Load shelf redux

I've already covered my first attempt at a load shelf, and perfectly serviceable it was too. However, I knew there was a better use of the space.

After scouring the Land Rover forums and eBay I found an auction for an ex army under bed locker. These are often used by the LR boys to make an extending drawer in the back of their Defenders, so taking inspiration I paid out a massive £12 for one box!

Once it arrived I set about it with a tin of paint, I just needed to freshen up the parts that will be exposed once I have fitted and trimmed with Ally plate. I also cut a hole in the hinged lid to fit a drawer handle. I intend fitting a sheet of aluminium or stainless to the top of the lid so I will fit the handle then. I will also remove the original pulls and fit some chequers plate to the front, once the load shelf is fitted.

In preparation for installing in the van, I remade a new battery box and storage trunk which also serves as a support for one side of the drawer, the other side being supported by a MDF upright. Keeping weight down (as much as I can) I drilled both uprights with a large hole saw in a diamond pattern. This is mostly obscured by the carpet and drawer, but makes a huge difference in weight.

Once all of this was roughed out I placed an order to Megavanmats for some black carpet. I was tempted to try the mega stretch but as I don't need to cover too many awkward contours, I went for the regular stuff. This was just fine and I covered the side panels at last...

With the addition of some full extension heavy duty drawer slides the box was fitted, and it works perfectly.

Now I have storage, but also once I have covered the top with metal a cooking surface that is outside the van. This is important not only for reducing the risk of fires but keeping nasty cooking niffs at bay.

Next up for the load shelf is the actual shelf, to be placed across the boxed arches.

So if I'm cooking under the tailgate it would be nice to see what I've doing, right?

Well already in hand, I've reused the LED roof lights I had in my first headlining mod, and fitted them along with another Carling switch in a remodeled tailgate panel. This is done in the same was as the side panels were, and once covered in carpet I think it looks very cool.

The lights set off nicely against the black carpet.

And the switch looks good too, and sticks out only as much as the MDF so is fairly low profile.

Now I just need to make sense of the spaghetti mess at the rear and fit it to the van...

Switch on, switch off

Something else I found on the Mud stuff website was a nice range of Carling switches. I've been trying to find some customizable switches for the various new circuits I'm putting in the van and these fit the bill nicely.

Not only do the types of switches cover all the bases - on/off, on/on/off, mom/off/mom etc, but they take legends in the front illuminated area. All assemble they look factory, so an order was placed (of course) for 1 switch and a 6 way bezel, along with the rear terminal plug and terminals and legends. I only ordered 1 switch for now as I wanted to check fit and finish first.

In the hand these switches really are nice, solid action and well made. This goes for the bezel too.

Originally I planned to replace all of my existing switches with these Carling ones, but as the VW hazard switch and heated screen switch both house the relay too, I've had to keep them original.

I've decided to mount the 6 way bezel above teh heater controls, it fits here perfectly and I've never used the cubby. Having it in line below the stereo helps it look factory, rather than just cobbled together.

How neat is that!

So first up is a switch to isolate the night heater, and also a switch to control the rear fan.

Ever planning for the future, I made up a loom for all 6 switch positions. With my plans for heated front seats I have 2 spares.

And here they are, looking very neat.

Here we have a shot at night, I may change the illumination colour in the future to match VW's.

Keeping the look I will be utilising these switches in other areas in the van.

Bulk-head-lining

All work and no play makes Jack...

I've been working hard lately, just not on the van. Ok, well maybe I haven't been working that hard, but I have been working as many hours as I can get.

But every now and then I get a bit of energy and I get things done. Like the headlining. When I last updated I had covered some hardboard with 6mm foam, and now it was time to recover in the final material.

I had already bought this many moons ago, so no cost was involved as I had some adhesive left over from the carpeting. The material is almost suede to the touch and lends a feel of luxury to an otherwise functional conversion. While I was at it I recovered the nasty front headlining to match.

With the sun visors sprayed satin black to match the black supports it all comes together nicely.

So that was relatively cheap, and the next job was potentially cheaper.

I've been looking out for a mesh bulkhead to fit behind my rear seats for some time. I've looked at genuine VW T4 ones, landrover ones, nearly won a Landcruiser one on eBay too. But no luck, either too expensive or too far away.

Then, as I sat surfing I had an epiphany. Mercedes Vito's are the same basic shape and size as the T4, and they don't attract the "scene tax" as VW's do. A quick search uncovered a mesh bulkhead only 50 miles away. The best bit, £0.99 starting bid with no reserve!

So a late bid was placed, and I got it for 99p!

Ok, a 100 mile round trip costs something but it's still a steal.

In the cold light of day it's about 2 inches too wide. But with swift application of the grinder (my new favourite tool) 4 inches were removed (to make fitting easier) from the middle. I was considering welding it back into 1 piece (with my 2nd favourite tool) but SWMBO made a decree that it should be in 2 halves to make removal easier. This makes sense and now I can still carry long items if I remove 1 side.

To fit the van I bonded some ply (the same used previously for the fan) to the roof in which I had already installed some "wood nuts" (http://thedogvan.blogspot.com/2011/03/boxing-clever.html). As I have laid ply to the floor more of these nuts were fitted there. Adding a small piece of angle to the bottom of each bulkhead, they are now held in play with 3 M8 bolts each.

Rock solid and easily removed, just what I wanted.

I chose a mesh bulkhead as I wanted to hang some MOLLE pouches on it, keeping everything more organised.

I have now removed the dog guard I previously fitted (http://thedogvan.blogspot.com/2011/04/carpet-bagging.html) but might need that behind the drivers seat to stop my dogs from trying to get in my lap whilst driving!

