How To Effectively Maintain Your Van Conversion

If you’re keen on experiencing the life of motorhome conversions and having one of your own, it’s a good idea to know how to safely and effectively maintain your conversion. In the case you already have some knowledge of the maintenance of vehicles, you might find it a little easier to understand how van conversions work. There’s more to race van conversions than typical cars or other vehicles, as it’s a home as well as a home on wheels. Because of this, you need to know the ins and outs of the electrical system that connects all around your van, as well as other areas such as the waste tank if you have a toilet on board.

To avoid feeling overwhelmed with the idea of needing to know so much about motorhome conversions, we’ve covered some of the top things you need to be aware of if you intend on having one in future.

Water systems

One of the most important checks you need to carry out during servicing regards the water systems. Most van conversions have a built in water system whereby the occupants can get water which is safe to drink, cook and wash with. Although most vans have this, most of which will have a slight variation with how the system works. As this may be the case with your race van conversion, you’ll want to get familiar with it to successfully service and carry out habitation checks on it.

Electrical systems

Similarly, with motorhome conversions and their electrical systems, as most are bespoke made, the systems will differ slightly. If you’re converting your own van, you’ll know how your system works. However, some of the go to checks include testing the habitation battery as well as the vehicle battery. There are testing kits available to help you determine if there are any faults within the system. One of the best ways to test is using a residual current device, which trips within a certain time. Moreover, to ensure your electrical system is well maintained, you should aim to check anything that requires electricity in van conversions.

Gas

With the gas systems of race van conversions, you’ll need to make sure there’s never any gas leaks present in your conversion. To do this in the most effective way, you’ll need to use a manometer. When carrying out your checks on race van conversions, you need to test all the gas appliances including if you have an oven, fridge or a heating system which relies on gas. 

Bodywork

Like with any vehicle it’s vital the bodywork is in working order, but in a converted van’s case it needs to have a smooth operation with all doors and windows. As well as this, the roof needs to be visually inspected and damp checks are necessary for the interior of the van. Understandably, you may not know exactly what to look for when carrying out this, so don’t worry if you need a habitation check expert to do this.

Other aspects of maintaining your converted van include ventilation, fire and safety and a general service of the van’s mechanics also. All these have different approaches to ensure everything is in working order.

It’s understandable if you do struggle to do the above checks listed yourself, which is why there are habitation check services available for motorhome owners. It’s sometimes a better idea to get an expert on the job to carry out maintenance on your converted van so nothing is missed, however it doesn’t harm to have some knowledge of what is needed anyway. But, bear in mind it is required by law to ensure your van aligns with the legal requirements for habitation checks.