Saul's build thread!

115541 · Nov 18, 2014

Hey guys, I've been lurking for a short while whilst I was looking for a van. Picked this up yesterday:

It's a LWB 2.5TDI, 250k miles and came with a full width rock n roll bed for £2300. LWB T4's don't seem to be advertised for sale that often, especially not within reasonable travelling distance of me so I was pretty excited to grab it.

I've got so many ideas going round in my head at the moment that it's hard to come up with a specific plan. I'll need it to be fairly practical for all my mountaineering and climbing whilst making the most of the extra space. There's a few things I need to do first anyway like taking all the vinyl's off, pulling out all the old insulation and lifting up the horrible chequered floor to clean it and sort out any rust. Then I'll probably move on to insulating and carpeting it before I start building any units. Not sure on the rock n roll bed at the moment either, I may sell it and get a 3/4 to fit some long units...

Anyway, I'll update as I go along. I'll be getting started on gutting it tomorrow hopefully! As well as thinking of a name for him!

Cheers for looking

:ILU::ILU:

115541 · Nov 19, 2014

Got a bit done today, could've done more but got up too late. First job was taking the bonnet bra off, it was super old and discoloured. Looks a hell of a lot nicer, but I've got no photos of that!

Stripped out the Rock and Roll bed:

Then I went to B&Q and bought £125 worth of insulation kit. I haven't got round to re-doing the insulation yet as I've spent today ripping out all the ply panels and old insulation.

Next was to take out the grotty old vinyl floor and take up the plywood too. I was in two minds about taking it up but I wanted to get underneath it and make sure it was clean and had no rust. The body work was pretty clean, but on the whole it was pretty dirty and there's 3 or 4 spots that need rust treatment. I also found loads of holes that go straight through to the floor, presumably these are for securing racking in when using it for a commercial van. Either way I'm going to plug them all up as I don't want any water and dirt getting in any more.

Maggot casters! Lovely...

Found a few rust spots where the old ply floor had just been screwed straight in to the bodywork...

Stripping out the old insulation:

Probably a bit overkill with the full body suit but this stuff was super itchy whenever I got it on my bare skin! I was in 2 minds whether to remove it at all but I decided that if I ever needed to get behind there again then I didn't fancy having to don a mask and gloves every time I go fiddling around with it, so out it came! Good job too as some of it had soaked in quite a lot of moisture.

All done just before dark!

Tomorrows job is cleaning it out, identifying rust spots and treating as necessary. Also getting off all the vinyls! Probably going to use fibre glass as I've heard that body filler soaks in water. Toying with the idea of getting a side window installed in the sliding door as I hate having such a huge blind spot.

115541 · Nov 19, 2014

Forgot the picture of the maggot casters I found under the old floor:

Pretty grim!

Kevr124 · Nov 19, 2014

Nice van, the rule in the trade is T4's W reg on are the better ones to go for T:
Little tip about finding all your holes in the floor is to go out at night and put a bright light under your van and climb inside while a nice volunteer moves the light around to cover all the floor area, then you will see light shining through, I put masking tape on the holes, then in the daylight I just ripped off one at a time cleaned them up and squirted a body mastic (Tigerseal or sikaflex) into them and smeared them flat underneath, Its the best way of not missing any T:
Kev

115541 · Nov 19, 2014

Hey Kev, that's a great idea and an excuse for me to get back in the van later tonight!

I'll be taking inspiration here and there from your build thread too as it was that which made me really want the LWB! Cheers man. T:

Michmash/eddie · Nov 19, 2014

Nice van keep the updates coming, and drop me a pm if you want to sell the bed mate as I'm looking for one

115541 · Nov 22, 2014

Over the past few days I've managed to make a start on some of the side panel insulation and get the ply floor down. I also woke up yesterday morning to the whole side of my van being keyed! Absolutely f**king fuming as I'm 99% certain it's my miserable neighbour who disapproves of vans and is a miserable old f**king git. Anyway...

