Transit conversion about to begin

[chuffstix]

Hello,

I'm just about to start a conversion on a newish Ford Transit (lwb high top), which will be for a family member to live in, as well as an occasional camping trip for me and family.

Spent some time living in a MK1 Transit motorhome about 16 years ago, some of the most memorable and interesting times I've ever had.

It's going to be fun trying to achieve the necessary spec in a panel Van (4 belted seats, 4 berth, kitchen etc.) but I reckon it's doable. I'm taking a few ideas from the 'thismovinghouse' blog but have less space to play with. Be interested to hear from anyone who has attempted it in their vehicle.

[Camper_Dan]

Greetings & Welcome!

Four berth is actually easy...  6.5 foot dinette at the back, seat backs fold up to make upper bunks.  Table can also fold down to make bottom bed a queen+.

Kitchen & bathroom in the middle.

Cheers, & keep us posted!

[chuffstix]

Nice idea, think I've seen something similar to that in a few vans. Was hoping to have a permanent double, though a queen size does sound nice!

[Camper_Dan]

I enjoy my bed that is always ready to crawl into without having to first set it up.  With 4 people needing both seating and beds though, a permanently set up bed becomes much more difficult.  If vertical space permits, perhaps a permanent double bed could be above the dinette...

[chuffstix]

I've been playing around with various designs. No matter which way I wrangle it there's no chance of a shower or separate toilet room, even with a dinette/ bed combo.

The van is an L3H3 transit, so a fair bit of height, but the person who is going to be using the van most of the time is not really up for doing any climbing into bed or using ladders due to neck/back/leg issues.

Here is a quick mock up of the queen size (king size in UK) dinette/ bed (dimensions are pretty accurate and take into account approx 2" of insulation all round...



As you can see, can squeeze in a kitchen unit and a couple of passenger seats but that's about it. Rear seats would be removed most of the time and a table of some sort would be there instead. Would have to sleep on seat cushions too rather than a normal mattress.

This is the design I'm leaning towards - still pretty tight but loads of permanent storage when the bunks aren't being used and massive space under the bed and steps to the side.



The overlapping bunks are stacked in such a way that the bed is full height from the thighs up and about 40cm high below that. Taken from http://www.thismovinghouse.co.uk, who in turn was inspired by similar designs in boats. His van has an extra few feet on mine though.

[Camper_Dan]

I've actually seen that design in person, and you have to be a contortionist to get in and out of those upper bunks unless you're a small child.  It was built for a 3 year old & a 5 year old...    I'd keep the parallel upper bunks.

You could still make the bottom bed narrower and add storage on one or both sides.

If you went with a forward facing rock & roll bed on the bottom, with seat belts, perhaps you could eliminate the second row of seating.  Westfalia style...  If only two people, the bed could be left up permanently, and just swivel the front seats.  You could still have the fold down bunks on the sides in back.  You could still have a slide out toilet under the bed, and a popup shower tent for outside.

Cheers!

PS: Hmmm... Looks like your pics disappeared...

[jill]

Heading out to look at a used Transit tomorrow! 
I'll be back in here soon!