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Micro Camper


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I'm getting ready to start mine ( cargo van) in about a week. The first thing will be to remove a lot of the interior and insulate.

excited to see how you finish your van.

please take lots of pics and keep us posted

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  • 4 weeks later...

Thanks, I plan on taking pictures as I go along. I found a picture on pinterest of someone's TC that they converted to a mini camper. I'm on a new to me tablet and if I could figure out how to copy and paste the picture I'd be happy to post it. In most convertions, there's a cabinet on the passenger side and a bench seat that folds into a bed on the drivers side. In the picture I'm talking about, there was a bench seat that went from the drivers side across to the cabinets on the passengers side so that passengers using this seat were facing forward. Also the seat looked to be mounted just in front of the rear wheel wells or just slightly back from were the factory 2nd row seats would be so the passengers could see out of the Windows in the sliding doors. I've been working on a plan where this seat would unfold into a bed long enough for my 6'5" body. Also, I want to flip the cabinet so it's behind the driver and the seats would be in a more conventional position on the right side of the van. That way passengers would enter from the passengers side/curb side. You would have storage behind the seat when it was in a seat position but would loose some of that storage when the seat was unfolded into a bed. Adding the seat/bed combo makes the vehicle a little more practicable in that it can haul 4 people in a more normal seating configuration.

Also, I'm trying to make the cabinet and seat/bed modular, so you could take it out if you wanted to use the camper as a cargo van, or make changes/upgrades to the interior. I'll use the tie down points in the floor and the threaded bolt holes in the side of the van to make it more ridgid/safer in the event of an accident.

Half the fun of doing this project is the planning part. Watching it come together is the icing on the cake

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  • 2 months later...

I purchased a '13 Transit Connect not too long ago with the intent of converting it to a camper. I have zero experience, and I'm a terrible carpenter and such, but I am having a blast anyway! I'll share my experience with some pics for anyone interested....first up is the first weekend when the wife and i just threw some blankets in the back and hit the beach for an overnight

 

 

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Next step was to put a roof rack on...I opted for the Thule version although if I did it again I would probably go with a cheaper model that would work just as well. Either way I love the clean finish that the bolt on rack gives. Then I started designing a bed/storage unit. For this I decided to use 3/4" Birch veneer plywood.

Thanks by the way to everyone here who shared pics of their camper conversions. I have been able to pick and choose different elements from every variation as I outfit my vehicle.

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I completed the fan-tastic roof vent installation. I put a vinyl sheet over the plywood and secured everything on the floor and on the wall using the threaded holes that the rear seatbelts normally mounts to.

DSC_1378 39.4 Ko.JPG

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15 hours ago, slybert said:

I completed the fan-tastic roof vent installation. I put a vinyl sheet over the plywood and secured everything on the floor and on the wall using the threaded holes that the rear seatbelts normally mounts to.

DSC_1378 39.4 Ko.JPG

That looks fantastic!! Hey do you have a link for that vent and any installation tips? I'm very keen on installing one myself but a little hesitant to cut a hole in the roof!

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Thanks. The website does not tell much about installation http://www.fantasticvent.com/

I also was a bit scared about that hole but I went just fine. You will have to fill the ribs of the roof, they are about one half inch deep. I used small pieces of plywood for the outside.

For the inside, I also used the same plywood but pieces were larger. I used masking tape to determine the position of the fan. You must use a metal blade of course. I punch-marked and pre-drilled small holes once I was sure everything was right.

 You need about 3-1/8" wide pieces X 16" long (2X) and 3" long (4X) for the center ribs. These pieces were stucked between the roof and the headliner. That will provide the screw some more material to grip correctly. The fillers are held in place with butyl tape. The fan base must have a nice strip of butyl to seat on, all around, and overlaping the last inch is a good idea.

I filled the ribs and went around the fan with silicone. I finished with a strip of Sikaflex on the screw heads to make sure the water will not make its way through.

The fan has 3 speeds and reverses too and only draws 3.0 amps for 920 cfm at max speed.

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  • 2 weeks later...
1 hour ago, slybert said:

Very nice cabinet, it looks roomy. How do you hold the curtain that separates the front section?

Right now it's a temporary set up---I removed two plugs that are in the headliner in just the right spot, put pins on the end of an adjustable curtain rod and just twist the rod until it rests in place. I got a set of marine snaps online and screwed snaps into the plastic along the doors where the seatbelts are and can snap the curtain to provide privacy or remain open while driving.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007PKCZJW/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

Ultimately I am planning to suspend a small shelf above and behind the seats and will figure a way to integrate the curtain from there.

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  • 1 month later...
  • 2 weeks later...

No plans on my side. Started with a basic idea and adjusted the panels to make them fit. After three trips I have made this summer, I found out that the bed extension is not really needed

if you're alone. Still want to add some shelving in the rear doors among other things.  

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