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14 Posts
Discussion Starter #1 (Edited)
With this post I want to focus your attention on my new project. Let's do a car that is useful in campsite. Why a car rather than a camper?
1. The car is much more mobile than the camper.
2. The car can be parked anywhere, not in a car park for caravans or caravans.
3. The fuel consumption of the vehicle is much smaller than that of the camper.
4. The maintenance cost of the car is less than that of the camper.
5. The price of the car is much lower than that of the camper.

The advantages of the camper in front of the car are:
1. The availability of beds
2. The presence of a kitchen
3. The toilet / bathroom
4. Home comfort.

I will use Toyota Rav4 version 2 as a base Why? Because I have such a car ?

The main issues we need to address are:
1. Maneuverability and passability.
2. Bedroom
3. Kitchen.
4. Bathroom / toilet
5. camping facilities

When implementing the project, I will be guided by the principles of ecology, low cost of the project, accessibility of the materials and, last but not least, the practicality of the project.

Do you know that in many places it is forbidden to stop the camper and stretch the tent? But it is not forbidden to stop the car ?That's why I think the project says, "There is no camping here."

I will be grateful if you make corrections and suggestions in my new project.

here is the donor

14 Posts
Discussion Starter #2
This car looks like a sitting duck. The rear part is dragged along the ground. This problem is common for Rav4.2. The rear springs are too soft. There are two variants to manage the problem - changing with harder or shifting with longer ones. If we change them with a longer car, I will jump on off-road terrain. If we change them with harder ones, the ride will be like a horse cart.
For my project, I chose to change them with harder, because when the vehicle is loaded with all the camping equipment in the baggage, the liquefied gas bottle and the towbar, the hardness will not feel so much.

Localgarage boys have helped with the introduction of new springs made of much thicker material. Their height is like the standard springs of Raven 4.2. So far so good . But on the road the feeling was really strange when the shock absorbers hit the monocoque when passing through a hole. This is because the shocks do not work in an optimal position. If we continue to drive, the Rav4's fenders will break. The solution is either to place new longer shock absorbers or to install remote spacers. The original shock absorbers of Rav4 are quite good. As long as they are not bullied much oil in them is doing the job great. In my project I will use spacers.

Their length is 6 cm, made of zinc-plated steel and powder painted. When installed, the original shock absorbers are cleaned and inspected. The spacers are made by Localgarage.



Once the dampers have been installed, the vehicle has significantly improved its behavior on the road and off-road conditions. Clearance improved dramatically.

Lifting 10 cm from the first ride and 6cm from standart Rav4 does not affect the work of the semi-axles and unijoints. They are currently 8 degrease angeled, which is perfectly acceptable according to the manufacturer's data.

For more dramatic lifting, it will be necessary to use more drastic measures on the chassis and driveshaft.Right now the height is satisfactory, as with a 30-inch (235/80/16) tire, the space under the mudguard will be enough to keep the tyre away form the car's body.

Currently, the car is 215/70/16.

Here we spent:
New springs - 140 euro
Shock absorber spacers - 60 euro
Primer and epoxy paint for the renovation of the shocks - 10 euro
Working time - 4 hours.

464 Posts
I love the idea of shock spacers/extenders!

14 Posts
Discussion Starter #4 (Edited)
Chapter 2.

Performer of the week is Goran Bregovic with the song "GAS GAS GAS"

A gas - a lot of gas - is needed to convert the car into a camper. I will convert the engine to work on LPG. This will make the car economical, environmentally friendly and will give us the freedom to use LPG in the kitchen (which I hope will soon).
According to the laws in Bulgaria (and I suppose throughout the European Union) in order for a vehicle to be processed from one type of fuel to another, a technical review or MOT must be passed. The requirements are:
  • Bottle possition.
  • The fuel charged position.
  • The vaporizer possition.
  • Hermetic stability on the hole system.
The bottle must be in the passenger compartment. The bottle may also be located outside of the car but not in the back, not in the front, not over the car, and if it is below, it must be at least 30 cm from the ground. Fortunately, we've already made the rear suspension improvements in part 1.1. ?
If we place the bottle in the passenger compartment, we will have no luggage. The bottle will be positioned below the car. We all know what we have under the car. For those who did not say an exhaust, I will post a photo of rav4 exhaust. The muffler is really large. It's even huge. I will remove the exhaust and on its place we can safely install a bottle with a minimum volume of 35 liters and a maximum of 45 liters (you will not be able to mount the tow bar if it is 45 liters). A compromise option for those living in Italy is a 42-liter bottle that fits perfectly and even can be fitted a towing bar. In my case I mount a bottle of 35 liters (I just have one with a proper documents and certificates). We install a safety valve and a fuel level meter and all of this is attached to the bottom of the vehicle.

