MicroCamper - Winter project

Trickytrike said:
You are producing more diy episodes in a day than netflix 😇
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They will slow down a little now as temp has dipped low enough for snow !
we [ UK ] usually get a few days before December then the bad weather holds off till January time [ fingers crossed ]
Trickytrike said:
Never safe enough with a gas stove you are right
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Best be wary now than survey the damage should there be a fire.
There will no lighting the stove inside the vehicle as on some YouTube videos , that is just reckless.
Trickytrike said:
Wood strips are good for mattress support of course
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Under consideration yes.

Paul
 
So to cold to build what can we do instead ?

Buy stuff of course !

Remember this :-

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Mockup in boot for sizing etc etc .....

Well I discovered there is such a think as a folding mattress for the home , and found one on FB close to me. A Doubleslee gets good reviews on Amazon and only £45 instead of £120 , never been slept on just picked up a little storage dirt ?
Yep it looked like pictures and whist grubby the covers can go in the washing machine hoorah you say .....

Well 5 minutes after picking it up I had a great big shock .....

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Look at the size of the beggar there is absolutely no room for the bed base box or bed board !

On reflection this is not bad as I have a proper memory foam bed ,

so:-
190cm long 90cm wide and 15cm deep now my bed base is only
170cm long 72cm wide so that can be trimmed off and the zip on covers altered to the new size.

However the Campal beds fit on top of the box and under the rear boot parcel shelf why ? ah because they are only 8cm deep , so hopefully this will translate into some comfort when I get it fitted.

It dawned on me on the way home I have no intention of hiding it in the boot to use the back seat , I am quite happy to roll off the drive with the bed made up and ready for use , when not in use it can lay under a bed in the house so panic over :rolleyes:

Paul

pa build costs now £13 + £45 = £58
 
Luxurious. You need the minibar and tv now.
A lot to be said for good night sleep though.
I took 7cm high density folding, compact but not great comfort . A space / comfort tradeoff... you ll be comfy
 
My problem getting to sleep while car camping, was always outside light.
Many campgrounds, and especially highway parking areas (Lay-bys, to you guys), are all too well lighted, for security.
So, we made black out curtains for our van - It helped.
 
undertoad said:
My problem getting to sleep while car camping, was always outside light.
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I don't have much problem with light as I taught myself to sleep at home with the curtains open , even for my afternoon nap :rolleyes:
undertoad said:
Many campgrounds, and especially highway parking areas (Lay-bys, to you guys), are all too well lighted, for security.
So, we made black out curtains for our van - It helped.
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However they are on the ' must do ' list as I don't want anyone being able to peer into the vehicle should I be stealth camping or having a daylight nap.
I considered making them double sided so shiny 1 side for repelling heat build up do to sunlight and matt black the other to avoid drawing attention to myself.
How did you fix yours ? flexible and wedged them in ? or suckered to the glass ?
Paul
 
stormbird said:
How did you fix yours?
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Actually, ours were easy -
It was an older van, and there was enough exposed metal around the windows and doors, that we just sewed magnets in the curtains.
Newer cars are mostly plastic inside, so that won't work.
Suction cups, maybe? I assume you don't want to start drilling holes in the interior trim:oops:

I just had a brilliant idea! Epoxy steel washers in the upper corners of the window glass, and then you can use them to stick magnets to !
When it comes time to sell the car, just scrape them off with a razor blade, and no one the wiser ;)
 
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My Dodge Sportsman had a wire curtain track all round. Very effective for a 1974 model.
If you use tiny patches of self-adhesive Gorilla velcro tape on the frames and sew/stick (dependent on materials) the other side to the reversible curtains those suckers are there until you rip them down each time guaranteed. Very, very effective, and the "sticky" does clean off easily.
 
Danny's idea is a good one - Sticky-back Velcro would work great, as long as you can get it off, later.
Clean the trim with some alcohol, before sticking it down.
 
DannyC & undertoad luckily my vehicle is very very cheap and so has loads of painted steel around the window frames so that idea may be a goer , also we can buy Coroplast in black Floor protector it's not a permanent solution as it ages badly this process accelerated by sunlight. On the positive side it starts off black is very light and not damaged by condensation.

Paul
 
stormbird said:
DannyC & undertoad luckily my vehicle is very very cheap and so has loads of painted steel around the window frames so that idea may be a goer , also we can buy Coroplast in black Floor protector it's not a permanent solution as it ages badly this process accelerated by sunlight. On the positive side it starts off black is very light and not damaged by condensation.

Paul
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Just a thought.... 1 can of spray glue and some of that reflective sheet they sell to put behind CH radiators here in the UK and you would have a durable, lightweight and sun-side reflective set of blinds.
 
DannyC said:
Just a thought.... 1 can of spray glue and some of that reflective sheet they sell to put behind CH radiators here in the UK and you would have a durable, lightweight and sun-side reflective set of blinds.
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Well have some of the adhesive and apparently they use Mylar emergency blankets [ I also have some ] which according to the videos does work.

However if you want some thermal advantages you need the stuff you mention although I think it is a doubled edged sword ?

If you stop the inside heat from getting to the glass is there more chance of condensation from the breathing lump huddled up on the bed ?

Fastened tight up against the side windows and maybe even the back [ cos it's flat ] there may be no condensation over most of the interior glass , however it has to go somewhere and so the windscreen can be running with it and hard to combat ?

Least coming from a tent I am happy to have the windows cracked open and some ventilation.

Paul
 
The stuff used to make camper van window protection can be bought by length, it has the fabric on one side, several layers and shiny stuff outside, all stiched together. A fabric strip can be stiched to the edge to close it. You can choose succion things ( falls off in the night ) or magnets to attach.

After several iterations with alternative materials i found that worked best. Not so pricy and keeps the heat in, the sun out and privacy
 
Popshot said:
That is the first time I have seen "sports" when referring to a vehicle and "curtain" in the same sentence.
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This is like my one but mine was all red.
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This was the same as my interior fitment.
The row of studs you see above the window-line is where the wires for the curtains were mounted.
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Those 2 bench seats both flipped over and a dinette table went in between, AND they also folded down flat into a double bed. :)
Absolute genius. A wonderful travelling van for us and the 3 sprogs in 1985-7. The van was made in 74.
Cost me $3,500 to buy. Sold it 2 years later for $3,000
 
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