Solar panel install & Solway Interior Panels - VB13
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- Опубліковано 25 жов 2022
- In order to help me achieve the internal finish and appearance I visited Solway Conversion in Scotland to collect and internal panel kit I ordered which is going to be a game changer for the look & feel of my van inside. They stock the windows I installed, skylights, the internal panel kits and so much more, even an internal shower & toilet cubicle.
Check them out - solwaycamperconversions.co.uk/
My Canadian Solar 600 watt panel - ebay.us/vKgu2z
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#dailyvlog #vanlife #campervan - Розваги
Lovely seeing you two on a wee trip together 💚🤗
Best View in England.. the Welcome to SCOTLAND sign !!
Now I’ve found this video has helped cheers
Keep them coming 😊
I fitted a wind deflector in front of our leading roof vent and it made such a big difference.
The interior is going to look amazing using those profiles. Such a neat job! Really interesting seeing how you are doing this van conversion and what goes into it. 😎
Looking great John very neat
Jeez that solar panel is a monster! Just bought a 400 watt panel for home (energy crisis) and I thought that was big but yours, wow!
I really like your no wood cladding. Got to be lighter too.
All taking shape John, you'll soon be done and getting out again 👍
This van conversion is rapidly becoming my favourite conversion. Great stuff John.
I was doing some work on my van yesterday when a "facebook memory" popped up from 5 years ago, doing some work on the same van. Never finished.
The van is coming on well. Great to see that you’re going for a T&G free zone!!!!! Those pre-formed panels will give a factory finish look.
I've got those panels in mine. So much easier than doing your own and you can fit a surprising amount of insulation behind most of them. Fantastic job so far.
Cracking job John
Loving the format John, great commentary and flush with great ideas for all to enjoy. Really enjoying the channel. 👋
Watching you do the van, your home your way is brilliant. Make sure you do this and do that haha, great work John!!
Love the build dude…conversion is about 99.9% what I would love to do. All the materials used spot on.
Ref the internal panels. Absolute bang on. Many many yrs ago out these a T4 to give it a factory look like a cally. didn’t want carpet everywhere.. just get a good fit to avoid squeaks. Again with the fan squeal. When we pop topped the T4 we had to put a little wind deflector across the whole top of the screen. Noise gone.
Lovely roof stiffy sir! You look "proud".
Great idea. They maybe expensive, but time saved fabricating, installing and then the weight saved, you will recover the cost of fuel over a few years. I've saw van builds and people put on 12 to 18mm tongue and groove. Absolutely crazy as its all about weight.
OMG. Someone else in the camper world who understands the importance of weight - like every car manufacturer has for decades. Ppl with Belfast sinks and 40mm block worktops make me 🤦♀️. Plush a major issue with the sinks is - bc the van is never level - you spend eternity trying to scoop the water from a corner down the drain..
Amazing thinking you’re putting into the build and very sound logic - love the solar too 👍
Look forward to the next one. David 👍
Yep. Vans constantly evolve ) always something to improve or fix , ur going all out there buddy, hope it all comes together nicely.
Looks a very interesting concept looking forward to seeing your ongoing progress 👍
I'm gobsmacked at what solway campers do.Why faff about with plywood and carpet when you can get amazing professional panels like that. I wish now I'd got a Ducato instead of the vivaro. still , always possible in the future. The van is looking like its going to be awesome, John and cracking work so far. I was also really happy to see you and Mandy going up to pick your stuff up. Gotta say that its always more exciting to go to pick your own stuff up than sit frustrated for it to come through the post or courier and find its broken (true story) I really enjoyed this vlog and learned valuable info for the future. Regards and respect to your good self and Mandy from me 👍👍👍👍
Great vid mate! Looking good, like you said a van is never finished. You'll be still be upgrading 2 years down the road
I LOVE the automotive-finish interior panels!!! 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
great idea using the lightweight panels. similar to converting a people mover instead of a van ( with existing 'plastic' panels) saves a lot of work and a lot less exposed metal.
Nice to see things starting to take shape, those panels look interesting particularly the pre formed bathroom.
Love the videos of the van build. Nice one John
If you take a look at factory campervans with their skyroof that far forward they often a spoiler thing to prevent the windnoise.