When removing the gripping straps, remove the mat in the floor. Please do not attach the mat it to the bottle ?. So the trunk is opened and emty, its time for you to clean it with water preassure. Wash in the direction of the passenger compartment outside. Otherwise, you risk to wet the car’s floor and rust quickly. I will also write a special section on how to wash the car ?

There is a lot of rust in this car. For the moment, I will ignore it, but in a month I think to deal with it in particular. I will make a topic on topic ?

Once the bottle is installed, we also need to mount the charging dock. By law, it must be rigidly secured to the vehicle where it can not be damaged by impact. It is most often placed on the rear right side of the car - the plastic bumper. Ugly but there is no way - this is by law.

We pass the gas supply line from the bottle to the engine under the car next my the fuel pipes.

In order to evaporate and atomize the LPG from liquid to … gas …. we need a vaporizer. It must be as close as possible to the gas injector valves. And the injector valves should be as close as possible to the intake manifolds. That is, everything must be on the engine. When installing the evaporator, there are requirements for the distance between the evaporator and the battery, and from evaporator and the engine that I will observe in the slice.

The evaporator is mounted in the front right of the engine basket. I know this is not the best place, because that's where the second battery for the car can fit perfectly, but in order to pass the technical review everything must be "by law". For the management of gas injectors I will use the comparatively cheap and popular STAG 300 system. It works with almost any type of injectors. From fine Japanese to some exotic or very bad Italian. I will power the computer directly from the car's battery through a fuse, and the control system of the computer ill power from a +12v after the starter key.

The control of the gas system is set to the headlamp level control.

The switch is set to turn on automatically when the engine reaches 35 degrees Celsius.
Now you will ask me what we are doing with the exhaust. Well there are two options. Hot dog tailpipe or hand made custom exhaust. The hot dog muffler is very noisy. You will not be allowed to drive the car on the urban roads. It turns out that apart from the catalysts, there is nothing else to reduce the noise of Rav4. The resonator that is placed in the middle of the exhaust line simply can not reduce the noise of the 2.0 petrol engine. And to be honest, it's not his job. The manufacturer has not built such a large exhaust pipe in vain.
The solution is a hand-made silencer. I ‘m choosing the option "TURBO".

The advantages are: 1. There is a size that fits very well. 2. It has relatively good sound-absorbing properties. 3. Does not create too much negative pressure in the exhaust system as a multiple chamber type exhaust.Disadvantages: At high speeds, it is slightly gasping, unlike the hot-dog system, but it is often very noisy. This disadvantage can be solved by enlarging the pipe section of the exhaust pipe ?
Once we have made the exhaust (for which the boys from Localgarage help a lot), we weld new rings for mounting it. We bend the tube with smooth curves. We connect it so we can use the old tube that runs under the car.
The result is pretty good. The gasoline engine was deflated. He became quite agile at low turnovers. And it sounds good ?

As you can see there is a place for everything.
Exhaust must be zinc coated and painted. Problably in white ?

Here you can hear how it works. You can hear the gas valve to turn on too.
Custom exhaust

We pass the test.

I know everything looks pretty fast made and ugly, but there will be changes. I think to paint in white everything that is additional made or customized on this car. ?

The positive things from the work done here:
1. Economics. The car burns the same amount but no gasoline. 8 liter per 100 km. The price of LPG is 0.5 Euro and petrol 1.3 Euro.
2. Ecology. The car delivers water ? and it drains a lot ?. We need to improve the exhaust to keep the water away from it.
3. The fuel bottle may be modified to be used for both the gas refrigerator and the gas burner and for gas heating and for hot water for the bath. We will not need extra tanks.

