Rojie

Hi Fiaraz, Do your middle seats have lap belts ? If not, reversing the seats would mean they could not be used for travelling. Since the three point seat belts cannot be used, the vehicle will fail the MOT. I believe the Gen 2 does not come with 8 seats, so at least the seat rails should be in the correct position. I have a Gen 1 vehicle and explored this idea, in detail, and there are other difficulties too. If you do have lap belts, then it may be feasible, but is not a simple as you may think.

Please watch the cuttothechase on YouTube video first; I believe the method (from my aged memory) does not involve the rear door card.

I assume you have arear conversion. cuttuthechase has a video on YouTube regarding opening the rear door. I vaguely remember his method works for rear conversion too as with the rear conversion you cannot remove the panel without opening the door ! Good luck

Hello Jan, Welcome to the Forum.

So sorry to hear of your plight. In order to advertise your vehicle For Sale in the Forum you MUST provide the information specified in the adjacent section. Failure to do so will result in your advert being deleted from the Forum ! Sorry, but those are the Rules of Sale.

If your struts are making squeaking noises they may be on their way out. Are the rods very smooth ? I have lubricated my struts with fine oil to improve the smoothness of operation; but it made no noticeable difference ! I also greased the tail gate pivot points with auto grease ( the type used for the door hinges). It may little difference, my tailgate is not as smooth as I would like. Toyota quoted me 200 UKP each for the struts. I have not yet made the plunge as it may be the tailgate motor needs an overhaul ! I have a rear conversion which makes access to the motor rather tricky. Get yourself an Owners Manual, they are published by JPNZ.

I doubt any other fuel tank will fit. Space is pretty tight everywhere in these machines.

Which company have you chosen for conversion ? Please PM me if you don't wish to go public with their name.

Hello Mark, Welcome to the Forum. Sorry to hear of your encounter. You could try Jap Auto Spares, or if you have the part numbers Toyota Direct. If you send a PM to to picasso with your vin or registration number, he will provide you with the parts numbers.

Picasso is a very valued leading member of The Alphard Club. As Lee suggests, send your registration or vin number to him via a Personal Message. It is a secure system.

Hello Ash, Welcome to the Forum. The Aplhard and Vellfire are essentially the same vehicle. The Gen 1 Alphards have a 70 litre full tank. I am unsure about the hybrid versions. I have read in this forum that the Gen2 tank is 60 litres.

Voltmeters can be bought for 20 pounds, or so. Probably much easier than pulling the dash out.

I have a windscreen cover, which I use for evening privacy. It fits under the wipers and over the drivers and passenger front doors. easy to erect and stow. Some owners use them as sun blinds when the van is not in use to try to keep the heat gain from the sun lower Over time the wind can cause them to rub the paintwork. There are several threads on drive away awnings on this forum. Attachment and detachment are discussed in detail. Much to be learnt from reading them, many that there are ! Different colour soft bags, a nice simple idea. Levelling ramps, depends where you pull up. They are cheap but need to be stowed. I have yet to find them necessary. I will clarify the point about Electric Hook Up, EHU. EHU enables you to connect your van to 230v power; normally when on site. Not all sites provide the facility, and on those that do, not all pitches have the outlets. Prices vary from very reasonable to extortionate. Obviously very useful as when hooked up you can use power hungry appliances (including coolers and fridges running overnight). But you do need to be able to stow the appliances securely. A huge benefit of EHU is that you can connect your van at home. I use a proper domestic dehumidifier to keep everything dry and aired. I have a mains outlet in the rear of the front cubby box, each side on the inside facia of rear kitchen and on each side of the outside facia of the kitchen. For completeness, I also have 12v and USB outlets in all those locations. Another significant potential advantage is that we could charge the leisure battery after hooking up to a mains powered battery charger to any the 230v outlet. Care is needed in choosing the charger. A separate charger could be used for the starter battery. It must be remembered that having 230v available in a van can be lethal. Installations need to be implemented by a qualified and certified electrician. The Mains Insulation must be tested. I empty my grey water bottle after each trip. If (when) it starts to smell, I would replace it. They are not expensive. The pan (aforementioned) for toast (and many other foods) is The Ridge Monkey.

