Making a camper with your own hands is not too difficult for an experienced craftsman. But the timing of such a construction can be very delayed due to the constant improvement of the design. In order not to get into such a situation, you should think over the interior in advance, abandoning obviously unnecessary elements. This is especially important when equipping small cars, for example, when creating a home on wheels from a GAZelle with your own hands.

A mobile home has undeniable advantages - comfort, coziness and mobility. Moscow is a bustling city from which you sometimes want to leave. Trailer owners do not have to look for a place to sleep, and travel becomes very economical. If earlier it was not possible to use this original housing, you should first familiarize yourself with their classification.

Types of motorhomes and their classification

When choosing the type of future mobile housing, you can be guided by its division by:

• mind - there are trailed, van or caravans combined with a car;
• class - there are three comfort classes of motorhomes;
• trailer type - there are trailer trailers, hybrid trailers and fifth-wheel trailers.

If everything is clear with the trailed view of a mobile home, then the difference between a van and a combined caravan is not immediately visible. In the first embodiment, the living space is located in the van of the car and is separated from the driver's seat.

This option is suitable when traveling together, when no one stays in the "house" during the travels. Thanks to this design, it is possible to fit more functional furniture using a blank front wall.

Motorhomes converted from GAZelles or minibuses are exactly combined.

The comfort class can be called conditional. Thus, class “A” mobile homes include spacious trailers made on the chassis of large trucks. Outwardly, they resemble a bus, they can have folding structures, but inside they do not differ in functionality from a small apartment.

It should be borne in mind that the driver must have a category "C" license to drive this vehicle.

There is much less space in it, but it is still convenient to travel in them. What is important - you can drive such a car with a category B license if the weight of the car or the total weight of the car with a trailer does not exceed 3.5 tons.

Class "C" indicates the simplest motorhomes. It can be a small trailer or a minibus converted into a camper. There is no separate sleeping place - its function is performed by folding sofas or armchairs. But by equipping such a mini camper with a roof rack, a folding canopy and a set of camping furniture, you can get a comfortable stay with a minimum of costs.

Such construction trailers are also called hybrid trailers to distinguish them from simple trailers. Separately, it is necessary to note the Fiveswil trailers, the shape of which is designed for use in conjunction with pickups. Thanks to this, it is possible to reduce the length of the entire caravan, because part of the trailer hangs over the body of the car.

Mistakes in the construction of mobile homes with your own hands

The prices for mobile homes are noticeably biting. Not surprisingly, the desire of the skilled heads of families to save the budget and do everything yourself. It is important to be wise and learn from other people's mistakes:

• you should not do everything from scrap materials - you will have to live in the house for at least a week and you want to spend your vacation in comfort;





• serious revision of the body, heating system, wiring will be required - you cannot do without the skills of an auto mechanic;



• if you still managed to fit the shower and toilet, do not forget about the drain tank - pouring dirty water onto the asphalt or lawn is extremely unethical;
• it is better not to forget to make a connector for connecting 220V at camping sites, well, and a converter for 12V from a car battery.

Making a trailer in-house

If difficulties do not frighten, and the desire for action is unstoppable, you can try your hand at building a house. And to remake a GAZelle or build a trailer-trailer from scratch - the choice is strictly individual!

DIY GAZelle mobile home

To work you will need a grinder, a welding machine, a hand saw for wood and a lot of patience. The step-by-step modernization of the car looks like this:

1. The seats are removed from the passenger compartment, the old trim is removed. All metal parts are treated with a special solution to prevent rust. The walls and ceiling are insulated with polyethylene foam, plywood sheets are laid on the floor. All wiring runs under the floor and wall cladding, this should be thought out in advance.



2. A frame for furniture is welded directly into the body. If it is impossible to set the car straight, you can use a pipe resting its ends against the lower edge of the window openings as a level. After rough welding, the frame is removed and everything is welded, cleaned and again brought inside.



3. Window openings are pasted over with Carpet. Carpet-pasted ceiling panels are also installed. After finishing the interior trim, you can fix the slats under the mezzanine and mount the furniture frames.



4. For the front seats, you can make a swivel mechanism. To do this, you will need a front hub, for example, from a VAZ and part of a swivel stand. The circuit is pretty simple.





5. The final stage is the installation of the furniture on the frame, connecting the lighting, installing the pump for the kitchen sink, lining the mezzanine and making minor improvements to the interior. For cooking, you can put a small gas stove on one burner.



