# cheap citroen relay stealth camper conversion (ongoing)



## Fugg

Hi folks ill start off by saying i love this forum it has a brilliant friendly community of people here and a wealth of knowledge where rookies like myself can learn a lot!!!



I discovered this site a long time ago when i developed an interest in self build motorhomes gaining tips and ideas about my own self build from the vast gallery of campers here, i was always too busy working and never found enough spare time to commit to a self build instead camping under canvas, however the idea of a conversion has been considered for at least 4 or 5 years now.

Im quite a young lad.... now bored skint and jobless thanks to numbskull bankers who secured my unemployment for 2010! So time is on my side but cash flow is not! 
I lack ANY type of diy skills, some of the bigger jobs i was more concerned about and not looking forward to doing have been completed and ive learned a hell of a lot, thanks to wildcamping and other similar sites. No way would this have been possible without all this information, Its only fair that i stake my offering in return.


The van i chose to buy was a citroen relay, (similar to ducato and boxer) ideally a transit wouldve been top choice but the citroen has too many benefits with the design i.e 6ft inside width, dash mounted gear lever, handbrake on the wrong side perfect for swivels etc... I drove many rental citroen relays many years ago when doing delivery work and wasnt a fan of them when comparing to the alternative mk6 transit, the 1.9 without turbo was particularly sluggish.

What i want from my tin tent is space for 2 and a comfy bed, tv, fridge and somewhere to cook, i want it to be stealthy enough that no one knows its a campervan, i want to be able to use as a standard van too, dumping rubbish, b&q runs etc.... i need good fuel economy as it will be used daily for commuting.




on a T plate with 113k it was a cheap one getting change back from £270. it has the elderly but efficent 1.9xud. 






















shes an old bird whos had a really hard life mainly as a self drive rental van and shes rotting away fast but mechanically A1, mint runner taking me 36 miles per gallon over the last 1200 miles.
the mot is next june so she has a few more tricks up her sleeve yet 

Me and the missus have been discussing replacing the van come june with a rust free 2.8, life in the slow lane sucks when you're not touring!!! Because of this, everything i put in the van will need to come out easy i.e carpet lining the van is a no go until we decide whether to save her or scrap her! This van needs quite a bit of welding to the sills, arches and wells


Heres the inside on day 1




like a bomb had went off!!! 








and the back, pic was taken as i took on the first 2 jobs, replacing the wiper motor and a broken side door handle (very common with these vans)









cleaning out the back minor rust repair to screwholes on the floor and the wheel well painted the floor with some ronseal radiator paint i had lying around.









Then for insulation i used camping mats on the floor £2 a roll and bagged up rockwool for the sides.














replacement seats come from a 2005 ducato, a snip at £50 for the pair, straight fit. also all the broken plastic bits on the dash replaced with ones from scrapped vans.


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## Fugg

The van came ply lined but under the ply discovered a couple clean bits of oem ply, ill make use of these. 












I want a fixed widthways bed to maximise the 2.5 metres length i have in the back, being an hgv driver you cant beat the conveniance of pulling into a quiet layby and jumping into a ready made bed. Under the bed will be ample storage accessible from both outside and inside with a door into a crawl space.


These timbers are 70x70 i think off memory







Then the crossbeams are 62x38 timbers, secured with 7 inch long frame screws. I recommend Wickes for wood and advise to steer clear of b&q, i struggled to find a single piece of quality straight timber at b&q on a number of visits








12mm mdf on top, i was going to use 6mm ply but the mdf works out less than half the price and not much heavier, just screwed down for now but may hinge and use gas struts to make a large but shallow storage area in future.








Thanks to wildcamping member Firefox for the tips on building the bed  its not identical to his design but the fundamentals are the same when it comes to fixing to the van walls.  YouTube - 5. More construction details including bed and lowering of the spare tyre.




Then for the mattress i gave ikea a go but when compared to what i can get online or ebay its quite expensive, I bought a standard double memory foam mattress, measuring 190x140 and 4 inches depth with a density of 65kg/cu.m for £63 on ebay, i cut it down to 182x130 with a breadknive, very easy to cut. It came with a feeble looking white protector sheet so the missus adapted a duvet cover to improve the look a bit! It is very comfortable.

















