hi i wondered if anyone out there could help, ive purchased a bmw 535i touring 1991, i climb munroes in scotland and to continue to check them off the list ive a bit of travelling to each start point, so hence my querie ive bought the bmw which i propose to convert the rear of the car into some sort of sleeping accomodation with the rear seats removed, ply floor in and carpeted ive got a space of 2020 l x 1450 w x 780 h , not massive but comfy enough for a couple of nights, ive a double opening sunroof so the whole of the roof area slides back, ive a blackout limo tint to the rear windows of the car and black out curtain between this area and the front seats, and a carnopy canopy to the rear which i set up the kitchen area and enough for a seat, resourceful eh! im only 5'10'' so i can sleep the length on a bed area on say 900 or 1000mm wide and propose to build in a storage area the full length and height with the remaining 450mm or so also locating a water tank within as well all the above is fine i can undertake that, but id like to run some power to the rear area, install a 2nd leisure battery (main car battery under rear seat access will be left, theres space to locate another next to it) i would be hoping to install a couple of lights, small dvd player and screen, radio, maybe have a couple cigar type sockets that i could use to run a small kettle or fan in hot weather and i havnt thought of heating in poor conditions maybe thats not feasible on an install as small as this? i plan to keep the car for the forseeible future and would like as profesional job on it as possible and im as well doing it all during conversion, i see you can buy a zig unit panel that would appear to allow you to wire it all back to it and use it as the control panel. any advice on what to do or even what not to do all info would be appreciated im quite handy and will do the work as far as possible myself, the above has probably been answered before but its new to me. regards ally
Hey Ally,
What a project! I've never heard of a BMW conversion - would be great to see any photos of the finished product. Anyway, electrics...? I don't have any experience of Zig units but if you do the usual web searchese there are a number of forums and motorhome sites which talk about them and I'm pretty sure would have some info on installing them. The only thing I've looked at is the cigarette lighter adaptors. Basically, you can extend your existing lighter into 2 or 3 sockets which would be good for a travel kettle, CD player, mobile charger etc. Obviously this is designed to work off the main battery but I'm sure you could rig it up to a port off the leisure battery. Reckon the Zig looks like the more sophisticated option though.
A heater wouldn't have to take up loads of room. You'd need a space on the floor roughly 35 x 50cm for the type of propane heater discussed in heaters. If the floor is closed off then you'd also need a way to vent the heat into the living compartment. This heater is pretty effective in a Transporter T5 so may be overkill in your car? On the otherhand, I've slept in an estate car conversion and it can get pretty cold at night in Scotland. Depends if your munro-bagging is just a summer activity? A compromise would be if there are smaller models this might also save space. Think there is a propex heater website which might be worth a look....
Good luck
hi there
thanks for the info, yeh the munro bagging bagging is all year round, im camp in the winter as it is, the colds not too much of a problem if you have the correct kit, i just thought while i was kitting out the car if its possible i would install some sort of heating system, id rather b sitting toastie than freezing lol, ive seen a couple of smaller conversions a while back in an old land rover monthy mag, i will check out a few sites and try get ideas before i start on the interior, im looking forward to the build i will keep you furnished with pics and any good info i gleam.