JJ’s Renault Master camper build [Phase 1 - Complete]

[JJ0063]

As requested, starting a thread to keep a bit of a build log for this project. Feel free to tag along and see me bodge my way through a basic camper conversion.

Today I collected the van. 2014 Renault Master L2H2 (Medium roof, medium wheelbase) it’s a 2.3 DCI 125bhp, 6 speed. “Business+” spec so has nice bits like air con, keyless entry etc.

Purchase price was £2400, less than a months MOT and 182k on the clock. I’ve text my mechanic to come and take it for its MOT as soon as he gets a chance. 
 

It’s not the best condition, has a few knocks and scrapes but it drives very nice and will be ideal for what we need. 
 

Anyway, here she is. 
 

 

 

Ps. Steering wheel is gopping. I’ve ordered a cover from Amazon for now as all the second hand ones on eBay look almost as bad and are silly expensive. Need to look into whether any of the Renault car ones are compatible.

[JJ0063]

First things first. 
 

£355 on a pair of sliding side windows, one for the sliding door, one for the other side.

Also stopped by Screwfix and took the two rolls of recycled plastic bottle insulation they had left, 3 cans of spray glue and a couple of rolls of foil tape.

Need to order some sound deadening and a roof vent in the next few days.

[Dick Cheeseburger]

Interested to see this progress. 

[Popsicle]

No fucking about with this then, nice to see you going straight at it. The van looks a really good buy for the money, watching along with great interest.

Re: the steering wheel, I always used to find the £5 leather stitch it on yersen jobs a nice improvement on all the Sprinters I had, nothing feels worse than a manky flaking plastic steering wheel.

[JJ0063]

7 minutes ago, Popsicle said:

No fucking about with this then, nice to see you going straight at it.

The sooner I get the basics done - floor insulated, board down and vinyl laid, walls insulated and cladded, basic electrics etc in the sooner we can try and get a few nights in before this year is over.

I’m not scared of giving anything a go, don’t expect amazing workmanship as I’m certainly no carpenter but I’ll muster something up that half resembles a campervan and we’ll get some use out of it. I really enjoy this sort of stuff.

Just got to hope I don’t run out of budget 😂

[Matty]

2 hours ago, Popsicle said:

No fucking about with this then, nice to see you going straight at it

No one could ever accuse JJ of this 😆. Ill echo the above though pal, can't wait to see what you make out of this.

[The Old Bloke Next Door]

Looks a good buy, looking forward to progress.

I run a 2005 3.5 ton, Iveco 2.5 engine, took in part exchange four years ago and used it for a few weeks while I was moving units.

I was that impressed with mine I kept it, drives like a big car, comfortable ride, air con, great heater, fast, very economical, currently on about 192.000 miles and no rust anywhere.

[timolloyd]

Don’t forget to put aside £5 for the obligatory ‘Live, love, laugh’ sign to hang inside

[JJ0063]

2 hours ago, timolloyd said:

Don’t forget to put aside £5 for the obligatory ‘Live, love, laugh’ sign to hang inside

I prefer ‘Die, hate, cry’

[NorfolkNWeigh]

Also don’t forget to text into Sara Cox, Scott Mills, Rylan etc every time fucking time you go out in it. Also some trite annoying name.

[DVee8]

Adventure before dementia, emblazoned across the rear.

[EyesWeldedShut]

Dear Sir,
I am presently dwelling within a caravan that once bore the unmistakable marks of a previous owner’s fondness for vibrant and spirited decorations—bunting and primary colours aplenty! Now, only one relic of their exuberance remains, steadfastly attached by the determined grip of superglue to the pelmet.
Despite the love* I feel for this lingering, fine, scrollwork adornment I am also sure it would  align perfectly* with the ambiance you wish to cultivate within your new and cozy, mobile abode.
If one can prise it away intact from the grasp of the aforementioned pelmet then may one forward it to you by means of the new Penny Post system? 
Six Guineas would cover their fee for, despite their scandalous title, they no longer deliver for a penny.
Your most obedient servant,
Sky Captain Ipswich Gogglescrew

(Can you tell I'm twiddling my thumbs in part of a far, foreign field that will be forever, Devon?)

[HillmanImp]

I'll be interested in seeing how this goes. Maybe I should look at doing something similar over the winter to replace the Elgrand. 🤔

[barefoot]

Don't forget to budget for an easy base for your flagpole, so you can show everyone else with flags just how individual you are. Well, you can at least put it straight up without pissing about hammering a base into the ground. 