6. Instead of welding the furniture frame, you can use ready-made headsets, reinforcing them from the inside with corners and additional screws. You also need to fix the kitchen to everything - the floor, sofa, wall. This is to protect furniture from loosening when driving on bumpy roads.

It should not be forgotten that such a modification of the car requires registration with the REO. To do this, you need to write a statement and receive a resolution from the technical department of the traffic police and the protocol of the authorized organization.

Stylish plywood trailer house

If the car has a towbar, it is a sin not to take advantage of the situation and not make a nice "drop" trailer for spending the night outside the city. For this:

1. The side walls of the future van are cut and attached to the base. All openings for doors and windows, as well as for lightening the frame, must be cut out in advance, so it is better to think over the drawing well.



2. Shelves are assembled from the furniture board and installed on the base. The same shelves will serve as the front and rear walls of the van.



3. In the shape of the van, a plywood sheet is bent over the shelves on both sides, and a load-bearing frame made of timber is fixed on top. One side is lifted, giving access to the kitchen.





4. The top hatch and skylight are cut out. The entire frame is insulated, the wiring is laid.



5. Everything is glued on top with veneer sheets. When the door and window openings have been cut, you can proceed to the exterior painting and varnishing.





6. Doors, top hatch and supply and exhaust ventilation are installed. After securing all the fittings, side lights and wheel fenders, you can safely go on a journey!

And the video shows a detailed assembly of the motorhome with the installation of solar panels:

So, you have decided that you need a new gate for the truck. The best way to solve this problem is to turn to professionals. Among our clients there are companies that will help you with this. For example, the Ven-Service company.

But if you want to save money and like to work with your hands, then this article is for you. First, you need to decide on the material from which the gate will be made. The most common and best option is or. This is the same. It remains only to choose the thickness. Film faced plywood is quite heavy, so you need to carefully choose the thickness. If you are making a gate on a Gazelle, then the thickness of 18 mm is quite suitable for you. If you are making a gate for a truck with a larger tonnage, then you can use 21 mm.

There are also options for making gates from a metal profile. In this case, the gate is filled with foam, which can be bought at a hardware store. It can be sheathed with galvanized sheet purchased in the same metal rolling in which the profile was purchased.

The plywood can be left without sheathing, it can be painted or also sheathed with a metal sheet.

Now about the hardware for the gate. First - this is sometimes called gate awnings. When choosing hinges, the weight and height of the door are important factors. Depending on this, the size and number of loops are selected. Accordingly, the larger the gate, the larger the loop.

Small trucks, such as the Gazelle, have another important nuance that must be taken into account when choosing hinges. This is the thickness of the hinge attachment point to the body. Our task is to make the van door open to the end, i.e. rested against the side wall. Therefore, we can use or.

Second - this is . Locks are available for two types of pipes: 22 mm in diameter and 27 mm in diameter. If you have a gate height of 2 - 2.5 meters, then you can put a lock under a 22 mm pipe, if more than 2.5 meters, then you need to put locks along a pipe with a diameter of 27 mm.

In the process of manufacturing the gate, it is necessary to provide for the possibility of replacing the lock. Consumables include plastic bushings in the supports, which wear out over time. You can always purchase bushings for our locks in our store.

Third - this is . A door seal is necessary to protect the cargo from moisture and dust, it will also help keep the temperature in the van. The best option is a rubber seal without a plastic base. It is mounted at the end, using metal plates and self-tapping screws or rivets. But such a seal is only suitable for thick gates. For a rubber seal, you can purchase a silicone grease from us, which will help preserve its properties for many years and protect it from freezing.

If your gate is made of plywood, then a rubber-plastic sealant with a thickness of 18 mm and 21 mm, respectively, will suit you. When installing this seal, you do not need metal plates. You can fix it with special glue or self-tapping screws. It is not recommended to use rivets, as the plastic base breaks under strong compression.

In mid-May, a van with street food "1983" appeared in St. Petersburg. Its creators - student Vlad Kiaune and designer Sasha Bratchikov - for several months themselves repaired the 1983 Volkswagen Transporter and set up a mobile cafe in it, and then began to work on the streets, despite the lack of permits. The Village asked Vlad about how to turn a rusty wreck into a trendy small business.