Loads on my mind

I new I would change it. My battery box was originally going to be a stand-alone item. But doing some research (pouring over Google image searches) into expedition vehicles I discovered it's de rigueur to have a load shelf,  drawers or cabinets to organise and safely store loose pieces of equipment.

That looks fun I thought, and this way I could safely carry my trolley jack, and have some tidiness in the boot section.

So off to the DIY store I went and came back with an amount of 12mm MDF and some batten.

The frame is made to fit between wheel arches, and is divided into 5 sections. The 3 rear sections are for the fuse / battery box which will is now built in, and also to house a pair of plastic crates for carrying cooking utensils or whatever. These will be accessed from the tailgate and simply slid in/out of position. I still need to come up with a way to secure them during whilst driving.

The 2 front sections are for "recovery equipment", including my 2 tonne trolley jack, wheel braces, fuel can (empty), snow socks and foldable shovel. These are accessed through 2 hinged doors in the top with lockable catches.

Originally I planned to use the same carpet tiles that I will use on the floor, but it will be easier to use hard wearing speaker box carpet.

Another use for the load shelf is as a seat when parked up. Now we can open the tailgate, climb in the back and sit in the shade / out of the rain.

Whilst the main shelf sits between the arches, the angles front and sides will actually extend over the arches. It's neater this way and also provides suitable real estate for fitting some sockets and switches in the rear next to the battery box.

The shelf edge will be protected / neatened using some aluminium treadplate corner protectors, this ties in with the rest of the van.

I'm thinking of adding a load net to the top, but for now this will do me proud.

Gone but not forgotten?

It's been a while, and in truth not much has happened on the van front up until about a week ago when I got ants in my pants and had to crack on with tidying the rear.

I took the headlining down a while ago so that I could run extra wires, remove redundant wiring and ultimately make a new headlining to replace the naff grey corded one I had before (did I mention I hate corded carpet?).

So with the header removed I had a go at connecting the tailgate to the central locking. This garnered mixed results, as teh van's tailgate lock doesn't appear compatible with after-market central locking. So in a fit of pique I decided to remove the lock barrel from the equation, making the tailgate unlockable only my the central locking.
This has two benefits, firstly removal of the lock barrel removes a point of attack for a would be car thief, and secondly if I want to get in the boot I've already unlocked it before I get there.

So that was one little job, I've also run in wires for some maplights for the rear seat passengers and also for a 12v fan I will mount from the roof to cool the rear. The fan will be mounted to a sheet of 18mm marine ply which I have bonded to the roof with sikaflex. I've used quite a large piece so that I have the option to fit a flip down DVD player in the future. Again, thinking ahead I have routed wiring channels in the ply to make installation easier and neater.

So with this all in place it was time to make a new headlining. Using the originals as templates I made duplicates from 3mm hardboard.

This was then covered in 3mm upholstery foam to give it a luxurious feel. Holes were marked and punched for refitting to the van, but I did not cut out holes for the VW courtesy lights.

 I already had a plan for a neater rear...

I love looking at other cars, finding new ways to solve problems or just finding something cool I can make use of. In this case I found a neat courtesy / maplight that would originally be fitted to a Ford Explorer. The perfect size and a bit nicer than VW's effort, this was bought and quickly stripped so that I could flock it. At the same time I flocked the sliding door roller cover and the headlining joining strip (which I had cut down to accommodate the new light).

While the flock was setting up I fitted 6mm stainless steel rivnuts to the headlining mounting holes.

Why rivnuts?

The original VW clips are notorious for being difficult to remove, and I've also made the boards thicker so they might not hold as well. Some nice flange dome head allen bolts and I've almost made my own tuck and roll headlining... Another benefit I thought of afterwards is that I've now made the headlining securing points load bearing, and have a cunning plan to make use of that...

So here we are with the new headlining fitted, it still needs the cloth covering but it already feels much nicer in the back.

And the Explorer dome light, still needs to be connected to power but that's coming soon.

And a final addition. The Curry hook.

As my van is getting the offroad theme I've been surfing 4x4 websites looking for ideas, and came across mud-stuff.co.uk. Here they specialise in Land Rover Defender parts and have come up with a few nice touches that I can use in my van. The first to make an appearance is the curry hook. Originally designed to hold your carrier bag of vindaloo, in my van it's become a coat hook. Although I did buy two so the other may be pressed into service holding a much deserved take away in the near future...

Keep regular

What's your fibre intake?

Mine just got a little better, a forum member has started producing carbon fibre parts for the T4, amongst them some mirror covers.

My existing mirrors are showing signs of conflict, scrapes and a large missing piece on the passenger side. I was considering buying some regular replacements but when Phil began his business I watched with interest.

So here they are, they fit well, look good and cover the scratches well.

Unfortunately for me they don't cover the large gap on the passenger mirror, but no covers will do that.

And here they are on the van, apart from the side bars and A-bar the only shiny parts on it!

Easy peasy

Sometimes the smallest jobs make the biggest difference.

During the latest cold snap my sliding door became a real pain to open, grounching, bouncing and generally nasty to open. I ordered a replacement bottom roler but strangely as soon as the weather got better so did the door.

So the roller replacement was put on the back burner.

As I'm a little financially challenged right now I'm going through the small jobs I've got parts for, but never got around to doing because of something shiney (the magpie effect).

So today, ably assisted by my stunning fiancée I set about swapping the arm over. I'm glad I did, I was supporting the door as my partner undid the bolts (loosened by me of course!) and when she removed the original arm it came out in 2 bits, arm and roller.

New arm on and a clean and grease of the channel and it's like new, almost silent and glides effortlessly.