Building Big Z – Perry Rylance

Van acquired!

View of the cab on the way back from Ford Ashton.

Size versus Jumbo

My old van and new van side by side. The size difference is significant.

Clean cab

Pristine cab, valeted and just picked up from the dealership.

Adding zebra

Moving the zebra seat covers and floor mats from the old van, and the fluffy dice.

Getting started

View of the box, almost completely empty except for the gas kit I’d picked up on my travels in the old van.

Empty box

The empty box with some tools, getting ready to start the build.

Gas tank fitted

LPG tank, filling point and regulator underslung and ready to go.

Foil lining

Lining the walls with aluminium foil to create a moisture barrier.

Studwork

Fitting batons to create cavities for the insulation and for fixing to.

Window

Found the window I wanted online and measured up a template, drew this out so that it didn’t get batoned over.

Studwork done

All foil lining done and all studwork on the walls ready.

Sawing hole for window

Jigsawing through the Luton box’s GRP walls to fit the window.

Window fitted

Trying out the fly screen on the newly fitted window.

Starting living area

Getting the CLS ready to start building the bed frame and bathroom.

Rear studwork

This will be the back of the bathroom and form the outer wall also.

Curing rust

The box had already started to rust in the top corners, ground this back to metal, primed with anti-rust primer and matched Ford frozen white

Fitting hookup socket

Drilling and jigsawing through the Luton box’s GRP to fit the 240v hookup socket.

Socket fitted!

240v hookup socket fitted!

Consumer unit

Wiring the consumer unit up to the hookup socket (work in progress – do not copy this!).

Starting the bed box

Laying the CLS to support the water tank and batteries, laying down the floor insulation for underneath the bed box.

Fixing the water tank

Floor cladded with thin ply, water tank in place with some temporary fixings. Computer desk in place.

View so far

View from the back with the window, computer desk and water tank in place.

Navigation Z

Navigation Z and Maori hook pictured in between the seats.

Filling point fitted

Fresh water filling point fitted and sealed.

Bed frame base

Base for the bed frame, using the tail lift as a workbench.

Checking bed frame base

Checking that the bed frame base is a snug fit where it needs to be before continuing.

Bed box top

Building the bed box top, it’s more reinforced than the base as you can see.

Insulation and cladding

Starting to insulate and clad the walls around the bed base.

Putting it together

Cladded another wall around the bed base, figuring out how to get the water tank to work with this.

It’s a mess

It’s an absolute mess.

More cladding

All the insulation and most of the cladding around the bed base now done, vertical CLS to support the top of the bed box going

Box building

Bed box frame in place, more reinforcement happening shortly.

Corner cutting

Realising that the water tank and batteries won’t fit where I want them without taking the two bottom rear corners out of the base.

Box topped

Bed box vertically reinforced and thick OSB top cut and installed.

Bathroom box

Starting to build the inner bathroom wall which will hold the shower.

Water lines

Running water lines for the shower, sink and outside tap.

Kitchen water line

Water line for the kitchen sink and outdoor tap.

Mid-section floor cladded

Cladded the middle of the floor with hardboard to cover up the water and gas lines.

Googly eyes

Googly eyes installed!

Bed box cladding

Cut OSB for the front of the bed box and cut a cupboard hole out for access to electrics and storage.

Further zebra

Got a zebra print steering wheel cover to fit the new steering wheel!

Batteries ready

3x 140Ah VARTA duel purpose batteries for a total of 5040Wh.

Looking good!

Getting there now, stretch carpet is in the box ready to go.

Cladding the bathroom

Inside of the bathroom box cladded, underfloor insulation ready. Stretch carpet done on the front of the bed box, ready for me to cut the

Tray installed, more carpet.

Bathroom floor studwork done, shower tray installed and curing. Bed box now completely carpeted.

Rockwall installed

Rockwall hygenic wall cladding fitted, with thanks to James Wakefield.

Bathroom floor

Bathroom floor done ready for the toilet base to sit on.

Solar controller

60A EPEVER MPPT fitted, hooked up to the power via a 60A breaker and ready to go.

Shower fitted

Shower fitted, ready to be plumbed into the water and gas.

View from the bed

View so far from on top of the bed box.

Mattress arrived!

8″ memory foam, very comfortable mattress arrived, unpacked and put on the bed box.

Fuse boxes

2x 30A fuse boxes ready to go to serve power to the front of the build. Pictured is a 100A master breaker and live bus

More carpet

One side of the bed box now carpeted.

