[V50_M66]

Haha yeah I’d consider it, but I don’t really trust people, especially with something as finicky as Rovers tend to be. Most people tend to use the “it’s not mine, let’s beat the crap out of it - I got the insurance for a reason” mentality unfortunately (at least from my experience). That being said, I might or might not be guilty of beating on a couple rental Hyundai Sonatas on business trips, so I know what goes through people’s heads (btw, those Sonatas are tougher than most people give them credit for). I will probably loan it out to some close friends though when I’m not using it. Then again, it’s far more unique and interesting than a white Korean sedan from Avis, so I could be wrong. I might give it a shot at some point and see how it goes.

 

[V50_M66]

Calling out to the electrical nerds here (@sierrafery and company), as well as general input on the matter. So I’ve been using the electrical additions in the camper a lot recently (mostly the sink and inverter/chargers), and since I wired everything to the factory 12V outlet, I have to have the key on position 1 for anything to work. Having to leave the key on presents an annoying and potentially risky situation, especially if I’m leaving the car while waiting for something to charge inside - someone could easily steal the truck since the keys are in it, and having to dig for keys every time I want to use something is annoying.
That being said, does anyone know how or even if I can install a switch of some sort that will allow me to turn on key position 1 (accessory mode) without having to use the key? This would mean I wouldn’t have to use the key to run accessories, which is much more convenient, and the only risk is leaving it on and draining the battery, which I’m willing to live with. The steering would remain locked, and nobody could turn the truck on further without the actual key. Is this as simple as splicing into some wires and running them to a simple switch that I can mount somewhere, or will it confuse the alarm or otherwise be a nightmare and is something I shouldn’t mess with?

 

[reverendALC]

You should be able to wire a relay into the accy 1 circuit no prob. The security won’t mind unless you try to crank, and even then it’ll only disallow cranking.

if you splice into the ign harness though, you run the risk of your relay or splices failing resulting in a hard down/no-start/run situation.

why don’t you set up an aux power run from the battery that you can control with a switch instead of monkeying with the ignition?

 

[V50_M66]

why don’t you set up an aux power run from the battery that you can control with a switch instead of monkeying with the ignition?

Oh right - duh - should have thought of that. Could I splice said run into the factory 12v so everything works either on the switch or with the key, or will the back feed of electricity mess with something? I’d love to get everything working both ways, hence my idea, but I’d like to avoid messing with the ignition if I can.

 

[reverendALC]

You so crazy, can’t see past splicing the ignition.

use a relay to control your aux run, and activate that relay with either a switch or the IGN1.

 

[V50_M66]

You so crazy, can’t see past splicing the ignition.

use a relay to control your aux run, and activate that relay with either a switch or the IGN1.

Nah, I got you - since I only need power to the rear 12V outlet anyway, I was wondering if I could leave the ignition alone and have a separate switched run from the battery and splice it into the rear 12V plug, so everything that I've already spliced into the 12V outlet (sink, inverter, etc) will work on the switched run. Then, with that switch off, everything would still get power with the key over the factory 12V outlet leads, just like factory. That way, nothing in the ignition would have to be touched, and everything up there could be left alone.
Sending 12V to the rear 12V outlet with it off wouldn't cause any issues, correct? All my accessories are already wired to the rear 12V outlet, so just sending power to that outlet would work perfectly for my application, and then I wouldn't have to touch the ignition.

 

[reverendALC]

Yeah that’d work fine. It doesn’t satisfy my OCD, but that’s my cross to bear lol

 

[V50_M66]

Haha yeah it doesn’t really satisfy mine either. I took the steering column plastic apart to see how hard it would be to do it with the ignition and it turned out to be insanely easy. The harness for the ignition goes down to a multi plug in the drivers fuse box. I used a multimeter to see what goes on - the big brown lead always has power, and the green lead gets power in position 1. I made a jumper wire to confirm this, and worked great. I grabbed a switch from my bin of parts and some 10 gauge wire that I ripped out of a parts Volvo and made a switched jumper wire, and plugged the spade connectors into the back of the connector for the ignition wires. I put the switch in the blank button next to the mirror switch. It looks factory, and works brilliantly - and best of all, I didn’t have to cut or splice anything - it’s 100% reversible. I’m very happy with how it came out.
Pictures:

 

[reverendALC]

Just carry spare fuses!

