There’s been a lot of changes since we first bought the van as a plain panel van back in 2019, how the world has changed since then and of course so has the cost of vans so just for once we bought a vehicle at the right time.
It’s been a very costly journey but well worth while, I doubt the van will ever be completed as such probably better to describe it as evolving for the next few years. We don’t intend to fit the kitchen units down the drivers side as we like the space that this allows us to have.
Both fronts seats now have swivel mounts and I replaced the double passenger seat to a single captain style seat which is much more comfortable and also allows us to walk through to the back. We have fitted a RIB seat in the back which unfolds to become a double bed as well as the double bed in the poptop. We paid for a local company to fit the Austop poptop roof as we thought it better to have such structural item fitted with an invoice and warranty to please the insurance company.
I fitted a cheap Chinese diesel heater which is a webasto eberspacher rip off but works perfectly well. It has it’s own controller but it’s not really a thermostat but we can put up with that. Me being a bit geeky I had to have a play and fitted a relay controlled by text messages so when we are out anywhere when it’s cold I can send the heater a text message to turn the heater on before we get to the van.
One thing that bugged me about the van from first owning it was the headlamps, they have a reputation for poor headlamps and that is not an understatement. So bought a pair of aftermarket projector headlamps with LED bulbs, these have made a massive difference and despite their cost they have been very worth while.
Although the van has been and still is a huge project for me to take on it has been fantastic therapy for me recovering from cancer and the surgery.
So what’s next for the van, well lots more holidays that is for sure. Additions to the van well I would like a towbar but that’s quite low down on the priority really. I’d like to get a solar panel on the roof to help keep the battery charged especially whilst the fridge is running though driving around seems to top the battery up enough to keep the fridge running.
I’d like to upgrade the 130amp AGM battery with a pair of lithium batteries, they do cost a lot more but they are also light weight. Again this will be further down the list of priorities as the current battery is doing just fine at the moment.
I’ll try and upload a few more photos in a few days.
