Charlie Brown

In addition to what Rojie has said. No, I don't have a 24 volt system. It is 12 volt. The old charger has had it, it blows fuses as soon as it is switched on, so i need to move on from that. Funky Ram were helpful and told me what they now fit, which is namely a Victron Energy Blue Smart Charger 12 volt, 15 Amp. I've now bought one from BMS Technologies at Tewkesbury, who were very helpful and kindly looked over the whole system on our camper and confirmed that was a good choice and gave me some tips how to fit it. So once fitted that should be that.

Hello I have a Funky Ram converted 2008 ANH10 Alphard that you converted in early 2022. The battery charger has stopped working. On removing it from the vehicle I have found that it is a 24 volt charger. Could you please tell me why a 24 volt battery charger was fitted to this vehicle which has a 12 volt system. The model number is BC2410. Many thanks.

Hello Geralt Thanks for the information, very useful. I know its a 24 volt charger for two reasons. First, it clearly says so on the label, along with a model number BC2410. Also, I found the identical charger, with the model number BC2410 being sold by a company called Photonic Universe, see link https://www.photonicuniverse.com/en/catalog/full/350-10A-24V-Intelligent-automatic-multi-stage-mains-battery-charger.html . The spec clearly states 24 volts. Interestingly, they do a 12 volt version called a BC1210. Also of interest is that until it packed up, the charger usually showed a voltage of around 13 volts on the voltmeter connected to the system, which displays on the 12 volt switch panel.

Hello Please see photo of a unit that is fitted to the the two batteries on our converted ANH10, 2008 Alphard. It is a voltage sensitive relay. I think these are sometimes known as a split charge relay. A couple of questions arise. 1) Is this a standard fitting on original Alphards or is it fitted as part of the conversion. 2) Do Alphards come with a leisure battery fitted for some operations. The reason I ask is not really to do with the Alphard vehicle but is to do with the Funky Ram conversion. The mains battery charger fitted has stopped working. It is completely dead. The thing that really confuses me is that is a 24 volt output charger. Is this right? I'd like to understand this before replacing it. Any knowledge insights are very welcome. Thanks

Hello Josh I have a spare as I bought two for some reason. PM me if you like and we'll work something out.

If you do scrap them, strip them first and keep the covers somewhere safe. The drivers seat had a split in ours and we manged to get it reupholstered by providing some of the original material from a set of scrap seats that luckily I had access to.

We have bought an Outdoor Revolution Cayman Air Low. We have just returned from using it for the first time. All fitted to the van as expected. We researched quite a few before buying this. Provided that get one with the correct height, i.e. low version, I would expect the tunnel dimensions of all of them to be more or less the same, so it should really come down to personal preference. Good luck with your search.

Hello Alan We are very pleased with our Funky Ram conversion. They are based in Avonmouth. I think they sell most of their conversions through JMT at Weston. We found both companies to be be very good to deal with. Lots of help, not much nonsense. Both have easy to find web sites. Funky Ram are also very knowledgeable about the mechanical aspects of the Alphard. They have a full maintenance workshop devoted to Japanese imports. We've had our Alphard for about 15 months. The only thing I might do differently is to ask about a scratch resistant work top for the kitchen area.

Very pleased to say another successful installation of cruise control. If you follow this post you will see that I tried to go down the route of getting the left hand switches with the cruise control wires included. Unfortunately the one I got seemed to be off a vehicle with radar active cruise control and the wires to the stalk were different (see picture earlier in this post). Well, I tried it and it worked after a fashion. There were no warning lights on the dash display and resume would not work. So went back to the original method found on this forum where you have to alter the wiring. This proved very easy and the cruise control is now working as it should. One small thing is that there are still no CC lights on the dash, but I'm pretty sure that this is because the speedo head was changed to a new one reading in miles when the vehicle was imported and this light wasn't connected. If you contemplate this job and wish to use the left hand switches on the steering wheel make sure it has the correct leads. Actually, you don't need the switches at all, just the lead that connects to it, if you could get it separately. Anybody want a CC stalk and steering wheel switches for a model with active cruise control.

Both stalks appear to be identical with 3 pins. Both white plugs fit in either. It is in the leads where the differences are. The left side buttons that I bought have the 3 wires going into the white plug that goes into the stalk that came with it. The separate stalk I bought has a lead with 2 wires in it. It seems quite likely from what you say that I have bought a set of buttons and stalk that came from a vehicle fitted with the active cruise control. I can fit it and see if it works, otherwise it should not be difficult to modify the lead going into the large black plug to copy the wiring in Jap Nuts video. Thanks for your help.

