Van Camping Top Tips

[gazzared]

4 minutes ago, DirtyLurker said:

Eeesh - unsure, sorry! 

Ours was a work van that we had converted, I think all of our fuses are under drivers seat.  Mines an 06.  We had additional 12v & 240v sockets put in so not sure what/where stuff would be as standard.  I would recommend not using any power that comes straight from the engine battery though, a flat on Monday when it's time to leave would be a pain.

same - mine was previously a scottish power van, thanks anyway, yeah was only gonna use 12v whilst driving to glastonbury. I might just sack off my fridge as its gonna be a scorcher and after a few hours beers will be warm in rucksack anway haha

Edited June 3, 2022 by gazzared

[DirtyLurker]

4 minutes ago, Twiggy553 said:

I’ve got a 150w flexible panel and it runs everything (fridge, lights, water pump) indefinitely.

I’ve never needed to have the fridge set to anything other than 1 (out of 7) though and it still keeps ice frozen 👍 

Which fridge do you have?  That sounds amazing!  Mines a Waeco, and ice def melts lower than 3.  Think my solar panel is the same, it's on the roof, fitted by a specialist van conversion Co.  I do think one of the 2 leisure batteries may need replacing though, had them 7 years now and in that time I've had at 3 new engine batteries (2 of which were thanks to the bloody pandemic!)  the power doesn't last as long as it did when it was 1st converted, even during really sunny spells, when it's hotter though the fridge has to work harder hence using more power.  

[DirtyLurker]

16 minutes ago, gazzared said:

same - mine was previously a scottish power van, thanks anyway, yeah was only gonna use 12v whilst driving to glastonbury. I might just sack off my fridge as its gonna be a scorcher and after a few hours beers will be warm in rucksack anway haha

Mine was converted in a few different stages over the course of 12 months.  Went camping after initial work; flooring, 1st lot electrics, roof with no interior; plugged a beer fridge into the 12v whilst driving, got about 500 meters, smelt a nasty burning smell!  Unplugged it and now I refuse to plug anything in that isn't hard wired whilst travelling.  Might be worth just taking a cheapo cool box/bag with ice packs for journey and a few cold ones upon arrival and then you can def leave the fridge at home.

Scottish Power van, nice!  Mine was swimming pool company!  Ther old branding is showing through where the paintwork is fading giving it a retro look - I've painted the dints & rust spots - photo to follow 

Edited June 3, 2022 by DirtyLurker
Photos added

[irnkrtn]

2 hours ago, gazzared said:

Yep, my van floorspace is always full which then needs putting outside which then gets shoved under van and never used haha. My friends and I have already said were not doing any cooking at all around camp in the mornings because time just gets away from yourselves and theres no real point when we can just get breakfast at Lulus every morning. Just a BBQ tuesday night and bacon butties wednesday morning and thats it .

I was looking at those pizza ovens haha and was tempted but wouldve jst been something elese to un-pack and re-pack.

yep, ive being buying socks for the past 3 months and now how a great selection haha

Clearly we are the same person. Therefore, I wish you luck untangling your solar lights this weekend 😂

[hurdy]

34 minutes ago, gazzared said:

good tips, Ive got a dometic fridge which runs off 12v, electric and gas and last year the gaz bottle lasted nearly 2 weeks in very hot conditions, It's portable but still a bit biggger than i thought it would be so it normally goes in my awning......heres the long bit haha, I cant get get my cig lighter to work and cant find the fuse for it ( i wanna use cig lighter to keep fridge cold for the journey)- T5 2010 model actually says T28 sportline on V5 now I think the fuse is under my double swivel seat which means taking the whole seat and plate out 😞 but for glasto I could leave the whole seat out and put my fridge there instead ? this then meand I dont need my awning. any thoughts if fuse is deffo under seat, thanks

Fairly certain last time I changed mine (2007 T5) the fuse was in one of the two boards in the centre console below the gearstick

[Twiggy553]

10 minutes ago, DirtyLurker said:

Which fridge do you have?  That sounds amazing!  Mines a Waeco, and ice def melts lower than 3.  Think my solar panel is the same, it's on the roof, fitted by a specialist van conversion Co.  I do think one of the 2 leisure batteries may need replacing though, had them 7 years now and in that time I've had at 3 new engine batteries (2 of which were thanks to the bloody pandemic!)  the power doesn't last as long as it did when it was 1st converted, even during really sunny spells, when it's hotter though the fridge has to work harder hence using more power.  

