Rojie

Sorry, another thought ! Do you have sunroofs? If you do a pop top becomes more difficult.

Just a thought. Depending on the age of your child, and depending on how long you may choose to keep the van; your child could sleep across the front seats in a hammock style set up. Leaving more room for both of you and the dog. We have a Sprollie, and you would not believe how much his presence has affected the design and configuration of our van. It is also extremely surprising how much larger he is in the van than outside !!! Good luck with your choices. Expect a long lead time for conversion.

Hello Shakira, Welcome to the Forum. So you are expecting to purchase a flat pack kitchen, and do all the fitting yourselves ? Rear kitchens tend to be cheaper. Side kitchen often offer more room for facilities and storage. One of the major considerations you face is how often you (how many) intend to sleep in the vehicle, and how comfortable, you want to be whilst sleeping. Of course, how many will be sleeping in the van, pop top, tent, is important. (Pop tops are not cheap, and, in my opinion, you must have them fitted professionally). A side kitchen tends to have a Rock and Roll bed. Many are very narrow which won't matter if you sleep in it infrequently. Hopefully you have bought an 8 seater with the swivelling middle rows seats (if you need a rear conversion) There are wider Rock and Roll beds available A rear kitchen gives you a wider sleeping area, but less storage space. Side kitchens tend to be more roomy, and often have more storage space. It helps to consider what facilities you will need, and those that you hope for. Number of sleepers, sink, gas hob, fridge, toilet, etc, etc. You don't have long to make some key decisions. Good Luck and Happy Days.

Hello and welcome to the Forum.

Yes, you should be able to, but, of course, I am not referring to replacing the head unit; but just providing an input to the existing one from a discrete DAB radio. Also, there are DAB units, in another thread, that fit into the cigar socket and transmit their output to the FM receiver in the head unit. I am sure some members have fitted replacement Kenwood head units; just be careful you don't inadvertently loose camera and steering wheel functions. More reading required on your part ! Search for Radio Replacement or Head Unit on this Forum.

Which headunit do you have ? Do you have a VTR input (RCA type) at the rear of the console between the front seats ?

Hello, and welcome to the Forum. I know a craftsman that will undertake bespoke work, including fitting a pop top if required. Side or rear conversions are available but he is located near Exeter. hardly close to you ! Send me a PM if you need further details.

There are lots on ebay and Amazon. Make sure you get the software too !

I don't know for sure, but your unit probably supports Bluetooth for phone. Check Eightseaterbloc.com And some Alphies have a VTR input in the rear of the front centre (between the seats) console;; that should take an audio input.

Hi Chris, Yes, I always wanted to keep my camper as a stealth too. I will check my rear fog lights to ensure they are switched off by the ignition. Not as good as your new stalk implementation, but I am less confident than you when it comes to mods and upgrades. If not, I'll look into your method, but mine is a Gen 1 facelift

Please note, that the link Chris has so kindly provided is downloadable to your own email address for safekeeping.

You are absolutely right. I cannot remember when I last used any rear fog lights on any of my vehicles.

Hello, and welcome to the Forum. You may wish to consider fitting a leisure battery. Good luck with the build, it will be worth it.

Looks great, but some of us wanted those rear reflectors (above your fog lights) but with fog lights within. Most, not necessarily all, do not incorporate reflectors (despite what the ebay or Amazon descriptions say!)

Ben Hau, in Birmingham, can update your current unit to run ApplePlay etc; retaining all the current camera and steering functions. It is a popular mod. But so is installing an 'English' unit. You can also get, and fit, a radio frequency extender which will give you most of the UK FM stations. There is loads of info on here. Try searching Headunit or Radio Replacement. Your current unit will record your CDs automatically to the HDD too. A feature I think is great. Good Luck.

Hello Dazman, Welcome to the Forum.

Hi Kevin, Welcome to the Forum. Happy Motoring.

Hi Raoul, Those part numbers appear to be for switch assemblies; not the rear fog light cluster.

I am glad it ended happily. Enjoy your weekend. And, thanks again Picasso.

Hello Stuey, Welcome to the Forum.

How many miles has your Alphie done ?

I am currently in discussions with a UK manufacturer of gas struts. I am looking to replace my tail gate struts as my gate operation is rather jerky and does not open fully. I have a Gen 1 facelift. I have supplied approximate dimensions, and received an estimated price. I would be extremely grateful if any member could provide me with an unwanted strut. I'll pay the postage. Condition is not important, but the item needs to be dimensionally intact. In my opinion, although these are not as inexpensive as some sourced from a well known foreign ebay type business. They are considerably less costly than Toyota OEM parts. Feel free to send a PM if you prefer. I will not be selling these items, or acting as an agent; but will disclose the supplier (if it all pans out).

Both Starider and I have facelifted Gen1 though. I assume the size is different, nice id they are identical sizes. I need to look at the rear of a Gen 2.

Hi Nigel, Sorry to hear this problem still persists ! If the 'smoke' is white, and not blue (or darker) it is almost certainly steam. Some exhaust systems seem to retain water, or moisture, in the pipework, probably overnight condensation. (You haven't got any local mischief makers with a water pistol, squirting water into the tail pipe). As the engine warms up, it boils off quite quickly. The colder the temperature the more steam you will get as, of course, the engine is breathing air and any moisture therein. I am not a mechanic, but if this white smoke does not persist after the engine is fully warm I would not worry about it. If it does persist, or is present when starting a warm engine, I would start to worry about a head gasket. However, the garage three result seems to confirm that a head gasket failure is not the problem. Did garage three test all six cylinders for pressure ? The new E10 fuel, I have read, can 'deposit' small amounts of water in the bottom of the petrol tank; but mainly when the vehicle is left for some period of time unused. You could try E5 after running your tank quite low. I am not aware of how to rid any water from the tank! Have you held your hand very close to the exhaust pipe outlet. BE CAREFUL. What, if anything, gets deposited on your hand, or GLOVE. These 3.0L engines are, I have read, very fussy about their oil, otherwise gelling can occur. Nov's video above deals with this. Frequent oil changes are necessary. Did I ask you your current mileage ? I can't see why you should not be changing your oil and filter. You will need 4.7L of oil for both filter and sump. Is your oil pressure OK. Red light should be on before you start engine, and should go off immediately engine starts, and it should stay off; no flickering. It is proving quite a mystery !

Hi Starider, No, sorry. Nothing to say other than there are some threads on here discussing this. I am looking at small tents but only so I can 'unload' on arrival at camp sites. Hopefully, some awning users will respond to your enquiry.