Converting Van Camper - unboxing materials, stripping out van - Micro Camper Conversion Ep 2
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- čas přidán 19. 06. 2022
- I started my micro van camper conversion o my VW Caddy Maxi. I did lots of planning as well as stripping out the van of ply wood and the bulk head.
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That toast flip on to the plate straight from the toaster impressed me more than it should have haha
Same! Had to go back and watch it again 🙂
Cruise control and leather steering wheel that you mentioned the better spec models having can be easily retro fitted in vw’. Lovely van mate keep the videos coming
Its good you have the tailgate that opens that way, you can get a camping tarp and go over the top and extend it out to make it into a little rain hideout and still be able to cook or chill
I can’t wait in till I am old enough to convert my own van
Printing out and framing the 3D model of the van could be a neat piece of art to hang on the wall once it’s completed (especially if you can make the guy standing beside it resemble you)
Its 6pm in New Zealand, I enjoy your vlogs
So much satisfaction in doing the work yourself Alex, and a great learning experience too! Bring on the adventures!
It sure does feel good!
Great to see you starting Alex. I’m doing exactly the same as you. I have a 2016 ex BG and just starting the conversion. I don’t have a clue either but learning is a lot of fun. I’m reading about zinc plated self drilling screws to secure batons to the floor. It’s a rabbit hole. I’m looking forward to seeing how you approach it.
Nice work, for someone that never done auto work, ur getting through it quick enough, keep up the good work
Thanks Paul.
Ahhh what a lovely chap Jim is xx
I’m about to start my own conversion so I’m looking forward to how this build progresses, hope it goes well for you
Looking good. The 3D model is really a game changer. Good luck. Look forward to seeing the rest of the build.
Hello Alex, I have an idea for your bed situation to make it thr most practical and functional for a van. You could install a Murphy Bed which folds down from the size of your van.it would free up alot of floor space in the van during the day! amazing videos looking forward to all the progress your about to make !!
Me and my boyfriend have been conversion our caddy maxi for some time now as we are going travelling for 3 months in it around Europe! We have almost finished with the hard bits. We ordered our bed from the vanfurniture, they do different shapes and sizes etc so maybe that would be helpful to look at! Looking forward to watching your progress on your caddy!
Terrific job so far. I have litterally just finished converting my Caddy maxi and just went on my first trip away, with the pull out kitchen draw under the tailgate and side out bed. I have a sketch up model of what I have done also. Its a great tool for figuring out how to put all the ply together and make everything slide out.
Sounds great! Nice work! :)
Can't wait to see the finished article it'll be a great little camper 👍
Really looking forward to this, love the start of a build journey! Good luck and all the best Alex.
Thanks!
Hey if you are taking screws out with the drill there are certain settings on the drill so it doesn’t strip out the screw. It just adjusts the speed to fit what you need! Great video and I can’t wait for more!
I can see you living on a narrow boat in the future Alex. It combines your love of the water, wildlife, outdoor life and adventure. It's inevitable really.
Just a little tip: if you're taking the screws out you can use an magnetic adapter which goes in the drill and attaches to the driver bit. Makes the job easier😀
Yes! New video... Thuesday can't go wrong from now on! Great video Alex. Greetings from Belgium.
I would also suggest Thomas Heatons 4x4 van build videos, it is a fun watch and i think you can learn a lot from it. I know its a bit late now as this build is already planned and started, but still :D
Yea using aluminium struts for his structure was amazing.
I think you can use the bulkhead to make the side trims to cover the holes and bits thats left behind from removing it. I saw a friend of mine has done this he cut it and sanded the edges looks realy good instead of expensive side trims
I love the little breakfast scenes in your vids. Keep up the great work Alex!
I love how this is developing Alex :)
Looking forward to your conversion, but more importantly life on the road, I have a caddy swb that we use for single overnight trips, Argos foam bed in the back, job done ✅
Hooray, more boxes. 😀😀😀
Cant wait to watch along with the next videos as a caddy camper conversion is something i very much want to do myself, also the van with tailgate is soooo nice!
Nice that you saved the stuff you disassembled out of the car most people would dump them. 👍🇬🇧they could come in handy later on
Great video Alex, just a quick tip.
You can get recycled plastic insulation from b&q for £17 a roll use it to stuff into all your cavity that you can't get any other insulation. You can never have enough insulation in your van and also filling voids will stop vibrations
Will be watching this closely as I continue with my T5 project. Exciting times ahead Alex👌🏻
good thing is you can put your personal touch on it, build it as you want it so it suits your needs ,its a learning process and as you start to get away you will see what works and what dosnt ,might seem silly being such a small van but have a look at installing a diesel heater so that in winter you will be able to keep warm without running the van engine if done early in the project makes it easier to see where the framing for the rest of your requirements ,ie sleeping and storage need to go
love the plan for the build looking forward to watching these as you make them!
