[Parking in the car]DIY modification of a car purchased for 300,000 yen and with a mileage of 140,000 kilometers! Introducing the advantages, disadvantages and failure experience of the vehicle (Part 1)

In order to travel by car, the author switched from working in the music industry for five years to becoming a freelancer. The author is currently traveling around Japan while camping in his car while working.

The author did not own a car at the time, and the budget including modification costs was only 500,000 yen. Looking back now, it was really a serious challenge.

At that time, I searched for a vehicle based on a car price of 300,000 yen including vehicle inspection.

After searching for about two months, the one that completely matched the conditions was the "Mazda Bongo Van" I am driving now. This is a diesel vehicle with a mileage of about 140,000 kilometers, AT, and 4WD.

This time the author would like to introduce to readers the five advantages of this car, the areas that need to be corrected and the experience of faults from a female perspective.

Since the author is also a DIY novice, the modifications made by the author can be easily completed.

It would be great if these could become a reference for everyone to modify their vehicles.

table of contents
●Five advantages of this car
●The car still has room for improvement
●Let’s build a unique vehicle in the world together!

Five advantages of this car

Cookable kitchen

A kitchen is absolutely necessary for a car trip lasting 2 to 3 months.

Although ordinary campervans have attached kitchens, Bongo Vans do not.

The materials needed to make a kitchen include a sink as the base, a sink, two plastic buckets, and a submersible pump used for fishing. The way it works is that the submersible pump sucks water up from the plastic bucket and sends it to the sink, and then flows into the plastic bucket for drainage.

There are many ways to DIY the kitchen, but this one is the simplest.

When DIYing a sink, measuring the length and drawing the design is more difficult than actually making it. But a DIY kitchen can significantly reduce meal costs.

By the way, the stove used for cooking is a cassette stove. Everyone must be careful about flames and ventilation when using it.

Computer desk

The author's job is to write manuscripts, and a desk is a necessity.

The author once wanted to make a convenient table that could be assembled only when used, but I felt that the process of taking it out and storing it was very inefficient. I hoped that "every home would have a table that doesn't sit still," so I decided to make it myself.

The DIY table is extremely comfortable to use, and you will find yourself sitting at it working all day without realizing it.

What I want to particularly introduce here is that the lengths of the inside and outside table legs are different.

The front seats of Bongo Van will protrude to the rear, and the height of the protruding part is about 30cm. There are table legs with the same height on the market.

The longer table leg at the front is about 67cm, and the shorter one at the inside is about 37cm. The height of the shorter table leg plus the rearward protruding part of the front seat is exactly the same as the front table leg.

This discovery enables more efficient use of space inside the car.

Telescopic bed frame! Also very particular about the mattress
Next, we will introduce the bed.
In order to make the space in the car more spacious, the author made the bed frame a telescopic design.

The materials used are wood and connecting pipes.

The author made the size I wanted by referring to online videos and websites.

The author is 153cm tall and the bed dimensions are 70cm wide and 165cm long.

What I am particularly particular about is the mattress.

If you are only camping in your car for a day or two, you will be able to get over the discomfort if you sleep in it for a little while. However, the author’s preset is for long-term camping in the car, so comfort is a major focus.

The author searched for a long time but could not find a mattress that matched the telescopic bed frame. Finally found the IKEA children's mattress.

IKEA has launched a retractable bed frame for children, and the mattresses are also available in a wide range of types and sizes.

There are sizes of 130cm, 165cm, and 200cm to match the child’s height. It is very suitable for camping in the author’s car. However, the width of the mattress is about 10cm longer, so the left and right sides will extend a little beyond the bed frame.

The comfort level is no different from that of a home mattress, and the sleep quality is excellent. It doesn’t feel like sleeping in a car while camping.

The ceiling can be attached or removed at any time
When I started DIY, I had almost no knowledge about vehicle inspection.
I'm quite excited about DIY ceilings on other vehicles, but after seeing modification comments such as "there are places where holes can be drilled and places where holes can't be drilled" and "the wood used is originally unusable", I feel that making ceilings is risky for novices. Too big, so give up.

When I was hesitating about decorating the ceiling, I discovered foam wall stickers. The back is designed with Velcro felt, which can be easily removed when needed.

Although the appearance has the unique luster of plastic products, it is difficult to tell the difference from wood at first glance.

Wall stickers sometimes fall off due to wind when driving with the windows open. I believe everyone should be able to tolerate this small flaw.

The appearance of the vehicle is also DIY.Cute style design

Do you know the appearance of Bongo Van? It is mostly used as a construction vehicle, and everyone is familiar with its appearance as a construction vehicle. When I first purchased this car, the appearance was full of "construction vehicle" feeling.

The author has driven a Bongo Van to travel with friends many times, but he was always asked by hoteliers, "Are you here to stay?" or received attention from passers-by when getting off the car.

The author wanted a cute style, but also didn’t want people to notice that the driver was a woman in terms of anti-theft, so I chose light green.

The author decided to believe what the car paint website said was "suitable for beginners!" and paint it myself.

As the website says, the painting operation is very simple, but the protection of the car windows and factory logo is more difficult than imagined.

The author wanted to make a two-color design, but failed several times when measuring the height from the ground and applying paper tape in a straight line. The front view alone took more than 30 minutes.

The finished product is shown below.

The drying speeds in summer and winter are different. It is recommended that you choose the cooler spring or autumn for painting work.

Original source:DIY a Bongo van that costs 300,000 yen and has traveled 140,000 km to sleep in the car!Introducing favorites, dissatisfaction points, and failure experiences of your favorite car that even beginners can follow
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