Once I'd emptied the back of the Landy, I gave the entire space a wash out. Years of accumulated work material, small stones, dog hair, mud and rust had gathered in the nooks and crannies. So a mix of hose pipe, brushes and small pointy things cleared all the debris out and left a metal box covered in loads of stains from grease, food dents etc. Once the water had all dried out, the stains were all washed away with brake cleaner. Another drying session, then it was out with the rust converter onto a couple of the steel corner supports that every Landy has on the van sides, before two coatings of red oxide primer as a base.
Whoever had owned the Landy before had clearly bolted several things to the wheel arches. Now, all that was left were the bolt holes. These leaked water in all the time, so needed sealing. After hunting around for awhile for a solution, I finally settled on using the galvanised discs from plug socket wall mounts bonded to the body with JB Weld. The glue should provide enough space between the two metals that any galvanic corrosion is delayed for a long time. The red oxide and Chawton White paint should then add a layer of sealant from the air. The whole lot will then have a layer of sound proofing and plywood, so there should be virtually no wear on those areas going forward.
Next up was sort out the extra wiring loom in the back. These included all kinds of things for flashing lights, internal lights, venting and god knows what else. This needed sorting out and/or removing. That was a messy chore. Alongside this, holes had been cut where these wires were brought into the rear compartment, so these needed grommets to close them off.
I'd bought a can of Land Rover Chawton White 'brush on' paint to coat the back bed, but upon opening the can, it was more of a cream colour, so I'm glad it's going to be covered up by panels now. I looked at using Raptor Bed Paint, which is a paint mixed with a hardener and used for pick up truck back beds. It's supposed to be really tough and hard wearing. I ended up choosing the polyeuroathane ceramic paint though as it was all going to be covered up and that option was cheaper. It took seven days for the painting/drying process, interrupted by Storm Amy sweeping across the UK. The Chawton paint turned out to be a special type of coating that hardens as it dries. So, in effect the same process as Raptor paint.
Once all of the cleaning, painting and tidying had been done, the next part was to install the sound proofing. I used a 7mm, sticky backed version, bought from eBay. It's used for VW camper builds, so is good quality. This went on the wheel arches, the roof and the side panels. It worked well for the most part, sometimes catching on things and being difficult to peel of the backing paper, which required patience.
Cutting the side panel boards took some time and several sets of measurements. These were covered in stretchy carpet with some aluminium foil on the back for added insulation. The carpet came with spray glue and it was a simple case of sticking the carpet and insulation to each board, I backed that up with a staple gun in key places. I mounted them the next day. The passenger side board was thicker plywood as it was going to be the attachment point for the storage cupboards, whereas the drivers side only had to carry some mesh net for storing soft things like towels etc.
I'd decided to leave the thick rubber mat on the floor as it was hard wearing, easy to clean and provided both sound and heat insulation. I cut a square into the part above the fuel pump, as I knew I needed to change the fuel pump before I go overseas, it is whining these days, and maybe due to fail.
The passenger side was a mix of 9mm and 11mm plywood. The 11mm did the load carrying/stabilisation uprights and the 9mm the shelves and fascia boards. Once it was all installed, I painted the whole lot with several coats of undercoat and a green colour for the final finish.
The bed side, had the 11mm ply to build the under bed storage spaces, then 9mm as a base board. The actual bed board was 18mm ply, with some of the aluminium insulation glued in place, then a foam mattress covered with the last of the stretchy carpet. The plan for this was for it to be removable, so it could be aired or removed a needed. Whilst in use as a bed, it would have a sheet on it and I liked the idea of a quilt instead of a sleeping bag, these could be cleaned easier than any sleeping bag.
The electrics all lived under the centre box, which was built underneath the bulkhead. (More about this in the electrical installation post). I cut a central hole in the wooden part of the bulkhead, mainly as an escape route if something blocked the back door. I'd found in Tunisia that the rear door lock could seize and the spare wheel carrier could be closed, which meant I couldn't get out of the back of the truck. This solved that problem.
The ceiling was covered with some thin tongue and groove board. This fit well for the most part, but as the roof curved on both sides, these bits had some gaps. I tried to hide them, but they remained visible, so in the end I just figured, it's a Landy, it's not meant to be perfect!
Two Ikea drawers were mounted into the front shelf behind the passenger and drivers seats. Things like electric testers, fuses, light bulbs, sewing kit, head torch and a bunch of other things would live in there. I also have two 'tits' to store gloves and plastic bags etc, which sat above the boxes. A lot of useful, small storage places for all the little things that are useful now and then.
There were quite a few tricky parts to building of the back, mostly cutting out odd shapes that the back of vehicles have in abundance. In total it took about fifteen days to complete the install, minus some drying time for paint. I'm pretty happy with the result. Time will tell if it works well and lasts.
The final touches were things like stretchy nets to stop tubs from falling out, straps to keep water containers, cooker etc in place and some personal things that I have had for years which remind me of good people and/or places.
There was a delay fitting the electrics, so for a week, I just lived with the build and drove around. It was a good chance to see if anything was annoying or if there were any silly noises, which so far, there didn't seem to be.
I still need to add in the GPS/phone mounts into the front cab, then as underneath the passenger seat will become the travelling tool box, it'll need a thorough clean, rust treatment and re paint. Also, all of the passenger door seals are damaged, so both noise and rain get in. New ones will be installed before I set off.
The actual camper build cost around £450 in total. That was wood, insulation, glues, screws, paints and the extras. Well within budget so far.
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