Blog

About Mick AAC Mick is a super friendly Yorkshireman who loves what he does, in fact he has been converting vans for more than 20 years, a coach building background means he is well placed to help with any type of conversion, horse box, luton van, sprinter and of course the popular VW vans.

In creating a monthly news post Mick aims to satisfy some of the questions he receives and share insights into the world of van conversions. For DIY enthusiasts some How To tips and ideas on materials, appliances and different layout options to choose.

Mick’s New website is kept clean and simple with    examples of his work through his projects page, the truth is that his website is not his main passion, his vans are! But he is clear about something, his customers do not buy van conversions, but actually a van lifestyle, an opportunity to Open their van to the world.

Materials Insight.

Right on point at the moment is the faux leather padded materials supplied in a range of colours. As a panel finishing material it adds finesse and a quality feel to any conversion.  Care should be taken to balance the use of padded materials to prevent it becoming overpowering, break it up with a lighter contrasting colour for best effect.

Recommended Appliances

We have huge experience with different appliances, putting us in a good position to help anyone undertaking a camper van conversion. One that is crucial to any installation is the fridge and freezer, get this wrong and your beer will be warm as apposed to perfectly chilled for an evening admiring the view from your van. In our first post we absolutely have no hesitation to recommend the Dometic brand and in particular the Dometic Coolmatic CRX Fridge/Freezer. The compressor cooling technology, used in Dometic’s CRX series, offers unrivalled cooling power.

How does it work? Well, it relies on a refrigerant that changes from a liquid to gaseous state in the evaporator. The evaporation process extracts heat from the interior of the cooling unit, causing the temperature to drop. The compressor draws in the refrigerant, compresses it and passes it on to the condenser. From here, the absorbed heat is released into the atmosphere. The refrigerant liquefies and flows back to the evaporator, where the cycle begins again. The result of this is an excellent cooling performance, capable of deep-freezing, even at extreme ambient temperatures.

At prices starting just shy of £800 it’s not cheap but without doubt is a top recommendation from us.

Fitting Advice.

Mick can’t recommend enough taking time to get the basics right, and this means the insulation and sound proofing, a variety of products exist to satisfy this part of the build. It’s easy to try cut corners here as it’s not visible in the end product. By optimising the insulation you increase the comfort levels significantly which ever climate you are exploring. Staying warm at night and minimising the heater usage or keeping things more comfortable while touring on the continent is a must. We predominantly use Dodo Mat brand for soundproofing and insulation, its a British designed product that has high performance characteristics and is relatively easy to install.

Dodo Mat is a British sound proofing brand distributed by CAD Distribution Ltd. Based in Oxfordshire which has been supplying Dodo Mat products and other high performance vehicle products for over 30 years.

Conversion of the Month. VW T6 Day Van.

Our van of the month is a curious customer design aimed at a serious sports person, making this van an easy a place to get changed, heat some food, store equipment and importantly for this user to keep a high value electric bike safe inside the van whilst  allowing charging from a leisure battery.

This is minimalist and highly functional van is not aimed at over night use, but with clarity of purpose for daytime sporting activities.

By fitting three individual seats the user can remove the middle seat, this allows the bike or bikes to fit down the middle of this SWB VW T6 van. 

Fitting a checker pattern to the floor increases durability whilst enhancing the functionality and aesthetics of the design. The faux leather embossed panels balance the functionality with a touch of elegance and comfort.

It’s not just about us, we want to hear about your adventures with your converted camper van whoever converted this for you, send us a email with your favourite van pictures and we will feature some of  these in future editions.

email mick@advancedautoconversions.co.uk