Photos of our conversion from TC van to camper

[gwc2u]

So GOAL1: night accommodations for 2, available port-a-potty, ability to boil water.... and day use of table seating.  GOAL 2: convert from passenger to camping mode in a matter of minutes.

GOAL 3:   convert from day travel mode to sleeping mode in minutes.

It took multiple redesigning and module reconstruction to achieve what the attached pictures depict.

 

Benches and kitchen boxes attached at existing threaded wall and floor mounting points. Table legs quickly pop off & top provides one front half of a bed platform while a second layer bench top moves to the other forward front half bed.  These panels mesh with the front "kitchen box" module & with the bench tops which form the lower bed platforms.  Bench fronts hinge up with swing down leg supports to widen the lower bed platforms.  8" remain between "bunks" to move to the "bathroom" facilities. Curtains and outside screens attach with magnets.  Seats pull forward to allow one

6' 3" bed but only room for a 5' 8" sleeper on the other side.  Both bed ends require a swing up panel to achieve their lengths.  Takes less than 5 min. for set-up.

Edited October 28, 2018 by gwc2u

[Fifty150]

Looks awesome.

 

That round opening with the fluid container is your port-a-potty?

[G B L]

Very Nice Job!!

No the Port-a-potty is in the left rear corner.

[windguy]

@gwc2u - Welcome to the forum.

Is your TC new to you or have you had it a while?

Great job on your camper conversion. Thanks for sharing.

What's your next addition?

 

I'd like to add a toilet option as well. What model is your port-a-potty?

 

[gwc2u]

The  "round thing" is a collapsible bucket used as a sink under the blue water container.  As GBL pointed out, porta potti is on left side, rear corner.  Got it from Walmart.  Brand isn't so critical but had to make sure the height was under 12"....as I recall.  The 12" bench height was chosen for comfortable head room while sitting.  Didn't realize how that arbitrary height would effect further development of features.....like food & equipment , storage box sizes that would maximize the storage space under the sink cabinet.  One more inch would have accommodated the optimum standard sizes of plastic containers.

 

Bought the Van little over a year ago.  Love the concept & design but convinces me American made, at least for Ford, can't match current and past Toyota's I've owned.  Ford has a rougher idle, visors that work there way to falling off, slightly loose driver door handle, detached door rubber seal, and lately intermittent front power window interruptions.....and a few times under hood 3 seconds of rattling noise in the drive belt area on start up, and twice on start up a strange slow "groaning" noise....like maybe ABS brake sound or dry rear wipers under stress?  Van has less than 70K miles, had good car fax report and showing regular maintenance and appears really clean.

 

Next addition?  Front slider curtain between front seats and end of beds plus side & rear window curtains..... and maybe roof vent.  

Have already made a major change from the pictures.  The preset table wasn't as necessary as we thought it might be.  discarded the removable legs & lay the table top across the ends of the bench in the back.  Serves as a good enough table to ones side when sitting on the front ends of the benches and makes transition to the front bed location even quicker.  Still utilize a 2nd layer bench panel to move forward for the other bunk.

 

Thanks for your responses & comments

 

[tcconvert]

Nice job. I have to agree with you about quality issues. Three new Nissan Frontiers preceded my current van, and I also don't feel the love when it comes to Ford quality. My Frontiers were not top-of-the-line, but there was still a tightness and quietness in the build that is missing from this Ford. Of course, It's a van. And one dealer who was unable, after several attempts, to resolve a rattling sliding door issue on this van, ended by saying to me..."Hey, it's a van." Is this what I should expect from a van?  I drove a Focus loaner for a few days while they had my van to try and resolve the door rattles. It was a real piece of juck, with noises and looseness everywhere. Couldn't wait to get rid of it. Last time I owned a van was in the mid-1970's. It was a Ford window van! I don't remember it having the cheap feeling this current day van has. Like you...I love the concept and the utilitarian usefulness of the TC. I just carry this feeling that I can't quite trust it. I can't say yet, if when I reach my usual five-year trade-in period,  I would pop for another one. Time will tell.

[windguy]

@gwc2u - thanks for the updates - all sounds good.
Please post more pics when you have a chance.

There are a few other threads on this forum regarding installs of roof vents. Might give you some insight.