# My LDV Convoy Luton motorhome conversion!



## BeyondTheVan

I did promise when I first introduced myself on here, to post some photos of my van conversion.

Better late than never!

Well, it's New Years Eve, and we're wild camped in Elan Valley. Found a lovely spot while looking for a POI and here we are, wood burner on the go, satellite aligned for internet, perfect.

I've written a Blog of our travels - here - seems to be working. My first attempt at a Blog while testing out the van!

So, here's some photos...


     

I've put some more photos on the Blog here  for anyone who's interested 

Hope linking to an external site is ok. Apologies if not and I'll try and re-write the blog post on here 

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!

Rich.


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## RichardHelen262

Nice work, looks really cosy too


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## n brown

nice job mate,done a few lutons myself ,and fitted a few burners. just wondered why you went to double skin on the flue ?


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## karlpe

Cracking job, looks big and comfy, the burner is a good addition. love it.


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## BeyondTheVan

n brown said:


> nice job mate,done a few lutons myself ,and fitted a few burners. just wondered why you went to double skin on the flue ?



Thanks mate.

Double skin... just a bit of added safety really. New to wood burners so aired on the side of caution


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## n brown

BeyondTheVan said:


> Thanks mate.
> 
> Double skin... just a bit of added safety really. New to wood burners so aired on the side of caution


 ah! seen a  few done like that and wondered. i use single skin flue with a 50mm gap all round where it goes through the roof- cheaper too ! but i can understand the worry !


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## Debs

A real nice job. I have always liked self builds, and much prefer them than commercial built units. Love the use of wood, so cosy!:bow::drive:


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## barryd

Enjoyed reading your blog about your first adventures and I am always in awe of people who can make stuff like your lovely van.

Look forward to hearing more.  I notice you struggled a bit with your satellite for internet access in the trees.  I assume like me you need internet access for work perhaps?  You may already have this but its worth getting a directional wifi antenna to logon to BT Openzone in the UK and fon abroad.  Its all I use (and a smartphone either free or tethered)  Might serve as a useful backup. when your in the trees.


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## shortcircuit

Excellent conversion.  Have you had it weighed?


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## Polar Bear

Great conversion. Did you decide to adopt the local lunatic or leave her on the beach?


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## CAL

A fantastic, comfy looking van. Love the interior.


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## BeyondTheVan

shortcircuit said:


> Excellent conversion.  Have you had it weighed?



Thank you!

Yes, It's just short of 4500Kg.

The van has been uprated properly to 4.5 Tonne so it's all safe and legal :fun:


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## shortcircuit

That is excellent as I thought it would be quite a weight. Hope you are not near 70 as you need to include C1 on your licence.
Again a very nice original conversion so well done


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## BeyondTheVan

barryd said:


> I assume like me you need internet access for work perhaps?  You may already have this but its worth getting a directional wifi antenna to logon to BT Openzone in the UK and fon abroad.  Its all I use (and a smartphone either free or tethered)  Might serve as a useful backup. when your in the trees.



Thank you for the kind comments, Barry! Happy New Year to you.

I do need the internet for work. Unfortunately I can't use or be around mobile phones or WiFi (more info here) so the satellite is the life-line! I'm starting to get the hang of aligning it. Seems to take less than 2 minutes to get a good signal when the van is level now. Using TooWay as the provider, they've been very good. I would love one of the automatic aligning satellite dishes, but £3.5k is a bit steep!!

Currently connected to the internet in Elan Valley, wild camped next to a lake. Great way to start the New Year!

Rich.


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## BeyondTheVan

shortcircuit said:


> That is excellent as I thought it would be quite a weight. Hope you are not near 70 as you need to include C1 on your licence.
> Again a very nice original conversion so well done



Thank you!

Nope, I have another 35 years before I'm 70 so it's all good!

It drives very well, even with the weight. Seem to be getting over 25mpg still, even in Wales with the hills. The hydrogen system makes a big difference to the pulling power.


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## fifthwheel

What a cracking conversion it looks so cosy, the wood stove looks the bees knees. Well done.


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## Beemer

Very nice conversion......Looks more like a room in a house.
What is the phone on the wall for?


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## BeyondTheVan

Beemer said:


> Very nice conversion......Looks more like a room in a house.
> What is the phone on the wall for?



Thank you!

The phone is our landline, it operates through the satellite. I can't use mobile phones ((more info) etc. so our broadband and phone is all via satellite.

Rich.


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## n brown

BeyondTheVan said:


> Thank you!
> 
> Nope, I have another 35 years before I'm 70 so it's all good!
> 
> It drives very well, even with the weight. Seem to be getting over 25mpg still, even in Wales with the hills. The hydrogen system makes a big difference to the pulling power.


hydrogen system ?


