16 Jan - Weekly Update

This week I've had a visit from a coachworker to discuss securing the rear seats into the van. Nothing simple is it.  Having been informed that he's seen old vehicles come along with screws holding seats into wood and the main emphasis on securing the anchor for the seat belt he did confirm that the aim obviously with family members is to be as secure as poss.

We've got plenty of crossmembers to weld fixings too, so he's left me with the task of removing the chamber for the paraffin heater and freeing up some space for him to work when the time comes.  I'll continue the fit out and then take it in for welding once she is on the road.

I've also decided that going into the cab to turn the lights on and off is daft, so I purchased some small 12v switches and have rewired the internal lights so that each one has its own switch.  Now I can leave the cab switches in the on position and simply switch each and every light independantly of one another.

The kitchen doors arrived today and I am waiting for the arrival of some door hardware so I can remove the current rear door locks and replace with nicer ones.

Also ordered is some fibreglass resin and paste so I can finish repairing the holes where the old fridge and oven vents were.

Slowly but surely we are making progress although it doesn't really feel like it at the moment.  March and the Sunshine is coming ever closer.

Another seat to build this weekend, the front passenger seat to bolt in and then its time to measure up for the seat wood, wall panels and also the electrics.

All good fun.

8th Jan - Campervan Seat Construction

So next up was making the seat frames and drilling hold through the wood floor for the rear minibus seats. These seats will be the seats two of the children travel in.  The other three of us will be up front.

Now putting these seats in is not going to be easy.  The floor of this vehicle is just wood.  There is no way I am trusting this wood to take the weight of the seat and the children in a crash even with spreader plates. So I need to ensure the seat is secured through the floor and onto the chassis.  This is a another blog post of its own for a later date.  I need a coach-worker to do this for me and weld some structural supports underneath where we can then bolt the seat through.  For now however I have drilled through the plywood floor and located the seat so I can continue the interior fit out.

The frames for the surround on that seat and the other 5 seating areas in the back are being made from 38mm square timber.  These will then be clad in MDF and MDF striped cladding on the show sides for aesthetics and that country look. Incidentally I've ordered the kitchen cabinet doors, made to measure and will fit them as soon as they arrive - also a country feel. The good wife wants a nice country feel inside our Camper.


A visit to Toolstation yielded a collection of brackets and some screws and with my chop saw and my electric drill driver I began fabricating the seats. The rear drivers side (non travelling) seat is a deeper base than those which back on to the drivers and passenger seats, but only to match up to the depth of the travelling seats which sit on the passenger side.  The back 6 inches will be storage and I also plan to have storage areas under all wooden seats (hence the fronts being open).  I intend to have storage which can slide out or lift up from under the seats to store clothing and shoes etc...

The sleeping area for the travel cot has caused issues.  I had 70cm as more than enough room for a camp bed in the future, but it turns out the travel cot needs more than this. Thus the whole van gets crunched a little for this. With that extra 5cm eating some of the other space its now touch and go for the double airbed mattress space I need for the adults to sleep across the seating and table area.  But it'll fit.

The rears of the seats will support the kids hammocks so have extra supports in them.

For now though I continue to build the seat structures with just one more to do.  I will be buying some board soon and using B&Q's cutting service to make it a perfect fit.  Each seat will have electrics and dry lining socket cases have been purchased for these.  I need to consider where I am going to locate the kitchen sockets but that will come soon once I've had a good chat with an electrician friend.

Plenty still to do, but it feels like I am making progress seeing the internals take shape.

Dec 28th - MDF Kitchen Cabinets and cutting Ikea Lagan Wooden Worktops

Once the Christmas presents came out of the van and Christmas was over I did some drawings of the kitchen cabinets and took a trip to Bognor Regis B&Q where I'd heard they did a wood cutting service.

Its certainly a service I'd use again as I handed my post it notes over and 10 mins later was able to walk a bunch of perfectly cut 18mm MDF to the till and easily get it into the car.  I could've cut it at home, but I'd never have got two 2.4m by 1.2m sheets of MDF into the car.  Plus, I'd never have got the lines so clean and straight.

So the cupboards screwed together in a matter of minutes and I turned my attention to using my circular skill saw for the first time and making up a jig to cut the 2.6m and 1.2m solid wood worktops I'd brought from Ikea previously.

This was also pretty painless and I ended up with two nice neat cut worktops ready for placement on top of the units.

The girls have been given the job of oiling these and managed two coats before we finished for the day.