Well here we are two and a half years along, and we are off on our first trip.
Some of you may be aware that we embarked on building our own 23 footer with en-suite. To bring you all up to date I will endeavor to attach pictures from start to finish.
In brief we only worked on it weekends and some holidays, but it still was worth the wait.
We took it from home here in Gawler SA to Coobowie on the Southern Yorke Peninsula for its initial shake down. It towed like a dream and we were able to sit on a very comfortable 85 to 90kms to Port Wakefield and then we hit strong gusty head winds maximum of 80 kms and as low as 70kms, a good test for any van as for those who dont know; the area from Ardrossan down the roads are narrow and undulating. We also experienced a steady oncoming traffic flow of boaties, vanners, and weekenders returning for work on the 10/01/11.

On arrival we were very surprised to find the range hood was the only thing open.
All plumbing and electrical all worked as planned only repairs that need to be done are two venetian blind clips and one sliding drawer catch.

The only other issues were forgotten items but these were quickly sorted next morning.
All in all a very enjoyable first experience and we are all looking forward to another few short trips and then a 21 day trip to Perth and the southern WA coast.

Cheers,
Andrew

looks pretty impressive how heavy cheers dowly

Well done. I have said to others embarking on these builds that I am in awe of your achievement. Go now and enjoy the fruits of your labour. That's what it's all about.

Hi Andrew,

Just what i needed to see after todays efforts (could not get my work done that i wanted to do, due to humidity) love looking at other peoples van's that they have made, it looks fantastic, are you going to put decals on it as this would just put icing on the cake and for a few hundred bucks money well spent. Do you mind tell me what you used for the hatch doors?


Hope you enjoy your time away........

Cheers Robert

Looks good have fun with it .
Good to see a DO NOT OVERTAKE TURNING VEHICLE sign on left hand bumper .

thank you for your praise
to answer a few questions
specs 7.0m cabin length x 2.4 wide 2.9m overall height
6ft 10 internal height
total loaded weight 2480 kg
yes we are working on name and some striping
access doors are made up of security grille frame 40 x 11 insert is cut from the panel once fitted to van and tread plate will line up pretty well
will post some internal pics and a few construction pics asap
cheers andrew

heres a few pictures as we are nearing completion

Fabulous job. What do you do for a day job?

Nice work mate congratulations.

Is it a timber frame? Did you build the entire van yourself? 2.5t is a great weight for a van that size loaded.

that really is a great job,enjoy..

Cheers Rod