We are upgrading Duncan’s Caddy Maxi fitting roofbars so he can carry his bike on the roof, along with a single roof box and perhaps a tube to store his fishing rods.
When we converted the van we tried to be careful to fit a smaller solar panel to allow space for the roofbars and bike carrier, so fingers crossed it all fits.
We bought the roof bars from DST Automotive, this version is called Can Auto Turtle.
It’s been a while since I posted here. Duncan’s Caddy Maxi has had many trips since it first trip to France after the conversion. It’s taken Duncan to many fishing and road cycling locations, as well as the Isle of Mull and many other locations across Scotland.
We took the Caddy Maxi on a day trip to Kilchurn Castle on Loch awe for some fishing.
We had a quick family convoy to the Eurotunnel with an overnight Britstop enroute and arrived in Guines with lovely weather.
This is the first trip in the van so it’s working well so far.
The awning has been a good addition too.
We’ve been finishing everything off as we are getting ready for the first tour. On this occasion we will have a family convoy for some of the time, with the Caddy Maxi, a Ducato and a Clio.
The water pump is now wired up and tested, the doors and end panel are fitted to the kitchen.
We cut a hole for the gas drop through and so have now tested the gas and cooker too.
The fridge is fitted with the option of 12V dc and 230V ac to power it and the electrics just need a final wee tidy up.
Made some more progress on the kitchen, fitting the worktop, the tap and the 12V electrics, the fresh and waste water tanks’ plumbing and a shelf.
Last step is to fit the doors and the end panel. Then got some tidying up and snagging to complete.
Progress has slowed a little whilst we attended the International Campervan and Overland Show in Stratford last weekend in our Ducato. We do continue to make progress on the Caddy conversion though, with Wendy keeping Duncan and I very aware we only have three weekends left before the holidays. We need to be done in time for a trip to France.
The bed is now complete and the kitchen is taking shape. The kitchen front and worktop are not yet fixed in place. The end panel is now fixed in place with the 12V electrics panel and 230V mains sockets permanently mounted.
Next step is to finish the kitchen.
Made some good progress on the Caddy Maxi this week. Fitted the two MC4 connectors to the roof wiring and mounted an 80W Sunstore solar panel. I’ve reused the solar panel controller I removed from the Ducato when I fitted the Victron Smart Solar controller – this will be a future upgrade for the Caddy Maxi. The 80W solar panel was selected for its size as we plan to fit roofbars later on, so need to estimate the space for these. Also fitted the voltage sensitive relay so the leisure battery will be charged from solar and the alternator.
Needed a space to fit a 12V socket and 230V socket for the fridge so Duncan has flexibility in how this is powered. Fitted the sockets in the cup holders in the centre console after cutting a plywood template which Wendy covered in carpet.
We built the bed frame from 45mm square pine wood and made the bed top from 15mm thick plywood.
We will start working on the kitchen next.
I’ve been a little delayed with the Caddy Maxi updates whilst I was completing a wee upgrade to the Ducato. Then there was no Caddy Maxi progress this last weekend as we attended Camp Quirky in Kelmarsh.
Before that I temporarily mounted the electrical control panel and 230V sockets and powered up the van for the first time on 230V hook-up, after fitting a consumer unit. I also added a changeover switch so I can switch between 230V hook-up and an inverter power source (to be added in the future). It’s also nice to have an 230V hook-up off switch. The consumer unit is a little difficult to photograph as it is tucked away in the area behind the driver’s seat.
A Victron battery charger has also been installed and tested at the first power up. I really like the Bluetooth functionality of this.
The roof cladding has also been completed now, and the bulkhead trimmed back and refitted to cover the sliding door runners.
Then the final edging strips were added between the wall and roof, and the cladding was added to one of the rear doors after it was carpeted. The image below shows a before and after.
Wendy started to make window blinds for the rear windows from the material of our original Silver screens for the Ducato. I tried a little slow motion of her working in the video below. I am not sure what is going on with the video in this link as the image won’t embed, only the actual URL. It is clickable though.
In parallel, I worked on fitting the cable feedthrough for the solar cell wiring. After sealing this to the roof the rain come on so I covered it up and left it overnight, hoping for the best. All turned out okay when I unwrapped it the next morning, once the rain was off.
The next day Duncan and I clad the driver’s side wall. There are still a few little bits to finish around the wheel arch.
Duncan trimmed the passenger side bulkhead and refitted this to improve the aesthetics. I’ve added an image of the passenger side with trimmed bulkhead and driver side without, for comparison. The edge of the bulkead needs sanded to clean it up a little.
I am switching to our Ducato campervan now to do a little upgrade work in preparation for attending Quirky campers, then I will do more work on Duncan’s Caddy Maxi.
Working in parallel with the 12V electrics, we started cladding the interior walls after buying the cladding from Wickes. We’ve already insulated the walls so started by fitting batons to the van walls and roof.
Then we clad the passenger side wall.
As we work on the Caddy Maxi we are running out of room in the hut to store everything so the 3 metre long cladding and batons are temporarily being stored in our Ducato campervan.
Caddy Camper Conversion 