Ripped the floor up, sanded up a load of holes from where a previous owner had drilled the ply into the floor and it had started to rust. Treated it and blasted silicone into the holes which then peeled off a day later so I've hammerited over them instead...

A few pictures of some insulation going up:

My dad's the one with the dreads

I'm going to line the van walls with the bubble foil then stuff in some some recycled bottle insulation and cover it with more bubble foil. Pretty standard! T:

Some of the ply flooring being cut and going down:

Still need to blast some sealant and silicone around the edges and get some filler in between some of the boards. Not a bad job though I think for a first go. Wait 2 years and I'll be ripping hair out with the squeeky floor and the rust drops the floor out. T:

Also booking the van in at C.M.C on the 22nd of Dec to get a couple of windows put in. I'm not a fan of reversing out completely blind!

115541 · Nov 25, 2014

Getting there with the insulation....

I need to fix the central locking before I can insulate the barn doors properly and I haven't started on the roof yet!

Off to scrap the Peugeot and look for some vinyl flooring. I quite like the look of the ply in the van so I'm probably going to go for a wood effect floor. Something like this perhaps:

We'll see...

115541 · Dec 10, 2014

Been a short while, so I thought I'd put an update on this thread!

I've been quite busy lately attempting to get things done on the van, working and various other bits and pieces. Most of my time is spent ordering things for the van, gathering new ideas or learning new things (electrics, insulation, leisure batteries etc) so it's a slow process but I think I'm doing quite well.

So since I last updated I've done a few bits. I've sprayed some of my plastics matt black to match the interior theme, bought some very smart vinyl flooring (which I'll get pictures of soon) and re-done my headlining.

Measuring where the LED's are going to go sounds like a simple task, however my OCD likes to kick in on things like this and it took me a while to settle on the perfect placement.

First I laid out all the headlining on the floor and measured it into thirds both length and width ways. I want my LED's fairly central as I plan on building some overhead side storage at a later date so they must be fairly central as I can't have them in the way. I then moved it roughly around where it looked best, keeping in mind where I'll need most of the light shining. You'll also notice I've sprayed the centre headlining plastics matt black as well!

I then got the compass and marked out my holes, got the Mora out and started to cut it through. I don't have a power drill or I would have used that but this was easy and quiet enough to do it on the living room floor in an hour on evening! Took a bit of wittling to get the LED's to a snug fit!

I had to go out the next day to Martrim in Sandbach to get some high temp adhesive for it. Bit more of a faff to use than the standard evo-stik stuff as this tends to out as a liquid if you point it straight down... Still though, really good stuff and when you get the hang of spraying it, you can tell it's a much better quality glue.

I gave the panels a wipe down, cut a square of my black stretch fake leather material to fit and glued both sides. Stick em together, flip it over and work out the air bubbles from the centre, straightforward!

I then carved out all the holes and popped the LED's into their placements. I'm really pleased with them and the photo doesn't do it justice. They're going to look quality on the roof!

Also went ahead and did the cab headlining the same. Gave it a deep wash, rinsed it in the shower, gave it a day by the radiator and came out clean as. Then the same process but this time I got Rhiannon (my partner) to hold it up so I could work the material into the ditches.

Well happy! Just going to have to spray the cab light surround and the sunvisors next so they don't look so tacky next to it.

Next jobs are to finish the roof insulation, get the vinyl floor down, hook in a leisure battery and get the wiring sorted out for the lights!

115541 · Dec 13, 2014

Vinyl done today, feels as though I'm actually getting somewhere now!

T:T:T:

gazelle · Dec 23, 2014

Good effort!! Nice build so far T:

chevyboyitaly · Jan 5, 2015

I like it.... so i wait new pics .

Repoman · Jan 5, 2015

Great work Saul, really enjoying this threadA:

115541 · Jan 10, 2015

Cheers for the comments guys. Progressing with it slowly. I've got the roof insulated, headlining & lights in but not wired up. I've also painted the grab handles and A Pillars Matt Black and got them in, looks sweet! The van is having windows put in next Friday so I'll try and get some pictures up soon! Unfortunately though I've lost my job so I'm scrimping a bit at the moment. Going to have to use the van for some removals to get a bit of extra cash!

