Duncan Grimmond

I wanted a second key for my Alphard so I went to my local locksmith. He ordered a suitable blank and cut it and also programmed a separate "bipper" which serves to open the locks. I did ask if it was possible to get an integral device but he said he couldn't...

I have dead radio and I cannot find someone to repair it...I found what I thought was a replacement on AliExpress (yes I know!) and it didn't match the console. I returned it and ordered one which, in the picture on Ali seems to be the correct one but it also is the wrong shape. Anyone had any experience of finding a suitable replacement? I find the loss of age reversing camera the most difficult bit to cope with, unsurprisingly!

I'm trying to identify the exact year to see if I am an early or later year type. I think the car is possibly built before the vague "date" of manufacture. Does anyone have a formula for working out which year it really was made as opposed to the handy next number available at DVLA

Good to hear it went well. However, I'm still hankering after a roll-out awning as we had on the Regius. Easy to open and close, instant sheltered(ish) space and no trouble to stow. I'm just investigating a better hob/sink unit as although it worked, the overall lesson was that it was adequate but only just! I've ordered a small single hob/sink unit to see how it looks and if it's an improvement I'll install it to run on a MAPP gas cylinder as I happened across a suitable pressure regulator...

We had our first outing last weekend (June 29th) Everything(almost ) seemed to work fairly well. The rotating front seat proved to be absolutely essential as without it the end of the R&R bed took up a lot of the entrance space. The curtains worked the pop-top worked well to allow standing while "cooking" .The trip was to our long favoured site in Northumberland near Embleton, we're lucky to be only 1 1/2 hours away. The Lusso Campers cupboards etc seemed to work well even though I was a little unsure when I fitted them. The "stuff the duvet and bedding in here" slot cupboard was surprisingly effective but I'll have to round off the sharp corners on the latch strike-plate. The cooker (which lives in a drawer) was perhaps a bit too tall despite my fitting a heat shield to the underside of the overhead crockery cupboard. I may have a rethink and look for an inset twin burner (the disadvantage of that being the need for a gas locker & vent) Otherwise, all seemed to be pretty much OK.

A further question re reversing camera... I've just had the wiring done by a motor sparks pal who is usually excellent. However, on collection the car I now find the radio is not working and there is no display while using reverse. Is this a fuse problem? He did say that at one point the battery went flat as all the interior lights were on (I didn't point out the off switch to him) and he put it on charge. I had a similar prob while the pop-top was fitted and had to go to the local Toyota dealer who was most helpful but also charged me £100.00 to find the fault and fit a new fuse...

Yeah, it's a pain isn't it!

Better to have a "to do" list than be wondering what to do!

I made similar ones for the Regius, straightforward boxes but as I do metalwork they are in aluminium. Wood ones would be just as effective in say 3mm ply with corner braces...it's a pity to leave such a large space unused. Just be sure you can get them through the opening!

I made the ali drawers, 2 off, 600*220* 100 deep. I had to put in a couple of raised bumps to sit over the R&R mounting bolts heads which helps to stop them sliding about. The solar panel is now on and it seems to work according to the multimeter, reading 19-21 v in this morning’s sun. Now waiting for my sparks pal, taking it to him on Thursday…

Has anyone come up with a nifty idea to use the two "U" shape plastic mountings either side of the tailgate, about half-way up? I made a piece of 2*1 timber with shaped ends to fit into the mountings with a view to attaching some sort of table or other useful thing but I haven't been inspired as yet. Any suggestions?

Why a rubbish night's sleep? The whole point of a camper is that you can sleep relatively comfortably anywhere.....Oh all right, sometimes it is rubbish! Occasionally I wish I'd had the rear conversion keeping the seats! We have a couple of grandchildren and before I did the conversion it was easy to take the entire family out in one go. Now we only have four official seats with seatbelts... For shade I'm looking for a side mounted awning as we had on the Regius. The only problem is that now they have seriously increased the price! We're going to a wedding in Wiltshire this weekend but have booked a cottage for all of us for one night... I'm trying to persuade the better half we might try out the "amenities" on the way home.

Similar to my roof boards but I asked for mine to be made in four, they did three instead which is ok. I like to have open space above when the pop top is up and I added some risers to the rear one to allow a better clearance. The pics are all taken from the R&R bed with the seat up, first with the boards down etc. I also managed to hang the curtains today, hours of fun as there were no instructions to help, fairly straightforward though. The solar panel was waiting for me when I got home...tomorrow's job and I managed to nail my sparks pal down for a date to wire up. Nearly there...

Awnings are a bit contentious IMHO. If you want to leave standing it's vulnerable to the weather, if you take it down each time you go for a scamper it's a pain.The roll-out as we had in the pic was great as it gives you somewhere to sit out to eat or whatever and takes 5 minutes to stow. Without side panels you need to think about wind direction. With side panels you have to stow them somewhere. We tend to move about to different sites daily when we're abroad but stick to a familiar few when at home...so I'm looking for a roll-out one again for the Alphard, I wish I'd taken it off the Regius when I sold it!

