A FEW BRIEF DETAILS (and potential faults that I know of)
CV12 CXP Registered 01/03/2012 Fiat Ducato 35 Maxi Multijet 2.3. Ex disabled passenger vehicle. On V5 as a panel van. MOT to 07/03/2024.
MOT
The gearbox mounting was replaced afterwards as was an engine mount that wasn't as good as it should have been.
The split CV boot was replaced there and then.
The tyre hasn't been replaced as I was considering a set of BFGs
There’s a bit of a rattle, kind of suspension noise pulling off.
There's been a fault code since we picked it up.
*see more on points 4) and 5) further down
WHY IS IT FOR SALE IN A PUB CAR PARK, NOT AT OUR HOME ADDRESS?
Well the home address is really a ‘care of’ address, my Mother in Law’s. We split our life between Dave the campervan and Ernest our narrowboat so we’re in the Midlands 80% of the time.
SO WHY DID WE BUY THIS MODEL, AND WHY SELL NOW?
Part of the reason to buy was that we have 3 elderly relatives, (all 300 to 800 miles apart) who needed our support. And also our daughter moved to France during the lockdown and we needed somewhere to stay when visiting her. However, we really wanted to go full time traveling for a few years in Europe.
Now all the family have somewhere for us to stay when we visit so we need to go back to a boring car that can park on a small drive and get 50 mpg. Unfortunately campervans will have to take a back seat for a few years.
1. It's 6ft wide across the back
2. Galvanised
3. Iveco engine
4. Lower mileage
5. As a minibus it was regularly checked
6. Loads of windows for the great park-up views
7. Clean and tidy
8. Maxi version so bigger wheels, better ground clearance, uprated brakes and suspension, higher rear axle weight
9. External roof rack mounting points
WHAT WE DID BEFORE WE STARTED CONVERTING
Full service, cambelt change, water pump change and a fuel leak was found so new fuel pump. No point in spending £10k converting a lemon. Of course it has some knocks and scrapes, including cracked mirror surrounds but it is 11 years old after all. I’ve tried to add some pics.
LAYOUT
Back cross bed, ikea skorva beams and ikea bed slats, ikea mattress with, bedding as per photos included (just in case you’re stopping on the way home)
Storage, gas locker with space for calor 6kg and Campingaz 907 (bottles and tails included), diesel heater/18L tank, fridge locker, accessed kitchen side, blue diamond composting/waterless toilet is on a wheeled trolley so it can easily come out and go wherever needed ... All underneath the 6ft x 4ft 6in bed.
School desk style storage cupboard, lift up top we use the inside for dry food storage. It has electrical isolation switches at the back with Victron BMV 712 display and inverter isolation switch. Underneath is a curtained space for pulling out a 12v compressor fridge (goes down to -18c and uses about 25ah a day) on a wheeled trolley so it can easily come out and go wherever needed.
Next to that, 4ft bench seat, hand crocheted covers (just finished) with an ikea slat base that's hinged. Under is 2 Storage spaces, one with a large box with further storage underneath and tie-downs the other for an electrical cupboard with space for a second or bigger battery if needed. On the front of the bench seat is a Lagun table mount (£175 ish). These are great mounts, it's been placed so it can be used at the bench, between bench and swiveled passenger seat. It's also designed to butt up to the kitchen surface to increase prep space. When moving it locks in place above the bench seat or can be easily removed.
In front of that is a low plinth that has storage and a heating vent, that continues to the sliding door with storage and a light and switch at low level for coming and going at night.
Kitchen unit with Smev 9222 sink/twin hob unit, with burners to the left out of the draft if the sliding door is open. Work top left and right. Left hand underneath... top is a slide out worktop with 240v socket. Drawer under, cupboard under that. To the right a larger cupboard with storage, curtain front. To the right of that, a water cupboard (25L) accessed from outside via the sliding door. Storage drawer over that.
Flooring is original aluminum with removable rubber backed carpet throughout.
The cab has two captain seats with armrest each on CDA swivel bases (you can also buy a seat lowering kit if needed). Wired reversing camera, front and rear nextbase 322 dash cam. All the original minibus trim is really neat that divides the cab from hab. Steering lock, pedal lock.
THE FITOUT.
First point… it weighed in at 3200kg fully fuelled, 75L water and absolutely everything we needed to hit the road for our 120 days trip last Spring. I think we could have easily lowered it by 100kg if needed so loads of payload left over.
Having lived off grid for 11 years and converted a Bongo years ago and then built a 70ft narrowboat over the last few years, I knew what elements were really important to us. #1 is the prep, so everything rear of the dashboard came out to start the fitout. Apart from lots of cleaning only the rear access floor under the rubber edging needed a bit of anti rust (fertan) and then prime and paint, everything else was great.
