philelvey

Active Member
Hi all,

Thought I would share my Disco 1 camper build. Have been working on it now for a couple of weeks, and is basically finished now, aside from a few finishing touches.

Must give credit to ReadySalted, who did one earlier this year: http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f16/discovery-1-home-made-sleeping-platform-camper-252670.html I used some of his ideas, and added some of my own. Pretty stoked with the result!

First job was building a drop-down shelf for the rear door
philelvey-albums-camper-build-picture15500-dsc06113.jpg


Next, starting to build the main unit. 12mm Ply was used throughout. At first I thought it might be too thin, but with all the bracing has ended up being very strong and sturdy.
4 upright supports run from the back to the front. The outside ones are fixed to the rear arches
philelvey-albums-camper-build-picture15501-dsc06114.jpg


Putting the dividers in place. They are adding separate storage compartments, and will also support the top piece.
philelvey-albums-camper-build-picture15502-dsc06115.jpg


Starting to fix the top piece with more L brackets - I used a lot of them! You can see on the RH side how there is enough room in the "pocket" for the Camping Gaz bottle.
philelvey-albums-camper-build-picture15504-dsc06117.jpg


It's finished! How it all sits when driving. The foam is 75mm high density and super comfy!
philelvey-albums-camper-build-picture15506-dsc06134.jpg


I up-cycled the old seatbelts for the rear shelf! Also you can see how the dimensions were made to fit the crates at the back we'll use for storage or various things. They are 2 crates deep on both sides.
philelvey-albums-camper-build-picture15507-dsc06135.jpg


Behind the crates compartment, is a separate compartment on both sides that can be accessed by 2 folding parts of the top
philelvey-albums-camper-build-picture15508-dsc06136.jpg


There is heaps of storage space!
philelvey-albums-camper-build-picture15509-dsc06137.jpg


More storage in the front section! And you can see it all comes together for sleeping - 1. move and tilt seats right forward, 2. Fold out the "extensions" of the vertical uprights on each side, 3. lower the front-top piece right down
philelvey-albums-camper-build-picture15510-dsc06138.jpg


4. Insert the final foam strip in the folding gap, then you have a flat, 6 foot sleeping platform - happy days!
philelvey-albums-camper-build-picture15511-dsc06141.jpg
 
How does this affect your insurance premium? I once converted a Sprinter van to a camper and the premium went down :)
 
How does this affect your insurance premium? I once converted a Sprinter van to a camper and the premium went down :)

Your experience is 100% more than mine! I wouldn't have thought it would be relevant to the insurance - I'm not changing anything mechanical, or external etc. If I was confident it'd bring a reduction I'd tell them for sure, but if not then I would probably leave it. Any others thoughts on this?
 
Sure looks comfy - just how thick is that mattress? What about some nice curtains :lol:
And converting one of those storage compartments into a portaloo!
 
Sure looks comfy - just how thick is that mattress? What about some nice curtains :lol:
And converting one of those storage compartments into a portaloo!

It is! Matress is 75mm high density foam. Got it from a local place in Keighley - the lot cost £70 which I though wasn't too bad (would have cost around £100 from ebay).

We were sizing up curtains last night. I like your portaloo idea too, hadn't thought of putting it in one of the compartments! (was just going to do it outside!)
 
Only advice I can give,having built a camper out of a Merc van, is to drill lots of air holes in the ply under the foam,helps keep down the damp forming under the bed when you sleep on it. Looks good though.
 
I think you might have a different problem. If your bed is wet in the morning I think nappies might help.
 
Looks good. I like the idea being its really simple just to park anywhere and get to sleep, without spending an hour setting the tent/beds/cooker up
 

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