110 Expedition/camper

[wuntenn]

Thing to realize is that you can put ply or whatever else you want over the bare metal interior but if you have an air gap between it and the metal you will still get condensation, only now its trapped behind the ply and will only be accessible for wiping off where it can run out. Condensation is formed when warm (moisture-laden) air meets a cold surface - the van interior metal. The only way to prevent that happening is to make sure that all the interior air-metal surfaces are covered with an insulator so that no warm-moist air meets the cold surface. Closed cell foam is perfect because it is light and 'warm' - open cell foam is rubbish because it allows air through, can still allow some condensation to form but now it traps the moisture and eventually gets mouldy and very very smelly.

If it was me, working on a budget, I'd find the cheapest closed cell foam I could and stick it on, forming it tightly around all the inner metal surfaces. Then stick polystyrene builders sheet insulation into the gaps between roof and wall strengthening ribs, and ply over the top with some thin carpet over the ply. Warm, dry, quiet, comfortable. Cheap.

 

[MOB993]

Yea trying to find the cheapest closed cell foam at the minute. There is insulation that might be just as good as the camping mats if not better. It's called thermawrap and has foil on both sides. It's like 15 or 20mm thick but same thermal value as 150 mm quilt or 65mm of polystyrene. It would be the same price as camping mats.

Gona start the sliding doors tomorrow hopefully.

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[MOB993]

So I finally got the sliding doors on with catches. Next thing is to get it inspected by an engineer, fill out the relevant forms and apply to convert it to camper.

 

[wuntenn]

Looking good! You've got a lot done in a short period of time. Well done. Good luck with the certification.

 

[MOB993]

So I've had some good news and some bad. Good: don't have to pay any tax for the conversion. Bad: the regulations have tightened slightly and I may need to do a pop top with the roof. Will know better this week.
The money saved from not needing to pay for tax should cover the costs for converting the roof. But I just don't know if I will have the time!

 

[tacr2man]

If you need a poptop, have you thought about using truck side curtain, it is totally waterproof, relatively cheap to acquire, and just clamping between two pieces of metal will be waterproof . bit bulkier than the normal camper stuff when folded. HTSH

 

[MOB993]

Brilliant idea. Was about to ask wuntenn what fabric he had used. That truck curtain would be the business. With my plan it will be removable when the top is down.

 

[wuntenn]

Sounds good and bad right enough! SO it passed the tax test but now they want you to make a 'proper' camper roof? Thats rather enthusiastic of them - I'd have expected them to be anti any modifications to the structure.

Truck fabric is a good idea. My concern about it (for my use) is that it might have been too thick and not flexible enough. Some of the foreign lifting roofs are pretty thick though (and insulated to a degree) but they are semi-rigid and have built-in folds to maintain a predetermined shape. That's an idea on truck fabric - you might be able to put some directional folds into it with a hot iron so it would always fold the same way - would certainly help with making to go where you wanted in a 'tight' build.

Anyway my fabric was 'odyssey' from Pennine Outdoor (indian Birch flavour) chosen because its UV and mildew resistent. Bit more expensive than I'd have liked but it seemed the best of the lot I could easily obtain. Lots of other suppliers but often with minimum order of a whole roll.

 

[MOB993]

Yea looked into the truck curtain idea and it would be very difficult to work with I think. Will see if I'm able to get some locally. But new fabric isn't actually that expensive so might go with that.
What would be the smallest size of steel tube I could get away with for a frame that would lift the roof? How much does a 110 roof weigh?

 

[MOB993]

Ok got it through the test and don't need to pop the roof but I will do it in the future. Going to concentrate on fixing all the little issues such as the clunk when taking off, welding bulkhead, changing all rubber for the doors and windows.. and the rest....

 

[Ultralite]

Dusting off this thread, any updates? I'd like to do something similar, though I'm currently hunting a rig. But I like the direction you were taking....

 

[MOB993]

Haven't been able to do any more work on the camper side of things with it since my last post. But was using it regularly and clocked over 10k miles on it with very few issues.
Currently sanding down the exterior and spraying with U-pol Raptor bedliner tomorrow.

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[Philurboots]

Did you manage to get it taxed and insured as a camper?

 

[MOB993]

I have it registered as a camper with camper tax @ 102euros. I currently have it insured as a classic for 150 but can insure it as a classic camper for 170euros just didn't change the policy cos I wasn't using it. It's gotten a bit more difficult to register as a camper now though.

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[MOB993]

Here is the result. Just need to sort the latch on the drivers door and replace passenger door. I replaced with older better doors. Need to replace windscreen as my original cracked when putting it in. All indicators, tail lights and side lights were replaced also.

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