Sound insulation was first, on every panel, cargo doors, ceiling and over cab area. Then on the sides and roof it had 25mm Recticel board high up and 50mm low down. All smaller areas had Diall recycled bottle insulation, then the whole lot in silver bubble wrap. The beams that had Diall in the voids had silver bubble wrap and then 4 way stretch carpet over.
Cable runs, all in split conduit, were routed at the same time.
Then the original lining was trimmed and resized and refitted with new screws. So after about two months graft it looked about the same as when we bought it 
Skorva beams for the bed had their brackets fixed on with rivnuts and bolts. This is all easily removable for access if you want to change layout at all.
Furniture all 2x1” timber pocket hole frames with 6-9mm ply as appropriate (MDF on a couple of bits as the suppliers were running out of ply post COVID). Units were built outside the van and then mounted with brackets and sikaflex ebt+ to floor and walls as appropriate. So solid and no squeaks (well not that I can hear anyway)
WATER AND HEATING
Kept this as simple as possible as I wanted to be able to do any repairs whilst traveling.
Water is just 50L, room for 75L with a submersible pump and a direct drain to the outside for a bucket. Easy to water the closest hedge rather than drive miles or pay for a grey drain site. We 100% wanted mobile water containers as we could, and have, stopped at a pub overnight and used their tap. We also keep a trolley in the back for collecting water. That's why we went down to 50L as it's so easy to get hold of some, which is really important if you’re in the UK and not using sites.
Heating, I waited a while to find a four outlet diesel Air heater as I really wanted one vent in the cab in front of the curtain as so many people had said about condensation being an issue that I wanted to press a button and start warming/clearing it from bed before I got up. So one vent next to the driver's seat, one vent in the sofa plinth, one vent in the bed wall (between loo and fridge) and one under the bed to keep the boot/garage ventilated.
ELECTRICS
Having built a 70ft off grid boat, I could probably write a book about electrics... but I'll try and keep it brief, the system was designed by a pro from near Hastings and fitted by me to his wiring diagram. It's all high quality victron kit... BUT it's spec'd to my needs and may not fit yours. So Google power audit and see how many Ah a day you'll use. The 160Ah victron smart LifePo4 battery and management system alone cost over £2000!! I'll keep everything Bluetooth password protected and I'll give those codes to a buyer rather than reset to zero.
When we're not away using the van the solar ticks away fine, we even use the fridge as a spare fridge or freezer from about Easter on. The system was spec'd for us to charge fine from driving and/or solar alone so I didn't build in a hookup, but there are connections for a 240v charger (victron ip65, which would charge starter and leisure battery... NB charger not included in sale as I'm using it on our boat) but they're about £70-£190 depending on size. The maximum continuous charge is about 300A (recommended is 80A or less) so you may want a bigger one to charge faster.
Inverter, we hardly use one, is a remote controlled victron phoenix 500w although the battery can handle loads more, recommended maximum continuous discharge is 160A or 2000w, maximum is 4000w. We use it for a slow cooker (socket for that in the boot and in the kitchen area), a nutri bullet blender and also for a phone smart charger.
Solar, 350w panel and victron 100/30. Space for another 350w panel and if it's the same spec panel, the controller will be fine if the panels are in series, in parallel it will limit the maximum amps to 30A.
Panel is mounted on an aluminium van guard 8 bar (plus roller) roof cradle (they're £631!). It also had perimeter exterior lighting from a switch next to the bed, handy for late dog walking or if you feel unsafe in a carpark.
Front has a maxxair fan, an amazing kit and well worth the extra money. The auto feature is great. Just set what you want for speeds and air in or out and that's it. Ours is set for 26°c so as soon as it's over that it automatically opens and extracts at 20%. If I ever do another boat/caravan/motorhome I'll definitely add one of those.
Hard wired reversing camera.
Nextbase 322 dash cam with wired rear camera and memory card. This is powered from the leisure battery so it can stay on if you’re parked along the road side. It also means that (if you’re not using the silver screens) you can turn the USBs on from the bedside panel and start recording within seconds. A great safety feature for wild parking, alongside bright main lights inside and outside perimeter lighting.
EXTRAS
This list may grow if I run out of room on the boat... silver external screens (brilliant on sunny days). Rear wheel carrier and 5th full size wheel. Roof rack. Sofa has brand new hand crocheted covers with side and rear fitted (that was about 100 hours work!) Decathlon sun shade, can be mounted to the campervan or used stand alone. Wind shade. 12v compressor fridge. Blue Diamond waterless toilet. Chopping block/food storage unit. Secure rear door opening bar (used by dog transporters). Cab wind deflectors. Nextbase front and rear dash cams. Reversing camera. Lightweight trolley for collecting water.