OMG so much work to do carpentry fit in a Panel van. Solway products really cuts down on woodworking Marathon I did with my Van. Your finish will be awesome.
Hi John those panels are going to make the Fit out much easier n more Professional . Is it the Max fan Or the Roof rack that's making the Noise..But a Deflector should Solve it anyway 🤔 hopefully.. glad you're not doing the Terrible Carpet. Even though I've a Minibuse converted to Camper n it's got Carpet .. but I will live with it for the moment...Stay Ssfe..and Enjoy 😉
Those panels are fairly expensive, but when you take in the finish and the ease of cleaning plus the time save they’re not a bad price 👍
Them panels are a game changer , and definitely a more professional finish to the conversion’s
Brilliant John will be done in no time than you can be on your travels again say hi to Mandy best wishes Avis x
Good progress John, like that interior panel kit. I think the wind deflector
Panel idea might be the way to go to stop that annoying wind noise.
Doing a sterling job John
Good ol H&S will be paying you a visit 😂
Improvise and adapt that’s my motto
Van taking shape John 👍🏻
Hari OM
Thanks for hilighting Solway Campers - those panels are elegant! YAM xx
You and Mandy passed our road end in Gretna! Wish I’d known, Alex and I would have given you lunch or at least coffee. Interesting about Solway Vans.
nice one John, that is one hell of a solar panel, but a great fit. on the max fan you have probably done it by now, but as you have some pipe lagging, i would try a bit of that round that leading edge, just to see it thats where the problem is. then find a better fix, its so annoying to hear it whistling all the time you are driving. those ready made panels look great and will save lots of hours fixing battens and wood panels. keep up the good work.
Looking good, love those wall panels, they will look very neat and speed up the build too. Fiamma make a wind deflector for a couple of their roof vents, maybe one of those will fit?
That's a bigarse solar panel.
Cheers Tony Brisbane Australia
Agree with your comments about the quality of finish from some companies. We went to 3 shows before coming up with a shortlist for our van. Some of the attention to detail was really disappointing.
Hi John. Fiamma do a spoiler to fit in front of roof vents. Might sort your noise problem. Your doing a great job by the way. Still good to see aspects of your build, I like alternate thinking, not following the herd etc. So keep doing your own thing, and get trucking .... cheers
So cool are those panels, really wish they was available for a VW crafter
John regarding your wind noise at front from skylight. You could possibly use the wind/water deflectors that they use for pop tops on Campervan. Mine on Renault trafic is only about 30mm high which probably isn't high enough. But I've see some on Vw that are much higher around 70mm I'd think
good vid on channel keep up the good vid thanks lee
i did a 6h non stop drive from wales the other week after been up at 6am and a full day on the beach and walking. Got home at 2am and it was an absolute grueller lol. Almost stopped for a nap a coupe of times but pushed on to get home. Those panels should make the van look smart and very professional in quick order! What is the rough cost for a van? Im getting an itch to scratch building another van watching these and the ideas but happy with my T5 atm! :) Looking forward to seeing the panels on.
Thats a great idea 😁🤣🤣
Yes I noticed the poor finish on many of the commercial built campers at the NEC show earlier this year.
The smaller van conversions companies take much greater care and thought about the fit and finish.
How about some adhesive backed weatherstrip, of appropriate thickness, stuck to the underside of the fan lid to close the gap.
A wind deflector for the Max Fan is a good idea. I am going to do the same for the solar panel on my van. I I’ll now probably do the Max Fan as well. My fan is the noisiest bit of the van when driving. I also have the pointless seal on the back edge of the fan.
Don’t deflect the wind around a solar panel or you’ll have difference air pressures too & bottom. It could smash the panel or cause it to rip off the roof. John & Mandy channel has a video demonstrating how air flows over a raised solar panel
Good point John. I didn’t think about that. That’s another job off the list.
Top 1 john boy 👌
Hi John,noticed you have insulated the side’s of the floor (the triangular holes) it does get wet down there I left mine.
Another great video bud. Ever so quickly, is that wind noise common with all max air fans then?
Hi John, did you see the dining table storage and deployment on the Hymer off road van? Never seen this method before, looked really good and invisible when not in use.