115541 · Jan 17, 2015

A long overdue update!

Yesterday I had my windows installed from Mike at CMC. I'm well chuffed so far, they look really good. He was even kind enough to ring me up and ask if I wanted it carpeting whilst he had it cut out! Unfortunately I think it might be the wrong colour, as I said MVM anthracite in Trim Velour and I think he's put in the mega stretch stuff which is a slightly different shade. I might make a feature out of it though and stick some mega stretch round all the windows. We'll see! Anyway here's a few photos of the windows.

It makes the whole van so much lighter and the privacy glass so nice. It's starting to feel a lot more like a camper van now!! T:

Also, some up to date pictures of the headlining and lights.

If that's sideways then I don't know why, the original is fine and tinypic is being a knob!

In between some of the lights you can see where the plugs for the old lights are pushing down on the material, I'm going to wire those in at a later stage once I've got some new original lights and sprayed them black. However, I am a bit disappointed at the parts where the material I used to line it with has de-attached from its own lining, you can see a big crease looking thing running across the roof! Oh well I'll sort it at a later date.

Also did the cab headlining, painted the A pillars, trim and grab handles black. Next to do is the sunvisors.

And my step from Van-X.

It's a quality step, but installing it caused me a few issues. I've got a couple of bolts going through the existing holes in the van step, then tightened up with a wooden spacer and a nut underneath. The problem came when the bolts hung too low and I ripped them out when I shut my sliding door. I had to shave the bolts down with an angle grinder. I think I'm going to tigerseal it down at a later date.

Also, no electrics are wired in because I haven't got my split charge system in yet. All the parts from travelvolts.com are sitting in a box waiting to go! I need to carpet the whole interior and get my RnR bed in before I can do the electrics. So if anyone knows of a 3/4 RnR bed frame with no seatbelts up for sale, I'd love to know!

Next job is to treat the rust on the wheel arches and back step and paint over with red oxide. Just waiting for my carpet to arrive from MVM next week! T:T:

115541 · Jan 18, 2015

Fixed my door loom today! Why do I decide to do jobs at 2pm so I finish in the dark?

That probably doesn't mean a lot to you guys though, but I now have working electric windows!

The thread with the tutorial is here!

Also, treated the rust on my wheel arches and back step. There wasn't anything worth worrying about, but I don't fancy letting it rot away under the carpet for years to come.

Carpet should be here tomorrow, looking forward to getting that done! T:

Robbie:T4 · Jan 19, 2015

Looking good dude! Im liking the floor! :tu:tu

115541 · Jan 20, 2015

Been busy the last couple of days. Had my carpet delivered through the window yesterday morning and got on with carpetting all the panels first. Lots of trimming plywood to fit the new floor! As well as a heap of pulling, pressing, glueing and not ventilating well enough.

Got enough?!

Barn door panels:

Sorted! Now on to the bigger ones...

Passenger side rear panels:

The drivers side rear panel was a major ballache. I've had to trim it more times than I can remember to account for the new floor and the thickness of the carpet. I've also had to cut half of it out for the window!

The old man lend a hand late in the evening:

I left it there and decided I would carpet it the next morning instead. 10 and a half hours ing around with carpet and wood is enough for a day.

This morning:

No idea why it's rotating them...

Anyway here they all are!

I'm well chuffed. I haven't found the Trim Velour stuff too hard to work with so far, apart from have to quickly pull it apart and remove some major creases I'd put in as I lined the huge piece, it's all gone smoothly.

I've started making way with lining all the metal in the van but it was dark by the time I finished so I've not got any pictures. Definitely harder to work with on the metalwork though.

Robbie:T4 · Jan 20, 2015

Good work man, the panels look very smart! How are you planning on fixing them? Self tappers? Or are you going to try the invisible fixings?
Did you carpet the metal work inside all in one piece?

115541 · Jan 20, 2015

Going to cut a little strip above the previous holes, peel the carpet back a little bit and then screw them in, then I'll close the little slice back up and you won't be able to see it's there.

