Welcome

WELCOME

Welcome to the blog for our campervan build

This project began in May 2020 during the 'lockdown' in the UK due to COVID-19. We were supposed to be touring Europe in our existing camper conversion 'Movano The Van Hoe' but this obviously wasn't going to be possible... So after finishing a pretty ambitious Hot Tub Trailer build (see the blog here) we decided we needed another project to keep us occupied during however many weeks left of lockdown.

We put Movano The Van Hoe up for sale and bought a Renault Master which we will convert over the coming weeks/months.

We are fortunate in that Elliot has a fully equipped workshop with tools and space to work, and we're also fortunate in that this is Elliot's second camper conversion, so we're not totally winging it!

This is a blog of the full build and I make no apologies that it is very photo heavy. The primary purpose of the blog is to document this build both for our own records, and for anyone else who's interested.

We plan on touring around Scotland with our Trailer Hot Tub when travel restrictions are relaxed enough to allow this.

Disclaimer: This is NOT meant as a tutorial. Do not try this at home. Always seek professional expert advice.

Wednesday, 18 November 2020

TV & Sound System

Multimedia!

We've got a pretty sweet media system in Master 'Splores. This includes a Sharp 24" Smart LED DVD 12v/24v TV on a full motion wall mounted bracket with retaining clip so it can fold away neatly and securely when not in use. This can connect to a mobile hotspot to allow access to Netflix, Prime Video etc, or when we're out of phone signal, we can watch movies directly from a USB stick/DVD when in the wilderness. Connected to the TV we have a 600W Stereo Amplifier with Bluetooth connectivity and 6x9 Pioneer Speakers for cinema quality surround sound.

It gets a bit more complicated...

The amplifier was stripped down and modified to be able to mount shallower in the wall without cables plugged into the rear of it. The 230v transformer was removed and the power switch on the front wired to the 12v supply instead. The 12v in, audio line in, and speaker output connections were all removed and hard wired to the main circuit board allowing the wiring to exit out the side of the unit.

Eh... and there's also 2 microphone inputs... For van karaoke...?

Sunday, 15 November 2020

Upholstery

We have designed the cushions in the back of the van to function both as seating with a base and back cushion, and as a mattress, forming a full king size (200 x 150cm) bed.

We've chosen to use 100mm reflex foam professionally upholstered in durable black fabric (Balmoral Textiles) by the wonderful Greg (Greg Upholstery) in Edinburgh.

The fabric covers are stain resistant, removable and washable.

Just having these soft furnishings in place makes the van feel almost finished and they are SUPER comfy.