The cabinet construction with 62x38s again, held together with L shaped brakets and long wood screws at each joint.











purchased this 12v fridge online at a place called 'singers outdoors' for 21 quid, holds 5 big bottles of your liking.










incorperated into the cabinet.











Then my best attempt at flush fitting doors using 12mm mdf.


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## Fugg

To finish these off i have push button locks to fit and will probably use gloss black vinyl wrap for the doors and fascia.





An ebay auction appeared for a pair of fasp swivels to fit the ducato 94-06, the going rate for these is around £120 each fortunately i got both for £110. (marks caused by gaffer tape)











To fit these swivels to post 02 seats requires a certain amount of modification



These 2 lugs jabbing out need to be cut off and 2 new holes drilled into the runner










Best place for information on fitting these can be found here YouTube - Fiat Ducato Seat Swivel it is an excellent guide!
















Next up was some open roof surgery to fit the sky light, On all ducatos and relays theres a sunroof marker just behind the cab, probably the best place for it as the rest of the roof is ribbed, I originally wanted a sunroof to retain the stealthyness factor but found it tough to find one SMALL enough to fit the space, i believe the sunroof is a minibus option.



I chose a fiamma crystal roof vent 40x40 costing £52 on ebay new, The reason i went for this is its transparent allowing some well needed light in.


This job is 10 times easier than i feared, straight cuts arent necessary, with the fiamma vent as long as the hole is somewhere between 39x39 and 43x43 its a winner! 





After the cut i glued 4 bits of timber around the opening each measuring about 25 mm thick to the roof.













hahaha yeah the clamps are a set of jump leads!





Then dropped in the top half and sealed up using the same glue stuff i used on the wood frame.



















From the inside... 4 screws the inner frame attaches to the outer.










heres the glue/sealant i used, not sikaflex but it has worked just fine.


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## Fugg

None of the dashboard lights worked so i checked through all the wiring, still no joy i tried the test lamp on the bulb socket for the headlight switch and it had power going to it, so a little research matching the blown bulbs with ones online resulted in me buying '286' code bulbs and for the clock a single '509t' bulb. 2 bulbs in centre dash, 2 in the o/s dash, 5 in the speedo and 1 for the cig lighter. 

The dash bulbs illuminate when the ignition is switched on, probably the reason they had all popped!




I went for blue leds, 10x 286 bulbs cost £3 on ebay and 99p for a couple 509t bulbs.







hardly blazing with light but better than darkness!!!




















Also worth a mention is these 2 items i got from justkampers.




thermal screen to fit a ducato 94-02. £25 and Very effective.















Looks silver on the outside.











cup holder shaped to fit the dash, owners of these vans will know how little storage there is in the cab so this is a bonus.













The project is still ongoing and ill update as progress is made. Any questions im more than happy to answer.


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## ALLERDALECHEF

looks great .....where's the sea view at?


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## Admin

It is nice see self builds and have loads of pictures, I am going to make your first posts articles.


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## Fugg

Phil said:


> It is nice see self builds and have loads of pictures, I am going to make your first posts articles.




wow! thanks I don't know whether I should be flattered or embarrassed!!!? 

Theres loads more pics from the build i've taken some are near duplicates some are pointless! Its kinda trimmed down a little to the interesting bits! 




ALLERDALECHEF said:


> looks great .....where's the sea view at?


 

Thanks Allerdalechef, some of the pics above were taken in port william, galloway forest and the isle of mull over the last 6 weeks, the one with the beach in the background is on mull near Iona. Lovely island but costs a bomb to get there!


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## Delboy

hi
I hope to going to see a Relay campervan tomorrow can you offer any advice what I should be looking for? And how do you get on with been so stealthy and keeping insurance etc happy?


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## Fugg

Delboy said:


> hi
> I hope to going to see a Relay campervan tomorrow can you offer any advice what I should be looking for? And how do you get on with been so stealthy and keeping insurance etc happy?