VLAD KIAUNE
cafe creator
in the van "1983"

Buying a van

The story of street food interested us last summer, when interesting street food projects began to appear in St. Petersburg. Of course, the cart was one of the brightest. We even wrote to them for advice, but they did not answer. By September, my partner Sasha and I had already begun to put together a rack, but we had a lot of technical questions: how to attach wheels, how to make a stand. Then it got cold, and we decided to postpone, dragging the rack into the garage. At about the same time, we read about the guys from Vladivostok who made a trailer with burgers and steaks. They also inspired us a lot, and we started thinking about a trailer, but realized that it was expensive.

In the end, we decided that just an old van would be the ideal option. They began to look for him on Avito and quickly found the option with which we are now working. It cost 40 thousand rubles. He had a working engine and was generally watched over. But the fact that this van is not for a million rubles, we hear back with enviable regularity. But now we are well versed in the structure of the car.

At first, we tried to carry out all the repair work ourselves, and we even succeeded in some things. We spent every evening in the garage, but the process dragged on for a long time. Now that we had a bunch of other things to do, we began to give the van into the hands of the craftsmen.

Equipment

Right from the start, we bought a coffee machine, grill, refrigerator and coffee grinder. Now they added deep fat, a slow cooker and a toaster. It all comes down to the problem with electricity. You need to either stretch it from some platform, or put a generator. We have a three-kilowatt generator, but it's only enough for a coffee machine and a coffee grinder. Our friends from the ice cream van "" have a five kilowatt generator. If we change with them, then we will live and finally be able to drive around the city, and not look for friendly sites! This is one of the key questions for us now.

Work sites

The first time we left at 5 am on a day off to the Griboyedov Canal. It is clear what the audience was at that time. We sat in the van for half an hour and were afraid to get out of it. In our case, you couldn't just open the door and quietly start selling. We still have problems with the door of the van: the two of us take it out and put it next to it, this is a whole performance. In addition, it was necessary to get a generator, put it near the Nevsky and turn it on. In the end, we did it, stood for half an hour or an hour and sold a couple of bagels with coffee. This was enough to get some kind of first experience.

For the next couple of days we stood on the Promenade des Anglais, it was also quite sluggish there, but we began to receive the first feedback. At that moment, we faced a problem that is still with us: people mostly take pictures with the van, and do not buy food from us. But this, of course, is still nice. Those ten bagels that we sold in a few hours helped us think through how everything should be arranged inside the van and organize the cooking processes.

The first time we were fully loaded at Restaurant Day, when we first stood in the Contour, and then in the Outbuilding. Then they sold everything. Then they began to write to us with suggestions. One of them is from the Novo-Isaakievsky business center, where we now get up on Wednesdays. They have a very nice courtyard that fits a van well. We also rented a place in the Outbuilding cluster - there you can stand in the courtyard. Although opposite the garbage dump, it is quite comfortable. The rent cost 30 thousand rubles, but we scraped them together. But we immediately understood what the cost of food should be and how much we can beat off. Now we are also feeding the artists who came to the opening of the exhibition at the Street Art Museum. So far, this is our main source of income.

Work permits

All projects with street food are divided into two types: legal and semi-legal, when someone from above “helps” and organizes you a safe place on the street for money roughly equal to the cost of renting a small room. In August, there will be a period for submitting applications to the city administration for approval of street kiosks, carts and vans. In a good case, this agreement takes six months, and it is practically unrealistic that something will be agreed upon for you. This is what we will do. True, in this case we will be allocated a fixed place, but this is still a little not what we want.

In principle, it is already possible to work with the documents that we can do - tax registration and sanitary books. The main maximum fine that we face for this is five thousand rubles, but there are a number of additional sanctions for the lack of a toilet, violation of the norms for the location of equipment. On the Promenade des Anglais, we stood on May 9, the police drove by and even stopped. We tried not to look in their direction. But in the end it did.

Menu

At first we sold bagels, as we were mainly concerned with the van itself, not with food - we are not actually cooks. For the first two weeks, we purchased all the ingredients by gram, and then they were collected and heated. But it is impossible to build a business in this format because of the high cost of the product, so we decided to develop the kitchen ourselves. Trying to cook ciabatta, sandwiches, hot dogs, burgers. At the moment, we have not yet come to a clear menu. The final version will definitely be capacious: several sandwiches, one soup and drinks. This will save time and not lose quality.

