Self-build
camper project - an introduction
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There are
plenty of self build books and
websites out available, so this
website is more about working on
Transits and the Hi Cube in
particular, and my own solutions
to certain problems.
The project was born from the
desire to replace a classic
caravan, originally bought for
work and itself being towed by a
mk5 Transit, with a 90s camper. We
didn't really want anything
pre-1990 as we wanted to travel
long distances (across Europe)
over short periods of time in
relative comfort, and then be able
to tour locally at our destination
for the day. We didn't want
anything newer as we had a budget
that wouldn't stretch to
maintaining modern engine
management systems. The most
important feature we were looking
for was a high roof, we needed to
be able to stand up properly in
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The caravan
in question was an Esterel C39,
a French folding caravan. This
was being used as mobile
accomodation for work, and
whilst is was being used less
often, it gave us ideas for
future leisure tours. The
caravan was normally pulled by a
Transit, and was probably too
much for our everyday car, a mk3
Astra 1.4 estate, to pull any
reasonable distance. We started
looking at a range of 80s and
90s campers whilst the caravan
was up for sale. Unfortunately
all the campers in our budget
turned out to need more work
than they should have done for
the money, even when coming with
MoTs. At the same time it was
discovered that the floor was
rotten in the Esterel, not easy
or cheap to replace. With this
mind we had a change of plan-
rather than selling the caravan
we would use the interior to
build our own camper. The hunt
was on.
In a sheer
moment of luck, browsing local
adverts we found a minibus being
sold in nearby
Kingston-upon-Hull. Five minutes
and a quick phone call later we
were heading into Hull to have a
look as it was due to go to
auction in Bridlington later
that day. What we had found was
a 2000 Ford Transit 190 EF Hi
Cube minibus, recently
decommissioned by East Hull
Community Transport. It too had
a few issues, mostly rot, but as
we own and maintain mk5 Transits
for work we were confident that
it could all easily be put right
for its MoT and simple to
maintain once out on the road. A
price was agreed on, and it
could even be delivered... it
was ours and the project began.
Interestingly, there was
actually a choice of two
minibuses that day as there was
also an LDV 400 Convoy. This was
later spotted by friends at the
Download Festival!
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Ford Transit
190EF HiCube
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The
first part of the self-build
puzzle is the vehicle itself. In
this case it’s a mk5 Ford Transit
190EF Hi Cube. The picture below
is the Hi Cube as we first saw it
on eBay after following up an
advert elsewhere online.
This appears to be an special
order vehicle as it was a
twin-wheel van with a 2.5litre
turbo diesel engine and basic
dashboard, and was obviously a van
as it left the factory as the
windows are not Ford's own
It was then converted to a minibus
by Constable’s of Pevensey who
fitted a heavy duty floor, a full
set of windows, tail-lift,
retractable side step,
side-mounting spare wheel carrier
(as the tail lift was fitted in
the usual position), seats
including an adjustable seat at
the rear, and a large locker over
the cab. The interior was finished
in grey carpet, and had two
opening roof hatches, strip
lighting, and extra speakers in
the back.
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Esterel C39
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As luck would have it,
the internal dimensions in the available space
behind the front seats of
the Hi Cube was only slightly
less than those of the second
part of puzzle, the Esterel
caravan. The furniture
consisted of a large and a
small bed either side of a
kitchen unit with hob, sink
and fridge.
It
certainly seemed
that by
trimming the bed frames and
the rear of the kitchen unit
it could be fitted into the
HiCube in the same layout with
the only difference being that
the small bed would be where
the sliding door is in the van
so it would become just a
large seat.
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Planning the
Refit
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Planning is all
important, it's no good deciding
what you want with no idea if it
will all fit, and then when it is
all fitted will you have enough
space to actually live in
the finished camper. I've seen
plenty of conversions that barely
give space to open the fridge door
or stand up whilst the bed is out
because there's so much crammed in
there that floor space is at a
premium. Think carefully about
what luxuries you really need. Do
you need heating, or a toilet, or
storage for awnings? Oven or
fridge or both? 240v hook up or
solar panels and multiple
batteries?
Thinking about how we were going
to use the camper, there would be
days when it'll just be covering
distance, days touring local
attractions and weekends at
various festivals both in the UK
and abroad. The Hi Cube itself
provided the most important
feature, the high roof. In fact
this is the tallest of the 2nd
generation Transits in that the
roof is approximately 50mm taller
than the high roof options on the
short- and long-wheelbase vans.
Plenty of height for standing up
and getting dressed (up) in. Our
other requirements were a sensibly
sized bed, sink, hob & oven,
fridge, running water (not
necessarily hot water),
rechargeable batteries for
lighting and charging, and storage
for clothes, water and food. Two
roof hatches were already in place
and luckily they were far enough
apart to fit a solar panel in the
future.
We decided again an onboard toilet
or wash room as these facilities
would normally be available on
site (we don't wild-camp), but
have left space should we change
our minds in the future. We also
decided again blown air heating,
hot water and built-in TV, again
these were things think about for
a future refit or the next
self-build. A 240v hook-up would
be installed so that the fridge,
portable heating and a laptop
could be used when circumstances
would allow. For privacy some of
the windows would be blanked out,
initially using green vinyl.
Curtains would be made to cover
the remaining windows &
sliding door and to divide the cab
from the living space. One leisure
battery would be used initially,
normally we'd be on the move
enough to keep it charged.
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