Seating
One of the bit of planning that was taking the most time was the seating. I want to be able to carry a large number of passengers (a whole band) as well as have a good sized bed, and living area. Searching a number of website for ideas and products (the seats need to be road legal) I had come up empty. I then spotted on E-Bay, a seating system that had been removed from a Toyota camper van. It consists of two rows of seating (four seats in total), with the front row being able to rotate to face forward or backward, the second row can only face forward but can fold up very small to take up little space. The front row can also be folded down flat to form a table, or all four can be setup to form a rather large bed. So I decided to go to crewe to see them for my self. Well they did every thing they needed two can where quite conformable. So I now have my seats.
So the story begins
After spending a very damp week camping at sidmouth, I decided I had just about had it with camping in tents. I had also decided to get rid of my car because I had more or less stopped using it, as I've started using the tram to get to work. It was at this point the idea of a camper van came to mind. Now I did not want a purpose built camper van, as for gigs I would still occasionally need transport, so I figured I could convert a regular van to do both jobs. This way it would also not cost me the earth, and things could be done in stages.
I first decided to do a bit of reading to find out more, several nights of solid reading and much googling later I still thought it was a good idea. I also worked this was not a job I could do by my self, as there are lots of bits that need a least two people, and plenty of jobs that are easier with two. I would probably need a garage which I did not have. Luckily my dad had recently retired and did not mind giving me a hand, so with some help secured and a place to work all I needed was a van.
First I need to select a van. To select a van I needed to work out what I needed in a van. My main priorities where a double bed, a cooker and sink, a toilet and shower. So a big van was required, I am also quite tall so it would need a high roof. There are quite a few Long wheel base van out there however the Merc Sprinter seemed to be rather well regraded so I started looking for a long wheel base sprinter.
I eventually found one at about the right price, age, and importantly not a rust bucket. As old vans tend to be a bit rusty. This one was a 2003 model, and only had a few rust spots that would need sorting out.
The next step was to take measurements and start planning the layout. The back was 420cm long and 175 cm wide (maximum width), now time to plan the layout.
