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L4H3 no skills van conversion - build log

15142 Views 103 Replies 17 Participants Last post by  McNulty, 
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Hi all,

I was given a warm welcome at the introduction section, and thought I might make a build log for my Fiat Ducato L4H3 conversion. I know now, that, these are not identical to the American "Promaster" as I first thought, but merely based on the same chassis. My cars knowledge is very limited ;)

I said "no skills" because I basically have none. I am a software engineer, and if you know anyone in software development, you'll know they have zero practical skills :D So I have started this project to learn a lot, and hopefully complete my dream van too. So crossing fingers :)

As for the van, it's an extra tall H3 model, as I am 6'4, and thats the only version I'll be able to stand up in. So tall one it is.

The plan is to make a van that I can use during winter and also live in for for extended periods of time. I don't have any floor plan, or anything else for that matter, planned out. What I do know, is that I will have a fixed bed with a big garage. I need to place all my sports gear, and its quite a lot, so need lots of storage in the back. I guess it also makes construction a little easier. I'll also design it around 1-2 people, not more. It will mostly be used by myself alone, so not going to design a common area with room for 4 people.

I'm also working full-time, so don't expect updates that often. I have to make use of what spare time and weekends that I have. But It will be nice to share some updates once in a while, and maybe someone will have some pointers when I'm stuck along the way :)

So first two days, what I've managed so far:
  • Got the side walls down, and cleaned the interior.
  • Fixed some butyl for sound deadening some of the walls (although not completely finished yet).
  • Got a massive headache from all the cleaning detergents (note to self, more ventilation next time).
  • My back feels 80yrs old.

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watercamper said:
Go Flysurfer!! Where do you kite? Or do you snow kite? I think you'll have more room than you can imagine under the bed. I store 15 kites, 2 TTs, 2 surfboards, 2 foilboards, 4 foil setups, 8 wetsuits, harnesses, helmets, bars, etc. And stuff for living in the van full time.
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Yes! :) I mostly do snow kiting (on the mountain plateau "Hardangervidda" close to where I live in Norway), but I did pick up kiting on water two years back, give or take. I'm not really a confident rider yet on water, but getting there. Love the Flysurfer though, amazingly good going upwind. Which is part of the reason I wanted to build my own van too, have room for all the equipment I will bring, permanently, and not base everything on moving stuff around when reconfiguring the living space. As you say, I might have room for more than I think. Looking at the space I though I might end up short of space, but maybe I'll manage to cram everything in. I will bring 4-5 kites, surfboard, a few wetsuits, 5 paragliders, 2-3 paragliding harnesses and a foldable kayak. It will be a game of Lego for sure :) I'd love to see a picture if you have one with everything stuffed in place :)

MsNomer said:
Make sure you don’t permantly block access to those rear vented columns. There are important wires in there.
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I might have already blocked those off.. ahem ;) You mean the channels going along the doors from top to bottom in the rear? I have stuffed them with rockwool, which is why I want to seal them off (blocking those airborne particles from the insulation into the living space). I've spray-glued a reflectix type of material on top all the way, and planned on a finish with fabric, but if I really needed to I guess I could cut it open to access the channel. What is the probability I would need to access those? Like, do I have to open them to change a lightbulb, or similar maintenance work?
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So, I've taken one step forward and two back. I'm probably doing all the mistakes possible. I've started to build the interior, and I've got as far as:
  • Built two cavity walls, partly cladded with panels, but I'll leave one side open to pull cables and such.
  • Built the seating section.
  • Built one cabinet (with a cardboard fridge as template).
  • Cut a hole in the van for shore power connector.
  • Got most of the ceiling in place (furthest section is treated with water resistent paint for bathroom and kitchen).

And so my setbacks for today:
  • Figured the cabinet was 1,5 inches too far to the left, so had to move the entire thing.
  • Measured the length of a clothes hanger in the bottom of the cabinet (to make the cabinet "full size" and fit normal hangers). I unfortunately did not think of the panels bending inwards in the top of the cabinet.. so the hanger did not fit where its suppose to be :p
  • The seating section was 1,5 inches too high, so had to lower the entire thing.
  • Too much insulation in the sliding door, so the opening mechanism was very slow. Had to open up and redo insulation in the door.

