What makes a good van Conversion?

[Jet]

In a week or so I'm starting to build the insides of my T6.1, after reading lots of posts about camper conversions and different options I sometimes see the phrase 'it looks very home made' or 'a lovely looking professional job' or something similar.

Rightly or wrongly I'm going to make my own furniture, just wondering how to avoid the 'it looks very home made' end of the scale.

I've seen a few 'professional' fit outs that look very poor behind the surface layers, yet look ok on the surface. I'm unsure if they were considered 'high end'

 

[DXX]

No right or wrong, build it to your needs but remember that one day you’ll want to sell it. The standard of work will affect the resale value.

 

[Jet]

No right or wrong, build it to your needs but remember that one day you’ll want to sell it. The standard of work will affect the resale value.

Thanks, yes, high work standards are super important to me BUT I sometimes my skills don't reflect that , that's the main reason for asking the folk on here what catches their eye in a good or a bad build. In a kitchen build you might say soft close undercount drawer runners and Blum soft close hinges are signs of a better build quality.

Photo of the van so far.

 

[Huba]

I was concerned about this before I started converting our van but 3 years later have no regrets, its exactly how we want it with a non-standard layout.

I was worried people may look down on it, but the opposite has been true and get compliments, often from people with standard layouts that don’t suit them.

I think the only reason for going the more normal route is speed of conversion (not sure I’d have the time to do it again) and if you’re only planning on keeping it a few years resale will be easier and higher value.

Looking at some campervans I do wonder if they ever get used in anger as look very shiney

 

[DXX]

what catches their eye in a good or a bad build

Furniture can be ripped out and changed. Removing a poorly done carpet lining is a bit more difficult.

 

[drinfinity]

I built my own furniture, to get exactly the layout and features I wanted. If you don’t have access to a CNC cutter (I didn’t) then a track saw is very useful.

I spent a long time with a doweling jig doing camlock fasteners, the idea being that it would look more professional than visible plastic furniture blocks everywhere. If I did it again I would make more use of screws and furniture blocks, as it would be easier to get the perfect alignment.

There is all manner of fancy hardware available for cupboards and hinges, although in the end I took half my drawers out. I now have two drawers, two tambour doors, multiple open cubby holes, and no hinges.

More details here

CandyVan conversion journey

Two days off for an early Christmas present from the parents, who bought me two days ramp hire at East Lancashire Vehicle Storage Solutions . It was a real pleasure to work on a new van, and the sliding jack built in made it really easy to lower and lift the fuel and water tanks. Much better...

www.t6forum.com

 

[Jet]

I built my own furniture, to get exactly the layout and features I wanted. If you don’t have access to a CNC cutter (I didn’t) then a track saw is very useful.

I spent a long time with a doweling jig doing camlock fasteners, the idea being that it would look more professional than visible plastic furniture blocks everywhere. If I did it again I would make more use of screws and furniture blocks, as it would be easier to get the perfect alignment.

There is all manner of fancy hardware available for cupboards and hinges, although in the end I took half my drawers out. I now have two drawers, two tambour doors, multiple open cubby holes, and no hinges.

More details here

CandyVan conversion journey

Two days off for an early Christmas present from the parents, who bought me two days ramp hire at East Lancashire Vehicle Storage Solutions . It was a real pleasure to work on a new van, and the sliding jack built in made it really easy to lower and lift the fuel and water tanks. Much better...

www.t6forum.com

Thanks for that, just had a quick look through your conversion post, it looks great. I have to say I really dislike furniture blocks but even I realise their worth on some projects, I've not got a proper CNC but I do have an Augmented Reality router which covers some of the CNC's features but I also have a reasonable amount of amateur woodworking tools, including a track saw and track square so I'm sorted for that.

 

[Huba]

If going a non standard layout I would recomend doing the basic layouts in a cad program first, if not cad lierate then cardboard templates / blanks are usefull

Worst case, if you have the ability to make the furniture, you also have the ability to change the furniture if it doesnt work perfectly first time.

I found scribing all the furniture into the shape of the van a challenge, must of walked up and down my drive 1000 times to adjust stuff.

On youtube theres a channel called vanology conversions, I wouldn't myself do stuff exactly like him, but he has some good tips and shows the satndard of workmanship you would get if you paid someone to do it.