WHERE'S IT BEEN
Well life got in the way so we didn't get as far as Morocco, we definitely will in a few years time though when we don’t have to help family at short notice.. We just managed loads of England, Wales, lots of France... but unfortunately we had a breakdown in France. It happens, these are commercial vehicles. We lost 5th gear in the last few days of 80 days abroad, and 120 days total. I was told afterwards that it would have been fine to drive home but we repatriated Dave with the AA as French garages would have taken too long to repair and we’d be over our 90 days Shengen visa.
It was shipped back to the UK and had the gearbox fully rebuilt by JDM Gearbox Repairs LTD, Birmingham and had a new clutch at the same time, oh and another service so not much change from £3500.
POSSIBLE FAULTS
We did another thousand miles or so after the gearbox rebuild and there was the tiniest noise (bit like suspension rattle) only sometimes pulling off in first gear. JDM (over 100, 5 star reviews) said he’d have another look so we paid for it to be taken out again and looked at under warranty. The original mechanic who took it out and delivered it to JDM hadn't put enough oil back in it and some gears had discolored so to be sure we had a new 1st, 4th, 5th and 6th gear! This time it was removed and replaced by R.J. Motor Services of Lichfield who specialise in commercial vehicles.
Since then I've heard the noise again (just pulling off in first gear) and been told it's just standard noises from commercial diesel vehicles (I still think it sounds more like suspension or drive shaft kind of noise but I had to rely on the mechanics assessment), they even suggested maybe I need a car and a tent! We've done about 1000 miles again since though, and mileage is likely to increase as it’s still in use.
Code P0402 - Since buying it there's been an intermittent fault. No engine warning lights on the dash or anything but it comes up with a check engine dialogue when starting up. I had it checked and they said just see how it goes as we’d only picked it up the week before. They cleared the code and I bought a cheap code reader (included in the sale) and I clear the code every few weeks/months as part of my periodic checks (I check over all the domestic electrics for connection issues then too).
RECAP
So to recap it's done 85000 miles (still in use so will increase). We've had the following done mechanically…
1. Serviced
2. Cam belt
3. Water pump
4. Diesel pump & filter
5. Rebuilt gearbox
6. Gear change cables
7. Couple of engine/box mounts
HOW MUCH IS IT FOR SALE FOR?
Well it owes us about £19,000 now but asking actual re-sellers and looking at local markets between that and £17,500 is probably it’s money if the market stays as it is.
Taking into account the couple of known/potential faults I’m advertising it as offers over £15,000
IF YOU’RE INTERESTED IN BUYING CONTACT ME ON davetheducato@gmail.com
SORRY PICS ARENT IN ANY PARTICULAR ORDER
also this link to some dash cam clips may or may not work... DASH CAM CLIPS
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| Arrived at base ready for the graft |
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| Seats and lift stripped out |
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| Early job was to test alternator works ok |
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| non slip removed and time to look at layout |
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| Under the bed |
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| From the back |
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| Usual boot damage, see later pic for repair |
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| First swivel seat done (CDA), dog approves |
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| Lots of masking tape under lining, sticky stuff remover sorted it out eventually |
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| Taking a break from insulation to test some cable runs and calculate voltage drops |
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| Split conduit wherever needed |
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| Miles of cables and conduit, less than on a 70ft boat though |
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| Took all cables across rather than the cheaper, second distribution board method for DC |
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| Planning the hole in the roof kept me awake for days |
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| Measure 10 times, cut once |
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| Done early morning so paint can dry before fitting. Used tried and tested marine grade butyl tape and sikaflex to seal the fan in. IF it needs to come out it wont bend the roof |
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| Designing a jig to make cut-outs for bed and seat slats. no cheapo ply with holes in or 2x1" slats in this build |
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| One of those two days to work it out and half a day to make it tasks |
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| A perfect fit once the ends are profiled. This will allow the slats to be safely located, room for them to flex and they can all be easily removed if needed. Bed slats and beams are all removable |
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| Ceiling insulation and soundproof matting |
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| Insulation, loom and fan |
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| extra insulation to cover voids. It only added £100 to the build so worth while imo |
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| AC cabling from inverter, there's a socket in the back, that's where we have the slow cooker on a journey. behind it the DC feed for a light in the boot. |
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| AC crossing to kitchen pull out shelf socket |
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| All solid insulation was kept up with stick pins but also glued in with sikaflex to lessen the chances of squeaks |
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| A quick bit of design work for the sofa that ended up taking about 2 days. Each routed line was masked and filled with black caulking to emulate deck boards |
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| Refitting the ply lining |
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| I genuinely think it couldn't have been done better. It's a significant improvement to some factory pro fitouts I've seen like Autotrail |
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| Sides weren't too bad but roof was a tricky couple of days to refit |
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| Even the aluminium surrounds had some extra insulation |
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| Time for furniture making. I wanted the seat deep for storage so a plinth all round was needed |
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| Plinth had to be strong enough to stand on so it was tested to close to 30 stones |
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| Result of the decking looked good |
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| Sofa was built to take standard 4ft cushions from a caravan or to use as a single bed with feet on the swivelled drivers seat |
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| Kitchen unit in ultra strong but light weight construction |
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| More holes, solar x2 and perimeter lights |
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| Even that shelf came out for insulation and carpeting, lots of useful space with (from memory) 25kg load capability. |