So it's taken soon two days to correct all my mistakes :)

The next thing that puzzles me is how I can route the cables (from DC-DC charger in the back) to the main battery in the front. Two 35mm2 bad boys just wont fint anywhere (in addition to a fuse box).

A few pictures to sum up my progress so far..

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McNulty said:
I might have already blocked those off.. ahem ;) You mean the channels going along the doors from top to bottom in the rear? I have stuffed them with rockwool, which is why I want to seal them off (blocking those airborne particles from the insulation into the living space). I've spray-glued a reflectix type of material on top all the way, and planned on a finish with fabric, but if I really needed to I guess I could cut it open to access the channel. What is the probability I would need to access those? Like, do I have to open them to change a lightbulb, or similar maintenance work?
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Yes, to change light bulbs, you first have to detach the taillight assembly from the inside.
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SteveSS said:
Yes, to change light bulbs, you first have to detach the taillight assembly from the inside.
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Oh crap. Well, I then have to take that down and redesign it to be accessible in the future then. Thanks for the info :)
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SteveSS said:
Yes, to change light bulbs, you first have to detach the taillight assembly from the inside.
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I gave it a go and redid the panel with some fabric. I'm not super happy with the result, so might redo it in the end to make the finish perfect. The holes for the screws were hard to get right.. (I attached a photo)

I also got some of the electric started up, tested the Maxxfan and it worked :) Which is good, since I have no way to get to the wires, they are behind walls/ceiling now :) Satisfying that it worked on first attempt though.

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This weekend I managed to finish the shower (just the wet room, not drainage - I'll leave that for last) and made good progress on the Kitchen corner. Mounted a USB socket and 230V socket there too.. I'm also done with most of the framework for everything now, so its beginning to look like something..

After a little research and facebook group assistance, I've landed the connections for Victron Multiplus inverter/charter, which puzzled me for some time. Specifically cable dimensions.

Next up will be to get stuff wired up.. lagging behind on the electric part.

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Lolaeliz
Looks great! It’s so exciting when it starts looking more like a construction site and less like a van
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Lolaeliz said:
Looks great! It’s so exciting when it starts looking more like a construction site and less like a van
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Absolutely. I just love when things are coming together and that I can actually see progress! :) Helps on the motivation too.. it's a daunting task to complete alone :)
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Some minor work done this weekend. Made a kitchen top, added a sink from Ikea, cladded a wall, and tested the very first 12v led-strips (oh and it actually worked). I also got the wrong both dimmer and USB socket (would not mount or fit properly in my relatively thick wall panels, maybe they are designed for another thinner panel for mounting) so had to 3d-print a custom faceplate for both. Turned out well I think.

Next up I'm trying to figure out how to design the gas system. I'm trying to get in touch with a company that could install a gas-tank under the van. Don't want to gamble with an improperly installed gas system. If that fails, I'll build a tank inside a sealed container in the kitchen cabinet.

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Roblee
Your last wiring photo shows 2 Victron Lynx Distributors. Is there a special reason for the second one?
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Roblee said:
Your last wiring photo shows 2 Victron Lynx Distributors. Is there a special reason for the second one?
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I thought I ran out of connections to the busbar, but it might come down to poor design choises. I counted 6 needed connections, mind you not everything is connected just yet:

  • DCDC charger.
  • DCDC charger return path (to avoid using the chassis - as recommended in the manual)
  • DC distribution block.
  • Victron Multiplus
  • Solar regulator (main panels)
  • Solar regulator (secondary panels - different panels, so a separate charger - trying to get as many panels as possible).

So I'm two connections short for a single distributor. I'm sure I could have designed it a lot better and one would be enough, but now its there, and its more work to remove it :)
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I've cut a new hole in the roof today, and installed the second Maxxfan (in the back, bed area). It went surprisingly well, considering I felt confident enough to do a "measure-once-cut-once" approach :) I was thinking a using masking tape, I did not use masking tape, I should have used masking tape. I'm not very impressed with the finish, as it could have looked a lot better, and my ocd is acting up. Oh well. Maybe I went overkill with the sikaflex too, but have to be sure its waterproof. Used butyl-tape and sikaflex to seal the fan.