Thankyou to everyone who has contributed to the various discussions on fitting cruise control to an Alphard. On the strength of those I have bought the necessary bits to do the job. I bought the stalk (8463234011 or 8463234017), but I then bought a stalk and steering wheel switches (75B037) so as not to have to cut into any wires. The thing is the wiring on the two stalks is different. The one I bought off ebay has a lead that has the red and black wire as shown in the YouTube video that is on this forum. The stalk that came included as a package with the steering wheel switches has a lead with 3 wires. There is an additional black and white wire and the red wire is in a different position. That is confusing me. Please see picture. Any help appreciated.

There is a catch on the bottom hinge that activates if you open the sliding door when the window is open, I think it is a safety feature. Have a look next time it happens, if it is activated it works in both electric and manual mode.

You could try Simon Pilling, Auto keys Ltd, www.autokeysltd.com. Operates in the South West. Not cheap, ours cost £200, but in my view he really knows his stuff.

Hello Chris We don't sleep in our pop top. We have a very comfortable rock and roll bed. Personally I think sleeping in the pop top is for young agile people. As for weight, on our conversion there is a large almost full width area, about half a metre deep at the front, where the roof of the original vehicle is still in place; that holds a lot. Also on our conversion the 'upstairs' is made of four or five 30 mm thick blocks. We leave one of these in place which makes for another storage area as big as the front. When we roll up for the night, the pop top goes up first thing and all our stuff is moved up to these two areas. It only takes a minute as it is all in boxes.

Hello Chris We would not be without our pop top. It gives ample headroom in the whole standing area when the bed is away. It makes cooking, changing clothes and just moving around so much more convenient. We also use some of the space for storage when we are camped up. When the pop top is stowed away our van is 1970 mm high at its highest point. hope this helps.

Also got ours from Odyssey carpets. Very pleased. Recommended

Hello There is a whole section on this forum about insurance with many contacts with different insurance brokers going back quite a while. Look for the insurance tab at the top. That is where I found our insurer, Lifesure, but many other owners have found satisfactory deals with other insurance companies. Good Luck

Hello All I've just renewed the insurance for our 2008 2.4 Alphard camper van with Lifesure. New premium is £323.19. This includes a full motor home package, legal expenses and NCD protection and one named driver as well as myself. Last year it was £365.48. I renewed it practically painlessly on line. I got some other quotes. Caravan and Motorhome Club was £438.26! ClubCare, the insurance for the Camping and Caravan Club, was £337.27. Tried LV direct on line, but they would not insure the vehicle.

Hello Adam You've done some good research. There are numerous choices, which one is right. I guess I'm going to have to bite the bullet and strip it down some time.

Hello. I have this problem as well but with the passenger side. The fact that you can hear the motor working indicates that the fault is in the motor mechanism. I found a video on YouTube that showed a broken plastic cog in the mechanism. My local Alphard experts, Funky Ram, at Avonmouth, said they could get a mirror from Toyota with the right mechanism and cannibalise it. This would cost just under £200, but with fitting this would be near £400. I don't think you can just source the relevant cog. I wish I knew which mirror would have the right bits in. I wonder if anyone else has successfully cured this problem? Myron

I had this problem when we bought our Alphard. Took it back to the garage where I bought it. Took them a while to find the problem. Initially, the diagnostics indicated a faulty oxygen sensor but replacing it did not solve the problem. Clever mechanic at the garage then reckoned it was another sensor, lambda I think. Replaced that and problem solved. My point is that apparently the faulty sender was creating adverse conditions which upset the oxygen levels, and the oxygen sensor was actually working correctly. The faulty sender however did not throw up a fault. Hope that helps.

We would endorse the comments Pete made about the person who runs this company. We couldn't get along with him at all. We ended up buying a Funky Ram conversion from JMT Leisure near Weston Super Mare and are basically very pleased with it.

Hello Rojie This link (Toyotaalphardepc.com) does not seem to work. I have the same problem. Do you have any more information? Thanks

We are staying over on Saturday night, at Burton Hill Farm, Burton Dassett, Southam. It's about 5 miles from the museum. It is a Caravan and Motorhome site (CL). I think you need to be members.

Hello Gareth. It is a side conversion and the total figure did not include bikes or bike racks. Hope this helps.