Hi John not sure what you’re going to do with your doors and cabinetry but there is a company in Ashton underline called decorative vinyl doors the bosses name Steve they can make any cabinet or any door in any colour or any pattern or size very helpful company and great prices just for the heads up
Good to see these internal panels are available to the public 👍🏼
Were on version 4 of the internal conversion of our van, and ive been saying to the wife id like to do make it look like like a manufactured build but to our specs (fixed bed at the rear and everything open plan with no tall units) as all the manufacturers seem to be sticking to the same traditional style layouts.. It would be nice to have a van that was self built but looked shop bought..
I think id definitely be spraying the panels a more contemporary colour tho
🚐💨👍🏼😍
Difficult to get any coating system to properly adhere and thats the entire point of buying them to minimise fitting time. Madness.
We carpeted our old Ducato panel van with map fabric over the interior grp panels. It’s easy to get things to stick to.
Re the whistling fan; would it help to have the fan extracting while motoring?
Thought you were gonna make the antenna fold downable?
Hi. I think you will find that if you've got the front roof rack bar in front of the roof vent, it makes it whistle. I removed mine and all cured!!
Maybe watch the video 👍🏻
10.50 Maybe put it on a hinge in case you ever want to go under something low?
Quick question, why is the double gland facing forward, rather than letting the wind and rain blow over the slope of the gland? Great video, keep them coming.
It’s not facing forward.
Hi john have you seen Liam doing van build same as yours he got some wheels
They look amazing 👌
Is that Liam who named his van a non-binary name?
Hi John, a possible solution to the maxair whistle would be to sikaflex a white UPVC strip at a slight angle to form wind deflector in front of the unit. which is what i did with my solar panels and skylights. Any double glazing manufacturer will have various widths and thicknesses. I used 75mm x 5mm and then cut small wedges using same material and it looks pretty neat and no holes through the roof....summit like this _______/ __________ forgive rough sketch but I could email you pics if you wish.
That’s what I said in the video 👍🏻
Yeh ano, I was mainly giving a description of how I did it and offering to send photos but...its not rocket science and I'm sure you'll be fine lol.
Hi John looks like you are doing an amazing job here. Followed you for years now and I am about to sell my converted van (john Virgo method nearly) and about to buy a Bessecarr E540 2007 for about 30k. Seeing what you are doing and using the panels is making me think twice. Getting the finish of a modern motorhome now seems so possible. Love DIY but wondered on what your estimated costs will be at the finish, compared to buying the 30k cost of E540. Once again great job and your experience has obviously got you to this high standard you are working to
My total budget for van & build is £20k, with a £4K contingency. I’ve had a few costs eat into my contingency so far, the mess up with the sliding door cost me a lot and the Solway products also cost a lot, however, I think realistically I’m still going to end up with a van to my spec, no excess weight or wasted space for very close to £25k
@@GadgetJohn Really enjoying the build John and even now the van looks worth more than twice what you are budgeting for the build! Does your budget include the Eco-Flow kit, or is that just a big dent in your overall budget?
Thats what I call a mantenna 🤣
Ordinary rivets will vibrate loose John, you need to drill for Rivnuts which you can then bolt in to.
As I keep saying, this isn’t new to me. I’ve done this before and can tell you you’re wrong. If you follow this series you’ll know I’ve done most of this on our old Ducato panel van, tried & tested. None of this Facebook crap here, just actual facts.
Our goods lifts are assembled with rivets, never ever seen one vibrate loose.
I’ve worked on aircraft for over 40 years and they are primarily held together with rivets and they do no work loose!!
The panel could benefit form 3 hinges and 2shocks for easy lift , not critising you fittement just because its much easy to clean and wash under the solar panel . Maybe is better to use ribnots or screws to secure the panel easy to remove if needed .
Why would you install hinges on a solar panel, unless you want to waste money & weight on tilting.
@@GadgetJohn overtime dust will build up under the panel and after getting wet a few times will become green moss, i tilt up mine to wash under at least every year (194cm×99cm) i use a comercial vehicle wash brush and its not easy to remove that black stuff.
But you can see in the video there’s plenty of room under the panels.
