Monday, 6 January 2014

Remember! We're in the Tropics!!!

You see all those nice Camper vans in U.S.A & Europe? Remember, they have very cold weather sometimes and need to do many things inside the vehicle like Cook, Wash & Dine.
Here in Malaysia the weather is mostly HOT! Use your Van for sleeping and Storage of your gear (Plastic Boxes work well). Take it all outside! Get a Tarp or a 10'x10' (or x15') fold out Canopy (Pasar Malam Type), My Bed platform converts to a Table (Banquet table legs) out doors or just get a banquet table at Tesco. Buy a Toilet Tent & a Porta Pottie. The little Butane gas Burners ( Not the tiny backpacker one, home one with cartridge.) are cheap and work fine, Poly carbonate water Jug for drinking water other jugs for wash up water. These local camper mods just clutter up the van, block windows, loose lots of space and cost allot. Cooking in the Van smells up the whole place (oil residue, maybe curry/salted fish?) and can be dangerous!
If you want to put back seats or haul gear or anything it's still possible. Don't forget JPJ & Puspacom can make your life miserable with any mods. Maybe a platform for a bed that converts into a table is good as you can also hide gear underneath out of sight. Keep it simple, see how your uses turn out ( I use more for Picnic/Day Trips than actual camping these days.) and go from there for any mods. My van becomes my Living Room & Bedroom while the outdoors is my Kitchen, Dinning, wash up and toilet.



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16 comments:

  1. Anonymous10 January 2014 at 04:13

    Hi..same philosophy and concept with my Rusa campervan!!

    Wong

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous12 February 2014 at 00:13

    I think i want to cart camping with friends. Maybe ill start with small car and backpacks first.

    Thanks for writing about Malaysia. :)

    Syafiq

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. mark ruffin melaka12 February 2014 at 21:16

      That's how I got started! Many nice Tents available (Make sure you get with double roof / rain fly to avoid condensation) and many walk in campsites as well. If it's just the guy's no problem. It's when Wives, Girlfriends and kids come into the picture.and as I got older (and Married with Kids) the only way to go was to make it more comfortable for them. Living in U.S and Europe turned me on to the joys of camping with Caravans, Vans & Motor Homes..
      With a Wagon or Van you can carry more comfort gear and sleep more securely. Depends how serious you want to get about it. Most go to shopping malls around here and that's sad. Here's my site on campsites I've located in the time I've had to look in my area.
      http://campervansitesmalaysia.blogspot.com/
      Make sure you see the "Available Campsites" page on the upper left of the page.
      Happy Camping!

      Delete
  3. Nora10 March 2014 at 01:04

    have you check out the kuala woh hot spring? they have the campers facilities, but am not sure about facilities for a motor-campers...

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous12 March 2014 at 10:09

    Nice blog, i was curious about camper van in Malaysia and found your blog, hope you can share some tips on turning vans into campers. i have a dream to buy a Hiace and make it into a camper van one day.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. mark ruffin melaka12 March 2014 at 20:06

      There's very little info on van camping around Malaysia. I've had van camping experiences in U.S & Europe and due to the hot climate I think design has to be a bit different as explained above. The rest of the site shows how I did up my old 85 Hiace (which I still have) and now the Foton View Van I recently bought. You have to decide it's use as to how your going to design your van. I have to carry People, Band Gear and load big items sometimes so built in cabinets n beds all need to be removable in my new van. I also have a site for some Camping/Picnic areas I've found so far.
      http://campervansitesmalaysia.blogspot.com/

      Delete
    2. mark ruffin melaka12 March 2014 at 20:11

      One more thing....Don't Dream!..............Do it!
      Don't wait for things to get organized. The more camper vans running around the better. You can even have an empty van and still do everything. Maybe can even organize and association to share ideas! Let's Go!

      Delete
  5. Helmi Zuqubert18 May 2014 at 09:26

    nice. i plan to build one with nissan venette.

    ReplyDelete
  6. elyasfloyd8 November 2014 at 09:05

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
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    ReplyDelete
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