We decided to make the menu accessible, so we don't make much money yet. Now we have no goal of getting paid, all the money goes straight to business. The next profit will go towards the generator and door repairs. We also want to have a rain canopy and large speakers so that we can turn on music and drive around the city.

Photo: Dima Tsyrenschikov

An isothermal booth is an integral part of transport when transporting various perishable products, frozen semi-finished products, goods from the pharmaceutical industry on trucks or light vehicles. Floral products are also transported in these vans.

Construction of vans

Modern models, which are equipped with modern trucks, have rather thick walls. They keep the right temperature perfectly. A thick galvanized steel profile is used as the inner cladding. This profile is quite tough and of high quality, it does not oxidize and perfectly withstands chemical attack. However, in addition to the profile, plastic or stainless steel can be used as cladding.

Frameless van

In European countries, an isothermal booth is manufactured using a special, frameless technology. A special, pre-bent profile is used. It is more than 30% lighter than a conventional profile. Although the weight of the van is quite light, all the connections are strong enough. Galvanized metal is used as fasteners. As a fastening base, runners made of solid metal are used, which are fixed to the car frame along the entire length.

Sandwich panel insulated booth

These vans are for the most part used together with additional. Polyurethane foam is used here as an insulation material. It is pumped under pressure between the inner and outer panels. This allows you to significantly increase the characteristics of the booth, and also ensures high strength and reliability of the entire structure.

Special formulas can be used to calculate the thickness of the body wall so that the temperature is maintained throughout the entire journey. This preservation is especially important for the transport of medicines and perishable foodstuffs. Here you need to keep it close to zero degrees. An isothermal booth is a thermos that reliably keeps the temperature.

Such bodies are produced for popular brands of truck chassis. These are Mercedes, Gazelles, Kamaz, MAZ, GAZ and other cars. But most of these vans are created under the "Gazelle".

Production stages

The manufacture of isothermal booths that could keep the temperature well is carried out at various enterprises using international standards and European technologies. They also use high-quality heat-insulating materials.

To make a good booth that can confidently maintain a given temperature, you first need to check the quality of the sandwich panels. This is done in production using ultrasonic technology. So it turns out to find defects and voids in this material. In production in the factory, multiple calculations are still performed in laboratories.

The floor of the van

In addition to wall cladding, special attention is paid to the floor of the body. It often needs to be made of wood. Further, according to the technology, the floor will be covered with a special additional material, and then covered with a sheet on top. The sheet will adhere perfectly to the floor and thereby protect it from water and other negative influences.

Roof

It is also great for building a roof. It is firmly riveted to the walls of the body so that there is not a single hole.

Doorway

In order to seal this part of the van as much as possible, a special rubber seal is used, made according to a special formula. This rubber is a polyurethane rubber. The material perfectly retains its flexibility characteristics and is not afraid of sudden temperature changes.

To completely isolate the van, special and silicone are used. This is how the isothermal booth delivered to the Gazelle is sealed.

DIY van

Not owning European technologies and materials, you can also make something similar. Let's try to insulate the car body.

Today there are many companies that offer insulation services. Extruded polystyrene foam in plates is offered as materials. It is perfect for interior cladding.

Since this material has a straight edge, this allows the sheets to fit as closely as possible to each other during the laying process. Slabs are 2500 mm long and 600 mm wide. The process of warming will reduce temperature leaks to a minimum, and in the future such an isothermal booth, assembled by hand, can work as a refrigerator.

Selection of insulation materials

In order for the work to proceed with maximum efficiency, it is worth carefully choosing a suitable insulation. You can try a product from the Styrofom company.

For industrial products that have average temperatures, the IBF 250A can be used inside. The average thickness should be chosen no more than 4 cm. If the van is made of solid metal, then the requirements are more serious. Thicker material is needed here. The thickness must be at least 50 mm.

DIY van

Our country is a country of unique opportunities. Our people do not use European developments and do not ask for help and advice from specialists. It is worth considering such developments in order to understand whether it is possible to make this product with your own hands or not.

Often, foam was used to make an isothermal booth. It was fixed completely by hand, and then upholstered with galvanized sheet. The design also provides for special pipes. With the help of these pipes, the cold leaves the body of the van faster.

The owners are very unhappy with this fact, since even with a constantly running refrigerator, there is no stable cold air in the van.

Disadvantages of such a system

It is difficult to keep the temperature lower than -10 degrees. Condensation constantly forms in the body, which leads to the destruction of metal surfaces. It is necessary to constantly repair the insulated booths and paint them from the inside. The door opening made of ferrous metal alloys will not last long. It would be more correct to use stainless steel.