We too are mostly boots and shorts/walking/beach gear, the "skirt and blouse" are for the odd occasion when we can afford to go to a restaurant...not that often but a welcome bit of luxury, particularly in France when we get the chance. I looked at rear conversions but decided against as we go to Northumberland quite a lot and having the rear door open for access is a bit draughty. The Regius and the various VWs have all been side conversions so I'm used to that set up. The side conversion allows a bit more "wrap around" weather protection, it's a bit 6 and 2*3s but if the weather is right you can sit with the side door open looking out at the beach/sea while you make your cuppa/supper etc. I was lucky with the Regius, I found an old stock/sale Fiamma awning at a bargain price (see below). That model seems to have disappeared from the range and the new ones are not inexpensive. If you're up in God's own county again let me know...

I'm impressed! The rearmost boards are very useful for keeping the best skirt and blouse flat and relatively crease-free... my clothes go into whatever space I can find. I'm busy making a couple of aluminium drawers to go under the rearmost part of the R&R bed. I don't like to think of vacant potential storage space and did some for the Regius which proved to be extremely useful

In our previous camper, a Regius, I found it difficult to get up into the "roof-bed space", then put the boards back and lie down in comfort. I even considered a short ladder to make it easier. This convinced me that it was only suitable for small children, leaving one board out. Ease of ingress/egress is critical when using a space like this for sleeping, in an emergency it can be literally vital. Having to remove the boards on which you are lying/sitting to get out of a confined space in a hurry is difficult. I probably sound like an old git, I am an old git but I also have experience to draw on having had several VW campers and even a J4 Morris van... As an aside, the forward most board in our ceiling has a cut-away to allow access to the pop-top mechanism for ease of opening.

The slatted floor/ceiling sounds interesting, do you have a pic available?

Unless the pop top goes up from a side hinge or horizontally you will be tight on space. My pop top goes up from the front, hinged at rear, and I wouldn't try to get up there to sleep unless I was very young (perhaps the grandchildren?) and short. Being old (and a bit short) I tried but without a safe step I decided against it. Further, if you need to go for a pee in the night... The edge frame for the pop top is returned horizontally inwards to support the ceiling boards. (still working on the finishing off) I have seen a canvas sling bed which had two aluminium tubes sitting in "U" shaped supports forehand aft and could be rolled up to sit in a "spare" U support but again, only for short and skinny bods. We tend to use the gap between the closed top and the roof as a flat clothes store and somewhere for the black-out/insulating blinds to live.There are three "floor or roof" boards which can be piled on each other to allow you to stand at the cooker/sink/worktop and in the past we've tended to sleep with these in place to keep the heat in.

I had an exterior blackout on my last camper( a Regius) and they are a pain in the mornings, worse if it’s been raining. You have a soggy wad of fabric to fold and store and IMHO, while they are effective, they are a real pain when wet. I’ve just got a set of sucker-fitting interior blinds for my Alphard and they seem a bit bulky to store but at least they’ll be dry. I plan to stow them under the forward part of the poptop and report on their useability when I’ve finished the converse and had a test run…

I know it can be done... I helped a pal fit one he had bought. There was a minor hitch during installation, mainly due to lack of easy access and there was a fair amount of effing and blinding but it went on. I plan to go to a local supply/fit company locally, either Harrogate Tow Centre or I've been recommended Horsforth Towbars.

I ordered a turntable for the front seat(£250 inc. postage) from Autocraft, they were out of stock but it arrived last Thursday, with no fitting instructions. On Friday I spent a good while staring it into submission and trying to work out how to fit it and eventually called a pal who did his a couple of years ago. He confirmed my conclusion that I had to remove the downturned mounting on the forward end of the sliding mechanism. Saturday I took the seat out having removed the plastic filler panels and the wiring under the seat. There seems to be only a pair of wires actually in use on the seat and I removed them as far back as I could from the connectors. Cut the downturn off and reduced the height of the location pins from 30mm to 8mm to allow rotational clearance on the turntable, 4 short M8 Allen countersunk screws and locknuts fitted to hold it on. Two 8mm holes are needed in the slider track to replace the holes lost on the downturn. I then replaced the whole assembly on the seat bearing frame using the original mounting hex head screws. 3 1/2 hours (which could have been 2 1/2 had I not been interrupted) and job done.The wrap-around rear plastic trim needed to be cut down and its two locating pins pop into the rear off the frame and give a tidy finish. Easier, cheaper and much quicker than driving to the Isle of Wight!

Yes rails and carpet still available

It seems to have corrected itself...radio and CD screen has returned together with the reversing camera...

For no apparent reason the screen on my Alph has reverted to show the image below and the reversing camera no longer works. They are obviously related but what might cause this malfunction. Can't play discs or listen to radio as the only function available is to insert or eject discs