1. Rav4 has a very frustrating engine. In order to work optimally and in the mode that has been specified, it should use "greasy" fuel. Gasoline should be high octane and be optimal for oil. If we use liquefied petroleum gas, we will swing the valves faster. This is because the gas is dry. There is no lubricating properties of gasoline. The solution is further lubrication of the fuel mixture and valves. This will be the next upgrading.
2. Improper adjustment of the ignition may result in unpleasant detonations in the intake manifold, and hence failure of the flow meter. You need a very good selection of injectors for the system
3. Exhaust valves quickly corrode. This is due to the presence of water vapor after burning propane-butane. The solution is for an automobile to drive 50km of gasoline every 200km of gas.
NOTE: On every 80 000 km compensation measurements and calibration of the intake and output valves have to be made (so when you change the oil form differential you have to adjust the valves).

Improvements to be made:
1. Remove the ugly system charging cap from the bumper. It will be installed in a very interesting place.
2. Remove the evaporator from the place where it is currently installed. It will be placed near the intake manifold, and a second battery will be in its place.
3. Remove system control from the dashboard. It will be integrated into the tachometer.

That's all for now. If there are other suggestions ... and they are meaningful ... I will gladly accept them.

Here are spent:
Gas bottle - 80 euros
Gas injection computer - 100 euros
Gas injectors - 90 euros
Pipes fittings and nozzles for the gas route - 50 euro
A hand made exhaust - 250 euros
Working time - 12 hours.

14 Posts
Discussion Starter #5 (Edited)
Sorry for beeing bussy for a long time but i foind a lot of


There is a lot of rust on the car. Its is inside and outside. But for a car that's been in England it's just a song. In England the rust is rusting too.
This is my method of controlling rust. Some of the materials are forbidden in some countries but if you get them the result will be in your favor.
What is rust? Rust is oxidation of iron. Fe2O3. This oxidation can occur at different rates. It is fast when under the influence of electricity and slower when it is lacking. Even the smallest charge increases the risk of rust many times over. And what is the relatively good conductor of electricity that has it around us? That's right - the water. And if the water is salty, it conducts electricity even better. There is the most salt water in the ocean, but we will not soak our cars there. But we rejoice when someone clears the snow on the roads in winter and pits them with freezing alkali. And there is salt in the lye because the salt water freezes at a much lower temperature than the drinking water. It is well known that many European countries treat winter roads with saline solutions. Look at a car that has been driven in Germany, Austria, England or Switzerland. Below it looks like cheese. Literally. Made of rust. Even the most expensive cars are rusting.
There are several ways to deal with rust.
Rust-resistant alloys – expensive.
Galvanization - hard to do it on a already build car.
Cathodic protection - even harder for processing.
Cotaings and painting - not so effective.
Patronizing - my way. :)
One is by coating the iron material with another that does not allow the iron to oxidize. Many types of paints do this job but over time they crack and the water enters them. Which is very bad because your car is rotting from the inside out. Another method is to coat with a layer that will wear out instead of iron. This is galvanizing or tinning. A relatively expensive method and not applicable to a car that is assembled. Unless you want to dip your car in a molten zinc bath.
The method I propose is relatively well known to sailors. It's called patronizing. This is a coating of pure iron with an already oxidized one and inserting a plumbum (lead). This method prevents subsequent oxidation because there is simply nothing to oxidize. We cover with a mini. This is the name of lead tetraoxide. 2 Pb3O4.
Now a little chemistry:
Lead (II, IV) oxide, also called red lead or minium, is the inorganic compound with the formula Pb3O4. A bright red or orange solid, it is used as a pigment, in the manufacture of batteries, and rustproof primer paints. It is an example of a mixed valence compound, being composed of both Pb (II) and Pb (IV) in the ratio of two to one.
Red lead has been used as a pigment for example paints for iron objects. Due to its toxicity, its use is limited. It finds limited use in some amateur pyrotechnics as a delay charge and was used in the past in the manufacture of dragon's egg pyrotechnic stars.
Red lead was used for engineer's scraping, before being supplanted by engineer's blue.
It is also used as an adulterating agent in turmeric powder.
The mini is poisonous! TOXIC!!!
DO NOT inhale it, eat it, lick it, drink it. You can only watch it. It's pretty in color.
Now seriously. Only work with gloves in well-ventilated areas. Wash your hands well! In many countries, it is banned from use, there is nowhere to buy it. To my delight, I live in a former communist country and in the basement of every old house there are 10 kilos of the dust in question. Just in case something rusts.
The minium does not dissolve in water. This is good because it protects the car. But this is also a problem because we have to somehow apply it to the metal we are going to process. The most effective way to do this is to dissolve it in a tank. Bezira dries slowly which leaves enough time for the miniature to interact with the metal on which it is applied. But the berry dries really slowly. Three months. Now imagine smearing your car with this and waiting for three months.
If mixed with gasoline or some type of diluent, gasoline would evaporate very quickly and there would be no time for the mini to interact with the metal. The minum will fall and there will be no corrosion treatment effect.
This is where the chemistry intervenes. Mix the mini with coal gas. It is greasy enough to not evaporate quickly but also volatile enough so that you do not wait three months
After a week everything is dry and ready for further processing.
But before painting you need to clean the metal well.
Here's my recipe:
Rav4 - 1 piece
Wire brush - 1 piece.
Angle grinder - 1 piece.
Drill - 1 piece.
Sandpaper - 1 piece.
Rust converter (Wurth is best) - 300 ml.
Coal gas - 1 liter
Minimum - 1 kg.