I was going to do it all in one piece but when CMC fitted my windows they offered to carpet around it for me whilst the metal was cut out. I almost wish I'd have said no because they used the wrong shade of carpet, but unless you KNOW it's the wrong colour you can't actually tell as the difference is quite subtle except in certain lights. Once the boards are back up it'll hide it hopefully. Generally the Trim Velour stuff is okay to use but I think it would've been a major pain to try and fit it around the windows so a bit of a double edged sword really!

Pre-dawn start tomorrow to make the most of the daylight I think...

115541 · Jan 23, 2015

I've not had loads of time since Wednesday to work on the van with work getting in the way. Managed to carpet most of the metalwork on the main body of the van but there's still some to do. Screwed in the carpeted panels. Using self tappers, the first four I did by hand. Screwing through the plywood then 8mm of carpet then into metal was such a pain in the I was sweating buckets trying to get them in. Out came the power tools and got the rest of the screws in in no time today!

Chuffed with how neat I could get it:

Again, I have no idea why tinypic has flipped it but whatever.

As you can see it's quite creased up in places on the wheel arches, but this trim velour stuff is a real pain to use on curves. I wasn't really too bothered about working them out as eventually they'll be covered completely anyway, I just covered them to help sound deaden and stop water condensating on them.

I've done a pretty good job of hiding the screws from sight. It's a pretty easy method really, you just slice a 2 - 3 cm cut into the fabric and pry it apart, then screw into the panel and cover it back over afterwards. To get it perfect you've got to be getting the screws completely flush with the wood, or at least countersink them a bit more if it's at an angle. I also found taping the edges back whilst you screwed in helped quite a lot.

T:T:

Robbie:T4 · Jan 23, 2015

Dude that looks sweet! It looks less van, more camper with all the carpet ! We are going to start on ours this weekend!
Hopefully we can get it as neat as yours! T:

115541 · Feb 1, 2015

Cheers bro!

Thought I'd upload a couple more pictures before I get my bed put in tomorrow.

Decided against carpetting around ALL the metalwork on the sliding door and the barn doors. Given my profession and the amount of mountain walking I'm going to be doing it means I'm going to be opening them lots in terrible weather, so I don't fancy letting torrential rain soak into them!

Paying Cannon's Forge a visit tomorrow to get my 3/4 RnR frame put in!

115541 · Feb 5, 2015

Got my RnR bed fitted on Monday by the guys at Cannon's Forge in Workshop. Got to say the quality of the beds they produce is second to none. Turns out the original bed that came with the van was a full width Cannon's Forge one too so all the holes were pre-drilled in the right place! Took Wayne and Dave about 15 minutes to get it in. Wayne even made me a brew for the wait, quality service!

I then got busy cutting down the old boards and foam that I saved from the sale of the old frame.

Finished!

Now useable as a camper, sort of! Going to build the side unit to house the electrics, gas etc. Then will cover it in foam and upholster it so it turns into a full width bed when the RnR bed is pulled down.

115541 · Feb 8, 2015

This is going to be a picture heavy post!

I've been fettling around making a side bench unit to house my electrics, store bits and bobs and to make the bed full width when it's pulled out. I've used the left over 12mm plywood I had for the floor, some 2x2 softwood, glues and screws and power tools!

Then I got to this:

And wrecked the whole thing by doing this:

and ended up with this:

Effectively throwing 6 hours work away, words can't describe how angry I was. :bhd

Today's a new day!

Trimming the back of it to allow access to the rear light wiring.

Then I harassed all the edges, sanded off any dirt and started the carpeting T:

I had to do it in 2 parts as the carpet I had wasn't wide enough and I didn't fancy ripping a big length off for it. I've made the join quite far at the back as you can see in the last photo. That way it won't be seen and will look seamless! Hopefully.

Added extra bits of 2x2 to bulk it up a bit so the long screws wouldn't rip through the bottom of the van T:

Getting it fitted with the aid of a headtorch!

Tucking the excess carpet back underneath:

And voila!

