Dellmassive`s Camper Van Adventure

[Dellmassive]

@Ads_Essex as for the thermal screen.

it folds away down to the size of a fat bed pillow - if that makes any sense.

but watched this video from UAO,

where he showed a cover from "custom Camping"

that rung a bell as we was looking that them at CamperJam 23 - before we had the new van.

and liked what i saw,


he shows the packdown at the end of his vid. . . .


went to make an order - but his 10% discount seems to have expired.


so think ill wait till Busfest Next week and no doubt they will be there? - hoping for a show discount etc.



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Motorhome Windscreen Covers l Custom Camping

Explore a wide range of high-quality and personalised campervan and motorhome accessories to elevate your holiday experience. Shop now for Custom Camping solutions.

customcamping.co.uk

loving this cover . . . .



not too sure if the poptop cover is a bit too much . . . . ?




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im thinking it will go well with our Indium Grey Bus,



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.....

from this:



to this:



to this:






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https://www.youtube.com/@urbanarkoverland

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[Ads_Essex]

@Ads_Essex as for the thermal screen.

it folds away down to the size of a fat bed pillow - if that makes any sense.

but watched this video from UAO,

where he showed a cover from "custom Camping"

that rung a bell as we was looking that them at CamperJam 23 - before we had the new van.

and liked what i saw,


he shows the packdown at the end of his vid. . . .


went to make an order - but his 10% discount seems to have expired.


so think ill wait till Busfest Next week and no doubt they will be there? - hoping for a show discount etc.



+++

Motorhome Windscreen Covers l Custom Camping

Explore a wide range of high-quality and personalised campervan and motorhome accessories to elevate your holiday experience. Shop now for Custom Camping solutions.

customcamping.co.uk

View attachment 211861


loving this cover . . . .

View attachment 211862

not too sure if the poptop cover is a bit too much . . . . ?

View attachment 211863


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im thinking it will go well with our Indium Grey Bus,

View attachment 211864

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View attachment 211857


.....

from this:

View attachment 211858

to this:

View attachment 211859

to this:



View attachment 211860


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https://www.youtube.com/@urbanarkoverland

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That’s much smaller than I expected, so that’s great. Thanks for the updates mate. Keep up the good work

 

[Dellmassive]

Have you tried the mattress on top of the inflatable? We found the panda on top of the Vango sim so much more comfortable.

yes, we tried both ways.

the SIM ontop was more squashy and more plush - but a bit more sweaty & sticky, even with the throw and cotton sheet.

the SIM on the bottom, was firmer - but less sweaty id that makes sense.

i think i need more night sleep on both to decide what i like best. . .


but either way - its fixed the problem/


we ended up letting more air out the SIM when it was on the bottom, - seemed like half inflated done the best job, without being too rolly polly.

 

[Dellmassive]

Portable Power Pack - Ecoflow Delta-2

no electricals in the van so we had to take a mobile power pack.


the box of choice was the Delta-2 this weekend.

plus a storage battery (that can be used to recharge the Delta2). - 12v Lithium Leisure Battery Box 138Ah 1766Wh -- How I Done It --

No solar this time - which caused a problem !




we charge the delta2 fully at home. . .





after arriving onsite and setting up the drive away awning. . . . i plugged in the two Dometic compressor fridges. (one for beer and one for food)





the following morning - we was down to 60%. . .






next up was morning coffee . . . .


we took out 1500w Nesspresso coffee pod machine. . . .



that done an excellent job and made a great real coffee.

that looked to take about 3% out the delta2 - per 200ml coffee mug. .


so showing 57% after that cup.




here was the setup . . . .

Delta-2 with the Coffee POD machine . . . https://amzn.to/3Pj5y8M






a small 900w 1ltr 240v electrric kettle. . . https://amzn.to/3P04W6v








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FYI:


coffee pods are cheap - 100 pods for £19 / £13








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getting back on track,

and about twenty coffees and teas later, the delta was flat.

at this point i plugged in the storage battery . . . .


which started slow charging the Delta at 120w ish .




but the next day. . . . . the Delta2 and the storage battery were flat.


so a quick trip home (1 hour away)

i recharged the delta 2 from the main quick 1000w charge - 45mins.

and swapped the storage battery over to a second one. . .





all back up and running we carried on . .

check this out though . . .


this is the 900w kettle and the fridges - 960w. . .





i said to the wife - ONLY USE THE KETTLE OR THE COFFEE MACHINE AT ONCE - NOT BOTH TOGETHER.



then i saw this . . . 2.11kW !!!!! ( thats the coffee machine & kettle & Fridges )





the delta-2 powered through the lot without exploding or catching fire.

nice . . . .






