Can anyone help/advise with my dream? LWB Race van conversion...

pablo01

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Hi- have been mooching the forum for a little while in an attempt to firm up my dream plans of creating a LWB stealth camper race van with the facility to ride in and tie down a Honda Fireblade in the back via a fixed folding loading ramp then set off to France/Spain, wilding and camp-siting all the way. My crazy plans in my head include;

1. A 'garage' area accessed from rear doors using a fixed or removable loading ramp similar to this; Folding Loading Ramps from Speedy Ramp with space to tie down bike on, say, the left hand side of the garage. On the other side a shower/toilet area with access from inside the van.

2. A double bed over the garage area, with some way of lifting it to ride bike in, then lowering it again for use...

3. As large a living area as possible with kitchen and seating facilities, with seating that will turn into an additional bed when required and access to the toilet/shower.

4. Access to drivers seat from inside for emergency escapes!

5. Other little bits and bobs, such as solar panel on roof, flat screen TV/playstation/sound system/wind out awning for when camp-siting etc...

Oh, and a budget of £5000!

Has anyone got anything like this that they could post some pictures of? My plans were to find something similar then make the changes I want OR to buy the van, save up a bit longer and have it built 'bespoke' to my needs. Can anyone advise- I'm a complete novice, not mechanically minded or a big fan of DIY! What base van might be best, do you think all this would fit etc...should I just give up now?! ;-)
 
Have a look on Fleabay, type in race van or something similar, that'll give you some ideas of what you want.
 
mine was 9 grand 484503_3627929976370_1650060707_n.jpg
but it has all that you want minus solars which i am working on
 
Welcome aboard, sounds similar to my plans, I just bought a lwb renault master ex ambulance patient transfer minibus, it's already fitted with a good strong ramp (for wheelchairs in its previous life) and a walk through cab for quick getaways. Beauty of mine is its just had a new engine and been resprayed recently coming in at around double the price that I paid for it on eBay, mines only a medium roof as I don't need to sleep over the garage, it'd be doable but a high roof would give you more room.

It's also equipped with a diesel powered eberspacher heater :)

Look them up mate, loads come up on eBay, I watched a few or a while before buying a cracker, and I've still over half the £5000 budget to kit it out with :)
 
dont know what youd get for five grand....... but remember if you put a garage at the back youve then got to sleep above it which doe snt leave a great deal of head room ...i had same idea but could not bare the thought of sleeping in a confined space ....maybe sometimes we would just want to go out for a couple of nights and not need to take the m/bike with us ....so i planned ours all open plan ...no garage..... i bought a bump stop from busters and this i bolt to the floor and the bike sits upright in this..... STEEL FRONT MOTORCYCLE PADDOCK STAND STAY WHEEL CHOCK BIKE/MOTORBIKE TRANSPORT | eBay ....
works really well ...like i say if i dont want the bike with us i unbolt it and hey presto one camper really spacious we have an elwb sprinter it sleeps two has shower ,toilet ,hot n cold water, cooker and 3 way fridge,gas blown heating, the bike wheels in and sits opposite the shower at back if you want some pics can send you some but not yet too cold to muck about settin it up for piccys when snow stops if ya like... our van can be viewed in the show us your van section thread .... http://www.wildcamping.co.uk/forums/show-us-your-van-motorhome/22269-harvey.html ....hope this has given you a few pointers
good luck mate keep us informed on your progress please
 
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I did wonder where you had parked David. When going to/from the med centre I did check by agostini's for you.

This was the snow over by our vans on the outfield.

401361_346339175486491_1611042737_n.jpg549953_346339185486490_759131142_n.jpg
 
I was over at Nelsons when he got to the med centre, my wife helped with him but he is well known to us all. Glad the recovery crew also recognized him and where he needed to be dropped off. :wacko:
 
My van 'Sully'
HTML: 
http://www.wildcamping.co.uk/forums/show-us-your-van-motorhome/26013-sully-ldv-convoy.html?highlight=
(there's some pics in this thread somewhere if I've posted it properly) was built to be a Motocross race van.

What's been done in my van (& the van itself) is not large enough for what you'd want. But the general layout might give you an idea or two. A 'Crosser is light enough to lift in, so there's no Ramp. However, if I wanted to tote a scooter in there (My 1150 Beemer wouldn't fit in!) then I have a few ideas of how to make a folding ramp simply and easily (a friend of mine owns a trailer making co, and has a folding machine, guillotine etc. etc. so I could get one made [or parts knocked up] to suit my needs for not too much money). A folded 2-piece, hinged, folded aluminium Chequer Plate ramp (with an overlap when open to give the hinged area the strength) was my thinking. With the space as tight as mine is though, a scooter would need to be run up a narrow ramp (automatic would make this easy) while I stood alongside - riding it in isn't really on.

Basically, behind the LH Side Rear door is an open area (about the size of a Shower space). behind that is the Loo/Cloakroom. The wall between the rear and the cloakroom has a 3/4 height folding wall section, so that with it open, the 'Crosser could fit in along nearside rear of the van. There's a length of Unistrut on the floor just inside the LH rear door bolted to the floor with Eyes bolted in so you can strap down the bike.

The offside of my van rear comprises a shorter storage area accessed via the other back door, (for the spare and the water tank etc.), and behind that, the galley kitchen part of the main interior. I guess if you had a double above the garage, then you could use the offside space under the bed for storage also - with a centre 'wall' to add support strength. The floor section of the bed above the bike garage could perhaps hinge up or fold up to enable a 'ride-in', and then drop it back in place once the bike is stowed maybe?

The bench seat behind the front seats in my van converts into the main bed though. Given how much space it seems you'd need, then based on my LDV Convoy's space my guess is you'd need something a fair bit bigger. A builder friend has a 55-Plate big, boxy hi-top LWB Iveco Daily that I drove a few times (think 2.3 litre turbo-diesel with single wheel rear axle - the big parcel delivery van sort of thing). Although I haven't built a campervan myself, so practical advice is something others on here could so far, far better, my guess is something like the Iveco might be suitable as the base vehicle with the room to do what you have in mind adequately.

Good luck!
 
Thanks David - I'm (clearly) not the best when it comes to driving these forum thingies! :)
 
Thanks!

Wow- thanks for all the help/advice! This is the first opportunity I had to check back on here so will be following all the links and looking at all the pics! :lol-053:
 
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