With all this you can handle the car inside and out.

Today we process from the inside.
Strange how but my Rav4 has rotten inside. Toyota is famous for its good anti-corrosion coating on the outside but not on the inside. Every little drop of water stands inside and doesn't want to go outside. We remove the mats of the car and see a rather unpleasant view

This is bad. In my case, someone (me) left the battery in the back seat and it spilled.

Corrosion is everywhere. And in the fight against it you have to have a lot of nerves, time and money. If you don't have money, don't worry. You will replace it with time.


We remove the matgs. So and so the flooring is removed nice is to wash it with the water pressure jet and detergent. Allow it to dry for at least 4 days. The flooring is rubberised on the underside and collects moisture. Dry it well.
There are places filled with pressed fabric in the floor of the car. It is good practice to remove the fabric and fill the space with other material. This in the next post. :)
You begin mechanical removal of damaged parts. First with a wire brush and a grinder. Then with the brush and the drill and then with the sandpaper.

Everything should shine. If you leave even the smallest spot of rust - it spreads to a new one.

After mechanical removal, the rust is followed by chemical removal. This is done with the help of acid. It must be strong enough to eat the oxidized metal, but so weak that it does not hurt the healthy metal. For this purpose we use phosphoric acid H2PO4 Corrosion Converter. In this way we also make a protective chemical coating of the metal. Then we clean with gasoline.
After we have removed the rust and treated the affected areas, it is time to strike. We dissolve the minium with coal gas in a 1:1 ratio and begin applying a brush to the treated area.
WORK IN A WELL VENTED AREA! WORK WITH A MASK, GLASSES AND GLOVES! Wash your hands after using minium. Don’t drink warm beer. After initial treatment, it is allowed to dry for 24 hours.

The mini has not dried up. While still fresh we repeat the procedure but it will be better if you can find a way how to spray it.

Then let the car dry for a week. After a week wipe with a damp cloth. Some of the mini will remain in the rag, but what has come into contact with the metal will not be able to be cleaned. Anti-corrosion treatment has been carried out. Now let's seal it to prevent it from being mechanically removed. Use an epoxy based primer. We spray thin. Thin coating is a guarantee of quality. If the coating is thick it will peel off.
The primer is followed by a color you like.For example purple-green-bluish on orange dots.
This is a car interior finish. Not applicable to external conditions.

Spent so far:
Steel wire brush and sanding paper – 5 euro
Minimum - 30 euro
Coal gas - 3 euro
Epoxy primer - 10 euro
Paint - 10 euro
Working hours - 8 hours.

14 Posts

what happened to this project - continued or just died?

would be curious to see whether and how it worked out.

Cheers Gerald

14 Posts
Discussion Starter #7
Project is still online. I'm fighting with the rust under the vehicle now. I'm looking for new fuel tank. The place where towbar should be connected is pretty bad rusted. The fixing bolts ware broken inside. I'm making new towbar now. All of the attachments (gas, electricity, water, air) will be located on the towbar. I'm making a new step platform on the towbar too. Still looking for the right absorption fridge. I need fridge sizes to find the right place for it.

14 Posts
Hallo Konstantinov,

thanks for the update - more than curious to see any updates.



