I am planning on buying a ford transit/vw t4 in europe and decking it out and i assume that using wood, may be the easiest method.

The plan is to deck it out so that u sleep at the top and then you have your sections etc underneath.

There would be a seperate wooden flap that locks back on the back of the van over the sectioned back end much like the boot of a car would open and close but only for the sections with the gear. this would be padlockable.

Also i assume there would be room at the front near the side sliding door to build some shelving and lockable cupboards for belongings etc.

I have NO IDEA of how im really goin to do this and am trying to go to europe prepared with a fool proof plan of attack to do this in a day, so i can hit the road.



If anyone has any tips etc or PRO's n CON's on different systems and how they did it (finer details), then this would be much appreciated. And pictures would be helpful.

Cheers

I did pretty much what you were talking about with a Mazda van. I did have the luxury of welding a strip of angle iron to the drivers side of the cargo compartment though. Maybe you could screw it to the side of the van if you have to.

I screwed a sheet of 16mm hardwood marine ply to this to make the top. For the side I had a sheet that was 60cm deep and was joined to the top by screwing it to a 19x42mm strip of pine, which was also screwed to the top.

The 'boot' was attached to the floor by screwing to some hinges, and a hasp to lock it to the top of the plywood box.

I decked out a hiace with the most basic racking I could think of.

Cover the floor in rubber.

Drill six pairs of holes at ceiling height - 3 on each side opposite one another. Bolt 2 L shaped steel lengths into each hole at the top...

You have then have six verticals which should be in compression against the floor (wider at the bottom than the top so that they're held in compression).

These verticals have holes every inch or so.

Between each pair of verticals, attach long bolts with thick washers in between the verticals.

Wedge horizontals between the washers and tighten the bolts.

Cover in foam or bubble wrap.

Whole thing took a day or so. I have three shelves that I can put a surface onto to sleep on if required.

I'll post some pictures when I get the chance

Damn, I'm getting jealous! Nice work, WindRider!

WindRider said...

I bought a T5 long wheel base just after summer this year. I was able to set it up for 6x boards, 6x sails, masts, booms, with a bed on top. I also setup a bench seat for getting changed and getting on to the bed. Plus a electric fridge. the front is captian seats for easy access to the back.

I used right angle mental frame work from Bunnings with ply wood and rubber or plastic sheets for wet areas. The bed base is pine with a self inflatable double matress.

would that dog protect the gear,any way nice set up.

Transits are cheap for a reason. Go the T4.

It took me 3 minutes on ebay to find this:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/VW-T4-TRANSPORTER-CONVERSION-2-BERTH-AWNING-READYTOGO-/290470377719?pt=UK_Campers_Caravans_Motorhomes

I know it's got an interior that's not good for windsurfing, but it proves the point that you can get a T4 in reasonable nick for that kind of money. Vehicles are a lot cheaper in the UK at the moment because of the exchange rate.

I have since improved this by putting another layer of ribbed rubber matting on the mattress level. I use either a double or single foam mattress depending on company and or extra gear. Can fit esky, clothes bag, food boxes, hurricane stove etc all up front of matress and can load heaps of extra gear next to single mattress. Best part is when a few of us go away the mattress comes out and we can stack about 5 more boards on their sides plus sails masts etc.

The whole level is removable as it is aluminium angle bolted to threads within the walls of the van so if you need to cart motorbike or similar it only takes ten minutes to get it out. The bearers for the wooden bed floor are alum square tubing which sit on the angle with the wood sitting inside the whole frame. The whole lot is secured by flat head bolts with wingnuts for quick removal

I decided to put my sails in the roof in basically upside down roof racks made from angle brackets and square alum tubing with pipe insulation around it. I think it makes best room of the "dead space" in the roof area.

With rubber matting on both levels which has a lip up the sides of about 200mm nearly all your sand and saltwater is caught. I let it dry then just brush it out with a dustpan brush.

Its a simple concept but works really well and was easy to put together with the ability to remove if you need too.

With the setup as shown I can fit three boards, two booms and 3 masts in the bottom section and up to seven sails in the roof space. I put the curtain in to keep the light out from the front end. When the rear door is down, due to tint on rear window and curtain it is near impossible to see in the back.

If you want any photos of the anchoring or framework just email us and Ill send them on.

Wet Willy said...

Ellobuddha, don't you find that water from your sails drips down onto the bed?

Wet Dreams

a regular piece of plywood from the hardware store is nearly the perfect size for the back of a van. Add some 4x2 legs and you're done. Real easy.

My pride and joy, has room for everything but only room for 1 to sleep, Which is all good as the GF never wants to go windsurfing with me anyway....which is not a bad thing as she understands my addiction and feels its something I need to deal with on my own.

mmmm......now I have this blank canvas.......


by the way you can get plywood lining kits in uk for most vans..google it.
Even more upmarket ,you can even get complete "plastic" moulded non factory lining kits for both T4 and T5 VW vans