 

[V50_M66]

Ok, I’ve given all of the exposed metal a fresh coat of black spray paint to cover the lighter-colored primer, and gave all of the cabinets a final coat of paint. I think it has come out really well. I’ve also decided to stickerbomb the passenger rear panel with parts supplier stickers and stickers of places I’ve taken the truck, which I think is a fun touch that breaks up the monotony of plain metal (and as a bonus helps to cover up some of the imperfections from my mediocre metal working skills). I’ve also stocked the cabinetry under the counter with a portable camp stove, blankets, pillows, a grilling set, one of those IKEA foldable mini grills, and my air mattress. I still have room left over too. I’m to the point where I’m very happy with where I’m at, and will likely keep adding little things that help make it better as I encounter problems while using it. I’ll keep updating this thread of course. Here’s how it looks right now:

 

[V50_M66]

I have made a quick video going through the camper conversion.

 

[V50_M66]

Little update on the camper. I've been using it on and off for the past six months and love it. It works exactly as I had intended. Couple of cold weather-related things I didn't think of originally:

• The sink freezes in the winter when it's below freezing out since I park outside. Not much I can do about that really, but it is a bummer. This negates the fact that it's kind of rough using it in the cold since you have to be outside to use it. It's really more of a fair-weather thing, which is a bit of a bummer, but isn't a huge deal. Not sure how I'd solve that issue anyway.
• The heater kinda sucks in the D2s. Actually, let me rephrase. The heater REALLY sucks in D2s, especially while idling in 10 degree weather, especially in the back. It would be nice to get a cheap diesel truck cab heater or something similar to keep it warm without having to run the engine and bundle up at the same time.

Otherwise, it's been great! Love how it came out, and haven't needed to change anything so far since my design works quite nicely. I've been bundling up in a good sleeping bag on cold nights because of the whole no (or low) heat thing, so I do want to improve on that. Otherwise, I'm quite happy with it.

 

[sierrafery]

The heater REALLY sucks in D2s, especially while idling in 10 degree weathe

i found tat the heater on the petrol D2 is quite good compared to the diesel and none of them are so bad with the condition that the matrix to be clean and that involves to be flushed at least once in 5 years. Did you ever flush the heater core? If not do it and you'll have a surprise. For a good result you'll have to flush the whole cooling system first with dedicated fuid then only the matrix again, you can do it in situ by removing the pipes to it and attach hoses

 

[V50_M66]

i found tat the heater on the petrol D2 is quite good compared to the diesel and none of them are so bad with the condition that the matrix to be clean and that involves to be flushed at least once in 5 years. Did you ever flush the heater core? If not do it and you'll have a surprise. For a good result you'll have to flush the whole cooling system first with dedicated fuid then only the matrix again, you can do it in situ by removing the pipes to it and attach hoses

I'll give it a whirl - thanks. I do still want to do an auxiliary heater so I don't have to leave the engine running all the time, but hopefully this will help at least a little bit in the meantime. The heat blows nice and hot once it's up to temp, I think the issue is more that it doesn't move all that much air because of the tiny vents and no rear vents. Also, when it's this cold it runs at 180 or so all the time, so I'm sure the heat would be quite a bit hotter if it still had a 190 t-stat in it.

 

[sierrafery]

here's a video to see the relevance of a heater core flush but the result would be much better if the core is filled with some special flush fluid first and let the chemicals do theyr job before flushing it with water

, yes you definitely need an independent heater for camping, there are all kind of modells some at decent prices, the cheapest would be one with LPG

 

[sierrafery]

If you keep the engine running this one can be put in parallel with the car's matrix https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08LNS6Y5...jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

 

[V50_M66]

If you keep the engine running this one can be put in parallel with the car's matrix Amazon.com

Interesting - thanks

 

[V50_M66]

Just got done tinting the rear windows to keep it more private when using the camper (while still having light, unlike with curtains, which I plan to make later for sleeping). It looks good, does a nice job keeping the cabin from being so exposed, and should also keep interior temperatures down in the summer, so I won't have to run AC as much.

 

[V50_M66]

Ok, todays (all day) project was teaching myself to hand sew and making shades/curtains for the back of the Disco. I have to say, they turned out way better than I expected. They are fleece patterned fabric with stick on Velcro circles to hold them to the truck. Nice and simple and super easy to put up and take down.

 

[masantschi]

Oh yeah, you'll be able to sleep till noon in there.