About our Van

Our van is a 2 berth Romahome demountable, which is mounted on a 2001 Daihatsu HiJet 1.3 litre pick-up.  We bought the van February 2017, it is not our first van.

In fact since 2005 we have owned the following trailer tents, caravans and campervans.

A Chateau Mobile trailer tent which was towed by a Jago Jeep kit car:

A Esterel folding caravan towed by a Spartan kit car

A Freedom Sunseeker caravan (GRP and no damp) towed by a Subaru and then a Mitsubishi Pajero

A Coachman VIP caravan towed by the Pajero

An Autosleeper Renault Trafic 

A self converted Renault Trafic

A self converted LDV Convoy

In January I drove the LDV conversion just completed into the garage for a small welding job.  After much tooth-sucking, shaking heads by the garage owner and the guy who does welding I was informed the van needed about £700 of welding.  Even worse part of the interior needed to be replaced.

This was the end, so far as I was concerned!  Never again was I going to put lots of effort into doing up or converting a van only to have it succumb to some terminal or threatening to be terminal malady.  I had looked at demountables in the past trawling around I found the Small Motor Home website.  

http://www.smallmotorhome.co.uk/  

There is also a very active members forum.

It was obvious our ideal van would be a small demountable.  Originally built by Island Plastics, under 10 foot long they were originally designed to fit on 600cc Honda Acty pick-ups.  Later models were fitted on Daihatsu HiJets and Suzuki Super Carrys.  Many exHonda bodies were later fitted on Daihatsu and Suzuki pick-up bodies - and on many other pick-ups.  

So the advantage would be if the pick-up died or succumbed to "tin-worm" we could keep the camper body and only have to source a suitable pickup.  A hunt of Ebay and GumTree found a van whose price was within our budget - the dealer Wayne Rockett turned out to be a really genuine chap and for under £2000 we had a van.  February the 1st 2017 I drove it the 250 miles from Havant back to Helston, - during this journey the little van did not miss a beat - building my faith in the van.  The main fault was the headlights were misaligned and as effective as a jar of glow-worms!

The Van as we bought it.

You get what you pay for!  Our budget has always been small, State Pension and no other income.  On the up side neither of us drinks and I do not smoke!

I have the knowledge and ability to do a lot of my own maintainance and other mechanical and electrical work on the van.  DiY is made easier because here in Helston we have a DiY garage, UBIQUE rent the bay and tools for a modest sum and do the work myself, (Reg who owns Ubique makes a good cup of coffee!)
http://www.ubiquemotordiy.com/

  What really allows me to afford anything is belonging to a credit union.  Kernow Credit Union have been fantstic and kept me from falling into the hands of the loan sharks, as a bank would never lend to me. 

http://www.kernowcreditunion.co.uk/  

Back to the van -

Inside the van had a number of issues all to do with damp - water getting in where fittings had been attached to the van without using sealant.  I removed these, drilled out the holes and filled them using Epoxy Putty - if you can use plastacine you can use Epoxy Putty - filling screw and bolt holes is simple.

  The ceiling was falling down and the internal lining needed rejuvinating.  Fortunately we had done a simular job on our little Freedom Sunseeker caravan.  Materials bought Sandra got on the job, sticking the trim carpetting.  Replacing the ceiling panel turned into something of an epic - mainly because I bought 6mm ply instead of 3mm and it was too heavy - we overcame the problem.  

Another task was to rejuvinate the cupboard doors - new catches - some needed hinges and one had to be made.  The doors are unusual, usually in caravans and campervans cupboard doors are hollow (to save weight), but in the Romahome they are solid.  Above the curtains are pelmets, by splitting them and adding a strip of ply, usable shelves were created.

Damp was also getting in at the side windows, the rubber seals (probably dating back to original build in the mid 1980s) were as hard as concrete.  Seals Direct supplied new seals - to do the job purchase the proper tool for inserting the fillet and use copious amounts of Silicone Lubricant.

http://www.sealsdirect.co.uk/index.asp

Interior trim

Pelmet

100w Solar Panel

110 amp hour battery

View of rear LED rear lights, high level brake light and door security handle

 By December 2017 most of the work on the accomadation pod had been completed, -

For Christmas we (Sandra and I) bought the van new roof-lights - a Mini Heiki from me to replace the oem Fiamma front vent and a new MPK crystal from Sandra to replace the rear (over the kitchen area vent).  Improved ventillation and illumination!

SUSPENSION
"Curing saggy bum"
Like all campervans and motorhomes, our van suffered suspension problems.  In the design brief it is expected that half the time the vehicle will be unladen.  But when a vehicle is converted into a Campervan or Motorhome it is destined to be - at a minimum 75% loaded at all times.  At the rear -where most of the weight is we have solved this by fitting Spring Assisters.  At the front I had to fit new suspension units as the McPherson Struts were leaking,

ELECTRICS

On the roof a 100 watt Solar Panel which with the engine via a split charger keeps the 110 amp hour leisure battery charged, the battery is mounted externally on a custom made battery box - this means our battery is well ventilated.

On board we have a 12v compressor fridge at just over £500 expensive, but no gas and no fuss - designed for sailboats oiver 24 hours current demand is under 1 amp per hour.

There is a Shureflow type pump for the water tank, a 30 litre tank from CAK tanks.

On order and to be installed a 12v to 250v inverter and a 40watt Greenhouse heater.

Of course we also have internal LED lights.  The vehicle lights all rear lights and the side lights are also LEDs only the headlamps have traditional filament bulbs.

You will recall I said the van's headlights were abysmal, despite changing lights etc they did not improve.  In the end drastic measures were called for.  -  You will recall we have owned several kit cars, so in a way the answer was obvious - a customised front end.  I had seen a number of HiJets with a VW look-alike front end, but where to get one was a problem.  Eventually I found a man who could do the job, Steve Deackon who I can only describe as an artist in metal. 

He starts with a sheet of steel, apart from the badge, the light fittings and fasteners everything else, including the headlamp fairings are hand crafted an amazing job. 

https://sites.google.com/site/styleavangbbo00/home 

This is the new look van.

Note the 7 inch Lucas Headlights - yes we now have headlights that illuminate the road ahead!  The sidelight bulbs have been replaced with LED lights and the front indicators are also LED.  I run with the sidelights on by day, so they act as DRLs, the split charge relay is activated from the sidelight circuit, so we do not suffer from a glowing ignition light.

Inside Sandra (who always says that she hates sewing), has recovered the settees and backrests; she has also sewn the curtains.  I think you will agree the van looks great inside and out - although we still have to paint the pod, hopefully this will be done in March.

Red is the predominant interior colour for curtains, upholstery, cushions and the cupboard doors. 

Next 2017 adventures.