Thanks! Hope you enjoy the upcoming series!
When you have the van completed you need to hit the coast and do a catch/cook! Get some fishing in and cook it in your van!! Cant wait to see it all finished and ready to rock and roll!!
I love your joy!!!
Good luck on your conversion! That’s a sweet van.
Love your videos mate! Got recommended the car camper conversion and now I can't stop watching. Keep on it! Supporting you from Argentina 🙌
Keep it going Alex looking so good. Nice seeing you being so positive..
Thanks.
Excellent n exciting time Alex, can’t wait to see finished job.Good luck with all the conversion 😉👍
Thanks.
nice work on your minivan, I agree, it's the perfect size... looking forward to see your conversion ✌
Thanks!
Thank you Alex for more amazing content, and that toast crunch at 8:42 was amazing!
Glad you appreciate the toast crunch haha
Love it mate happy to be following your journey can't wait fir the next vido top work bro
I love your videos and your humor😊👍
Thank you, Alex, i love all your videos, thank you for a very informative and inspiring videos, i have watched all of your beehive and van conversion videos, i love to see more videos about bee keepers around Europe, their history, getting into beekeeping business and how its helping the environment.
Best of luck to you, Alex.
So eager to see your results man
You need a tailgate awning. Some really easy to fit ones and going to be a big plus when it rains rather than just sitting in the van
I enjoyed watching the Video. A great conversion
Wow, lovely. Maybe one concern I get as a car guy myself :) Maybe leave the wooden piece on the sides on the car. When you removed them you exposed some wiring. Now I know that your van is fairly new and wiring looks all good, but maybe it would be best that if at any point you have to access those wires you have 1 panel to remove and not piece by piece of a sound detoning. Just a thought :D
Love the progres!
Wow that made so much room , awesome job!!
Hi Alex, if you want a proper compressor fridge check out the dometic drawer fridges. Takes up much less space but big enough for you, and the compressor bit at the back can be mounted separately to make it even more flexible to fit. I just fitted one and it's awesome
I just got one!
good luck mate,great content pal 👍
Everyone always says travel the world, but never has been to asia while living van life lol. Especially when your in the UK. The furthest I’ve driven while not living in a van was from Singapore to Thailand.
Don’t waste space on the roof after installing the solar panel. Could also build a deck to chill up on it. Check out Lady Bug out channel with the same size van as yours.
loved it mate
This is such a cool project. Looking forward to the next instalment.
Cheers. I’m working on it now! :)
great idea with the insulation. I have a tatty old truck with a bare metal roof and on cold days condensation drips on you while driving. I'll look into this stuff. I've also been wanting to build a camper on an old trailer tent chassis but cant make my mind up on design. I have 3 possible options a teardrop, a shepherds hut, off grid camper thingy.
Alex I am really enjoying these videos and they appeal to adventurers in all of us mate 👍
Good luck with it all Alex I’m sure you will
Smash it 👌👌
Cheers!
What a great content you do and will give! Keep it m8!!
Awesome buddy awesome… van looks great stripped .. cheers Chris & Sam
great start...
Don't get rid of the plyboard pieces you've taken off as you can use them as templates for new pieces you plan on putting back up to cover the insulation and sound deadening or just cover them in any finishing material you've chosen and screw them back on. Doing this will make it easier than trying to make your own templates later on down the conversion line.
I check your channel everyday for new uploads so I guess it's time to rewatch your entire channel again. Thanks for all the content you give us! :)
Working on a couple of new videos which I will post soon.
keep all of the panels. So when you are doing panel carpets you have a template so it doesn't take forever measuring things
A Great and really interesting show Alex 👍 Lovely strip down. Can’t wait to see the finished job . Nice one,keep um coming.
Thanks
This is where the adventure gets interesting, part build the basics first and build from there. I found need is driven from need.
Well done so far Alex, the only advice i would give is is take your time never rush, try and get it to how you wont it, but i think you have some brilliant friends to help, look forward to the next one
As it a VW you can have cruise control fitted very easily and its a fairly cheap job. Had it done to my caddy maxi, an absolute must have for those long journeys!
Alex when I see you struggle with the easiest of tool tasks it makes me just want to come and help you.
If you crush a screw, use a drill to drill out the cap of the screw 😃 very Nice video, you are coming a long way. 💪💪
Or what I've done in the past is cut a slot in the head with a dremmel and unscrew with a flathead. Bloody screws lol. It's always one of the last screws you take out too. If you have to remove 20 screws, it will be number 19 or 20 that strips.
Or put an rubber band on the top of the screw and then drill it out as normal, this normally works as long as not completely rounded off
@@vinnyvtec8722 neat trick 👌👌
So awesome Alex. Love the videos.
Loving the videos , can’t wait to watch your journey
Thanks Justin!
