Drivelodge completed our side cupboard , raisng roof conversion. It has twin swivelling cab seats and Drivelodge bed/seat which is a "one pull" switch from seat (with 2 seat belts) to bed configuration. Lots of underbed storage. Refillable LPG Gaslow bottle, gas blown air heating for those cold nights above Coniston water in November, LED lighting and much more.
You can view some taster photos at www.dvickers1955.wordpress.com with more to come.
Drivelodge adapted our requested design with great skill and creativity. Their experience (Thanks David and all the Warings) shines through. It is truly a lovely little campervan. Euro 5 spec engine, 6 sp box with air con and reversing camera. Come and have a look. Got lots of small detailing to do , to make it our own. Going to scour this site for hints on everything from TV to cutlery. I already love this little van........... Originally nicknamed Dinkums Kamper (page one Google on search and images) but now, proudly ! The Drivelodge Nevada. Hope you like it and wish I had the time and skills to have converted it myself.
Bought a 2007 Nissan Vanette today,with the intention of convering it to a camper van,not sure where to start,not sure if it would need insutaltion here in the north of New Zealand ,any advice would be welcome.
Hi Terry,
a good starting point is to consider what general layout you would like and if there is enough space to fit it all in.
Make a list of what you desire. Examples: single or twin bed. Washbasin. Hob for cooking.
Fridge/cooler. Porta potti cupboard. Electric hook up. leisure battery/charger and so on.Do you want a side cupboard conversion (like on my NV200 and thousands of VW's) or something different,such as removable units or a layout with swing out hob for more "outside" living?
Then draw you van floor area, to scale and play around with the layouts. Look at the designs of other small vans on this website (and mine, of course!) until you are happy with a couple of them.
Things to consider. can you fit swivel cab seats. I am not sure that you can in Nissan vanette.If not have a close look at some Mazda Bongo, or Ford Friendly versions to see if you can copy scaled to fit your van. The old VW camper/microbus layouts were pretty good. I think the key is to gather as many ideas from the internet as you can until you know where you are going.
With the sub tropical climate in Northern New Zealand, you may only need full insulation if you plan to camp all year round. 12 degrees C in winter sounds pleasant to me!
You can contact me at any time with queries via the "comments"
facility on my Blog or via this site, which has lots of good ideas. Best wishes. Hope this helps.
Hi Terry!
If you do decide to forego insulation make sure you still put in some form of vapour barrier to protect the metal in your van! In truth you may want to insulate anyway for the opposite reasons we would here in Scotland... Alright for some!
Oliver.