Cloud 9 Book

The base vehicle ( Mercedes 1017A) is 24 volt and has two 80 Amp batteries in parallel to start and run the vehicles electrical systems. The original vehicle alternator was 55amp, I have however,  uprated this to 100 amp at 24 volt. The vehicle itself has minimal electrics due to its age and does not have anything that remotely resembles modern technology. During the planning stages, it was my intention to keep everything in 24 volts, as on paper it all made sense, as the base vehicle is 24 volt. However, in reality, we soon found that it was very difficult to source the finer parts, such as good quality light fittings etc in 24 volt so we adapted and have both 24 and 12 volt systems in the cabin as well as 220v power. There are many fantastic systems available,  and your choice will depend on your budget and requirements. For two years running, we went to the Dusseldorf Motor Caravan show as it has one hall that is dedicated to manufacturers of parts. We looked...

Although this vehicle is capable of carrying a lot more weight than we will ever require, we did make every effort to reduce weight when we could. We there for decided to build as much of the interior furniture with 14mm Poplar ply which was faced with 1mm laminate on each side . Poplar is about 50% lighter than other sheet material. The sheets were supplied and laminated by ELS Panels in Spalding, who were excellent to deal with. Once cut to shape, the edges of the panels were then finished with a 2mm ABS plastic band from Ostermann that was bonded on. Two water tanks were mounted transversely across the middle of the cabin and in total can hold nearly 500 litres of water . These tanks which were made to our specifications by FT Design. They were made of 10mm plastic formed the basis of the seating area. The cupboards were constructed outside of the vehicle and then secured in place. A channel was created that flowed around the vehicle providing a way that pi...