New to site, L400 Delica 4x4 Campervan on a shoestring budget

Hi!!!! I'm new here, although I recognise a couple of members from other forums. I've spent the past year slowly getting my truck ready for festivals, camping, and greenlaning this summer. My Delica is my everyday drive which I've had for nearly a year now, it started out as a stock Mitsubishi Delica L400 Exceed...



As you can see she was desperate for new wellies, I wanted to fit a set of KL71 tyres (30 9.5 R15) these are the biggest you can fit on a Delica without cutting/hammering the arches, however they were out of stock for six weeks.
While I was waiting for the tyres to be in-stock I started my camper conversion.
I built a cupoard unit with a 2 ring hob, grill and sink, as you can tell most parts were re-cycled or re-used like the slide off computer sides which made up the cooker hood, the rear heat shield is an old metal flip chard board from work which was to be thrown out, the wood for the unit itself was end of line and was cheap as chips, the cooker and sink from ebay which needed replumbing slightly and a new regulator, I fitted the tap to a pump up pressure bottle like the ones gardeners spray their weeds with, which is ideal it gives up to 6 litres of water, and once pumped up stays pressurised till it's either used up or de-pressurised, I also have a 25ltr container for storing more water, but tend to just keep a few 2ltr bottles of cheap tescos bottled water handy which stays fresh for longer if unopened.



I also built a basic fold out table which folds up between the 2 of the rear seats.



The bed was easy as the seats fold to form a bed, it has flourescent light, night light and best part the crystalite glass roof sections which are great when it's a nice clear sky at night.



It's now registered as a motor-caravan, and insured as such, bonus being the insurance is half the price of what it would be if it was insured as a car.
I then fitted her new tyres,



Within a couple of months we get loads of snow, great timing!!! They were fantastic in the snow and I had great fun pulling people out of it...



Here's a little video of me pulling a BMW up a hill as everyone was stuck behind him:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvCvrx3eKVM

My next job was a snorkel which I followed instructions from a kind member on mdocuk (Mitsubishi Delica Owners Club), he had modified a Land Rover Defender snorkel, and posted a fantastic set of instructions on how he did it, which I followed for my truck.



I've just bought a safari roof rack and spot lights off a local Delica owner and ended up fitting a snorkel to his Delica for him a couple of days later.





I've got a few more things I want to get done but they will have to wait till I have the funds, or have the time. I have a tent that fits against the back or the side door but am planning on making an awning myself to fit all the way round two sides, from side door to far end of the rear door. I'm going to extend the wheel arches a little, plus a few more little jobs. So far my Delica has been pretty much faultless, there have been a couple of small issues like the pressure release valve for the turbo getting stuck and blowing at about 2000rpm, but with all the fantastic guides on the owners club site these were easy fixes. I'm servicing her every 4000km, and plan on re-waxoiling the bottom at the end of the summer, and I have a few bushes and gaiters to replace aswell. I want to keep it in good condition but at the same time it for what it was designed for.

dude,,nice truck,,,,just a little tip...dont keep your tow strap wrapped under your bull bar its the worst place to keep it,it picks up muck and if you get stuck up front you wont be able to get it off and it could snag something,,,better if you keep it in a small bag with a couple of shakles nice and clean in the box under your seat,,,tug.

tuggy wrote:

dude,,nice truck,,,,just a little tip...dont keep your tow strap wrapped under your bull bar its the worst place to keep it,it picks up muck and if you get stuck up front you wont be able to get it off and it could snag something,,,better if you keep it in a small bag with a couple of shakles nice and clean in the box under your seat,,,tug.

Cheers!!! That's just on for show really for the photos I was taking, the same with my two spare wheels on the roof rack, I think if I left them on they'd all be gone by the morning. Thanks for the advice though.

Looks epic. & Welcome to the Forum!

Hi and welcome nice motor

Lionsden? Thought you were a Millwall supporter for a second!

Welcome, a great first post featuring a very versatile motor. If ever i went down the Jap 4x4 route, this is exactly what I'd go for. Like the build, re-cycling at it's very best. Nice idea about the pressure bottle, makes perfect sense.

I'll be following progress with interest, as like the other newbie Greg from the States with his Defender 110, I too will be building a camper this summer - hopefully! The will is there, it's only lack of funds that's holding me back at present - such is life!

