Toyota Alphard Camper - BOUGHT & EXCITED -

pugheaven

pugheaven

pugheaven

Soldato
Joined
22 Apr 2008
Posts
3,914
Location
Bryn Celyn Wales
Well, the fourth vehicle to the fleet... something we've been thinking about for quite some time, is now ours, pick up on Monday/Tuesday!!! We're really excited... and now, we can do those cheeky "quick weekends" away...full side conversion just completed...

So, detail,s it's a 2007, imported in 2018 Toyota Alphard 3.0ltr V6. Full rear and pop top conversion so sleeps four (their definition of 4 is slightly different to mine), and it comes with a brand new rear air inflated awning which is cool...

There is ZERO external rust on body work OR underneath so, I'll be cleaning it all off... the great thing which is unusual is, the guy hadn't waxed it up and detailed it all like normal i.e. when they load all the scuffs and scratches with wax and polish the interiors with horid black shiny stuff... it is what it is... which gave me a proper chane to knock the price down hahaha.

Comes with 12 months and I will need to get the front bumper resprayed as it's got curb damage but other than this, just needs a Puggy detail which will take some time, but I'll be all over this once I pick up next week. Even came with a private plate and 12 months warranty on the kitchen and living install.

So, mods coming:

  1. New drilled discs and pads coming
  2. New 19" wheels coming as these little 16's are just tragic... these have been ordered and come Monday!
  3. New Android Dashboard 9" coming...
  4. Full Underneath Lanoguard Protection...
  5. Anything I can think of to put my own stamp on it.

So what you guys think cool or what!

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koolpc said:
Looks nice. How much?
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£19k buddy
Yaayuh! said:
Looks cool!

Though when stepping up to 19", make sure you take into account (this tyres mainly) this thing is going to go off-road if you're properly camping.
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yeah was thinking of 18';s etc and then though sod it and got 19's instead hahaha
Begbie said:
Been looking at buying that awning for mine, how is it?
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Not sure, don't pick it all up until Monday/Tuesday next week mate but will report back on this thread!
 
touch said:
3ltr, petrol, 4x4, automatic :eek: That's a brave choice with today's petrol prices.

It's a good looking van though and it's great to have a campervan.
I sacrificed my daily driver for a campervan about 4 years ago and really love it. We keep it stocked with everything we need for a couple of days away. Pasta, couscous, a couple of jars of sauces, porridge sachets, tea, coffee - all that stuff can just stay in the van and we're literally ready within 20mins if we make a last minute decision to go out for a quick trip. We did a fair bit of camping (with a tent) before we got the van but it's still had a load more use that I had expected.

It's also great to use for day trips too. We do lots of outdoor stuff (mountain biking, hillwalking, climbing, paddleboarding, etc) and having somewhere to get changed and have coffee or lunch is really nice.
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Yeah, that's exactly what I'll be doing buddy, stocking up with stuff that you can just leave... then you suddenly lose the will to live with work on a Thursday boom, friday off somewhere with minimal packing...

As for the engine, yeah, well, thr 2.4 burns a little too much liking for me, it's a known problem with that Toyota engine PLUS, I believe it's under powered myself for pulling this weight at 160bhp and low torque, this one is 220bhp and 22-lbs of torque so has some get up and go which just puts less strain on transmission and engine... I own a 6.1 SRT8 matey, so fuel isn't really a consideration in my life hahaha annoying yes but it is what it is... and it's not going to be a daily anyway.
wolfie138 said:
can you not block off the windscreen/door windows? seems like everyone could just see in.
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Yeah every window has curtains and they're all tinted.
 
mid_gen said:
Niiice :cool: Best colour too.... I assume its the same pearlescent white as mine?

Just go back last night from an overnight in Ogwen Valley, had people asking about the van again, which happens a fair bit. So much better looking than the VWs :)

Reminded me I need to get my underseal done before winter!
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Yep like a pearlescent white it is, beauitiful colour or it will be once I've finished with it hahaha. Yep 100% look so much more expensive from the outside than the VW's imho... just 24 hours until pickup :-) And yeah, I'll be blasting this whole thing off this week and then Lanoguarding the whole underside of it pal... use Lanoguard it's the best trust me!
 
Well, I pick up tomorrow (Sunday 17th) at 12pm... can't wait and my new wheels came today... gonna be some work done this week... detailing, changings dics and pads, new rims... engine bay detailed etc... all my usual stuff!!! Tomorrow afternoon I'll be a busy man! Then I'll be draining diff fluids and transmission fluids to make sure it's all done and dusted, probably change spark plugs will check them first!
 
Axeboy said:
Love it. Always a fan of imports and vans :)

Ive been eyeballing vans like these but most of them are a bit too small so think ill be going Hiace Grandcabin or similar.

These seem to be replacing the Bongo as the camper of choice since the Bongos are getting on a bit
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Yeah I originally was looking for a bongo BUT just too small, plus overheating and rust problems now... just didn't click where'as this thing it bigger, more reliable, ZERO rust etc... I mean it's Toyota.. it's built properly... so went for this plus I think they actually look for an MPV very nice... really nice infact especially once I've slapped some decent wheels on this week :-) Pick up in half an hour... I never thought I'd be exciuted over an MPV hahaha
 
Well all picked up and slapped on the drive... it was 30C today so the next 4.5 hours was a serious slog!

