GM3VLB
Guest
Hi everyone, from the Scottish Borders...Three years ago, we purchased our first campervan, a 1990 1.7l petrol Renault Trafic Rainbow (Holdsworth). Although it was totally under-powered and lacked PAS (my wife refused to drive it!), the use of space in a vehicle only 4m54 long was quite fantastic. During the 3 years we owned it, we visited (on our travels) several campervan sales outlets. The more conversions we saw, the more we became convinced that despite impossible prices, there was absolutely nothing which could compete with our Holdsworth conversion. We have found that having both double rear doors and a side door really increases flexibility of access. The 'van wasn't perfect...I soon doubled up on the side shelves,and fitted simple 'bungee cord' retainers which allow us to make full use of the shelves whether motoring or static. A similar conversion was made to the upper cupboards and a retainer fitted to the rear shelf above the back doors. I provided further storage by making a dedicated box to fit under the passenger seat. I also fitted a length of U-channel to the side of the vehicle, drilled two holes in this and the table edge, fashioned a simple hinged (removeable) leg, and the table is held in place by two "Clevis" pins - handy for 'eating out' in good weather.
As a retired physics/electronics teacher and radio ham, I fitted out the campervan with a complete 'mobile' amateur radio station. I further carried out minor mods to the wiring to allow the car radio/tape player to be used when the ignition key was not in place. I fitted a small solar panel on top of the dashboard to compensate for the current drain of the Nokia 'handsfree' kit (a superb kit which answers and signs off automatically and is built into a high quality speaker). I also fitted a bank of 4 x cigar lighter sockets below the hinged work-surface next to the sink. This gives versatility when usng the TV, DVD or p.c., charging camera or other batteries or running the orange-press on a small 150W (£7) Chinese inverter. There was no so-called "ZIG" unit fitted when we purchased the 'van (these are simply a relatively high-current nominally 12V auxiliary battery 'charger' and are extremely over-priced. I purchased a very 23A switched-mode 13.8V (adjustable) power supply unit (SMPSU) for under £20 (again from China) which was easily fitted. I also made a tiny box giving electronic control of the rate of flow from the water tap (which was otherwise full 'ON' or full 'OFF' - not very economical). The space below the 2-ring gas hob was big enough for my Honda EX-650 generator (also a superb piece of kit). When travelling, the spare wheel lay on the the floor in the kitchen space, with the side-door stool in its 'well' and when static, the wheel acted as a step under the rear bumper.
Well...we were so pleased with the ultimate versatility of the 'Rainbow' that when we sold it in January this year (at a very good price and within hours of advertising it on eBay), we had no hesitation in simultaneously buying another virtually identical 'Trafic', the Renault San Remo - 6 years younger, only 66000 miles on the clock, with a beautifully flexible 2.2l petrol engine AND (much to my wife's delight!) power steering. Having done it all once, over 3 years, it was easy to do exactly the same again in a couple of months. A slight change was removing the lower part of the wardrobe to accommodate my generator and the auxiliary battery (none had been fitted in 16 years!!) - the cooker/sink unit had been increased slightly in size, as the spare wheel was now mounted on the rear near-side door (this also increases the space in the under cooker/sink cupboards).
We have made two trips so far, one to my old haunts in Cumbria teaching days, followed by a solo 3-week amateur-radio expedition to the Orkney islands - as a former life-long camper, a campervan is absolute luxury...We have even entertained 5 people, indoors, for 'aperitifs' round the table.
This is truly a remarkable 2-berth campervan and we highly recommend it to anyone on a modest budget, looking for a small campervan. I will try to post a few pictures shortly...I've already used up too much space on this occasion...Best wishes...André
As a retired physics/electronics teacher and radio ham, I fitted out the campervan with a complete 'mobile' amateur radio station. I further carried out minor mods to the wiring to allow the car radio/tape player to be used when the ignition key was not in place. I fitted a small solar panel on top of the dashboard to compensate for the current drain of the Nokia 'handsfree' kit (a superb kit which answers and signs off automatically and is built into a high quality speaker). I also fitted a bank of 4 x cigar lighter sockets below the hinged work-surface next to the sink. This gives versatility when usng the TV, DVD or p.c., charging camera or other batteries or running the orange-press on a small 150W (£7) Chinese inverter. There was no so-called "ZIG" unit fitted when we purchased the 'van (these are simply a relatively high-current nominally 12V auxiliary battery 'charger' and are extremely over-priced. I purchased a very 23A switched-mode 13.8V (adjustable) power supply unit (SMPSU) for under £20 (again from China) which was easily fitted. I also made a tiny box giving electronic control of the rate of flow from the water tap (which was otherwise full 'ON' or full 'OFF' - not very economical). The space below the 2-ring gas hob was big enough for my Honda EX-650 generator (also a superb piece of kit). When travelling, the spare wheel lay on the the floor in the kitchen space, with the side-door stool in its 'well' and when static, the wheel acted as a step under the rear bumper.
Well...we were so pleased with the ultimate versatility of the 'Rainbow' that when we sold it in January this year (at a very good price and within hours of advertising it on eBay), we had no hesitation in simultaneously buying another virtually identical 'Trafic', the Renault San Remo - 6 years younger, only 66000 miles on the clock, with a beautifully flexible 2.2l petrol engine AND (much to my wife's delight!) power steering. Having done it all once, over 3 years, it was easy to do exactly the same again in a couple of months. A slight change was removing the lower part of the wardrobe to accommodate my generator and the auxiliary battery (none had been fitted in 16 years!!) - the cooker/sink unit had been increased slightly in size, as the spare wheel was now mounted on the rear near-side door (this also increases the space in the under cooker/sink cupboards).
We have made two trips so far, one to my old haunts in Cumbria teaching days, followed by a solo 3-week amateur-radio expedition to the Orkney islands - as a former life-long camper, a campervan is absolute luxury...We have even entertained 5 people, indoors, for 'aperitifs' round the table.
This is truly a remarkable 2-berth campervan and we highly recommend it to anyone on a modest budget, looking for a small campervan. I will try to post a few pictures shortly...I've already used up too much space on this occasion...Best wishes...André