It’s just the usual Weaco/Dometic 12v one.

The solar panel kicks out way more power than I need even in overcast weather. Does your charge controller allow you to see how much current (and voltage) the panel is generating?

battery is a 160ah AGM

[gazzared]

8 minutes ago, irnkrtn said:

Clearly we are the same person. Therefore, I wish you luck untangling your solar lights this weekend 😂

🤣🤣🤣

Already bought these from costco and they are brillant , they werent that expensive in store though, think I paid £18

https://www.costco.co.uk/Garden-Sheds-Patio/Garden-Decor/Outdoor-Lighting/Sunforce-Solar-String-Lights-with-Remote-Control/p/1600334

 

[Bucketsquad]

I've bought a campervan ticket for a quiet part of the East field, do you think they'll let us camp in the normal campervan field?

[gazzared]

10 minutes ago, hurdy said:

Fairly certain last time I changed mine (2007 T5) the fuse was in one of the two boards in the centre console below the gearstick

yeah ive tried all of those but thanks

[irnkrtn]

Just now, Bucketsquad said:

I've bought a campervan ticket for a quiet part of the East field, do you think they'll let us camp in the normal campervan field?

It's normally easy enough to swap quiet for normal, and hardly possible to go from normal to quiet. Luck of the draw potentially though. You can but ask on the day, worst case they say no.

[Bucketsquad]

Just now, irnkrtn said:

It's normally easy enough to swap quiet for normal, and hardly possible to go from normal to quiet. Luck of the draw potentially though. You can but ask on the day, worst case they say no.

Cheers mate. That's what I'm going to do.

[gazzared]

21 minutes ago, DirtyLurker said:

Mine was converted in a few different stages over the course of 12 months.  Went camping after initial work; flooring, 1st lot electrics, roof with no interior; plugged a beer fridge into the 12v whilst driving, got about 500 meters, smelt a nasty burning smell!  Unplugged it and now I refuse to plug anything in that isn't hard wired whilst travelling.  Might be worth just taking a cheapo cool box/bag with ice packs for journey and a few cold ones upon arrival and then you can def leave the fridge at home.

Scottish Power van, nice!  Mine was swimming pool company!  Ther old branding is showing through where the paintwork is fading giving it a retro look - I've painted the dints & rust spots - photo to follow 

looks great, at night under certain street light conditions I can just about make out the Scottish Power name and logo haha. It's started to get a few rust marks around the left hand side wheel arch and sliding door but nothing major. I might take it somewhere next year to get them sorted out before they develop into a bigger problem.

[Neil]

Get a catch for the backdoor, so it can be propped open and be locked, it's great for having an unstuffy van with decent ventilation. 

Edited June 3, 2022 by Neil

[Twiggy553]

Mine is an ex-British Gas Vauxhall Vivaro - did the conversion ourselves (everything except the pop up roof).

 

[Twiggy553]

6 minutes ago, Neil said:

Get a catch for the backdoor, so it can be propped open and be locked, it's great for having an unstuffy van with decent ventilation. 

Do you have a link?

[gazzared]

3 minutes ago, Twiggy553 said:

Mine is an ex-British Gas Vauxhall Vivaro - did the conversion ourselves (everything except the pop up roof).

 

brillaint, that was my plan aswell. I spent 2 years researching everything and planned to get the pop top roof done and windows by camper kong in wigan but then my friend said he was selling his campervan as his wife wanted a caravan so all my research was wasted haha

[DirtyLurker]

47 minutes ago, Twiggy553 said:

It’s just the usual Weaco/Dometic 12v one.

The solar panel kicks out way more power than I need even in overcast weather. Does your charge controller allow you to see how much current (and voltage) the panel is generating?

battery is a 160ah AGM

, just got a simple zig-gauge, green = good red = bad😆 it flashes green when it's charging, from either engine, solar panel or hook-up.  I probably need to heed my own advice and conserve power more!  

