thought I should introduce my old camper to the crowd.
she's a 96 Penguin rear door with 2 single beds, brought it off the boss (was a trade in) for a very decent price.
for a old van she's in pretty good nick
came standard with electric roof (woohoo no winding!), battery, fold down wardrobe, 2burner stove/grill, 60 litre water tank, 90 litre 3 way fridge.
first off a added a setek for the 12v side, plus another battery and battery switch
led globes in the roof lights
digital amp meter which shows input and output fed from a shunt resistor
12v water pump and isolation switch
DVD stereo with 2 internal and 2 external speakers
rewired the roof lights to a external switch, i've never trusted those contact roof switches for isolating the lights
2 x 12v sockets inside and 2 outside, also added 2 usb charge points
added a anderson to front right of van for solar, and use a double adaptor to connect 2 portable solar panels, have also made a few cables so i can join the car as well and use it's 80watt panel for the van and car, so in essence i have 3 panels which keep the van and car batteries charged, solar goes thru the shunt so i can monitor the input
shortened a rollout awning that was damaged to fit the van, this awning is similar to a fiamma but the winder is on the other end I think it's called a prostor, on the arms of this i added led strip lights, with a external switch and a PWM to dim the lights
fitted a external TV mount and foldup antenna and made a portable weatherproof booster all the kid's usually have a movie night while we study glass bottle decreasing levels
12v fan on the fridge running thru a switch inside and a old thermostat off a air conditioner to control when it turns off/on, works great turning it self off at night when the temp drops and back on in the morning.
added a tap to the drawbar on the awning side, can't understand why jayco don't put em on that side as it's easier to get to.
added another gas bottle mount to the front, it's just a carry position i swap them over or use the bottle for my portable coleman hot water system. I carry a shower toilet tent and thunderbox drop toilet to keep the women happer(ier).
I'm a divorced dad so i just take my daughter (who lives with me) so the twin beds are ideal for us.
Gave the van a full service and underslung the axles as we go free camping in some rugged places, van usually turns up at camp site covered in mud from the 4wd she's been thru rivers, gutted tracks the works and still handles it fine
as i've said in another post i'm cutting down another fiamma to go over the door for a bit of rain protection and i've got a brand new fire damaged hot water system i'm thinking of fitting along with external shower. the hot water system was out of a new van and when the detailers were testing it they didn't notice the gas fitting was loose, so it leaked there and then ignited and melted the plastic cover off the temp switches a bit, but it did also destroy a lot of wiring above the unit in the new van which i had to replace
added 4 bar ride levelers to the setup to help the poor old hilux from dragging it's arse up the road.
never really use the inside of the van except for sleeping, the stove has never been used by me or the previous owner(s) to me it's just a bed on wheels. we go for a annual trip to Mount Lawson queens birthday weekend for about 4 days, usually see about -5 to -10 every night, so i got a bit soft and brought a cheap generator off fleabay and electric blankets, it's lovely to jump into a nice warm bed, mind you my dalmatian still gets in the sleeping bag as well if it gets a chance
The vans usually towed by my old diesel hilux of the same vintage, it's got a 50mm lift, aftermarket turbo, 32" muddies, 13000 pound winch with dyneema rope (never needed to use it yet), winch bar, scrub bars and rock sliders, arb airlockers front and back, custom drawer system in the back to hold a 60 litre fridge, 80 watt solar for the aux battery, led strip lights in the canopy and on tailgate. roof mounted led floodlights that i shine out sideways for night 4wding plus another one near rear number plate for reversing. when we 4wd i usually just keep it in 2wd with rear locker on till we get umm stuck and then use 4wd .... more fun that way and good bragging rights when you get thru a sticky bit that stops the other guys
and thats about all i can think of
cheers Dave
she's a 96 Penguin rear door with 2 single beds, brought it off the boss (was a trade in) for a very decent price.
for a old van she's in pretty good nick
came standard with electric roof (woohoo no winding!), battery, fold down wardrobe, 2burner stove/grill, 60 litre water tank, 90 litre 3 way fridge.
first off a added a setek for the 12v side, plus another battery and battery switch
led globes in the roof lights
digital amp meter which shows input and output fed from a shunt resistor
12v water pump and isolation switch
DVD stereo with 2 internal and 2 external speakers
rewired the roof lights to a external switch, i've never trusted those contact roof switches for isolating the lights
2 x 12v sockets inside and 2 outside, also added 2 usb charge points
added a anderson to front right of van for solar, and use a double adaptor to connect 2 portable solar panels, have also made a few cables so i can join the car as well and use it's 80watt panel for the van and car, so in essence i have 3 panels which keep the van and car batteries charged, solar goes thru the shunt so i can monitor the input
shortened a rollout awning that was damaged to fit the van, this awning is similar to a fiamma but the winder is on the other end I think it's called a prostor, on the arms of this i added led strip lights, with a external switch and a PWM to dim the lights
fitted a external TV mount and foldup antenna and made a portable weatherproof booster all the kid's usually have a movie night while we study glass bottle decreasing levels
12v fan on the fridge running thru a switch inside and a old thermostat off a air conditioner to control when it turns off/on, works great turning it self off at night when the temp drops and back on in the morning.
added a tap to the drawbar on the awning side, can't understand why jayco don't put em on that side as it's easier to get to.
added another gas bottle mount to the front, it's just a carry position i swap them over or use the bottle for my portable coleman hot water system. I carry a shower toilet tent and thunderbox drop toilet to keep the women happer(ier).
I'm a divorced dad so i just take my daughter (who lives with me) so the twin beds are ideal for us.
Gave the van a full service and underslung the axles as we go free camping in some rugged places, van usually turns up at camp site covered in mud from the 4wd
she's been thru rivers, gutted tracks the works and still handles it fineas i've said in another post i'm cutting down another fiamma to go over the door for a bit of rain protection and i've got a brand new fire damaged hot water system i'm thinking of fitting along with external shower. the hot water system was out of a new van and when the detailers were testing it they didn't notice the gas fitting was loose, so it leaked there and then ignited and melted the plastic cover off the temp switches a bit, but it did also destroy a lot of wiring above the unit in the new van which i had to replace
added 4 bar ride levelers to the setup to help the poor old hilux from dragging it's arse up the road.
never really use the inside of the van except for sleeping, the stove has never been used by me or the previous owner(s) to me it's just a bed on wheels. we go for a annual trip to Mount Lawson queens birthday weekend for about 4 days, usually see about -5 to -10 every night, so i got a bit soft and brought a cheap generator off fleabay and electric blankets, it's lovely to jump into a nice warm bed, mind you my dalmatian still gets in the sleeping bag as well if it gets a chance
The vans usually towed by my old diesel hilux of the same vintage, it's got a 50mm lift, aftermarket turbo, 32" muddies, 13000 pound winch with dyneema rope (never needed to use it yet), winch bar, scrub bars and rock sliders, arb airlockers front and back, custom drawer system in the back to hold a 60 litre fridge, 80 watt solar for the aux battery, led strip lights in the canopy and on tailgate. roof mounted led floodlights that i shine out sideways for night 4wding plus another one near rear number plate for reversing. when we 4wd i usually just keep it in 2wd with rear locker on till we get umm stuck and then use 4wd .... more fun that way and good bragging rights when you get thru a sticky bit that stops the other guys
and thats about all i can think of
cheers Dave
