# The Magic Bus!!



## littleT (Nov 18, 2012)

Hi everyone, thought we'd post up some piccies of our Mercedes Sprinter Conversion. We've got two rotties that'll be on the road with us so we had a wipe clean kennel section built under the bed. We are really chuffed with how it's turned out.


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## ellisboy (Nov 18, 2012)

Nice van! :banana:


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## Flyboy (Nov 18, 2012)

Very Nice Van:banana:


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## Robmac (Nov 18, 2012)

Nice van


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## Sactapper (Nov 18, 2012)

Why can I not see the pics just blue squares with question marks


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## mark61 (Nov 18, 2012)

Very nice.


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## Sparks (Nov 18, 2012)

Post Deleted


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## Honeydragon (Nov 19, 2012)

The Kennel is a good solution.  Sometimes I think about a kennel, too, but don't have a clue how I could integrate one in my little "Van". 
So my dog is buckled up by a harness, karabiners and a lifeline from sailing...


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## tiderus (Nov 19, 2012)

Well done Little T,

your workmanship says it all. 

But Why don't you give us the details on here of.....,

How much was the van,

How much did the convertion cost.

How many man hours did it take.

And finaly, did you buy the units complete.

Such a fine job will undoughtedly inspire others, and save a few bob.

What's on the agenda next????

Rgd's Graham.


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## gaz2676 (Nov 19, 2012)

tiderus said:


> Well done Little T,
> 
> your workmanship says it all.
> 
> ...



nice build there mate..... next on the agenda is kick back an enjoy we re never at home any chance we get we are gone .......solid gone man hope you enjoy as much as we enjoy ours
just got back from the lakes this morning wet an wild outside warm drunk an snug inside ohh what a life 
much love
btw them graphics are rather cool nice 1


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## donkey too (Nov 19, 2012)

Nice job mate. I like the idea of the cargo net in the back, I shall copy it. also the kennel.  brilliant.


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## littleT (Nov 20, 2012)

*Confession Time!!!!!*

Thanks for all the nice comments peeps. We are loving it. Feeling like a bit of a FRAUD now tho!! We actually had this built for us by a one man band called Peter Whitley Van Conversions. We went through various layouts before settling on this one and now it's all finished we don't feel we could better it.



tiderus said:


> Well done Little T,
> 
> your workmanship says it all.
> 
> ...



Sorry Graham, I'm not as talented as you think!! The van cost us £10,000 which we hunted high and low for a good one for ages. This one turned up on eBay one day and we couldn't believe our luck to find it's the cleanest, tidiest Sprinter we'd looked at and it wasn't WHITE either!! :cool1:

The conversion cost us best part of £10,000 and for that we got it fully insulated, all fixtures and fittings, 70ltr internal water tank and pump, Smev 3 hob and sink, Waeco Fridge, Twin Leisure Batteries and Split Relay, Gas/Mains Water Heater, Propex blown air heating, mains hook up, fully wipe clean kennel area.....have I missed anything....probably but it's all good.

As for 'Man Hours' we were in no immediate rush as we knew we wouldn't have time to use it anyway (Summer = Harvest = No Life!!) so we put it in with Peter in May and picked it up beginning of September. We were also able to save money and pay for the work in lumps which worked absolutely brilliant.

The units were made individually but all the doors were bought in as standard fitted kitchen cupboard type. Gives it a really great quality look and feel. 

What's on the agenda next........as Gaz said ENJOY, ENJOY, ENJOY. Hit the road and don't look back! Wilderness calls.:drive:




Sparks said:


> Really nice layout. If I had a bigger van then that would be my choice as well.
> 
> Did you know you can shorten those roller blind cords?



Thanks Sparks, Yeah we got the blind from 'Paul Simon Home Furnishings' and had to modify BIG TIME!! Cut length AND width and cord, but chuffed we managed to sort it for such a small hole!!




gaz2676 said:


> nice build there mate..... next on the agenda is kick back an enjoy we re never at home any chance we get we are gone .......solid gone man hope you enjoy as much as we enjoy ours
> just got back from the lakes this morning wet an wild outside warm drunk an snug inside ohh what a life
> much love
> btw them graphics are rather cool nice 1



You're RIGHT ON Gaz. :fun: I love the lakes, used to be taken every summer when i was a kid. Can't wait to roll up in the Magic Bus and take it all in again.
Saw the graphics on a US 'Big Rig' and managed to get a company to do a 'condensed' version. Very Cool 



donkey too said:


> Nice job mate. I like the idea of the cargo net in the back, I shall copy it. also the kennel.  brilliant.



Thanks Donkey Too. With 2 Rotties, we knew we'd have to give an area for them some serious thought. We plonked for a kennel area as we wanted them to have their own area that they would be able to settle in and not feel like they were being moved about, up and down, round and round constantly. The internal gate is made out of pine with a full length hinge. Nice and light but still strong enough. We were gonna have a proper steel gate made for the back door but couldn't get it made light enough. 
We thought maybe wood and then.........:idea: Cargo Net would be less invasive for them when they're just chilling in the back watching the world pass by the back door. Surfed the net all over trying to find a cargo net with not much joy....then this one turned up on 'the Bay' which we think was probably off an Army Land Rover or DAF. Won it for £30. Almost perfect fit just trimmed up the width and Voila! 

Struggled with what we could attach the hooks to for ages. Originally thought D rings but couldn't find any that would work..then 'switched on' Boyf realised that B&Q Cupboard Hinges would be just the ticket....and he was right, worked a dream. :dance:


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## frontslide (Nov 21, 2012)

Crackin job that well done!


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## carol (Nov 21, 2012)

Great job!


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## Robmac (Nov 21, 2012)

The bed is confusing me does it fold out towards the front of the van, otherwise looks very short?


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## littleT (Nov 21, 2012)

Hi Robmac, no the bed is fixed. The mattress is foam 6'3" length by 4' wide.


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## lotusanne (Nov 21, 2012)

Love it!!  It looks fantastic, and the dog kennel is brilliant.  Dont be embarassed that you didn't do the conversion yourself, you need a lot of skills and time.. and maybe experience too, so its not for everyone.  Anyway its quite hard enough to decide on the design you want, bet you had hours and hours of discussions about it... and you still will when you are away in it .. always something you could add/ change/ improve! :wave:


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## Chris K5 (Nov 25, 2012)

LittleT

The van looks good mate.


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## Michellecameron (Nov 25, 2012)

Thats some job they have done for £10k, what year is the Merc ? ( just to get a feel for what £20k buys you in the custom built market)  we where looking at doing same on a 4x4 merc but with front seats turning into the Hab and a bit more glass, so we can get a full toilet & showers fitted, it would be a shame to go to all the effort of building a LWB without having a toilet compartment, RS build a real mean looking "garage /bunk" race style van for around the same conversion money, 
Nice Job


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