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## barryd

BeyondTheVan said:


> Thank you for the kind comments, Barry! Happy New Year to you.
> 
> I do need the internet for work. Unfortunately I can't use or be around mobile phones or WiFi (more info here) so the satellite is the life-line! I'm starting to get the hang of aligning it. Seems to take less than 2 minutes to get a good signal when the van is level now. Using TooWay as the provider, they've been very good. I would love one of the automatic aligning satellite dishes, but £3.5k is a bit steep!!
> 
> Currently connected to the internet in Elan Valley, wild camped next to a lake. Great way to start the New Year!
> 
> Rich.



Ah I see.  Not a great condition to have in your line of business.  I also run an IT company, I would be interested to hear more about your manual set up.  I agree the auto systems are a lot of money and I think they will be a dying technology as 4g, wifi and roaming costs come down anyway.

If you ask me you should start building motorhomes!  Great job.  I would quit IT tomorrow if I was any good at anything else. 

Sounds like your really enjoying your new life as a wildie.


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## BeyondTheVan

barryd said:


> I would be interested to hear more about your manual set up.



The manual system is actually proving to be very good. Steep learning curve to use it whilst travelling (as opposed to being in the same spot where it never needs adjusting!) but I think I'm getting there now. At the start of this first trip, I was finding it impossible to set up, but I've done well for the past few attempts. I will do a blog post dedicated to the satellite, with a video showing what it's really like to set up and how long it takes. I seem to be averaging under five minutes now from parking, to Googling! 

EHS isn't the best condition to have when working in IT, but it is what it is, not much I can do about it now - other than play van conversions and travel! Not sure I'd be any good at van conversions for a living though, by the time I've finished this I could have bought a brand new motorhome :lol-049: But it's all good fun and keeps me out (or in?) mischief!

Rich.


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## BeyondTheVan

For anyone interested, or quite simply bored out of their minds, I've written about the life of mv Luton since I bought it :rolleyes2:

All about my Luton!

If you have anything better to do though, such as washing up, you may find it more interesting than my link 

Rich.


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## Deadsfo

Great looking van built for comfort and s*d convention,a bit in the style of VANDOGS who comes on here.Its hard to tell but the woodburner  looks as big as the one in my front room which is 6kw and heats half the house up do you find it gets too hot ,been told its all extremes with an on board woodburner,but I do like the idea of all that free heat if you source your wood as you go along ,a friend of mine recommends beachcombing for driftwood at the high water mark as a good source of wood.


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## BeyondTheVan

Mike (vandogtraveller) is an inspiration. I only came accross his site once I was almost finished my van but I bought his book and highly recommend it to anyone who is doing a self build. Even though I was so far through my own conversion, I did learn from his book. The main thing I discovered is the refillable LPG tanks, which thanks to Mike's book I researched and went with an underslung tank from GAS-IT (who discount for members of this forum).

The woodburner is a beast. You're not wrong, it does tend to be all or nothing with them in a van. It's 5Kw and I bought it new, along with the flue setup. Must admit, I was shocked at how the cost of the flue setup matched the cost of the burner itself, and more! I'm glad I went for this option of heat though, you really cannot beat it.

All the van windows open, as does the skylight and split door. When it gets too hot, even when it's freezing outside, I just open something. It really is a tremendous source of the nicest, instant heat.

We were in Borth over New Year and ran out of kindling. I then realised how much dry wood is at the top of a beach! Loads. I was filling bags up with it and we literally had free heating whilst we were parked up there.

Kirsty also has a small tea pot which she puts on top of the burner. I may have borrowed this over Christmas for Mulled wine :idea:


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## n brown

don't forget pine cones when you're near woods,and old paperbacks and shoes burn well too !


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## barryd

Its a brilliant story Rich.  So much hard work and dedication and clearly its served you well in all its guises.  You should send that story into some of the motorhome publications.  I bet they would do an article on it.  What will it become next?  Mobile night club?


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## meggypeggy

Wow! What an absolutely gorgeous self build. Awwww that is something really special. Hope you and kirsty have many happy years wild camping in it after all your hard work. Fantastic build.


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## phillybarbour

excellent job in there, looks very much like home very cool.


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## BeyondTheVan

Just finished the outside of the van 




And one from the back...



Not forgetting, of course, the sexy WildCamping.co.uk sticker...!



I've done a detailed blog post here for anyone who's interested.

Also got a WildCamping.co.uk sticker on the back 



Still a bit more to fiddle with, but nearly there now


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## n brown

that's come out pretty ! very nice look !


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## Mick H

BeyondTheVan said:


> Thank you!
> 
> Yes, It's just short of 4500Kg.
> 
> The van has been uprated properly to 4.5 Tonne so it's all safe and legal :fun:



Does that include yourself, and any other things that you carry, including water,fuel etc?   Have you any spare payload left?

It does look cosy, and very practical too.


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## BeyondTheVan

n brown said:


> that's come out pretty ! very nice look !



Thanks mate, thought I'd make it look a bit different.



Mick H said:


> Does that include yourself, and any other things that you carry, including water,fuel etc?   Have you any spare payload left?