[JJ0063]

Today I managed to pick up another 2 rolls of the same insulation for £20 the pair left over from someone else’s build. Should only need one more roll and that’s the lot.

Going to sit down tonight and try and work out the cheapest place to get sound deadening from. 
 

Another little free fix today. The van indicators worked fine most of the time but sometimes the right one would blink double speed even though all the bulbs worked. Bit of googling and people said the most common issue was people replacing the wing mirror indicators with 5w bulbs but it’s quite a sensitive system and needs 16w. Sure enough, someone’s replaced a damaged unit with I imagine an eBay special, with a 5w bulb. Switched it for a 16w I had in the garage and it’s perfect now.

[JJ0063]

Roof fan secured. Bloody pricey but £100 odd cheaper than new and they’re the bees knees of roof fan/vents. Determined to do this properly rather than getting an eBay special and it being shit.

[Noel Tidybeard]

14 hours ago, NorfolkNWeigh said:

Also don’t forget to text into Sara Cox, Scott Mills, Rylan etc every time fucking time you go out in it. Also some trite annoying name.

and don't forget to paint it matte green so no-one knows it's a kamper!

[JJ0063]

7 hours ago, Noel Tidybeard said:

and don't forget to paint it matte green so no-one knows it's a kamper!

I’d definitely never do that.

 

 

Never.

[JJ0063]

Never felt so manly as rocking up to the builders merchant in my van at 7:30am with all the tradies buying their supplies for the day. 
 

Then there’s me not having a fucking clue what I’m doing. 
 

Anyway, battens and PIR board for the floor. Hoping I may be able to use the original floor ply again on top, just need to see how thick it is to see if it’ll flex. Doesn’t look to be in awful condition so I’m hopeful - can save some money there. 

[comfortablynumb]

10 hours ago, JJ0063 said:

Then there’s me not having a fucking clue what I’m doing

From what I've seen just recently, particularly on the new build houses around here, you're not the only one who hasn't got a fucking clue....

Following with interest, I'd like to do one myself at some point, with all the spare* time I've got 👍

[Dyslexic Viking]

On my campervan build, I chose not to share the build as it was so bad. I can build most things but making things look good is something else.

[comfortablynumb]

4 minutes ago, Dyslexic Viking said:

On my campervan build, I chose not to share the build as it was so bad. I can build most things but making things look good is something else.

If you've done one, and it works, it's still 100% better than all the armchair 'experts' who could have done it so much better, but haven't.....👍

[Dan302]

6 minutes ago, Dyslexic Viking said:

On my campervan build, I chose not to share the build as it was so bad. I can build most things but making things look good is something else.

I wish I was brave enough to try, I never have the confidence to build anything

[JJ0063]

Opened the side door last night and it came off in my hand. Nearly took my foot off 😂 the door was very stiff to close so I’d caked it in WD40 and obviously lubed it up enough that the knackered rollers slipped.

£25 odd later on Amazon and today I have a new set of top middle and bottom rollers. 
 

They were definitely ready to be changed and the door runs and closes so easy now. 
 

Windows and sound deadening also arrived today. 

[JJ0063]

1 minute ago, Dan302 said:

I wish I was brave enough to try, I never have the confidence to build anything

Trust me mate, I’m absolutely useless at DIY but I like to give it a try. Nothing ventured nothing gained and all that bollocks.

[Dyslexic Viking]

8 minutes ago, Dan302 said:

I wish I was brave enough to try, I never have the confidence to build anything

It's worth trying, maybe building a few things just to learn, if you're building your first van, it's probably a good idea to build on a cheap one so it's not too bad if you mess it up.

I'm fairly new to this and have already learned a lesson, not to buy the cheapest diesel heater. So I have to do that again but that's how one learns.

[comfortablynumb]

I'm not DIY expert, but I've learnt what I know from my dad and grandad, and have the, sometimes misplaced, confidence to have a go at almost anything.

You'll never know unless you try, and all that 👍

[somewhatfoolish]

Given the two and eight of some of the DIY campers that turn up on the ebay thread, you'd have to be a proper 10 thumbed Barry Bucknell to do worse.

[JJ0063]

Solar panel secured, wasn’t overly fussed on having anything massive power and found this new panel being sold by a charity for £66 inc postage, which looks to be about half of the RRP. That’ll do fine. Between that and the dc to dc charger, it should do us plenty. 

[comfortablynumb]

Because I'm stupid, I looked at the pic and thought it was a box and thought ' fucking hell where's he going to mount that...oh '🤦