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Smoothe's T5.1 First Build Journey

2K views 22 replies 6 participants last post by  smoothe 
#1 ·
New thread to follow my build progress.

So now I have the van I'm going to start planning and thinking about the conversion I want to do. I want to do as much of the work myself as I can :)

Initial plan

Pop top roof with elevating bed.
Full 12v & EHU & solar electrics
swivel passenger seat (double)
facelift to body coloured bumpers wing mirrors etc.
Kitchen
Lining and insulation
Flooring
Rib bed
.....
 
#2 · (Edited)
The Roof
So the day came to try cutting the roof off my van I bought a roof from revolution campervans and collected ready to fit. On checking the parts and having a look at my van I found the roof didn't come with any instructions:(.

Mailed the guys and a week later got some instructions which to be honest weren't the best however the company put me through to one of their fitters who was super helpful and cleared up any vague areas.
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The cutting went well and despite me now hating rivets it looks pretty good.

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The Windows
As you can see from the picture about the next job was the windows.

I bought the windows from veedubtransporters.co.uk and came with adhesive an degreaser/primer etc and trim.

After cutting the holes and priming I had a look at the trim, unfortunately the trim was thin and to make it fit correctly would mean removing pinch welds and lots of fanny'ing about. I could use the thin trim on the rear however so went ahead and fitted that and decided to seal the rest of the van holes and order some wide trim from kiravans.

Once the wide trim came it was a pretty simple job to trim and stick the windows on.
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Bonus Job was the wind deflector attachment :).

The Insulation

Van is now insulated and sound deadened, the van had been partially deadened already so that was just a matter of finishing the few parts not completed. Then a layer of insulating foam before the fluffy filler :)

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#3 · (Edited)
The insulation cont

I then pulled up the ply floor and removed the mud and debris ready for insulation later.

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The Wiring

I made a start on the wiring running the usb and light circuits, Ive lots more wiring to do so will update this when the DC-DC parts are in.

Bulkhead & DC-DC Convertor

Bulkhead is out :) wasn't as bad as I thought but took way longer, I used spot weld drill bit and chisel, then sanded down the welds.

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Primed the metal and also sealed the load hook covers using silicone also primed the holes where the ply was screwed down.

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While most of the front floor was up wired up the DC-DC convertor using the loom from travelvolts.

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Carpeting

So tried my first carpet attempt went well, window was a pain but starting to look more like a camper now :)

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Floor insulation then the floor :)

So after much deliberation and considering do i want to insulate the floor I decided yes, yes I do.

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Sorry out of pic posts see next post :)
 
#5 · (Edited)
So once the carpet was done, floor went back in then a trial fit of the kitchen.

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Also fitted the solar panel rails ill grab some pics 2moro.

Rib Bed

Rib bed is now in :) few moments of should that go through there :) but now fully fixed, solar panels & more wiring next weekend

Solar Panels

So I decided to follow a mounting guide for my flexible solar panels i saw on you tube using some rails and polycarbonate. I set this up today and we have solar power :).

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#14 ·
I know what you mean , its just a messy job .
I attacked ours before i started putting anything fresh in so i could give everything a real good clean out once i'd finished.
Its a good job to get ticked off your list though 👍 .
Think i drilled as much as i could to weaken each weld and then tried to fatigue the metal around each spot .
Didnt use the chisel much at all and then just cleaned it up with a grinder with a rough sanding pad on .
Good luck
 
#22 ·
updated, rib bed and solar install.

 
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