So good luck has started and please do not break down and move forward, I am also jealous that I would like to greet
Hi Alex loving your videos, get a larg camping tarp for your van so you can stay drying and can be outdoors as well.
Nice! That electrical set up wasn't cheap though. Looking forward to future vids
Looking forward For Your Future Adventures my guy 🤘🏽💀🤘🏽
Awesome work so far Alex, make sure you keep the ply lining as these can ne used for templates for the corners when you decide what you want to fit the walls of the van out with! I would also recommend going around where some of the tech screws were with a small tub of Hammerite if there is any exposed metal as the condensation can cause rust once you have applied the insulation
Great 👍 advice regarding Hammerite .. and condensation after screw removal..
A number of years ago we and my mother in law bought twin Caddy vans. Neither had bulkheads so I bought two off VW and fitted them. Remembering these were identical vans and standard bulkheads the first took 20mins to fit and the second two hours. I had to actually trim the second one to fit 🙄🤔🤔🤔
keep up the good work bro!
Good to see your getting on Alex your gonna love it so much more after sleeping in the car lol 😆 I wonder if you will still have your bedside cabinet 🤔
Brilliant as always 😁
Good luck with your project
Thanks.
following every step, its a dream of mine to do a conversion, i just watch vids tho as not much money, good luck m8
You can hand stitch a leather steering wheel (£15-£30) and takes 30-60mins. I've done loads for friends and it would give you not just a more comfortable feeling steering wheel but also an idea for a new video. Glad you have something bigger to camp in.
Great video,keep them coming 👏
Congratulations 🎉 so happy and excited to see it done , but you forgot to remove the wood from your Rain protective door 😉 . Keep up with vtje good work and don't worry I don't understand cabling as well.
Grab yourself a dewalt impact driver they take same batteries as your drill but are actually designed specificly for driving screws, it will help with your build and reduce the amount of screw heads you round off and screw drive bits that wear out, the impacting action gets fixings tight without stripping them or having to put your entire body weight against it to stop it slipping and rounding off the screws.
The impact driver also does nuts and bolts if you buy the appropriate adaptor it will also do wheel nuts so its handy to have onboard whilst out on the road if you get a flat.
Thanks for the info.
You're on the money bro!
Loads of sponsors!
Well done.
Great work. Looking forward to seeing it. come together.
Btw, you missed the tailgate ply covering.
looking at your solar panel gives me that optical illusion thing with the dots
Great video
Any idea when you're ready for the Eurotrip with the completed van? Already hyped for it, keep it up Alex and good luck on your second car conversion 😉
Another great video looking forward to seeing the progress you could get a few £££ for the bulkhead might help towards costs 👍 also get yourself a jackery as a back up or fit a caravan style electrical hookup incase u stay at a camp site on your travels 😀
Can’t wait for the next
Thanks!
Nice work mate. Interested to watch this transformation!
Thanks!
You need a bitholder for the electric screwdriver to hold the bits/screwheads such as that t30. Itl work way better then and you wouldve been able to reach that screw that got stuck.
Great video again mate 💚
Cheers for the tips. :)
Nice skills with the toast 😂 the dreams slowly comming together, looking faward to seeing whare the caddy takes you Top lad 🤙🏻 enjoy.
Thanks haha
I hope you get the build done quickly. Some of the utubers doing these conversions spend months but yet never achieve much, then claim to be a self build yet someone else did the work. 😤🥳
"I did not think it would take up my whole bedroom." 😂😂😂😂😂 nice video Alex, cant wait to see the next.
one general suggestion because why not: using a powerdrill for unscrewing is awkward and heavy. you could pair that drill with an impact driver of the same brand and use the same battery you have a spare of anyway. impact driver is smaller, lighter, better suited for screwing and unscrewing screws, even big bolts. you dont insert the screwdriver bit straight into the body, you insert a magnetic bit holder extension and you insert the screwdriver bit into that with the quick change mechanism. the bitholder will allow you to reach deeper spaces. on the side of the impact driver you can have a magnetic bitholder (same name but different thing) for your most used bits. you can get an impact driver matching your batteries for about £65.
also when using the drill or the impact driver, one hand is on the trigger, the other on the back of the machine to push down and to hold it firmly, this will prevent damaging the screw and ruining the head, but also protects you from a sudden loss of controll.
good luck with the rest of the conversion!
Thanks fir the tips!
@@just_alex i was hoping you didnt get this the wrong way. I only want to help as i care about you since god knows how long im following your adventures with your brother. You are an inspiration to many, a good kid i never was 😂
Looking forward to the coming videos
Thanks.
The better way for electronics in a small campervan is to use something like Bluetti which will combine everything in one box, from solar to AC and DC plus all the sockets one could need. And you can take it with you when you leave the van, use and charge it elsewhere. I would use one and add a portable Dometic compressor fridge freezer and a solar panel. And the whole rig can be taken to the next van if the van gets sold, plug and play