Kitchen floor

Kitchen floor area insulation added.

Ceiling CLS

Added CLS to the ceiling to support the cladding and insulation for the ceiling.

Power!

Wiring done for the 12v sockets and marine USB sockets, turning the breakers on for the first time and charging my phone.

Shunt installed

Shunt installed, now able to monitor wattage / amperage usage as well as voltage.

Panels installed

Absolutely monster job, 2x 400W heavy panels. Underneath the roof is 4x of metal box section, bolted to the strong Luton box frame. Solar panels

Shower rail and curtain

Shower rail and zebra shower curtain arrived!

Laptop running

Now that the solar power is

Updated view

I was practically living out of the box down by the bed and some plastic boxes under the bed at this point, this was a

Living area

More shots of the living area showing my very temporary kitchen and wash bag.

Rear studwork

Building the studwork to go the other side of the door which I’ve now measured up.

Rear studwork from inside

Note that the top of this wall is left open with no diagonal bracing, this is where a window will be installed later.

Yet more zebra

Large zebra painting installed. Also pictured is the cable trunking for the main lights 2-way switching and kitchen supply.

Wiring (mostly) done

Fuse boxes done, wiring for water pump in, wiring for filling mechanism started, GPS tracker pictured. You can also see the negative bus bar and

Holy moly!

Using a jigsaw to cut a hole for the diesel heater turret.

Turret installed.

Turret for the diesel heater now installed. Usually these are fitted the other way up, but my flooring and insulation are so thick that I’ve

Heater fitted

Diesel heater fitted with duct running to where my feet usually are under the computer desk. Controller still needs moving.

Cleaned up

A view of under the bed after a good clean and hoover. Water filling mechanism now wired up fully.

Heater duct

Where the warm happens.

Kitchen cladding

OSB floor for kitchen fitted on the floor and started on the rear wall.

Bed cladded.

Other side of the bed area cladded and carpeted, with ventilation to help prevent moisture build up.

More mess

It got worse.

Wardrobe

I had initially wanted to do a square front Luton so that the bedding area could extend over the cab. I was eventually put off

Wardrobe panelled

Frame for the wardrobe build and panelled, just need to put the back on now.

Front of wardrobe

Front view of the wardrobe, this is the side that will be facing out into the living area.

Building light rails

Using skirting board to build two light rails which hold the main lighting for the van.

Light test

Testing that all the lights work before fixing these up to the ceiling.

Rails ready.

View of both rails before they’re hoisted up to the ceiling beams and attached.

Lighting fitted

Lighting fitted and working.

Heating controls moved

Diesel heater controls now fitted to the wall along with the shunt meter and gas meter.

Wardrobe fitted

Wardrobe is fitted above cab and filled with clothes, still more to do here.

Bathroom improvements

Toilet now fitted along with two shelves held on by 3M adhesive, also installed a hook for my wash bag. Also pictured is the obligatory

Skylight installed

Skylight in and roof insulated held up and taped up.

Right wall insulated

Insulation complete for the right hand side wall.

Sofa fitted

Sofa box fitted, beginning to clad the inner bathroom wall and clad around the window with pine tongue in groove.

Overhead storage

Building boxes for overhead storage either side of the living area.

Overhead storage carpeted

Overhead storage fixed, glued and carpeted. Now ready to be attached to the ceiling beams.

Overhead storage attached

Overhead storage for one side attached up to the ceiling beams.

Things stowed!

Making use of the overhead storage, great to be getting things out of plastic boxes and bags and into a dedicated area.

Artwork

Figuring out where to put this abstract art. Also pictured is the button for the bathroom lighting.

Bathroom vent

Getting ready to drill holes for and fit the bathroom vent.

More storage and cladding.

Overhead storage fitted on the left hand side of the living area, nearly done cladding around the window.

Beach time!

View parked up out on the beach.

Getting there…

View of the overhead storage, half finished wardrobe, and living area.

Cladding finished

Finished cladding around the window and added some decorative trim around it.

Getting there, part 2

View of the overhead storage, living area and bathroom from the back.

Code on the road

Really getting there now, zebra calendar pictured on the right.

Door mat and shower mat

Door mat installed, shower mat out.

Fridge and oven collected

Thetford fridge and oven ready for installation!

Living room

Another picture of the sofa area, parked up in one of my stealth spots.

Sidmouth

Taking a break from building to go to Sidmouth folk festival.

Door installed

Beautiful oak stable stable door installed, starting to insulate the rear walls. With thanks to Jules Lyddon.