It does indeed. Without me in there it's only 3.5 Tonne 

There's about 200Kg spare payload left, unlikely we'll need to carry anything else though. The weigh is with both diesel tanks brimmed, LPG tank full, water tank full, plenty of logs inside, and all our stuff too.


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## CAL

Looks really great. Very comfy and well thought out and I like the color. Well done, keep posting please as it's so interesting seeing the progress.


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## trevskoda

Top job there ,hope the whisky is bushmills.:wave:


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## BeyondTheVan

CAL said:


> Looks really great. Very comfy and well thought out and I like the color. Well done, keep posting please as it's so interesting seeing the progress.



Thank you! Will keep the blog going 



trevskoda said:


> Top job there ,hope the whisky is bushmills.:wave:



Famous Grouse all the way!! Only because we visited their place when in Scotland. Was half soaked by 10.30am with all the tasters!!!  :tongue:


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## BeyondTheVan

Bit of an update...! We've arrived in Poole tonight ready to head to Cherbourg in the morning. Our plan is to head through France and Spain, down to Portugal....!



At least we know where to go in the morning now! Managed to find a quiet place to park up and have satellite broadband for the rest of the evening. Happy days


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## n brown

aaahhhh ! have a great time !


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## oldish hippy

just thought dont you need reflective plate on the bike rack with the bikes on it 
cpoied from  caravanclub site 
Carriage of bicycles
Bicycles may usually be carried on the roof of a car, provided they are attached to an adequate roof-rack and the total height does not exceed 4m. However, the cross-Channel operator will need to be advised in advance of the total height of the vehicle as this may affect the cost of your crossing.

Bikes can also be transported at the back of a vehicle provided they do not obscure lights, indicators or number plates. Bike racks can only rest on the tow bar if the maximum weight allowed on the tow bar is not exceeded.

Portuguese regulations stipulate that bicycles may not be carried at the rear of a car, but they can be carried at the rear of a motorhome or caravan, provided that they do not extend beyond the width of the vehicle or more than 45cm beyond its length.

In Spain and Italy any overhanging loads must be indicated by a square panel measuring 50cm x 50cm with reflectorised red and white diagonal stripes which can be purchased from Fiamma stockists (Superior Quality Products for Motorhomes, Caravans and Camper Vans - Fiamma).  Panels are available in aluminium and plastic and in Spain you can use either however, in Italy the panel must be aluminium


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## BeyondTheVan

n brown said:


> aaahhhh ! have a great time !



Thanks mate! 



oldish hippy said:


> just thought dont you need reflective plate on the bike rack with the bikes on it



Oh balls. It appears so, yes!! Thanks for that pointer, I'll buy one en route! Cheers matey


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## oldish hippy

ok would hate the thought of you getting a fine for something silly and spoiling your trip all the best with it hope it allgoes well enjoy yourselfs


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## phillybarbour

Van looks brill, you've done a great gob.


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## Deleted member 52918

Love it, I'm converting a sprinter & trying to avoid plastic. 
Wood is warmer, more interesting & easier for me to work with.

If mine turns out anything like as good as yours I'll be happy 

ATB, Phill

PS., Have also got a cabin to finish & a boat ( 26 ft Sloop ) to recondition so quite busy.
The weather here has been bad since the end of September so things are going slow at the mo!


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## BeyondTheVan

We've made it!

We're in France!!!

Satellite working too, so of course the Blog post is done...

I got rather sea sick though, but we're on dry land now!


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## n brown

well done mate !


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## oldish hippy

at least you have few day to get over it before the return  just put it behind you and go forward just read your blog it is oldish hippy  not wildish hippy different isuppose thank for mention no need to have done it just thought you might like heads up before the on spot fine if they get bolshey


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## BeyondTheVan

oldish hippy said:


> at least you have few day to get over it before the return  just put it behind you and go forward just read your blog it is oldish hippy  not wildish hippy different isuppose thank for mention no need to have done it just thought you might like heads up before the on spot fine if they get bolshey



Apologies my friend, that would be auto-correct at it's finest. Now corrected!!

Really appreciate the heads up, thank you!!


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## PaulGra

*Interesting blog*

Liked the fact that there was a Vauxhall Nova camping there, I'd like to keep my camping vehicle as small as possible, so quite inspired.


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## Polar Bear

BeyondTheVan said:


> Apologies my friend, that would be auto-correct at it's finest. Now corrected!!
> 
> Really appreciate the heads up, thank you!!



I quite like "Wildish-hippy". especially at Christmas?


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## oldish hippy

polar bear hunting season starts tommorow heard the bear steaks are a bit stringy and chewy so shoot one for sport and do us all a ffavour make room for more caribou


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## Tezza33

Polar Bear said:


> I quite like "Wildish-hippy". especially at Christmas?


You should know it is dangerous to mention hippy and the C word in the same sentence,  it has been nice knowing you:wave:


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## BeyondTheVan

Spot the "W" in Portugal...


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## oldish hippy

glad to see you got the reflective  and hope you having brill time


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## Erika

love your conversion its a beaut:wave:


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