these items. It may also mean a trip back to the Campershak to lift out the sink/hob unit as access to the underside is minimal.
The route we're looking to go down is the combination of a small water container that can be strapped into the cupbards, a submersible pump:
Plus associated pipework and wiring.
Stay-tuned for further updates of the van 'finally' becoming a camper!
Monday, 21 February 2011
Dubfreeze 2011
Didn't get much chance to take photos at Dubfreeze due to working dossing on a friend's swapmeet stall for the day.
My favourite shot of the day has to be this T3 on an airbag/fuch combo in the For Sale section:
We also noticed the huge jump in the amount of T5's - probably the only vehicles we saw on the way down first thing in the morning - Hi if it was you we waved at/passed at speed ;)
As with Vanfest last year there seems to be more and more 'interior specialists' coming out of the woodwork (parden the pun) offering everything from off the shelf to totally bespoke. I'm glad we did ours when we did, not sure we could afford it these days! And don't get me started on prices - nearly £40k for a converted T5 - that's California money surely?!?
Roll-on the 2011 show season - it's gonna be a good one...
My favourite shot of the day has to be this T3 on an airbag/fuch combo in the For Sale section:
We also noticed the huge jump in the amount of T5's - probably the only vehicles we saw on the way down first thing in the morning - Hi if it was you we waved at/passed at speed ;)
As with Vanfest last year there seems to be more and more 'interior specialists' coming out of the woodwork (parden the pun) offering everything from off the shelf to totally bespoke. I'm glad we did ours when we did, not sure we could afford it these days! And don't get me started on prices - nearly £40k for a converted T5 - that's California money surely?!?
Roll-on the 2011 show season - it's gonna be a good one...
Sunday, 6 February 2011
Almost time to stop driving the van
The Lupo is currently at Aire Valley Workshop for a thorough once-over, so this should be the last week of using the van for the daily commute. So to celebrate the van being a full-time camper we're going away next weekend to York for a couple of nights, staying on the small Rawcliffe Manor campsite to the north of the city.
I've got to say I'm quite looking forward to not taking the van into Leeds everyday and keeping the mileage down to a sensible level.
Saturday, 22 January 2011
The Ultimate Upgrade?
As followers of the Stone174 blog will know, this is a long-term project - very much a 'save a bit, spend a bit' approach - and whilst the quality and attitude is that of 'no compromise' this is certainly no 'open chequebook' project.
Followers will also be all too aware that money seems to be getting tighter; diesel costs are going ever upward, insurance has almost doubled in the last two years, and road tax simply never gets cheaper.
So after much debating and looking over our current funds (including a savings account devoted to buying, painting and fitting a pop-top roof) we've decided to go for the ultimate upgrade...
'What is this miracle?' you ask.
Well, it will increase the life of the van.
Cut our weekly fuel bill.
Halve our van insurance costs.
Guessed what it is yet?
Yep, it's another vehicle!
A ten year old, 1.4 Lupo with 72k on the clock, pretty spotless in Soft Blue; cheap to tax, insure and run. It seemed crazy to keep commuting in the van; sat in traffic, drinking diesel, making little use of the 174 engine (and as I've said before - who's rushing to get to work?!). We've been searching on and off since last October and then finally, after test-driving a few others, the right car came along.
Having a second vehicle and switching the van insurance to the Camping & Caravanning Club's insurance has literally halved the price we were paying with Adrian Flux. There's even a section on there to say it's a self-converted motorhome - with an agreed valuation of like-for-like replacement should the inevitable happen.
Our journey to work gives us little opportunity to hit 60mph, so the smaller petrol engine is fine.
And road tax is £125 for the year - that's a few night's out on the beer that we need to cut back and it's paid for!
Finally, regular readers will also know that it probably won't be staying stock for long - coilovers and some retro rims could well be on the cards in the not too distant future, maybe a mini-blog of it's own...
What was that about trying to save money again?
UPDATE: Rather than fill this blog with Lupo stuff when you're here to read about the T5, I've started another little blog here.
Followers will also be all too aware that money seems to be getting tighter; diesel costs are going ever upward, insurance has almost doubled in the last two years, and road tax simply never gets cheaper.
So after much debating and looking over our current funds (including a savings account devoted to buying, painting and fitting a pop-top roof) we've decided to go for the ultimate upgrade...
'What is this miracle?' you ask.
Well, it will increase the life of the van.
Cut our weekly fuel bill.
Halve our van insurance costs.
Guessed what it is yet?
A ten year old, 1.4 Lupo with 72k on the clock, pretty spotless in Soft Blue; cheap to tax, insure and run. It seemed crazy to keep commuting in the van; sat in traffic, drinking diesel, making little use of the 174 engine (and as I've said before - who's rushing to get to work?!). We've been searching on and off since last October and then finally, after test-driving a few others, the right car came along.
Having a second vehicle and switching the van insurance to the Camping & Caravanning Club's insurance has literally halved the price we were paying with Adrian Flux. There's even a section on there to say it's a self-converted motorhome - with an agreed valuation of like-for-like replacement should the inevitable happen.
Our journey to work gives us little opportunity to hit 60mph, so the smaller petrol engine is fine.
And road tax is £125 for the year - that's a few night's out on the beer that we need to cut back and it's paid for!
Finally, regular readers will also know that it probably won't be staying stock for long - coilovers and some retro rims could well be on the cards in the not too distant future, maybe a mini-blog of it's own...
What was that about trying to save money again?
UPDATE: Rather than fill this blog with Lupo stuff when you're here to read about the T5, I've started another little blog here.
Monday, 3 January 2011
New Year's recharge
I've taken the opportunity during the seasonal time off to clean the van thoroughly - Stone Blue isn't a colour that works well when filthy!
After cleaning the van over I put the stereo on whilst shammy-ing off and decided to take advantage of 'hooking-up' to the mains to top up the leisure battery. It was at this point that I realised that I never really went into detail about the van's electrical system that was fitted at the same time as the interior.
So here's how it all works:
Mains electricity is also fed to a battery charger (2) which charges the van's leisure battery and main vehicle battery (after the leisure battery is topped-up).
The final box (3) is the CBE 12v distribution box where all the 12v sockets, audio and lighting are fused.
Other items in the electrical cupboard are:
Eberspacher fuses (5) for the heater and control panel.
Leisure battery (6). This is an 85aH unit that I'm hoping to upgrade to a larger unit later this year.
Earth point (7) on the vehicle body.
All these elements are linked up to the CBE control panel:
One of the best features is the 'at-a-glance' monitoring of battery condition:
The CBE kit came from Rainbow Conversions and so far it has been faultless.
So all we need now is some great camping conditions, I'm recharged and ready to go!
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