 
Assuming it is a panel van conversion you are going to look at I would say the top priorities would be to ensure the gearbox changes are smooth (these vans come with notchy gear changes, thats to be expected).
Any crunching, locking in gear or slipping out I would walk away or factor it in to the price, I think its around 400 quid for a recon gearbox for these vans and 200 for the clutch kit.

Give the steering a work out during a test drive aim for a couple 'small' potholes listening out for a clunk from the front end, it is loud and unmistakable, the top strut bearings are good at seizing up on these vans which will get you an mot fail and a costly repair £200+.


check the locks all operate both the pin on the inside and key outside, check the sliding door to see if it shuts flush, if not the runner on the door rail is worn and its a £20 part from the dealer, easy to change though, The sliding door handle is flimsy check its not broke, i paid £30 for a replacement out a scrap yard, I imagine main dealer prices would be that or higher. 

Check the wipers and the washers, ive driven several vans with one or the other not working!


And of course give the sills and rear arches a once over for holes.





Well the insurance.......  

I got in touch with Adrian Flux and accurately described exactly what i had (a van) and what i wanted to convert to (camper), i described everything im going to install in the build and got a price of £290 with either 3 or 4 months allowed to complete the conversion. 

The girl on the phone was REAL pushy with the sell and i said, ''can i phone back tomorrow i need to talk to the lady friend about this'',  ''nope this deal needs to be done now'' was her reply. I left it at that as i dont like pushy sales people. Phoned the next day after deciding to go for it, her colleague told me that the quote on my file given the day before was for a motorhome! not for a conversion like i was told!!! I got a new quote of £600 which WAS accurate and i refused! What a shambles!!!

Short of options I went down the route of normal van cover and got covered for £300 fully comp on a second policy paying in monthly instalments, far from ideal but this means the van is legal to drive which is all im after for the moment. If that changes then I can cancel the remainder of the policy for £50 and get more relevant cover.

Beware of Adrian Flux!

i think its insurance group 16 for the 1.9 not sure about the others.


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## Alzi1967

*Some of them pics look like Mull to me pic 4 looks like fishnish picnic site to me ! *


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## Delboy

Fugg said:


> I went down the route of normal van cover



What about getting the V5 changed to LGP (light goods personal), I assume that would be OK?


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## Fugg

Delboy said:


> What about getting the V5 changed to LGP (light goods personal), I assume that would be OK?


 

Currently on the log book it is PLG and was like that when i bought it, If it were a different category i.e LCV, I would wait until the conversion is finished then send off pics of the conversion to dvla to reclassify the body type to motorhome, I am assuming that would change the tax band to PLG. In my case it might be a waste of time for me to go that route until i know what the future plans are for this van.

Of course there are more knowledgeable folks around who can give more informed advice about reclassifying 



Alzi1967 said:


> *Some of them pics look like Mull to me pic 4 looks like fishnish picnic site to me ! *


 

Spot on! Nice quiet place to go if you can fit under the barrier!



Not far from there....


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## Firefox

Thanks for the mention!

I thought I recognised those brackets 

It looks a great job so far, you're progressing really well.


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## LilacStar

Hi Fugg,

Nice pics of the van. We have the same van converted to a camper and want to do the same with the front bench seat - take it out and replace with a single swivel seat. Where did you get your two seats for £50? that sounds really cheap.

Thanks & good luck with the ongoing conversion.


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## Firefox

That is really cheap  for swivel seats. It took me ages to find a good condition single seat for my  Movano. Cost me over £100 as I remember and another £150 for the swivel.

The problem is the VW are much more popular conversion vehicles than the Master/Movano so there are many less swivels made.

I tried really hard at scrapyards/ebay, but you have to get lucky, as every place I phoned had sold it already so in the end I had to pay a higher price, as it was holding me up waiting around for a cheap one.


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## Fugg

Sorry for the delay in responding, Ive spent the last few weeks touring Lewis and Uist.




Firefox said:


> Thanks for the mention!
> 
> I thought I recognised those brackets
> 
> It looks a great job so far, you're progressing really well.




cheers Firefox. and thanks for the vids you uploaded. They have provided me with a lot of inspiration for my project.