16 minutes ago, Twiggy553 said:

Mine is an ex-British Gas Vauxhall Vivaro - did the conversion ourselves (everything except the pop up roof).

 

Yes for converted work van!  

36 minutes ago, gazzared said:

looks great, at night under certain street light conditions I can just about make out the Scottish Power name and logo haha. It's started to get a few rust marks around the left hand side wheel arch and sliding door but nothing major. I might take it somewhere next year to get them sorted out before they develop into a bigger problem.

Yours is a meer whippersnapper, the paint will fade and those brandings pop out, I love it though shows the vans heritage & roots😉

When I lost the T2 in a write off accident the photos of the flipped bus showed no end of underside rust, so during the 1st conversion of the T5 I had the complete underside rust treated - hopefully any rust now is just panels so if they get too bad can be replaced, I used a straight to rust metal paint for artwork so should get a few more years before I even have to think about that.

[DirtyLurker]

Top Tip for those that are hiring or 1st time van-ers;  only use the portaloo for liquids😉 and don't put household toilet paper down it - you'll thank me when you're emptying the waste cassette!

[Neil]

24 minutes ago, Twiggy553 said:

Do you have a link?

Something like this

https://www.justkampers.com/7h0827793g-rear-barn-door-centre-catch-and-stay-nearside-left-vw-t5-and-t6.html

I know just kampers used to sell one for a t4 as I bought one for a mate, I bought one for my t25 from a post I saw on a forum years ago , the guy made them himself just a bit of shaped metal, and sold them for a tenner. 

[Cleoclaptrap]

2 hours ago, DirtyLurker said:

Top Tip for those that are hiring or 1st time van-ers;  only use the portaloo for liquids😉 and don't put household toilet paper down it - you'll thank me when you're emptying the waste cassette!

That's our rule too.

[Smeble]

8 hours ago, Twiggy553 said:

Not a camping tip, but a reminder that you will get searched every time you re-enter the festival site from the CV fields. You have been warned!

Never been searched going through gate C, I obviously have an honest face.

[Smeble]

don’t waste money on ‘special’ camping toilet paper, cheap and cheerful supermarket paper will break down just fine as long as you use the correct toilet chemicals, no nastiness with number 2’s either.

[Twiggy553]

9 minutes ago, Smeble said:

don’t waste money on ‘special’ camping toilet paper, cheap and cheerful supermarket paper will break down just fine as long as you use the correct toilet chemicals, no nastiness with number 2’s either.

What about a pound of mashed up dundee cake?

[philipsteak]

17 hours ago, irnkrtn said:

Keys are so expensive as well! Gutted...

Beyond that, YES THIS. You do not need all that extra stuff. You go, "well we're in a van so I'll just...", and then, you buy an enormous second hand awning on eBay for a steal because people took up campervanning in 2020 and now don't like it, you load it in your van, and you realise it takes up the entire floor space. and YES its going to be brilliant but there's no floor space... Or maybe that's just me! 👀

My biggest food tip in the van would be, economics aside I know some people will need to cook at base, to really think about the morning and the evening. What do you need to do at camp to feel fresh for the day, and to round the evening off? For me, I always brew a fresh coffee, grind the beans in a hand grinder, make it in a fancy wee metal pot with a V60. I shall not be prised from my coffee ritual. So I make sure I have a fast water boiler, some coffee and what not. I also make sure I have some decaff tea for getting back to camp at night. 

At the same time though, try not to be tempted by novel cooking implements unless you really know you're going to use them. You don't need that Oomi pizza oven. This is an affirmation for myself at this point...

Don't bring those big bottled waters, you can bring a container and get water easily. Do bring tons of extra socks. You have the space and its sheer luxury to change them.

 generally agree, but the exception to that is the Ridgemonkey toastie maker

Edited June 3, 2022 by philipsteak

[irnkrtn]

1 hour ago, philipsteak said:

 generally agree, but the exception to that is the Ridgemonkey toastie maker

That is an actual essential, and I will fight anyone who disagrees. That, and my omnia. We have a very specific "camping tea" that we have to have at least 4 times any time we camp anywhere, involving lots of new potatoes and those little par baked rolls. Perfect for it.