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but ultimately over the four days - we run out of power . . .


i supposed it was bound to happen,

i didn't take any solar to top-up the storage battery


and we was running as a power user - twin compressor fridges, mains coffee machine & kettle, and USB power bank and mobile device charging.

next time round ill be taking 200-400w solar to keep us going.

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lucky for us we had the trusty JETBOIL to save the day. - for the coffee.




and GAS powered CADAC 2PRO to cook the bacon rolls. . .




..

 

[Dellmassive]

-- 50w Solar panel to keep the van alive --

not having any solar wasn't the full truth. . . .

being camping before with my other T6, i knew full well that the starter battery would be flat after camping in the van for a long weekend.

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opening and closing doors,

locking and unlocking,

running the radio,

etc etc etc ,

all takes a drain from the starter battery.

= flat starter

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so with this van having extra LED lights in the rear and having the slider open for most of the weekend - i knew i would end up with a flat battery.


the first thing i packed was the trusty NOCO GB75 jump pack.

Amazon.co.uk : noco gb75

im selling the GB70 is anyone is interested - For Sale - NOCO BOOST HD - GB70 + NOCO Carry Case


this way whatever happend to the starter battery i could jump start myselfn and get going again.

but - that was the last resort.

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before things got that bad, i decided to take the 50W dash panel solar charger.

having the front screen covers meant i needed to place it outside on the screen . .






i didnt get any pics of the PWM solar controller this time, but you see what i had over here --> [Guide] Mobile Solar Panels ? . . . - How I Did It -


.





i had swapped over the stock PWM controller for a Renogy Voyager PWM controller.


that done the trick of keeping the vans starter battery from draining down flat.



not a massive charge, at 3A max, and 1-2A average,

but that was enough over the daytime to replace what was being used.

BM2 plot showing the effect on the battery - Battery Monitoring -- How I Done It --




.


so that worked well enough to keep us going, and we didnt need the NOCO boost pack.


.

 

[Johny]

first job once all the gear was out was to fit the drivers swivel plates,

but before that the handbrake lowering kit needed to be done,

seat out with four fixings . . .

View attachment 211786


Handbrake cowling removed. . . then two fixings. . .

View attachment 211787

...
View attachment 211788


.....


things got a bit busy after that pic,

but the operation was the same for the drivers swivel. . . .


View attachment 211789


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the kit went in well,

but the handbrake cables needs more adjustment.

we adjusted the nut up top. . . but there is still too much slop on the cable.

so i might need to go to the second adjuster under the van . . . .

I spaced mine with a few over sized nuts behind the adjusting nut, worked a treat.

 

[Dellmassive]

I spaced mine with a few over sized nuts behind the adjusting nut, worked a treat.

got a couple of pics?

 

[Johny]

got a couple of pics?

When I get home I'll take one

 

[Johny]

got a couple of pics?

As you can see there are 3 nuts on the cable which are slightly too large so they just slide on then the adjusting nut can take up the slack.

 

[Green Giant]

Small electric heater for the van when on EHU?

Colder months, with EHU.


. Who's using what?

Oil rad? Fan blower style? What wattage?

We have this one, works really well, no oil, so heats up really quick, 700w, silent, not the smallest but we make room in the colder months, also have used a electric blanket/throw, super cosy

 

[tommy_t6.1]

The Bed . . . . . . . .

this was the setup. . . .

the 40winks mattress, on the Ovano bed board. . . . . .


View attachment 211820

with a double fleese throw ontop, then a double fitted sheet ontop of that. . .


then one of our double camping sleeping bags opened out spatch-cock chicken style. . .




View attachment 211821


looks great right. . . .

well the following morning after the first nights kip . . . . we were both busted.

question mark style.

sore neck, aching back the works. . . .

moaning to the wife, she said the same . . . . so i knew it wasnt just me. . .


new bed i thought. . . so lets try again the second night.


well - the following morning, after that sleep the neck and back ache was double bad. . . . .


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this was not working. . .

i think what was happening was that we/I was sinking through the foam mattress and lying on the bed board. . . effectivly the mattress was not taking our weights. .


looking at a few options:

replace the 40winks mattress with an air bed, - would make the bed to high

add a yoga mat under 40 winks - not effective enough,

replace 40winks for a thicker mattress - takes too much space in the van traveling.

add a SIM (self inflating matress) under/over the 40winks. . . .


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so thats what we done. got a SIM.


lucky for us its bank holiday weekend and GO Outdoors had a 15% off deal.

and previously i had this in my basket as a mattress option - but decided it would be too thin for a full mattress.

Berghaus Air Double Self-Inflating Mat | GO Outdoors

£300.00 | A quality SIM (Self-inflating mat) by Berghaus for quick...

www.gooutdoors.co.uk

View attachment 211822



a quick trip to GO and we was set. . .

third night luck i thought. . . . or were going home. ( im sure we have all been here at some point)


the revised setup was this. . . . the first night we tried the SIM on top.

