Ok, I say finished, I mean mostly finished. But after 6mths full time+ effort, well over 1000 hours, I’m declaring the van complete. The only outstanding bits are trivial or “upgrades” to temporary bits. But at the moment, its fully usable and complete and the rest can wait till the sun comes out!
And, at last, we have a tidy house!
Need to fall in love with it as a holiday toy rather than a workplace!
Videos on YouTube for a short and long walk though – depends how interested you are! Not really worth watching both (if any!)
Time to rest…
Short version:
Long version:
Firstly I want to thank you for sharing your amazing work. I find your choice of layout ingenious, really different and in my opinion creating a unique feeling of an apartment. I am currently in the startup process with a clean Boxer L2H2 and tempted to copy your design. My two big questions are: fixed bed or a sofa conversion, and storage; for example, where do you store outdoor furnitures if you have your bikes with you? Lastly, and this may be a difficult question. Would you have chosen the same layout for a single person?
Thanks for kind comments! Feel free to copy. Other videos and pics show CAD onwards, of you want the CAD files let me know (Sketchup 2017)
Camping Chairs (that roll into a bag) and (flat) sunloungers and power kite and kick scooter will all fit into the garage with the bikes.
Would I do the same if single? Yes – brilliant – single bed without making it up. Double if you get lucky. Loads of room – and more loungable than most L2 layouts. (Captain chairs are too formal).
Watch our CAD walk though video to see reasoning for L sofa and not cab. It actually gives more storage; more and more comfortable seating area; and easier to insulate. Not right for all, so think it though
Good luck!
Thanks, I would love to get the sketchup file.
I agree 100% regarding the cab seats, after a long drive you don’t want to get near them. And you want your home to feel like a home and not a van. Btw, did you end up building your own bathroom floor?
Yes, see other videos for one on the bathroom, and see photo gallery showing how floor was made.
Sketchup file here: http://www.doyourdream.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/MH2-Ducato-Design-Ryan-www.doyourdream.co_.uk-.zip
Thank you! This will save me a humongous amount of time and brain pain. If you ever pass Gothenburg, Sweden I hope you let me offer you a meal and some home brewed beer.
Very kind – with the mention of beer…. 🙂
May I suggest you look at sbmcc forum? Its the best self build forum I know of – quality vs quantity of posts is very high. I’d not have started or finished without the advice from there.
Hey Ryan and Mel
Saw your great clip on the lift for the rock and roll bed, it would be a great help to me as I really struggle with the bed due to arthritis.
I have been unable to source the lift mechanism, can you help with telling me where I could get one
Many thanks
Sarah
Hi Sarah
If you go to the Youtube link direct https://youtu.be/7QVPqNIXZkg – and scroll down, the same question has been asked by others – so if you expand the comments/replies you’ll get me answering for others. Answers may be a bit old now, or out of stock, but is a good basis for you to search. One reply was: Really not sure what you want, but I’ll try. You need to know how much you want to push up – and how much space underneath. So you then need a 12v actuator – like http://amzn.to/2s0nU3F – which is a 10″ one. You can get 8″. the size is really all you need. Power one way (eg + and – )and it goes up (to stop) and the other way (- and +) it goes down (to stop). how you make it fit and work is up to your design. the switch is http://amzn.to/2s0nU3F which is a DPDT momentary rocker. Use centre pins to the actuator. then put +12v on side 1 “up” and 2 “down” and 0v on side 2 down and 1 up. So the centre pins get + and – when pressed one way, and – and + when pressed the other.then just fabricate brackets you need and hey presto….!Its an “easy” job, but you need to think about how the motor can help you. e.g. on ours, we only push the bed up. So, I used a different switch than above (but wired the same). So rather than having 2 positions (and sitting in the middle) mine is always off unless pressed. So I press the button and it goes up – let go and it goes down. So totally depends on your usage.Good luck
And another
Hi Sharon. 3yrs blimey. Feels like yesterday. Still working well though :)Every install is different so I can’t be specific. But look up 12v linear actuator – eg https://amzn.to/2Zyletf or ebay. Probably around £30-40 mark max. Size depends on your bed and how its fixed. Ours just pushes “up” and not fixed on the downstroke.. And simply, a DPDT momentary switch https://amzn.to/2rE6pJd – and look at our blog. That should be enough to go on? Good luck