Hello Mike, Welcome to the Forum.

There was a recent thread on this forum on where to buy them. When mine were done the rear axle was lowered.

I think the delay is to help prevent inadvertent opening. I cannot help on the sliding doors other than to say the cable system can get 'tight' with age. Increased friction can be enough to cause issues. But it may not be the cabling. Search this forum for Sliding Doors , or similar. It is not unusual for door issues to occur. Many members have fixed their problems themselves. When opening the slide doors the handle does does need a second or two to respond. I know you have a new starter battery; make sure you keep it fully charged or little Gremlins can occur in the electrics.

An electric kettle will work if you have an EHU and are parked at a suitable pitch. We carry a fan heater for use "on site". A Jackery may work, but I don't have one so an untested idea; but they are expensive and take valuable space. Your gas hob will boil a kettle, or two if you have a dual unit. Use a thin bottomed kettle. they don't last long, and you need to check the bottom before each time you use it. There are pans that will do toast, can't remember the brand atm (something Monkey) but the van will have an aroma for quite a while ! You can toast over a gas hob, difficult but not much fun. As I said in my PM, you need to plan how you use your space carefully ! Grey water should be caught in a vessel of some kind, and not drained "roadside". When do you visit Evesham ?

Sorry for this silly question. Are your doors and tailgate powered ? I assume they are. Does the tail gate fail to open with the internal switch, the remote switch, or both ? Same question with closing ? If using a remote for the tailgate, hold the button for several seconds.

I don't believe there is. You can pay to have it tested, but if it doesn't meet the requirements.... Also getting TfL and DVLA to react can be tricky !

Hello Colin, Welcome to the Forum. There is a 'camper kit' (as in self assembly) near Barnstaple. Most conversions are performed by companies that specialise conversions.

You are proceeding with Due Diligence. IMHO, it is ULEZ compliant, but it needs to be officially recognised as such. You would even hasve some spare change from your original budget to pay for the Certificate ( if NewAcre won't). Bon Voyage, and Happy Camparding. ps. Let us all know how you get on.

Don't despair. I am sure there are other Gen 2 users that have had this problem; and resolved it. Be patient. I feel sure someone will offer you help quite soon.

Unfortunately, most official Toyota dealers will not work on Imports. Some do, but most don't ! I used a local auto locksmith, so that will not help you sadly.

Hello Kerryn, I have checked your vehicle on the TfL site (Transport for London), as anyone can. The good news is the site recognises the vehicle, the bad news is it does not confirm the vehicle to be compliant. That, in itself, does not mean it isn't compliant BUT .... it could be a problem. (Several members have reported issues with ULEZ and TfL. Much reading required). Discuss this with NewAcre. It is very important that you know whether it is or isn't. Any reassurance you get (anywhere) needs to be recognised by TfL (and possibly the DVLA). 'Non compliant' vehicles (that are compliant) can be 'certified' as compliant; but often it is a very onerous task. Maybe one NewAcre could perform prior to sale ! The age of your vehicle manufacture implies it is a Gen 1 facelifted model, as it was made in October 2005. After checking, all the Gen 1 V6 models came with a five speed auto Both the gear lever and the instrument cluster inform what gear the vehicle is in. D4, D3, etc. D (on its own) is fifth gear on your model. It was the early 4 cylinder cars that had the four speed. If you buy, when you buy, do not drive around in D4 unless you need to, fuel consumption will rocket. Most LPG installations are in the spare wheel well. So you can look for the tank. I believe motorhomes must display an LPG if they carry gas cannisters. A far as I am aware, camper conversions do not. But it is advisable to. I don't have an eight seater. I had thought the bed could be used with those seats facing either way. I am probably wrong on this point. It may depend on which end of the bed space you wish to have as the head end. Don't be put off. The ULEZ thing is very important, imho, the other issues aren't

Do you have Gen 1, or Gen 1 facelift. I think the latter is electric, not sure about the earlier model.