Camper Part 23: Wiring workout..

I took the Sprinter for a 285 mile roundtrip today. The longest single day trip since I bought it in May (and about 30% of the total mileage it has done in my ownership).

I spent most of the day at the workshop with Pete, Roger & Mark. This'll be the Pete and Mark who helped collect it and dismember the donor caravan.

Being a more than competent automotive electrician, Roger helped me figure out which of the remaining ambulance wiring could be culled without rendering the vehicle undrivable and still retaining the auxilliary battery and split charging system. During this we removed the battery kill switch, and having discovered that this included an alternator kill switch, removed this at the same time.

While I was culling wires, Pete volunteered to the fit the blind spot mirrors which he had picked up for me at the local Mercedes dealership. Another example of checking before you Ebay, as he was able to buy them cheaper from the main dealer than guys are selling them for on Ebay (and no P&P to pay).

I also picked up a set of electric Volvo 960 seats from Roger as he was breaking a 960 to supply bits for his supercharged (we still working on convincing him it'll be too slow) V90.

The driver's seat has 3 memory position settings which will come in handy with Lorraine and I both driving the Sprinter (this is one of the main reasons for the change). Also the Sprinter passenger seat doesn't have any back and forth adjustment, so fitting the Volvo seat will give this (also electrical).

Pete kindly took a few pictures of the activities during the day, including one of our 3 Sprinters lining up and smiling for the camera...

Camper Part 19: MOT Ready or not here I come...

There hasn't been an update for a few days as I have been putting all my energy into getting ready for the MOT (annual road fitness test).

As the vehicle is undergoing a conversion to a 'Motor Caravan' it qualifies for an MOT Test instead of a Goods Vehicle Test. This however means that it must have the basics of a Motor Caravan, like beds and kitchen.

On the weekend I fitted the new dash plastics that I had bought on eBay which resulted in the moving of some of the switches fitted during the ambulance conversion.

This was followed by continuing with the kitchen units. As you know (if you've been following) I completed the carcasses before, so this weekend I cladded the sides in plywood. I also fitted the sink and cooker hob to their respective counter tops and fitted the sink one in place.

At the same time I did the remaining two walls of the bathroom and the bathroom roof. This also involved cutting the holes for the lights in the bathroom and feeding through the wiring. Next steps for the bathroom will be the waterproofing, cladding and then fitting up.

After work I ventured out again and fitted the cooker counter top in place. This was followed by installing the grill box & door as well as the cooker oven. The gas lines for these are connected at the back, but still need plumbing through the floor for connection to the flexi-hose with bottle connector. The long term goal is to fit an under vehicle gas tank.

I also installed the fridge under the sink, but before this drilled the holes for the water supply and waste pipes in the floor and fed the pipes through. I still need to fit the external connections and pump, but didn't relish working on my back on cold concrete at 9:30pm so left that for another day.

As the finishing touch of the day, the passenger seat went back in (it had been removed in order to work on the auxilliary battery) and the cushions for the beds were fitted.

All through this time my wife was helping by clearing out all the accumulated tools and fittings that had migrated into the lockers in the vehicle during the build.

The pictures today aren't great as they were taken in the dark with a mobile phone, but you can get a sense of more completeness...

Camper Part 14: Wall done

On Friday evening & Saturday I managed to get the intricate details of the rear bathroom wall completed and the shower pipe installed.

The bathroom fixings which came out of the caravan are plastic, with the cabinet actually just being a cover with sliding mirror doors.

I had to made up the shelves, etc which live behind it. This was tricky work as it had to be the correct size to suit the plastic cover and also fit into the nooks and crannies created by the odd shaped roof of the ambulance.





As an aside, in order to speed up cutting the small strips, etc that I needed, I took the time out to make a table for my circular saw. I'm very cautious of these tools as I've seen someone lose a thumb before.





I also had to install the shower piping before completing this as it is hidden behind it. I used copper piping for this section as I wanted it to be high pressure and needed some solidity where the shower head fits. The pipe is an odd shape as it makes it way around the various shapes of the roof. I used soldered joints wherever posible and glued it in with the structural adhesive/sealant that I have been using. This remains semi-flexible so will have some give if the vehicle flexes at all.

For fixing the shower head on, I discovered that the thread on a standard shower head is the same as 15mm copper pipe and tap fittings. I used a brass tap wall mounting fitting (this is glued to the roof. It has a female threaded section, so I then screwed in a straight connector which has two male fittings, as the shower head itself has a female fitting.

Height wise the showerhead has enough room for me to stand up and wash my hair, but anyone taller will have to stoop.





Next up is the kitchen sink & fridge unit carcass. I had hoped to do this on Sunday but illness prevented it.