LilacStar said:


> Hi Fugg,
> 
> Nice pics of the van. We have the same van converted to a camper and want to do the same with the front bench seat - take it out and replace with a single swivel seat. Where did you get your two seats for £50? that sounds really cheap.
> 
> Thanks & good luck with the ongoing conversion.


 

I got lucky with the seats, I was getting parts for the van from a local van hire company one of the staff told me they had a ducato delivered with a single passenger seat which they werent happy with, Fiat then delivered a bench seat without taking the single seat away.
I told him i'd be interested if he threw in a matching driver seat. I struggled to hold a straight face when he asked for £50 for the pair. I would've easily paid 3 times that amount taking into account the 'average' condition of the drivers seat.

I think it is possible to use a driver seat on the passenger side the only part you would require would be an r/h armrest, The seat belt clasp is easily interchangable between left and right by removing a couple bolts.


E2A: This website is a useful resource for pricing parts and getting part numbers...

http://eper.fiatforum.com/eper/navi?KEY=STARTUP&WINDOW_ID=1&GUI_LANG=3&LANGUAGE=3&COUNTRY=012&DRIVE=D&RMODE=


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## Randonneur

For anyone looking for swivel seats try ebay or breakers for people carrier seats. We got ours from a chap who was breaking his peugeot 806. Driver and passenger swivel seats with electric adjustment and heaters in them for £75 off ebay. 

Most peugeot/citroen and I think ford/volkswagen people carriers have swivel seats in them and they tend to be lower than standard van swivels fitted as extras.


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## Firefox

Actually I just used the driver's side seat on the passenger seat with armrest as is on the "wrong side"

I could swap the armrest over but it requires some welding/mods and it swivels fine with the armrest on the left. So it's a low priority task for me. 

You then have a double armrest when facing the front, but you can fold the seat one up out the way, and then use the door mounted one.


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## hillwalker

Cracking post mate , it's amazing what you can do with a van , if you know how .. 
 i like ur bed set up ..


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## Fugg

hillwalker said:


> Cracking post mate , it's amazing what you can do with a van , if you know how ..
> i like ur bed set up ..


 
cheers mate, to be honest i know very little when it comes to any kind of diy work, most of the stuff i done on the van i seen online.


Little update to the conversion seeing as a year has passed since starting. I got so far with the van then came to the stark realisation that quite a bit of welding was needed for its 2011 mot. we decided in the spring that rather than spend 500 plus getting rid of the corrosion it would be wiser to buy a clean looking van. Thats what ive done, the new van is a 2001 citroen relay white and swb, much like the other van but looks the business. a few little dinks and dents but only 50k miles and cost 800 quid. came with a short mot and little tax but after 3 months of looking for the right van this one is as good as i can get up here. passed the mot first time no advisories and drives like its just out the wrapper. 

at the mo im camping near glentrool loving the glorious weather, the net connection is poor, ill post up pics later in the week when i get back home.


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## hillwalker

Aye they midges will be chewing yer connection cables ...


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## hillwalker

did you scrap yer auld van , or do  u still have it ...


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## Fugg

hillwalker said:


> did you scrap yer auld van , or do  u still have it ...


 
Still have the old van, its been handy to have for bits and bobs. is now more of a storage shed than a van. i took it off the road in may, the alternator seized up a couple of weeks before the mot was up. other than that it was running great.



Here's a few pics of the new van. not a great deal of progress on the face of it, in the last 2 or 3 weeks though its been hands on apart from a few days out in the galloway forest.


just before its mot. nothing done apart from swapping the seats over.









here's where things are at now.

 





recent job i just finished was the ply roof lining and skylight.





I'm doing a few bits modifying the kitchen cupboards so i can squeeze in a 4 gallon freshwater tank, i'll also soon start work on the space below the bed. The original idea was a walk thru(crawl) space, being able to access the back of the van when inside. I've scrapped that idea, instead it will be 2 seperate areas.


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## Fugg

a few more pics..  (without the flash this time!)