Door from the inside

View of my new oak door from the inside.

Stable door

View of the top of the door open, this is great for in the summer to allow plenty of air flow.

Kitchen frame

Building the kitchen frame to accommodate the fridge, oven, countertop and more shelving. With thanks to Jules Lyddon.

Countertop and oven fitted

Looking mostly ready to go now, need to get this rather heavy construction onto the tail lift and in place.

Kitchen fitted

With the oven, fridge freezer and kitchen sink in place, the first big miscalculation of the build now becomes clear – The computer chair cannot

Bed view of kitchen

View from on the bed of the kitchen, can’t wait to get rid of the temporary stove and washing up bowl!

Still no gas

No gas to the kitchen or fridge yet so still boiling the kettle on the butane camping stove.

Kitchen from rear

View of the countertop, sink, fridge freezer and oven from the rear.

Zebra knobs!

My zebra knobs arrived! Front door gets one first.

Picture moved

I need wall space for various kitchen things, so the zebra has moved to the foot of the bed for now.

Not sure

I’m not sure what has changed here, but it looks pretty good.

Fridge installation

The fridge is in the kitchen frame ready to go, but not actually doing anything yet. We’ve moved the kitchen frame and appliances to one

Installing fridge vents

Frames to hold the fridge vents bonded and fixed in place.

Fridge vents fitted

Both vents now fitted, with thanks to Pep.

Fridge ready!

The kitchen frame is back in place with copious amounts of sealant around the back of the fridge to keep nasty gasses from entering the

Kitchen lighting

Installing a powerful overhead light in the kitchen, this is useful for cooking and washing up at darker times of the year.

Kitchen back in place

Fridge freezer all sealed up and everything back in place, oven is now connected up to gas. With thanks to Pep.

Cup of tea?

Now we’re cooking on gas!

Spice rack

Fitted the all important spice rack, I’d never be without one.

More kitchen

Added some storage pouches above the sink, I can finally start moving kitchen stuff out of plastic boxes!

Lovely day

A lovely view of the kitchen, with the stable door half open to air the living area out.

Cutlery holder

Magnetic cutlery holders in place.

Lucky horse shoe

After a not so lucky shed fire, I was able to get hold of a horse shoe for luck. With thanks to Matt Court.

Cheeky pint

Pulled up finishing off some bits and having a sneaky pint.

New chair

I realised that considering the desk has been rotated around, and considering the weight and construction of the old computer chair, it’s simply not practical

Flooring

Got white wood tongue in groove flooring to go against the dark carpet, zebra style.

Ceiling cladding

Colder weather is drawing near so I need to finish the ceiling before condensation becomes problematic.

Ceiling carpet

First section of ceiling carpeted and installed.

Second ceiling section installed

More of the ceiling sections carpeted and held up by the lighting rails.

New ceiling from bed

Half way through installing the ceiling, I actually forgot to make holes in the insulation to allow the lights to go up, so these had

Ceiling sagging

I used very light ply for the ceiling, I had wanted to do this in one piece but in hindsight I’m really glad it didn’t

More zebra

Second zebra painting, with thanks to Scott Jones.

Ceiling almost done!

All the ceiling sections are carpeted and up, but still drooping in the middle. This won’t do, it not only looks bad, but it will

Last ceiling section

Taping up the gaps in the ceiling insulation / CLS so that moisture laden air cannot get up there.

Lights back on

Lights working again after fitting the ceiling cladding.

I’m blue

Da ba dee da ba di…

More wacky colours

All the lights are colour changing, so whilst they’re mostly on white for practical purposes, it’s fun to play with them sometimes.

Wacky lighting

Putting all the lights on smooth fade colour at different timings.

More crazy lighting

Second shot of lights on colour crossfade at different timings.

Night time kitchen lighting

Demonstrating how bright the additional kitchen lighting is.

Kitchen lighting part 2

Definitely won’t struggle to cook or wash up in the winter months when mornings and evenings are dark!

Night in

Nice night in, cheeky Stella and delicious home cooked food.

Coding in the dark

Blue lighting with my MX Keys lit up so I can see what I’m doing in low light.

More flooring

Flooring is now completely done!

Zebrastic

Very fantastic!

Fridge cladded

The Thetford fridge just has an aluminium foil like front which didn’t really look great, thanks to Tara at Davan for sourcing the black panel,

Back to dieting

Now that I have refrigeration and a working oven, I can get back to healthier eating.

Storage cupboard doors

Making and prepping doors for the overhead storage.