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| Most DIY builders use one double width gland and fill the gap under with sealant, I found 3 narrow ones to sit on the high ridge so much less chance of leaks |
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| Test fitting unit and bulkhead |
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| Kitchen drawer |
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| Starting work on the upper lockers, framework rivnutted to beams |
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| High units designed for lighter kit like clothing , towels etc |
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| All carpetted before fitting, only high temperature adhesives used so it doesn't all fall off when it gets hot |
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| On to the gas locker |
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| same 2x1" construction with 50mm front lip |
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| We went for calor as its so easy to get wherever we go in the uk (mainly from boat yards) and 907 campingaz as its available throughout the EU. it needs a tail changing from the regulator to the bottle, that's included |
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| Wiring diagram from M&M consultancy |
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| Where I kept my tool bag |
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| Space for a second or bigger battery, second or bigger inverter and consumer unit if you need to add hook-up |
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| Hinged sofa top |
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| Secure rear doors for ventilation. Same as dog units use |
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| Some solar figures from summer |
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| A closer look at the door bar |
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| Quite an empty roof rack, plenty of space for another 350w panel or things like ski box or tyre mats if you're going proper off grid |
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| Top range screens have zips for daytime light and extra long to cover bonnet vents |
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| Tidy outside with a few age related marks and dings. Better than any van we looked at though |
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| Rear wheel carrier so no scrabbling around under the van in the rain |
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| Plenty of ground clearance on this maxi version |
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| Our usual kind of park up |
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| Typical fiat paint. No rust though |
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| Crack doesn't effect use, you can get covers |
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| Limo tint rear for privacy, means no blinds needed until dark |
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| 6ft x 4ft 6" bed with storage under |
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| Water bottles strapped in, rear 3 piece roll up cover |
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| L3 is the shortest I'd ever go, about 1m longer than the average estate. We have been fine in most car parks especially if there's a bit of a hedge. Gas locker is behind water bottles. |
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| reverse cam, needs a wipe over every week or so |
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| Rear picture in picture dash cam, Nextbase 322 |
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| Ready for action |
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| View through the sliding door |
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High cupboard fronts are lined fabric both for ease of access, weight and because (on the second attempt) they look great.
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Lagun table is very flexible, here in extended kitchen mode
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| Here in travelling mode |
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| Still speed restricted, It was a job for me to have removed but I really don't think it needs it |
, it saves loads of fuel on a longer motorway run. 35mpg combined at the moment
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| Tidy condition apart from the patched of fiat paint |
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| Front screens bagged, they live above the cab |
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| Table removed, second iteration for the covers. First was bluer and lose covers |
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| The back and sides of these are stitched in - close to 100 hours work there |
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| Isolator switch panels. Everything has its own switch (eg lights) but this turns it off completely. All next to the bed for security |
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| Top of the range victron BMV 712 monitor showing 0ah left to charge. You can also see it all on a phone if you're within bluetooth range |
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| Inverter remote switch at the end |
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| Storage and heater controller, they're bright at night so it's in the cupboard and we use the remote control |
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| Loo in it's cupboard |
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| Isolator for heater |
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| Compressor fridge in its cupboard, Fridge and loo can swap locations |
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| Hob and sink |
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| 240v socket hidden on sliding work shelf |
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| Decent amount of prep space |
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| Table between front seats |
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| between sofa and passenger seat |
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| prep/drying up time |
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| travelling mode, or it can be removed |
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| Fan remote |
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| Plenty of lounging space |
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| Curtain fronts of loo and fridge areas, also shows a heating vent |
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| second vent in plinth |
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| vent in cab area (in front of the privacy curtain for morning demisting, last vent is under the bed to keep boot area and mattress warm |
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| pedal lock and repaired cab flooring |
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| kitchen deep drawer |
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| other kitchen drawer |
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| large cupboard, gas drop out vent below |
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| Kitchen storage cupboard with curtain front for easy access and lighter weight |
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| inside high cupboard |
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| inside plinth storage |
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| another plinth store, the one right behind drivers seat also opens |
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| Heko wind deflectors |
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| Haven't had windows fully closed since fitting |
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