The holes along the bottom of the side door give a clue that it started life attached to a 02-06 model van. The same goes for the rear doors. Both have central locking motors fitted but not wired in. I'll need to read up on how the motors work as i quite fancy using them. 
One difference between the last van and this one is the lack of windows on the rear doors. I think i prefer not to have the windows, it looks better, is more secure and feels warmer inside the van at night. Eventually a side door window will go in.


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## shawbags

*Thermal screens bfor citroen relay*

Hi there,i have the same converted van,can anyone tell me where i can get the thermal screens at that price (35 pounds ),cheers shawbags.


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## Fugg

shawbags said:


> Hi there,i have the same converted van,can anyone tell me where i can get the thermal screens at that price (35 pounds ),cheers shawbags.


 
The set I have is from justkampers.com i think i paid £25 inc postage. J13003: Thermo Mat Cab Kit (Fiat Ducato Supplied With Suckers) : Just Kampers

They also sell them through their ebay shop- search 'just kampers'.  Make sure you order the right fitment for your van, the 94-02 ducato has different trim on the inside of the door from the 02-06 ducato.


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## hillwalker

i priced the sliding door thing at the top runner , it pulls the door in ,, shock of ma life , 76 quid plus vat ...


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## Fugg

hillwalker said:


> i priced the sliding door thing at the top runner , it pulls the door in ,, shock of ma life , 76 quid plus vat ...


 
yep terrible design, i had the same problem on the old van, the plastic roller is rubbish. I had to use a wedge behind the roller to pull the door in when shut, otherwise it leaked. 

Your best move is to find an 02-06 ducato at the scrappy and remove the metal bar and roller that bolts into the sliding door, it will fit the older van fine. There's improvments to the design of the roller using something that's not cheap plastic, your door will shut tight.


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## hillwalker

what kind of wedge did u use mate ,  r yi goin to Daves and dianne,s wedding bud


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## shawbags

Fugg said:


> The set I have is from justkampers.com i think i paid £25 inc postage. J13003: Thermo Mat Cab Kit (Fiat Ducato Supplied With Suckers) : Just Kampers
> 
> They also sell them through their ebay shop- search 'just kampers'.  Make sure you order the right fitment for your van, the 94-02 ducato has different trim on the inside of the door from the 02-06 ducato.


 
Many thanks for your reply,i will try and order some tomorrow,cheers Shawbags.


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## Fugg

hillwalker said:


> what kind of wedge did u use mate ,  r yi goin to Daves and dianne,s wedding bud


 
ahh so you're Gary? The missus recently said someone who knows someone.... who knows me is doing a conversion. Im going to that wedding.
To pull the door in i used whatever was around, a philips screwdriver bit worked ok, even a folded up crisp bag did the job, eventually i cut a small thin wedge of timber that solved the problem. You need to remember it's there though I was constantly opening the door forgetting the roller was wedged in.


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## shawbags

Fugg said:


> The set I have is from justkampers.com i think i paid £25 inc postage. J13003: Thermo Mat Cab Kit (Fiat Ducato Supplied With Suckers) : Just Kampers
> 
> They also sell them through their ebay shop- search 'just kampers'.  Make sure you order the right fitment for your van, the 94-02 ducato has different trim on the inside of the door from the 02-06 ducato.


 
Hello again,i am now the proud owner of a set of silver screens from justkampers,£25 delivered,absolute bargain,many thanks for the advice,cheers Shawbags.


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## Fugg

shawbags said:


> Hello again,i am now the proud owner of a set of silver screens from justkampers,£25 delivered,absolute bargain,many thanks for the advice,cheers Shawbags.


 
No probs, at 25 quid they're spot on and well recommended for anyone that doesn't have a set. When I first started looking for thermal window screens I was seeing prices between 50 and 70 quid. I wasn't sure about the ones jk were selling because of the low price, but all the reviews for the VW versions of the screens they sell were excellent, so I took a punt.