Such a booth can only lead to spoiled nerves, a load, and wasted money.

As needed

It should be done as they do in Europe or in our country, but according to their technologies. You can look at the isothermal booths (photo can be seen below) to see the difference.

For greater efficiency, plastic is used in sheets, and the space between the sheets is filled with liquid polyurethane foam. In our country, it is much cheaper and easier to buy a ready-made van, which is already insulated with sandwich panels.

However, everything is not easy here. Ordering insulation directly from a car dealer is one thing. If a private manufacturer, which has nothing to do with cars, is engaged in the process of insulation, it is completely different. It can be quite difficult here to determine if everything is done correctly.

Two options

As already mentioned, you can insulate the van using a special plate. Since the frame is quite dense, and the dimensions of the body of the same "Gazelle" are standard, there is no need to cut the insulation. In order to prevent the so-called seams between the plates, it is worth pouring sealant. Various or stainless steel can be used as the material for the inner lining. The selection and use of them largely depends on what has to be carried in this homemade insulated van.

The second option is much easier. But the prices for materials are slightly higher. So, polyurethane foam will be used as an insulating element. You can buy it at any store. The interior of the van should be evenly coated with this material. That's all. From above, anything will do for sheathing.

That's all you need to make an insulated van (or thermal box).

Limited company
responsibility "SP Anatol" has been specializing for more than five years
in the manufacture of box bodies. The products manufactured here are installed
for trucks of all kinds and models. Vans can be very different:
general purpose (universal), isothermal, for the transportation of bakery
products, furniture, as well as intended for the placement of mobile workshops,
laboratories, etc. In general, at the request of the customer, the enterprise can
make a body for any special purpose.

I must say that the company has one more, related direction
activities - the production of so-called small architectural forms: kiosks,
pavilions, bus stops, warehouses, etc.

But back to the bodies. They are made rectangular, frame-panel
constructions. Dimensions are customer specific and depend on the chassis model.
Body doors can be hinged, sliding, roller shutter, located
behind, on the sides, combined.

It would seem that making a van is not difficult. It is enough to make a frame from
pipes or corner, weld ferrous sheet metal sheathing to it
(say, "one"), then paint - and you're done. Many people think so
and some do. Only then the van starts very quickly.
rust…

At the Anatole enterprise they think and do differently. Here are guided by
principle: do not succumb to the temptation of cheapness. After all, in the end it will turn out
more expensive for yourself. The company's specialists prioritize durability
and the reliability of the body. It is no coincidence that among the customers are dealers of such well-known
brands like Iveco, Mercedes-Benz, Renault, etc.

For cladding, ordinary ferrous metal sheets are not used here,
after all, no matter how you degrease them, no matter how you paint them, rust is still yours
will take. Instead, a more expensive, but incomparably more
a reliable solution: a ready-made profiled galvanized sheet is taken, which
already coated with polyester in an industrial environment. And this lining is not welded
to the frame, but they are riveted, because welding points are potential
centers of corrosion.

The floor covering can be made of various sheet materials:
galvanized steel up to 1 mm thick, stainless steel (up to 2 mm), aluminum with
smooth or corrugated surface (up to 2 mm), moisture-resistant laminated
plywood (up to 26 mm).

It is very important to ensure the tightness of the box body. It is achieved
by connecting the panels "in the lock", with preliminary application of a layer
sealant PU-60 on the mating surfaces. The base of the body is manufactured
from bent steel profiles and is fixed to the chassis. Walls, doors and ceiling
insulated box bodies are made of sandwich panels - three-layer
metal-plastic structures with polyurethane foam filler. They
have a low coefficient of thermal conductivity: for example, a panel with a thickness of 60
mm for this indicator is equivalent to a brick 600 mm wall.
Fastening of aluminum frame profiles to sandwich panels is carried out
single-sided rivets with a tear-off bar.

For rational placement of cargo and protection from damage
inside the body, on request, you can install attachment points, racks,
containers, etc. If necessary, supply a spare wheel mount, antirun
device, mud flaps.

A large selection of materials used for the manufacture of the frame, cladding
walls, floor coverings, a variety of valves allows the customer
in the end, get exactly the van that he needs - functional,
high quality and affordable.

Pavel Lebedev
Photo by LLC "SP Anatol"

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