Long awaited update

Ok nearly 3 Years since I made any form of update on the camper.

The camper is now sitting in France waiting for a spruce up.

I lived in the van for 6 months saving a lot of rent. I then used that as a deposit to purchase a house in France that requires renovation (Blog arriving soon)

What can I say about the van after such a long time? I guess you want to know what works well and if anything has failed? Well here we go:

Failures:

Bracket holding the cylinder on the wall - Had to get it re welded for £10, I then put an extra support under the cylinder to share the load.

Blue cold water pipe behind the cylinder - melted as it was run next to the output side of the Eber heater, replaced and changed the route.

Vehicle battery - Wouldn't stand up to long periods of non usage, installed a trickle charger from the 240v supply.

Shower and tap - Left it for 2 days with water in over winter, both the tap and the shower froze over and cracked, lesson learnt.

Solar panels - no output needs investigating.

Not bad for full timing.

Everything else worked exactly as planned, lived in it full time over the coldest winter we have ever had, the inside temperature was whatever I set on the digital temperature controller (usually 19-20deg)

I now have another camper project in mind either a really small one or a really big one! haven't decided yet.

If anyone wants specific pictures or information then you can E-Mail me at:

andyhill800@gmail.com

I might have to sell the stealth camper in the coming months to finance the new project, but I hope not.

What works and what doesn't

What works Well:
1) Generator - Has got me out of so many scrapes I can't count.
2) Hot water - Never ran out yet, heats up in 20 min for 2 people
3) Bathroom - All working perfectly, right down to the wet floor and toilet extractor, shower is more powerful than most houses
4) Kitchen storage - More than I can use and well arranged
5) Microwave - Can make everything in this, from pizza to a roast dinner!!!
6) TV/AV setup - 260GB of movies and TV series, its like being in a cinema
7) Fridge - Runs on very little power and keeps everything cool / frozen (Tested in 30deg heat)
8) Battery to battery charger - Fit and forget always keeps the batteries charged when moving
9) Solar charger - In december I managed 2amps in daylight (Same as the fridge takes)
10) Inverter - Powers everything on board with a pure sinewave and has a charger built in

What needs attention:
1) Mains heater - Needs uprating 900W only keeps the inside at 12deg (Outside temp -2)
2) Infra red - Need to extend the range of the remote controls in to the cupboard
3) Mains charger - Currently a 15a charger which is far too weak need 50a
4) New lighting - Need to conserve power by replacing bulbs with LED lights
5) Timer for mains heater - Addition of a programable timer to save power during the night
6) Mysterious drain on inverter when nothing turned on - Investigate
7) Carbon monoxide detector - Needs fitting to cover when generator is on or the hob lit
8) Seat cushions - Need fixing to the wall but still moveable
9) Waste water level sensor - Re think needed as the water level shorts it out when totally full
10) Outside temp sensor - Not connected

Toilet exhaust system

As the access door for the toilet waste tank is on the inside I have vented the cassette to the outside using a waste pipe and a fan. When the water pump is switched on the fan starts under the van and exhausts the tank.

In line heater

While on campsites / other quiet places I need a way of heating the van without using the diesel powered heater. Most people use a portable fan heater. I wanted my system built in so I could effectively use the diesel heater primary circuit silently. No product existed on the market so I built my own. I used a 900w Tubular heater for towel warmers and fixed it inside a length of 22mm copper pipe. I then made 2 15mm ends to allow the heater to fit in line with the flow of the diesel heater. The 240v supply is activated from a switch on the control panel that also tuns on the 24v water circulating pump attached to the diesel heater. I have fitted this system and it is currently under test. Below is a picture to show the idea.

Control panel and water level display

The first picture shows the control panel almost finished with the addition of the inverter remote above the panel and the new water level display. The second picture is a close up of the water level display. Green for the fresh water and red lights for the grey water tank. Labels will follow shortly.

New update

New updates:

Flooring has been laid, it is one piece of vinyl black with raised circles. Very hard wearing and easy to clean.
Mattress and soft furnishings added. The sofa cushions have now been removed and sent for upholstering in black vinyl with grey stitching.
240v Sockets have been added and connected to the remote switch.
Bathroom sink fitted and plumbed in.
Shower fitted and tested.
Small fold away road legal 50cc moped bought and fits in the rear of the van.

Door fronts and vinyl

These 3 pictures show the progress made this week. The doors have been clipped on and handles fitted. The bed area has been covered in cream Vinyl. The TV has been mounted. Most importantly the whole van has been cleaned and polished. Microwave has been fitted and the control panel has been painted and re-fitted.