That's a nice truck. Welcome to the forum.

Thanks for the comments!!! No not a Milwall fan, I used to run a reggae sound system called Lionsden Sound System, well still do when I have time.
I'll keep updating this as I do more work, I'm currently working on installing a way of attatching a laptop to the inside roof of the van, and some extra LED lighting inside and outside of the truck, although I've told myself no more modifying until I've changed the fuel filter and fixed the slight leak on my windscreen washer tubes. (I did a fantastic job of re-routing the washers so that they squirt from 3 points on each windscreen wiper rather than the old jets that got blocked up all the time, however I had them set in the wrong place and the wipers ended up cutting a hole in the tube. They are sorted now but I still need to replace the section of tubing where it got cut as I squirt passers by when I wash the windscreen, although this has given me a few laughs!!!

I got round to fitting my curtains at the weekend. They make a great difference. They are man made silk so block out loads of the light, and look rather posh too!!!



I've also added a parking pole, I'm going to put one on the other side aswell...


The top has an orange LED which comes on with the side lights..

Wot ... no night shot of your orange glowstick?

The motor's coming on a treat. Suggest you paint the cable ties and white wire though (same blue as the vehicle or at the very least dark blue/black), as the look of the overall vehicle deserves it.

That's a good tip about the "man-made silk". Will have to think of that sort of thing when I eventually get around to converting my Range Rover ambulance into a camper. Yet another for my 'jobs to do' list.

Tom Mc wrote:

Wot ... no night shot of your orange glowstick?

The motor's coming on a treat. Suggest you paint the cable ties and white wire though (same blue as the vehicle or at the very least dark blue/black), as the look of the overall vehicle deserves it.

That's a good tip about the "man-made silk". Will have to think of that sort of thing when I eventually get around to converting my Range Rover ambulance into a camper. Yet another for my 'jobs to do' list.

Thanks!!! Not yet will, be coming though!!! Yep I'm thinking of making some sort of shroud or cover for the bottom of the pole, once I've decided on how I'll hide the wiring and neaten it up nicely, if not I'm going to paint the pole and clips black, and wiring same as truck like you said.

It's an on-going project, another job to get around to! Know the feeling.

Welcome to the forum, the Delica seems quite a popular vehicle to convert into a camper
I do like the look of them and look forward to seeing more pictures as your conversion progresses.

I've now replaced my 'orange glowstick' with matt black parking poles made from a silver mop handle, 2 pop bottle tops, and a length of drain.pipe cut in two...



Looking much better...

Happy Days.

Is there plans for a reflective strip or small LED on the top of the pole If your out and about at night?
Might make it easer to see in poor weather conditions as well.

TJ

Terracan Jas wrote:

Happy Days.

Is there plans for a reflective strip or small LED on the top of the pole If your out and about at night?
Might make it easer to see in poor weather conditions as well.

TJ

Yes I'm going to wire a yellow LED into the top of each pole.

Nice. Will look good.

A Friend of mine had them on a similar design, very useful when the end of your bonnet is not visible. He also wired them up (Im not sure how) to pulse with his rear LED Beacons and Hazard lights when recovering vehicles. Looked great.

TJ

Terracan Jas wrote:

Nice. Will look good.

A Friend of mine had them on a similar design, very useful when the end of your bonnet is not visible. He also wired them up (Im not sure how) to pulse with his rear LED Beacons and Hazard lights when recovering vehicles. Looked great.

TJ

Ahh now that's food for thought!!! Thanks!!! I was just going to wire them to side lights, but that's got me thinking!!!

Cheers!!!

And Im pretty sure they worked with the indicators, again im not too sure how.

I will email him and see if he has a diagram or instructions and post them on here.

Jason

Terracan Jas wrote:

And Im pretty sure they worked with the indicators, again im not too sure how.

I will email him and see if he has a diagram or instructions and post them on here.

Jason

Yeah that'd be good cheers. I may look at multiple LEDS on there, or ones at different angles. My side light uses a double filament bulb as they come on brighter on the side you are indicating so I may incorporate this into the poles.

Hmmm!!!

Bluggers just when I cross one job off the list it causes more to be added. Hey ho that's the fun of it though!!!!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/533451703503615/639281906253927/?notif_t=like&notif_id=1464546616800314

many thanks for the inspiration.