I'm probably going to trim the excess carpet off the top of the sides and replace it with some dark edging tape. I'll get the insides carpeted over the next few days and sort the topper out with some vinyl and foam. Then I'll get the split charge system in place and we're rockin!

115541 · Feb 21, 2015

Spent a couple of days getting my electrics sorted. Wired in the split charge system from travelvolts.com. Got a bit confusing as the instructions tell you to wire the relay in 2 different places so I had to read it a few times to decipher what I was supposed to do but it all went in fairly quickly.

I've also been trying for a while to get my regulator to work for my LED's. Ordered the one from REUK and it doesn't work at all. I'd wired it in as the regular thread on here says to, but it just simply will not work. I don't know whether I've just had a duff one but I wouldn't recommend them. Instead I've contacted the company that I got my LED's from and they told me to fuse it from the leisure battery with a 10Amp fuse so I've done that instead.

Next jobs are to finish the carpeting, fix in the carpeted light switch panel above the sliding door, get an inverter fitted so I can heat it with an oil filled radiator and make some storage underneath the bed.

115541 · Feb 26, 2015

Well, they say bad luck comes in 3's!

Yesterday morning, filling up on the way to work, immobilizer stops working and leaves me for 3 hours stranded by the fuel pump at Sainsburys! Called an auto electrician, he disconnected the alarm/immobilizer and got me moving again for £50 + 3 hours lost wages = £74 lost

This morning, on the way to work, in the torrential rain, a woman in a mini cooper with no lights on was stopped dead in the middle of the road for no reason. I hit the brakes, the van carried on sliding a ridiculous amount. Even though I was travelling at about 5mph I collided, the momentum and the weight of my van has crushed her back light, bumper and wheel arch.

"I'M ON THE WAY TO HOSPITAL MY DAD'S ON HIS DEATH BED I CAN'T DEAL WITH THIS" she says, to which I respond, "Hey, I'll give you my details and then I'll drive you to the hospital" ... "Oh, it's okay I'll just have to change the appointment".

Did not realise you had to book the grim reaper... :*

Needless to say I was pretty ed off. I was not speeding at all, I was driving carefully and appropriately for the conditions, but a moments distraction as I was focusing on a Merc who looked like he was about to pull right in front of me led to me braking a meter too late.

Hardly any damage to be honest. I've already got clear indicators ready to go in so I just need to replace the wing, fill the bumper and bend the front peice back into shape. £100 for me and probably a £600 claim on my insurance from her.

T: T: T:

Oh and for number 3 bad luck, I got to Halfords to get new bulbs and had left my wallet at work! Quality day all round.

1943 · Feb 27, 2015

Ah feel your pain.

115541 · Mar 1, 2015

Carpetting the B pillars

Started by taking the passenger seat out for easier access.

4 bolts. I think they were 14mm, not sure! Not too tight anyway.

Then took off the upper seatbelt trim. There's a phillips head screw on the bottom, then inside it a couple of alun bolts to undo.

Then the A pillar trim comes off:

Then we're good to go!

I started from the bottom up to ensure I would have enough to cover up to the door seals. This is the trim velour from mega van mats and it's so stiff there was no point trying to use one piece to do it from top to bottom as it would just be covered in creases. I opted to make a discreet butt join underneath the lower seatbelt trim.

A tip for anyone trying to get the excess into the seals: Grab a spanner, knife or flat headed screwdriver, dig it under the seal and run it down the length of the carpet, 90% of it will tuck in neatly and then you can push the rest in easily afterwards. Saved me loads of time and makes it super easy!

Next was to take the bottom seatbelt retainer bolt out and carpet the bottom. 16mm bolt on mine.

Not the neatest of jobs on the bottom I'll admit, but once I've scrubbed the glue off of it you won't be able to tell. It's also pretty much covered by the seat so it won't be noticed anyway!

Same again tomorrow on the other side, I'll just get up earlier so I've got enough daylight to complete the job eh!

Saul's build thread!

Our Vendors

Top Contributors this Month

Recommended Communities