Hi John, I saw a video the other day on vanlife plus (I think) where they installed a material cover on the inside of there van for the max fan it simply zipped up? I’d that any good for you?
I’ve got the blind & light fitting to go on when the roof is done. So I can’t use the product you’ve seen, though it does look good.
The panel system looks great and gives you a very pro look. A design question here is that when you are building the van from a blanc canvas, have you designed a special cable management system? Meaning something that allows easy access to add, remove, and run cables for new gadgets so that you do not need to cut holes or take the van apart for that? Or can you easily remove the panels for access - like airliner interiors?
A van is never finished so there will always be additions or changes, so the way I’m building the van will allow for easy access to add cables etc.
@@GadgetJohn Somehow I anticipated that you indeed have planned ahead for an ever changing design. 😉
Great video john love the channel quick question is this video filmed on iPhone or go pro ? Thanks
I’d say 90% is filmed on my iPhone 13 Pro Max, then the other clips would be from the Osmo Action, Insta360 x3 and Sony zv1
Hi do you know if the victron b2b tr smart does the solar imput as well
I’m not using any Victron gear.
Another great video John. Thank you. Did you buy that solar panel on eBay. I clicked the link and the P&P is more than the cost of the panel itself? Or did you buy it from Solway?
The delivery was £48 and the panel is £340 - maybe look again
Hi John where did u get the roof rack for
Thanks Peter
Check the video description for links
Hi John, can you tell me where you got your solar panel from thank you
All links to products are in the video description 👍🏻
👍
I would have put the 5G aerial on the off-side John in case it hits an overhanging trees..🤔
It is on the off side 👍🏻
That antenna could do with a motor to rotate it down when not in use, just to take the pressure off when going under low obstacles… not sure where i got that idea from………
Remember this is simple & lightweight. I bolt will allow the antenna to move if it needs to. I can then just move it back upright afterwards.
Might be a project for when it's finished as it's just an idea, but why not mount it to a bracket that's spring loaded and folds 90' if it hits it would just fold down and spring back up. Enjoying seeing the different approach.
Where did you get solar
There’s a link in the video description
Is it not your rack whistling rather than your maxfan?
No, the rack doesn’t make a sound. Had this all in an older van, go check the older vids.
@@GadgetJohn I’ll take your word for it
HI John.
Been following you since before Turkey.
I've been through the videos and Instagram, but I can't find the name or link to your roof rack system. Would you mind telling me the brand or name please, as I have a similar design issue to sort out.
I wondered why you had to tell people to stop telling you what to do, until I started reading the comments. I've already bought half of your John and Mandy 'campervan and travel' gear suggestions, I just need that roof rack system now. TIA
It’s a fiamma roof rack, all linked in the video description.
Maby a spoiler in front of the fan……
I can see that Arial taken off by a tree down a country lane 🤔
Wow. Amazing insight.
Interesting that you also thought that the professional van finishes were poor. In this day and age there is no need for plastic screw caps to be showing on a build
PS - That solar panel is VERY cheap 😳😳😳☀
Personal choice but the panel kits make a campervan so generic #sameastherest. 😉
Considering all converted vans have 4 way stretch and tongue & groove I think you’re getting confused.
Actually not John. Always use either faux leather or Alcantara on my conversions. On my last Ducato conversion used 9mm ply to line the walls which easily followed the curves of the body work which made a really strong structure to fix the furniture too plus easy to cover in said material. Thin plastic panels(expensive) don’t seem to have this strength. Your floor idea is a good way considering my motorhome is made that way without battens, will give you that👌🏽But again I’m making the comment of a very generic conversion 👌🏽
Another brilliant video John! Nice to see companies like Solway doing that ready made stuff! That would have blown my budget sky high but have used cladding in my build of Betty2 👍 @bettyourcampervan 👍
He said Dildoooooooo.😂🤣😂🤣😂
I'm not enjoying this build ..I don't know why .... I'll keep at it but I'm not holding my breath...
Maybe you’re the one person who’s missing the t&g🥴🤔
Good ol H&S will be paying you a visit 😂
Improvise and adapt that’s my motto
Van taking shape John 👍🏻
👍