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My Second Conversion

In April 2014 we sold our dearly loved Ford Transit, Noe, our first home and first van conversion. We had owned her for 6 years and travelled and lived in her for 4 years. We sold her in Portugal where we had been staying on some friends land as the tax, MOT and insurance had long since run out. So back to the UK we came in a car with our stuff and 2 dogs. Needless to say we had to leave a lot of our stuff out in Portugal for collection at a later date! Click HERE for the page showing that conversion :)

 

In May 2014 we bought a 2002 Mercedes Sprinter, we weighed up the pros and cons of spending a little more on a Mercedes if you compare like for like with different makes and in the end decided to go for the Sprinter as our mechanic friend recommended them. They hold their value really well, our budget was £3000 - 3500 and some of the ones we looked at in this price range were right old rust buckets with doors falling off or not opening. In the end we settled for our Silver Rizla as she is now named due to her colour and registration number. Below is a breakdown of how much we have spent on buying her, the conversion and the mechanical costs.

 

Van:

£3500

 

Conversion:

Chimney flashing - £30

Paint - £22.50

Plywood - £82

Battening - £27

Brackets - £7.50

Screws - £29

Silicone - £11.50

Fire cement - £5

Tongue and Groove - £122

6 x LED ceiling lights - £55

Sink - £70

Sockets and switches - £16

Varnish - £62

Gas pipe - £9

Cooker - £250

Chain - £4

Hand pumping tap and pipe - £50

Floor - £20

Table top - £15.50

Roof vent - £45

Window - £200

 

Conversion total = £1133

 

 

 

Maintenance:

Front brake discs, pads and service - £300

Metal brake hoses, flexi brake hoses, suspension ball joints, 4 new tyres, bulbs for brake light, fog light, number plate light - £750

MOT 2015 - £50

Wiper blade - £6

Rear brake disc and pads - £50

MOT 2016 - £35

 

Maintenance total (so far) = £1191

 

 

See the photos below of the van conversion taking shape:

We have been to lots of different places in the UK and down through France, Portugal and Spain and back up again, here is the van parked up in a few different places :)

If you have any questions about my conversions, materials or suppliers used please feel free to email me using the button below and I will do my best to help.

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