2010 Low Miles TC XLT One Person (and a Jack Russell) Camper

[RDinNHandAZ]

I found a 2010 TC near me in NH and after a bit of rust abatement and driving it for a few months decided to build myself a camper. It had less than 60K miles, good tires, smooth running but some surface rust on the rear bumper cover and pinch seams on the rockers. I replaced the bumper, repaired the spare bracket, bought a wheel to replace the spare and shot an oil based rustproofing on the rockers. Inspection found corrision on one side of the front suspension subframe that I had welded. The van wasnt generally very rusty but these places are commonly the first affected.

 

Convinced this could make a great camper for my fur pal Jack and me I designed one.  It needed a single bed, a galley, storage, some electricity for a vent, heater, lights, and for electronics recharging.  To start I pulled out the back seats and insulated enough so that a 2KW diesel heater could overcome freezing temps in case I camped in late fall or early spring. I’ll have a powered roof vent for summer and for cooking.

The insulation is covered with a felt carpet to improve the appearance.  For a bed I used 1/2” hardwood plywood and slats from Ikea to make a cot sized main bed and added two pullout sections to bring it to twin size. It is firmly bolted to the van. I found a 4 piece folding twin sized mattress on Walmart which I cut appart and then sewed the open sides back closed.

I also added a shelf above the drivers cabin to store supplies and clothes. The narrow cushions are used as backrests when the bed is compacted to twin size and makes a couch for sitting. Old milk crates fit under the bed for storing shoes, hiling boots, butane fuel and much more.

To support the pullout I built a galley with a sink, drawers, and a slide out for my trusty refrigerator.

When installed and bolted in it gives some food storage, a place for 2.5 gal. water jugs for fresh/waste, and my cooking stove plus utensils. I'll add a CO2/Smoke detector and fire extinguisher. It will get a formica top soon.

I’ve purchased most of the equipment to finish the electrical with a 100Ah LiFePO4 battery, 200 Watts of solat panels w/controller, some fuse and distribution panels, puck lights, usb and cigar outlets for charging, and swirches. I hope to finish this in a couple of months so I can get away for a shakedown trip before fall.

At this time I’ve spent just under $5,900 including $4,700 for the van, and about $1,200 for the conversion.  I will probably find a few more items that are needed but my goal is to keep the cost at $6,000.  The van will get a transmission service, fluids changed, new belts and perhaps radiator hoses before I go far. With only 6,000 miles it may not need all that but it is now 15 years old.

I hope to see you on the road!