Hiya, Its always interesting to speak to and canvas opinion from fellow dubbers but thought I'd share my obsession with you and see what other people are doing... I have a 1979 bay which is now fully restored from basically a wreck. I'm in Oxfordshire. Mine was originally a tin top rhd but I've converted it to a Devon pop top. Still with original 1600 running gear but pretty much everything else upgraded/modified. I've got an hs2000 propane heater as I'm sure many of you have, under the rear seat and have kept the heat exchanger system running for what they're worth. The bottle is in the side unit on its side so isn't an eye sore and has been done properly with vent etc underneath. I'm just in the process of sound proofing and insulating the whole van and carpeting it, including the roof liner which will be an interesting finish and will make it feel very modern inside I hope with new fittings and lighting. I'm wondering what other solutions to camping challenges you've all addressed and maybe interested in comparing notes! I've just bought a little propane water heater Coleman hot water on demand with shower attachment and a quick set utility tent for showering/toilet. Trying to convince the wife to do more in it! By spending a small fortune on attachments I'm able to run it from any water supply, even mains and bypass the small but handy onboard gas canister to a larger one of my choosing and at the same time fit a shower head for any temp instant hot water. Useful for coffee etc. too. Already got running water, thermostatically controlled heating, leisure battery with split charge unit, 12v inverter, twin hob, grill and decent stereo and speakers front and rear. Something really good I bought last year was an extension out the back, allowing us to use the tailgate as the roof of where our double bed is, with boards for the bottom, braced with steel poles and canvas wrap. This way we're able to avoid interfering with the living and cooking area when we go to bed or get up. It was an original option from somewhere back in the day but this one was one that someone was selling on eBay and I couldn't resist and it's awesome. Considering various solar panel options for the roof currently and have just bought a middle seat for the front middle as ours is a step through but we have a 1 year old little girl so it would be nice to have her up front and an isofix kit for the child seat solves the seatbelt issue. I've also just bought a rear dickie seat for behind the passenger seat which I'll trim up soon and fit. I've got a custom interior which isn't mint but is solid and well made and very usable and all in gloss black so I think I'll stick with that for now. I've decided to get rid of all the curtains and just use a new set of thermo mats moving forward I think. Do you use curtains? What do you all do for refrigeration? I've got a dometic 3 way rc1200 which is handy as its a chest fridge and is huge and doubles as a seat, it's also very efficient and I just run a tiny canister for it separately. So when we stop I throw up a pop up 2 man tent and put it in there. Do you use any additional lighting? I'm thinking about going LEDs in the pop top roof but looking for inspiration. Have many of you bothered with electric hook up? I've recently bought an extension for hook up which doesn't need fixing to the van, not used it yet though. Something you might be interested in is my half beetle trailer project. It's all done, just getting painted and trimmed now but it's the back end of a 71 I think, same shape as my mint 71 bug but my plan is that it's going to be kitted out with blacked out windows, another leisure battery, a gas bbq under the engine lid which will pull out on telescopic bars and house the propane tank inside the bug as well as provide ample and much needed additional storage for camping trips with the family and dog. Perhaps I'll add a roof rack too as I can't have one on my bus due to the front sun roof and Devon pop top. I've also got a couple of HONDA monkey bikes which I'm into and I want to rig up a transportation method on the trailer for one of those too. Probably in the form of a frame with lashing points or something as I've already an attachment on my tow ball for carrying one of them so would enable me to transport both at once and my trailer. The dream! All of this including monkeys are original VW beetle colour of L50b baby blue and cream roof from guttering. Anyway, Thought I'd say hi! Cheers, Tom
Hello! Sounds good! Be interested to have more details on this setup. Rear extension sounds interesting too. All I'll say is, curtains make a bus cosy when you're camping. Wouldn't be without mine (although they are a pain in everyday use).
Hi mate, I think it's a bluebird customs middle seat which I had powder coated in black and managed to use cushions I already had that fitted neatly on it as a middle seat to the same seat height as the recaros up front - looks awesome. I bought a ford isofix setup from Amazon which bolts in place (I'll probably get it welded) so can hopefully fit the car seat...
