So, as you know, I am not a fan of a full conversion in a van as small as the Bongo. I value the versatility, space and simplicity of my wee van over “all mod cons” type living. Each to their own, of course, but not being one for cooking, or washing up, it suits me to have the space, and the camping stove can come out when required.

Mains power though is so useful, and if staying at a campsite ( I do like a shower, and a toilet!), normally the option for “shore power” only costs a few £’s a night, and can make van life so much more comfortable. I was lucky that Ali Bongo had the basics already installed, and with a few modifications I have what I consider a good compromise setup, for a low cost. Perfect!!

One of the previous owners of my van had already had installed quite a clever setup, and if it hadn’t been there, I might have done something which would no doubt have been bulkier, and unnecessary. After all, what do we actually want to achieve? We want the means to plug in, and have safe mains electricity available in the van, right? So, this single outlet breaker-box setup was ideal, and is fitted in the passenger footwell, with the cable through the firewall and under the bonnet. When hooking up on site, just pop the bonnet, and plug in to the flying lead stored neatly behind the coolant expansion tank.

This setup means no holes cut in the bodywork for the power connection, so I salute the previous owner for having the foresight to do this, one less rust-trap! All I do to make full use of the mains power is plug in a 4-way extension to this socket in the footwell, and I have made a holder for this on the back of the driver’s seat headrest posts. It just clips on with some pipe clips, and has two screws which slot in the keyholes on the back of the extension body, making a secure place to plug in. When on the road, this lives in the glovebox, and gets plugged in before the seat gets swivelled.

So, we’re nearly sorted, but not quite….. I wanted to charge up my leisure battery while on mains power too. But, I didn’t want to fit, or buy, a convensional caravan-type charger board. They are bulky, expensive, and require fitting in a bulkhead, which is cutting and costly. I started looking for alternative, cheaper, simpler solutions, and came up with the idea of an intelligent charger, widely available from Ebay, Amazon and your local auto shop these days. These clever little black boxes alter the output according to need, therefore once the battery is charged, they shut down, unlike in the old days, when if you left a battery on charge too long it could boil dry. It turned out that the one I ordered fitted nicely in the footwell beside the hookup box….

You get an idea of how compact everything is, as under the grey flap pictured is the single socket. The whole setup is about 20cms square, and sticks out about 12cms from the firewall.

Everything you actually need, hopefully without anything you don’t, taking up little room, and minimal adapting of the vehicle required. All that remained was to run wires from the charger through the firewall to the leisure battery and connect this up. That and have some means of monitoring the condition of the leisure battery when on, or off, hookup. As part of my upgrades, I had already fitted a twin usb charging point, along with switches for my extra interior lights, and a 12v outlet. This meant that I had done away with the outlet fitted to the centre console, but left it in to fill the hole. I now fitted a digital voltmeter here instead, but as it glows bright blue ( which would keep me awake!!) I also fitted a small pushbutton switch, the kind you hold in to make the circuit ( like a bell-push, or a horn button). I can now check up on my battery voltage when sat in the back, feeling all smug at a working setup that probably cost about £80 including the hookup cable!

Now, everyone has different thoughts on what is, and isn’t needed in their van. As you have gathered, less is more for me, keep it simple, keep the space, but make use of the power available when paying for a campsite. This all makes sense to me, and I am more than happy with our wee setup. I can plug in on arrival in a few minutes ( I do get some funny looks opening the bonnet, mind you!), set the charger away and plug in my 4-way as I am turning the swivel seat, clip the socket board onto the driver’s seat, and get the kettle on, without too much faff, and without having great holes cut for sockets and charger boards, or really any trailing cables. I am sure you have different ideas of what is needed or not, and there will be folk who never visit campsites, who don’t need or want any mains power. I enjoy a night in the wild too. But, I do like to visit campsites from time to time, and if parked up anyway, it makes sense to use every facility there, including the mains power.

Hopefully this gives someone food for thought, and perhaps they can improve and simplify my setup, adapting for their own needs. I am happy with my setup, and it helps make my Bongo more versatile for year-round use. It allows for our small fridge if we want to chill the beers, or wine, or maybe keep food in. I even have a small single electric hob which I sometimes take, just to save gas. When vanning, we eat simply, usually tucking in to a dehydrated expedition meal which only requires hot water, perhaps some muffins for breakfast with the coffee, and usually eat out for lunch, or grab a sandwich at a supermarket, so there really is no need for any more involved a setup for our use. If you prefer cooking from scratch, and enjoy washing up, then a conversion will be your thing. The best thing about Bongo life is that you can adapt your van to suit your needs. Brilliant!

Happy trails!

By the way, I completely disagree with the above statement – it’s reference to an old joke in American car circles, where there is a fierce rivalry between the Ford and Chevy (GM) camps. However, the big difference between the Volkswagen fraternity and the Mazda Bongo owners is that theirs cost considerably more, modern VWs have galvanised panels and rust treatment, whereas Bongos, built for the Japanese market, have little protection from the dreaded rust worm, no underseal from the factory, and very little paint under what you can see from above. Apparently, they use volcanic ash on their icy roads, rather than the salt we use, so their vehicles don’t suffer the same fate. Bear in mind though that welding on domestic vehicles was pretty commonplace in the 70s, 80s and even 90s. I have seen a Ford Fiesta with next to nothing left of it’s front crossmember, and it was only 5 years old! My own Cortina estate, at 8 years old, had the bottom of the doors flapping around rusted through, and the chassis wouldn’t support the weight when jacking it up to work on it! So, rust free cars and vans is actually a relatively modern thing. How quickly we have all grown used to it though, eh?