14 Posts
Discussion Starter #9
Rust in the fuel and fuel loss
As I mentioned earlier, we are fighting an uneven battle against rust. It turned out that the gas tank was rusty all over and fuel was flowing everywhere. A new tank costs $ 450. American. I do not include the price of pipes and rails. Also, I don't bother with mechanics if you get bored. That's a lot of money that could be invested in something else on the car. That's why in this episode of "how to break your car" we will show you a tank change without (a lot of) money.
It is difficult to find a not rusted and without holes tank from a car with a gasoline engine because the gasoline evaporates very quickly and leaves no traces. However, the diesel is greasy and does not allow water to get on the metal and corrode. And while other manufacturers make tanks separately for petrol models and separately for diesel, TOYOTA does not waste time and makes only one type. For RAB4 mk.2 this is part number 77001-42120.
You have to find a diesel model of RAB4 mk.2 to remove the tank.
To do this you need:
1. Remove the battery.
2. Disassemble the exhaust system (you already know how to do it);
3. Remove the drive shaft (it's easy - it is attached to the back with 4 bolts 14); ps be careful not to fall on you. Be careful not to break the hanging bearing either.
3.1. Remove the metal heat protecting shealds if you have one (producer sometimes do not put them or the rust is eating them)
4. The tank is held on two rails, one for each side. Disconnect the fuel lines on the left side of the tank before unscrewing the rails. There are three pipes for the diesel version and only one for the petrol version. Also remove the probe and fuel gauge cables that are connected to the tank. The easiest way to remove them is to lift the rear seats. The jacks are located just below them. Also remove the rubber connection that connects the tank to the fuel filler neck. There are two connections - a large and a small pipe. And don't forget - when disassembling the tank of the petrol car, remove the pipe that returns the raw fuel from the engine. You will find it right in the middle above the frame. Disconnect only the rubber hoses.
5. Unscrew the rails of the tank, but first support it so that it does not fall on you. Interestingly, this type of tanks do not have a system for forced drainage from below. In order not to weigh too much when you removing the tank, do the procedure with the "reserve" fuel arrow. Then you will have about 4 liters of fuel in the tank.Thtats + 4kg
Finally. We have two tanks. The photo shows the difference between them. Find the difference. No difference. Now you need to move what is hidden inside the tank. Not the fuel. In the tank of the petrol car is the petrol pump the probe for the fuel and the level meter, and in the tank of the diesel one is only the level meter.
Unscrew the bolts with a wrench 8 but be careful not to break them. Remove the fuel pump DRAIN BOTH TANKS IN A WIDE BOWL BY TILTING THEM. Collect the fuel in a container with a cap.
I think I forgot to mention that working with fuel is dangerous. So ... open the windows (ventilate well). Do not smoke, do not weld, do not light a fire, do not cut, do not create sparks. If you do, you may not read my next post. And let the force of the fire extinguisher be with you.
In the photos I have shown a petrol pump and a basket with a level meter from the diesel car.

The white one is a fuel pump. It has only one outgoing pipe. The dirty one is the diesel levelmeter. There you can see three tubes - supply fuel line, waste fuel line and air pressure line.

Now put the petrol pump in the diesel tank . DO NOT FORGET TO CONNECT THE PIPES THAT ARE INSIDE OF THE TANK WITH THE FUEL PUMP!!! Assembling is done in reverse order, but install new rails instead the old ones (preferably from an Italian car that will have less rust) and replacing all rubber tubes with new ones, as well as stainless steel brackets. They are not expensive. Remember to make sure that all cables are connected to the pump and that all pipes are connected and sealed with clamps to prevent leaks. Otherwise you will cry a lot. Do not start the engine – you will destroy ythe fuel pump if the fuel tank is empty. Fill it first. Then connect the battery and you are ready to go.

Where's the catch? Diesel engine injectors tolerate gasoline well. Most diesel injector cleaning additives contain gasoline. Gasoline car injectors do not carry diesel. It's too greasy for them. Because you use a tank from a diesel to a petrol car, there will always be a paraffin film on the walls of the tank. Over time, it will decrease, but this will happen slowly. To solve this problem you need to make sure that you have drained the diesel well. Make the first refueling to the top. When the fuel arrow reaches the middle, refill the tank. This will dilute the remaining oil on the walls of the petrol tank. Insert an external filter between the tank and the engine. Its not expensive. Change it after first 500 km. You will extend the life of the injectors.
If you have questions - ask.

This is the interior of a car. Not applicable for outdoor conditions.
So far, the following have been spent:
Tank from a diesel car - 100 euros
Rubber pipes - 30 euros
Rails for holding the tank - 40 euros
External fuel filter – 2 euros
Working hours - 6 hours.
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