For anyone else installing a Maxxfan on the Ducato, I have to say the roof vent adapter is really worth the extra money! Makes the installation sooo much easier.

Also installed the fridge. Have to say, for the price of the Dometic fridge, I was expecting a little more premium feeling, a little disappointed, but it looks good enough at least. I like the dual hinged opening mechanism.

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Not sure if this is clever or not, but I left a quarter-inch gap between the cutout of the roof fan and the insulation / support material. That way, if there is a leak, it will hopefully just en up in the flange and not flow into the insulation and cause a lot of problems. I'll then be able to inspect it during heavy rain too (maybe) to hopefully catch a problem before it gets too big. Looking at the close-up photo I can also see how horrible my paint job was sealing the cutout :)

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I also removed the passenger seats to be able to access the fuel tank easier and route the cables from DCDC-charger to the battery. I've been thinking a lot on how to actually route the cables, as its quite a tight fit going along the drivers side. So I believe I found it easier to route the cables on the drivers seat right side and through the floor. Makes it easy to mount both the fuse holder and get both positive and negative cable all the way to the battery. Cables are already pulled through the wall on the drivers side lower side.

I've also added a switch to the D+ signal in my design. If it works like I think it does, the idea was to be able to cut off the dcdc-charger if I need to.

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So I have a question regarding a heater unit if anyone have thoughts to share. I'm looking to buy either a Truma Combi 6E or D6E for water/air heating (one is propane, and the other model is diesel - otherwise they are the same unit in every aspect). It looks like Truma finally are able to deliver some of these units after production challenges.

My question is regarding noise. I would prefer the Diesel version as it would tap directly into the vans fuel tank, also it'd be less units on propane inside the living space (peace of mind).

Does anyone know whether or not the Diesel version would be more / less noisy than the propane counterpart? Both internal- and externally, and also if there would be an annoying fuel pump "ticking" sound from it?
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Installed the shower today. After a lot of head scratching on how to do this, youtube came to the rescue once again. Only time will tell if this leaks or not.. I've ordered pipes and connectors from ebay, so thats up next.

Ended up with a mixer bracket mounted behind the wall since there is not much space. I'll install an inspection hatch as I close the wall, so I'll be able to check for leaks and hopefully fix any problems that might occur.

I also created a D+ signal with a relay (from the upfitter connector) to my DCDC charger, but none of that ended up working, so I'll leave that report for another day, when I've figured out whats wrong. I used the entire day troubleshooting, ended up getting really pissed off, and left it for future me to figure out :)

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I've finally connected the DC-DC charger and made a D+ signal with a relay from the upfitter connector. Seeing that there are many similar posts around this issue, I thought to share how I did it in case someone else find it useful.

Basically, I took the D+ and "ignition feed" signal from the upfitters connector, and by using a relay created a "true D+ signal", as the one from the connector only supplies a ground connection. I also added a switch, so that I can enable / disable the DC-DC charging if I want to. I also took the power from what appears to be a unused socket right next to the cigarette lighter. No idea what it is, but I found 12V and supplied from the van, crossing fingers that its actually fused somewhere :p I attached the wiring diagram in case anyone is interested.

I've also routed the cables to the battery on the right side of the drivers seat, as opposed to down by the footwell. I think it turned out quite ok.

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MsNomer
Interesting. On most, that blank spot on the dash is a USB plug powered by a 7.5A fuse # F15 under the hood.
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MsNomer said:
Interesting. On most, that blank spot on the dash is a USB plug powered by a 7.5A fuse # F15 under the hood.
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I'll keep a note of that fuse number in case I'll ever need it, thanks :) D+ doesn't require much anyway, so I figured its probably fine.
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I found that the best way to make the furniture look professional, like drawer system or cabinets, is to install Ikea (hope its not considered cheating) :) that way I can use all the genius organising systems Ikea have for their drawers, and if any of them break I can always drop by the closest store to buy replacement parts.

Also, I recently topped up the tank with Diesel, and to my surprise I filled almost 100litres (24 gallons), which leads me to believe that this van has like a 120litre tank (26 gallons). Thats the biggest volume fuel tank I've ever seen, is that common on these Promasters?

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Lolaeliz
Looks great! How deep is the cabinet?
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