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## Bernard Jones

Interesting thread, thanks.  I have done a similar thing myself.  Kept it as a van which simplifies, and therefore cheapens, the insurance.  Made the bed from 2 pieces of angle iron with a sheet of thick ply sitting inside them, holes cut through for ventilating the bottom of the matress.   I suspend this contraption on 4 small ratchet straps, one at each corner, so its quick and easy to get the bed level when the van is not.  The angle iron sticking up an inch at the side is just enough to stop the matress sliding off, and driling a hole through the corners is an easy way of hooking on the ratchet straps.  You can feed the ratchet straps through rings in the wall to stop the bed swinging about if you forget to lower it before you drive off.


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## hillwalker

Bernard Jones said:


> Interesting thread, thanks.  I have done a similar thing myself.  Kept it as a van which simplifies, and therefore cheapens, the insurance.  Made the bed from 2 pieces of angle iron with a sheet of thick ply sitting inside them, holes cut through for ventilating the bottom of the matress.   I suspend this contraption on 4 small ratchet straps, one at each corner, so its quick and easy to get the bed level when the van is not.  The angle iron sticking up an inch at the side is just enough to stop the matress sliding off, and driling a hole through the corners is an easy way of hooking on the ratchet straps.  You can feed the ratchet straps through rings in the wall to stop the bed swinging about if you forget to lower it before you drive off.


  It sounds like a hammock sytem you,ve got , any pictures


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## Fugg

Little update on the progress.


I decided to remove the wall and ceiling boards before furnishing, behind the ceiling ply is more of the good old camping mats, doubled up where possible. This stuff definately works well as an insulating material, some of the pieces are a little dirty as they have been recycled from the last conversion but are suitable for the purpose... yes the missus looks really interested as you can see! :lol-053:

















For the sidewall ply I have carpeted with Anthricite colour stretch lining from megavanmats.  3m x 2m of carpet and 3 cans of spray glue cost £44 delivered. I found it very easy to work with. 3m Mega Stretch Van Lining Carpet, 3 x High Temp Glue | eBay. 

Ended up I had nearly 2 full cans of glue left and 1.5 sq/m of spare carpet at the end of the job.

I was originally going to carpet the ceiling with a colour slightly darker than what was on the sides but in the end we decided to cover with an imitation black leather, because of the proximity of the roof from the cooking surface it will be an advantage to have a wipable surface. The leather cost £23 delivered for 4m x 1.40m. The spray glue worked a treat for this but still was a lot trickier to fix to the ply, I coated the sheet of wood with a watered down pva glue mix to smooth it out a bit.

Fit into the ceiling is 4 standard fiat ducato courtesy lights bought from this seller on ebay  eBay My World - greengravy33 £12 for 4. The lights come with standard 5w festoon bulbs which can be a drain on the second battery so on order from Japan is some led light panels that will fit into the frame and connect to the circuit with  a dummy festoon bulb. eBay - The UK's Online Marketplace 36 leds should hopefully be bright enough.



























Also now in it's permanant home is the modified kitchen cupboard unit, the additional piece added on the left will house a 25l water container. On top is a piece of 15mm furniture board from Homebase, I think its 2.4m x 0.6m and cost £30!

























You might have noticed the hole on the ply above the cupboards, in there will be a panel with switches and another jap ebay gizmo... a battery voltage monitor with in/out temperature clock etc... I've just finished putting it together in the last hour and hooked it to the 12v to see if it goes alright.




















Its a piece of 6mm ply covered in the same leather stuff thats on the ceiling boards, the 4 switches were bought on ebay for £7 and the voltage monitor gizmo I bought on ebay nearly a year ago for £10 delivered.




Still plenty of stuff to do and to keep the insurance company happy I will need to get an engineers report at the end of this month verifying that it meets their criteria for a camper conversion.  With that in mind the focus for the coming weeks will be on fitting an island table leg, cupboards with hanging space under the bed and a installing a smev 2 burner hob/sink.


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## ellisboy

Looking good Fugg :banana:


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## hillwalker

Aye yer getting there bud ,,, yi like yer gadget,s and gizmo,s


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## kell

The van's looking great Fugg. thanks for posting.


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## Fugg

cheers guys, now a bit further on with the conversion i'll take some pics this weekend and post them up.


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## Fugg

As promised here's some pics of the progress.



Cupboard framing under the bed using various brackets for joins and hardboard for partitioning.