View attachment 211823View attachment 211824

and the fourth night we tried the SIM on the bottom. . . .

View attachment 211825

well i have to say this totally changed everything. . .

one (well two now) of the best nights sleep ever. . . .

adding the SIM meant that we was not squashing through to the hard bed board - causing the back ache.


thats us sorted for now.. . .


but i don't know how i feel about it all . . . the 40winks is £240 odd quid - but didnt work for us?

so we had to add a £150 SIM to make it usable. . .

40winks Not fit for purpose? or are we just two chunky monkeys and too heavy for it?

should they state a weight limit for the mattress?

i don't know.


the thing is . . . . if we sent it back - we would still need a second foam something to add to the SIM.?

but that could be a £99 ikea foam thing . . . . Hmm?


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well its worked ok for now,

the 40winks has the carry bag and will be store in the house when not camping.

the Berg` SIM rolls up small to a backpack side bag, so could live in the van for quick over nighters?

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gota say, i loved the view out the back of the van .

View attachment 211826

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Really surprised you didn't get on with the Forty winks mattress. We've been using one for 18 months and bloody love it. We usually lay out the mattress then lay a duvet on top then cover with a fitted sheet. I'm 21st and have never had an issue. I may try your solution as I may been missing out on an even better night's sleep! Haha

 

[Jonni2rets]

first job once all the gear was out was to fit the drivers swivel plates,

but before that the handbrake lowering kit needed to be done,

seat out with four fixings . . .

View attachment 211786



Handbrake cowling removed. . . then two fixings. . .

View attachment 211787

...
View attachment 211788


.....


things got a bit busy after that pic,

but the operation was the same for the drivers swivel. . . .


View attachment 211789


++++


the kit went in well,

but the handbrake cables needs more adjustment.

we adjusted the nut up top. . . but there is still too much slop on the cable.

so i might need to go to the second adjuster under the van . . . .

Hi I’m just at the stage at looking for swivel seats for my van and seen you’ve fitted the karivan swivels. Having read loads of posts regarding swivels it’s been a mine field, was wondering how you’ve got on with yours? Was concerned and them wobbling. Also how’s the lower handbrake kit any issues with it being fitted. Sorry for the questions just wanted to make sure before I buy both I’m not goin to run Into any problems. Thanks

 

[CJW]

We have this one, works really well, no oil, so heats up really quick, 700w, silent, not the smallest but we make room in the colder months, also have used a electric blanket/throw, super cosyView attachment 211978

+1 for this exact model. Works well.

 

[Dellmassive]

MOT Due next month . . . and being a ALL-IN customer,

VW Van center will be dealing with it.

ill update that when its done . . . 1st week of dec

 

[Dellmassive]

in the mean time. . .


we have some goodies arrive for the van.

its all a bit busy atm, so these wont be fitted till spring id imagine.


lets see what we got..

first up - painted barn door OEM copy rear spoiler.

from THQ:


pre-painted so i don't need to faf with them. . . .

I'm not 100% sure what the foam bits are for, sure not to stick to the van . .. ?

so I'm assuming they are there to stop the bonding stick stuff from oooosing out? - if so, then that's clever.






also, we went for the recommended sticky-stuff.








.

 

[Dellmassive]

also . . . we went for OEM copy trapezoid side bars in black.

again from THQ:


not much to see here, . . . . yet.

 

[Dellmassive]

next up,

a little black friday special.


we already have the THQ V3 front headlights fitted . . . . but with the OEM bulbs, which are pants to say the least.

so i thought id give these a go,

H1 & H7 - LED lamps


and with 10% off - why not.









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.







...


they say off road use only,


so i suppose ill have to remove them everytime i want to go to the shops.



...

 

[Dellmassive]

i wanted a Clayton LPS,


but went for some house solar batterys instead,

this will have to wait for another day. . . . . . . . SAD :{

only £3792,

but with BF 10% off . . . . £3442 - not a bad price ( @Skyliner33 - you getting one lol? )





.





.

 

[Bav]

i wanted a Clayton LPS,


but went for some house solar batterys instead,

this will have to wait for another day. . . . . . . . SAD :{

only £3792,

but with BF 10% off . . . . £3442 - not a bad price ( @Skyliner33 - you getting one lol? )



View attachment 220919

.


View attachment 220920


.

£3.8k and they still charge for delivery?

 

[Skyliner33]

i wanted a Clayton LPS,


but went for some house solar batterys instead,

this will have to wait for another day. . . . . . . . SAD :{

only £3792,

but with BF 10% off . . . . £3442 - not a bad price ( @Skyliner33 - you getting one lol? )



View attachment 220919

.


View attachment 220920


.

I wish. I'm going to have to stick with my current victron bits and maybe add a Renogy inverter plus a LiFePo battery. Too rich for me.