  1. Realised just how much mud and crap was in the arches and underneath, obviously been in a field... took 1.5 hours to get it all out so I could see the undersealing etc... tough one that.
  2. Washed it all down but couldn't do a tcut or a wax due to burning sun, so washed only.
  3. The engine bay was filthy and dusty but I hate dirty engines so gave a little TLC here, not my best work but all better than what came..
  4. Realised just how yellow all the front lights were from the plastic so, TCut those 5 minutes on each one, you can see in one of the pics below just how much cleaner/clearer it is... look at the drivers side yellow compared to the clearer passenger side...
  5. Quickly detailed the dash and floors etc... as were covered in dust and previous owners crap...
So, Tuesday new tyres (Avon ZV7,s in 245/40/19) come for the alloys (19's) which arrived on Saturday... that'll be a godsend as these are properly tragic looking wheels. Brake discs and pads all come this week... so, should be a lot nicer. That front bumper has ot be fixed and resprayed which is a bummer but it is what it is!


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jpaul said:
Nice - (new/cleaned?) Battery seems close to the engine - do we get to hear it's V6 goodness.

In the current heat ... does the A/C/hvac need a recharge, or filters.
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Think they'd put a new battery on, it's been cleaned but does look newish. As for AC, yeah had it on yesterday driving home in 30C and it was ice cold. Filter done and changed, the only thing I need to look at is the cambelt... there is no record of this being done so... it must've been done but not willing to take the chance so it'll be coming off!
 
Hades said:
The new alloys do look good. But in all hoesty I'd be keeping the originals on there. You may be driving up some rough places to get to campsites so I'd rather scrape the cheap wheels than put pretty new alloys on it. You'll also quickly get tired of cleaning spoked alloys on a vehicle that's going to get pretty dirty.
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I can't mate they look so bad and I'm not refurbing those, they're diamond cut as well so, end up just looking gash anyway... OFF OFF OFF :-)
 
Cyber-Mav said:
first time i sat in an alphard was when i went on holiday to africa. was in the alphard for a safari trip and it was setup with seats in the middle and the back and i was shocked how much legroom there was even for the seats in the far back. previous experience of 7 seaters was a zafira and sharan so the alphard is amazing compared to those. id be all over one if it came in diesel.

your one having a kitchen in the back is simply amazing. could you provide more info on how it all runs? where taps get water from? where is gas for cooker coming from? power for lighting etc is it just big car battery or something else etc etc.
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Yeah great aren't they can only imagine how huge inside with seats.

As for the kitchen etc. Basically under the sink are two water bottles... one fresh one waste. There is a pump in the fresh one. You open tap it auto turns pump and out comes lovely fresh water. It's as simple as that. The gas is LPG in a small tank, same principle, just like the water. Click the ignitoion switch like any other two rings come on. It's actually really easy and simple tbh.

Power is a different story. So there is a mains. So, when driving, the car has relays that will then enable charging of the 12v leisure battery i.e. for keeping fridge cold etc. However, say you cmap up... and hook up to the camp site, you then get the full fat 240V into the van... which then you can run the main sockets on etc. As for lighting it's all run off that leisure battery and 12v feeds, all the LED's, all the ceiling lights etc. Really clever but once again actually simple when it's explained.

They don't use standard car batteries for the camper site, it's got to be a lesiure battery which can handle the constant charging etc, more heavy duty than a normal car battery. If you need anything else buddy, just ping me.

It goes into the body shop Monday for the front bumper repair, he has warned me that with it being a white pearl, it'll be a Tw@t to match but he'll get it 99% there... costing me £400 and he will also touch up anything else when he goes through it... so it's a little more but says it's a 3 stage paint as well, so it's a tough one but he's doing me a favour as I take all my cars to him so.
 
Cyber-Mav said:
Could you do more pics of the interior kitchen area. Show water tanks gas tank, i lots of drawers hiding away if you could do pics with them all open and a list of stuff they carrys, its like a preppers dream lol. I love this sort of stuff. Latest van i saw with kitchen in is that YouTuber ratemytakeaway but needed a lot more footage of the interior.

Also i see you got that popup roof how does someone sleep up there if there is no floor?
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Yeah will try and get some later buddy.

As for sleeping, yes you climb up there, basically once bed is out, you climb up and there is a roof. So, basically how it works is, the pop up roof going up... you then push the "ceiling" up on the struts. That gives you walking head room in the camper. Then when you want to sleep up there, you lower that "ceiling" and climb up there into the pop up section so there is a floor... but that floor is the ceiling of the camper in a way :-)
 
Drollic said:
These kind of vans with turbos are really popular in Hong Kong and are often heavily modified with some expensive items. I get the impression it's all the jap turbo tuner crowd who now have a family :D

I've been in a few different ones used as taxis (fairly stock) and strangely they do have a certain appeal even though they shouldn't. I really need to have a chat with an owner of one as with the money spent on them, I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of them are fully forged running silly bhp. Or maybe the ap racing 6 pots with huge rotors are just for show.
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Cyber-Mav said:
Im sure i saw one on forum or youtube that had a 2jz-gte in it
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Yeah they kinda go mental in Japan for these things, slammed to the ground on 20+ rims... engine mods body kits the full thing.. tbh I can imagine with all the seating a top engine model with suspension and wheel mods would rock!
 
Well, wheels came today very very happy with them, running 40PSI and they feel good. Need the tracking done tomorrow now! Bit more engine deatiling as well... so things to do:

1). Bodyshop on monday and full repair and respray on the front bumper...
2). Drop transmission and diff oils...
3). Change cambelt and probably water pump unless they look new as...
4). Fit 10.1" Android head unit...
5). Discs and Pads plus paint the calipers grey...

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