 




More 12mm mdf was used for the doors and fascia, the magnetic catches and handles are a temporary fix until i get some more push button locks.

 




Building a step behind the seats brings several benefits, now I can have my feet on solid ground as the seats are quite high. It's also a useful little storage compartment, and it holds the table leg too. It's a timber frame with mdf lid covered in lining carpet and hardboard for the facing covered in the black leather stuff.


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## Fugg

I used the remainder of the worktop furniture board for the table top. I got the table leg and connections from rainbow conversions costing 28 quid, it comes with adjuster caps to raise or lower the table to suit.






I also got the smev hob/sink from rainbow conversions costing around £130. Easy to fit and setup.


 







Still quite a bit to do but getting there slowly, next on the to do is cleaning up the rear arches as the early signs of rust are becoming apparent, also covering the cupboard doors/fascia and finding a decent bit of carpet or vinyl for the floor.


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## Firefox

Nice work, thanks for the update Fugg! I like the step.

 I had to raise the whole lounge floor in mine. I stil didn't get round to putting access covers so I can store things like shoes in there.


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## oldish hippy

what is the hieght of the step internally  from floor to base of step how did you get the doors cut out so nicely that is what i want to do with mine is  replace worktop and fit new front on a cupboard so ican access portaloo from the rear door and use it when the bed is made up space at premium in a noddy van


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## Fugg

oldish hippy said:


> what is the hieght of the step internally  from floor to base of step how did you get the doors cut out so nicely that is what i want to do with mine is  replace worktop and fit new front on a cupboard so ican access portaloo from the rear door and use it when the bed is made up space at premium in a noddy van




To make the cupboard doors I marked out the rough size of the opening by offering the mdf up to the completed frame and marking the frames position on the mdf (on the inside of door), then i added 12mm width on the side of the door thats to have the hinges, this is because of the way those hinges work and 12mm because the mdf im using is 12mm thick. The 3 other sides of the door I added 6mm so when u close the door it's halted by the frame....? Bit confusing maybe... I shoulda took some pics of how i did that, much better than trying to make sense of my early morning mutterings! 

To do the cuts i used a jigsaw and took it easy, to mark out the curves for the door corners i used a lid from an old shampoo bottle, Blue Peter style!


The step thingy is around 16cm high, to match the height of the cab floor on the ducato. I took a pic with the lid up that shows the construction a little better, uprights are 62x38mm and the horizontal bits are 19x38mm, it looks a little flimsy but the finished article took 25 stone of weight no problem, that was before bolting it in place with a couple screws into the metal step and a couple more into the kitchen cupboard frame.


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## RAGGLETAGGLE

*cheap citroen relay stealth camper conversion*

Great thread, I've done a Citroen relay too. Here it is
 and another not quite sure what I am doing here but here goes! I have been all over in it, the french alps, slovenia, the dolomites, the pyrenees, all winter trips so it is pretty cosy, staying either at ski resorts, freebies at the ski stations or aires, its been great!


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## hillwalker

cracking looking conversion bud .. love the roof ...


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## scenictraveller

im about to start this next month so looking at differnt layouts,to see what suits.
the easier the better,my joiner skills are fine if you like panels shaped like a dogs back leg


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## Firefox

Firefox said:


> Nice work, thanks for the update Fugg! I like the step.
> 
> I had to raise the whole lounge floor in mine. I still didn't get round to putting access covers so I can store things like shoes in there.



I have now done this. There's quite useful storage under the lounge floor


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## mk1tt16v

really like this . the layout is very similar t how i have done mine.any updates?


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## Lindylou

*Insurance*

'Well the insurance.......  '

Thanks so much for the useful info about what to look for with a Citroen Relay. We are looking at a potential one today, for our daughter. What you posted is very good advice.

And particularly about the insurance with Adrian Flux.  I just got a quote for £319 third party f&t for DD. Told them it was a completed  self conversion etc But no questions or request for pix. Hmmm. Let's hope they don't pull a fast one as they did with you when you went back to them.

Very much appreciate the useful advice from fellow wild campers.
Cheers all.


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