Overhead storage doors

Doors with fancy zebra knobs fitted and looking great!

Finishing outer walls

Right hand side wall insulated, wiring for 2-way main light switching fitted, water pipe for outdoor tap shown.

In the corner

Corner of the kitchen ready to accept a bin and shelving area.

Rear wall insulated

Insulation complete, ready for cladding.

CO meter

Essential CO meter fitted, heating controls had to be moved slightly.

Painting hung

This moved later to accommodate coats.

More storage doors

All storage doors now fitted for overhead storage.

More views

Just more views of the living area, really coming together now.

Mr Wide Angles

Wide angle shot of the living area.

Wide angle from bed

Wide angle shot from the bed area showing both walls.

Fine dining

Making a bit of breakfast.

Tail lift removed

Getting in and out the back can be tricky, especially if you’re looking to stealth camp. I’m done using this as a workbench, so it’s

More rusty bits

With the tail lift gone, you can see how horrid the body has become behind the fixings.

Rear cleaned up

With the tail lift off, I wire brushed all the horrible stuff off, primed and painted with Ford frozen white.

Custom plates

My custom plate documentation arrived, so my personalised registration number is now on!

More living area

Another shot of the inside, you can see the unfinished ceiling really bowing now. This needs to be addressed.

Ceiling bowing

View of the ceiling bowing from the other side. This will allow moist air up into the ceiling cavity, which needs to be avoided at

Zebra calendar

It’s now September, so I’m very eager to get the ceiling finished before the really damp conditions start.

Waterproofing the rear wall

I know condensation is going to accumulate in the rear area, so this has to be covered in a plastic sheet, then uPVC boards, we’ll

Cladding done

Cladding finished on one side, now need to do the other side and seal up.

Cider & Ale

A wonderful sign I got from Hay-on-Wye, made by a retired chap who used to do professional signwriting.

Bathroom ceiling done

Ceiling in with light fixture sealed up, I attach trim later to cover over the exposed foil.

Cladding done

All outside cladding done with sides sealed up. There will be more sealant going round the outer edges shortly, and flashing above the door, with

Ceiling letting in light

I’ll be addressing this shortly by stuffing all the cavities with aluminium bubble foil, patching up the gaps and fixing trim to the gaps to

Zebra hook

Zebra coat hook installed and working well!

Ceiling fixed

Using decorative trim to hold up and close the ceiling gaps, this should be ready for the winter now.

Disco ball

Obligatory pink disco ball

Finishing wardrobe

I’m really keen to prevent as much condensation as possible up in the wardrobe area – it’s a trap for warm, moist, rising air. I

Warming up

Batteries are holding out very well with minimal voltage drop whilst revving up the heater and running the laptop simultaneously before sunrise.

Window frame

A lot of moisture laden air is going out of this hole in the wall, so I need to build the window quickly and get

Cladding the wardrobe

Now that the foam casing is all around the wardrobe, I can finally cover the messy bits up with some ply cladding.

Wardrobe carpeted

With the cladding up, I cover the mattress up, spray the stretch carpet and install. Looking much better now!

Wardrobe finally done

Wardrobe carpeted and all doors made up for the wardrobe, this part of the build has been on and off working around the other winter

Wardrobe doors

Closer shot of the wardrobe doors. You can see there’s some bits of wood left over from woodworking stuck to the carpet, these need hovering.

Here we go

Night view of the living area now that the cladding is all finally complete. Treating myself to a takeaway curry.

Acrylic installed

Finally finished the rear window. It folds out for summer days. The acrylic was a couple of mm too large in both dimensions, this stuff

Window catch

Shelf installed for putting things while I’m stood near the windows such as kitchen roll or my phone on radio. The window can be opened

Under the bed

Under the bed showing the additional breaker that feeds the kitchen.

Painting moved

Now that the window area has my coat hook, I’ve moved this lovely abstract to be over the window instead.

Night wide angle

Wide angle capturing almost all the living area lit up at night.

At last!

At last, we’re ready for the winter, everything is done to the best of my ability, everything seems to be working great, everything has it’s

Sun getting lower

Lovely morning shot showing the sun beaming through the stable door window on a late Autumn morning.

Keeping warm

It’s approaching December now and the heating is on this evening. Even running that with the laptop, we are barely putting a dent in the

Cool wheels

I had some spare cash this payday so why ever not, wheels sprayed with Hammerite black.

Tucked up

I’ve never really watched a lot of TV but tonight I am all tucked up watching the Simpsons on my Lenovo tablet.