Jezmond

I just got my Alphard and had a leisure battery fitted by a place called Fantastic Campervans. They fitted the leisure battery under the bonnet next to the main car battery. Apparently this is possible with the 2.4 litre engine but not the 3 litre due to space. It's well worth looking into. In not sure what the size of the battery is but they said its enough to power a fridge for a day and a half

I think that the most difficult parts to obtain are the body work. Say you smash your front bumper it's either getting one ordered from Japan or finding one from breaker. Most of the other non exterior parts are pretty easy to source I reckon. From my experience of getting Japanese imports I recommend that you try to find someone trustworthy fairly close to you that deals and repairs them. It's worth considering paying a but extra to buy from a dealer near you.

Thanks for the info Jellybean much appreciated. Are they hard to fit DIY? How did you do it? Cheers

Thanks for the helpful post @TheMenentalis. I have had awning clips attached to my alphard. What awning rail and tent would you recommend getting for maximising space? That must be frustrating losing your over 3.5 tonne entitlement. Good that you are thinking creatively to keep having fun camping.

Hello from Dundee, Scotland. I'm a previous Nissan elgrand (rider autech e51) owner who is replacing the elgrand for an 07 plate Alphard with 59k 2.4 litre miles and getting poptop roof fitted. As much as I loved my 3.5 litre V6 petrol devouring beast of a car there were just too many problems with it. Started with the sliding doors, ended with a constant power drain that meant that the car kept letting me down. There were other issues in-between. Intended use of the alphard is for using as my work car, running a cycling group at my place of work, delivering bikes to folk and taking them to the group, delivering furniture to folk, and driving my many children around as as and when required (although not all of them if I can help it because of lap belt issues and my wife has safer 9 seater car. love the versatility of these vehicles. Most of all I'm excited about using it for camping. Loved camping in the elgrand with no conversion whatsoever. This time I've gone for poptop roof, leisure battery and 240 hookup. 3 to 4 more weeks till it's registered and ready for me to drive away, can barely wait!

Hey Jellybean. I've paid deposit on Alphard 07 plate which has the auto tail gate and weakened gas struts. Really interested in how you get on with the aliexpress order please let us know