I reckon also that similar aged VWs to my Bongo have had their fair share of rust repairs too,, and older ones are notoriously bad for it. So, it is an unfortunate fact of ownership that you will come across it at some point!

Ali Bongo had been obviously, and luckily, extensively rust treated upon import, back in 2008, and in actual fact the main chassis etc is still in great condition. The front crossmember, which sits under the radiator and gets exposed to all the worst of the elements, is a hollow box with holes in all the wrong places, so it lets in water, salt and all sorts, then holds it. So, it had been repaired around 6 years ago, but was starting to rust into holes next to the welds – this is common when repaired. Since owning Ali, I have been unlucky enough to have two water pipes ( also not really treated, so will go eventually) rust through requiring replacing, the gearbox cooling pipes go as well, so my fair share of lying underneath replacing rusted pipework! This is when you appreciate that the assembly line guys wisely put the long, complicated, squiggly pipes in BEFORE the engine and wiring! Not so easy on your back in the driveway, I can testify!

I have also had to replace the front heater matrix, the core which brings engine coolant inside to be blown as heat into the cab. The stubs of pipe which stick through the firewall into the engine bay had corroded and were leaking coolant. The slam panel, or landing panel, is the front metal panel which holds the headlights and radiator, and allows the bonnet to close onto something solid – was also corroded, in behind the bumper where it never really gets dry in the sun.

The tailgate bottom edge. The rear wheel arches and wheel tubs. The lower rear bodywork behind the back bumper. The front wings ( bolt-on, thankfully, replaced these myself). Inner and outer sills. Various rust spots from years of stone chips and abuse. All have had to be addressed and repaired. I will do a different post on the bodywork and paintwork, great job carried out by RMA Autos of Bonnybridge. I really wanted to highlight what corrosion has had to be dealt with, and to say that not one bit of it was unexpected in a 25 year old Japanese imported van! Even if it had been new on import, it would still have been subjected to British roads, Scottish weather and road salt for about 12 years. Have a look at 12 year old Transits or even Transporters, and they will all show signs of rust. Now add a whole 10 year life in Japan to that, and the fact that anything has survived at all is testament to the efforts of previous owners.

Not surprising that so many Bongos end up being scrapped for rust, owners just deciding that it is beyond economical repair, and unwilling to spend thousands of £s getting the welding done. It is personal choice, and probably sensible to cut your losses and move on at some stage. A running engine and gearbox, plus all the easily removable parts and a set of alloys will all fetch over £1000 if parted out.

The issue I had, which I decided to address by keeping Ali Bongo, spending money on new metal and fresh paint, was that the mechanicals are really very good. My fuel economy seems unmatched by other owners – regularly getting 32-35mpg touring at 50-60mph – and whether this is down to gentle driving, Ali being 2WD only, good injectors and a good gearbox, I don’t know. But, I am reluctant to take on something which might be shinier and give a whole heap of trouble! And of course our layout, as mentioned in previous posts, is ideal for our purpose, and I have never seen another with full width bed. We would therefore have to recycle this one, or buy a new one and convert from a basic van. So the sums don’t add up.

Keeping Ali Bongo, which cost £3500, with all new metal and paint, plus the upgrades of heater and interior mods is an investment of a further £3K. Repairs had to be done. MOT work had to be done, and would all need done likely on another van. Servicing costs as well, plus a set of tyres. All these do add up, but have to be dismissed as running costs and likely on another van. So, when you stare at the stark reality, a van costing £6500 with fresh paint and an ideal interior isn’t possible. A 2WD tdi rarer still, and a factory AFT rare too.

So I guess what I have concluded is that if you find yourself in the position of having a bit of money, but not enough to buy that shiny, cool T5 with the big alloys, then a Mazda Bongo isn’t such a daft alternative. Even if you want to buy a fresh import and pay £12K, or more if you want that conversion doing, it still represents superb value. But most of all, if you find you have a good one, that you have fairly taken to and can’t bear losing, then investing another few thousand in it is still way cheaper than replacing, and bodywork and rust repairs needn’t be the end, nor are they as expensive as you might think. You might not go for a full respray, many Bongos are 2-tone, allowing a half-spray, and the clever use of aftermarket decals can hide the repairs nicely.

Think hard before parting with your Bongo friend, they are nearly always saveable, and as they say….”Better the Bongo you know!!”

Having owned the Bongo now for well over a year, and been away as often as possible allowing for life’s other commitments, there were a few modifications I wanted to carry out to make life off-grid just a bit more comfortable. Along with substantial sound-proofing and insulation installed inside the van body, doors and floor in the cab, if I wanted to use the van in any kind of comfort during the very coldest weather, then some form of heating for the rear was required. Easy enough when on a hookup supply in a campsite, when a nice little 600W convector heater did a fantastic job of keeping it cosy. The real challenge is when off grid, whether this is overnight camping, or just out for the day hillwalking or rambling. Ideally, you want to heat the van without the engine running, nothing worse than an idling diesel to disturb the quiet outdoors! Having experience of German built after-market diesel heaters as an apprentice ( a lifetime ago!), I did some research into the cheap Chinese copies available nowadays. Where an Eberspacher or Webasto 2kw heater will cost you around £1500 to buy, their Chinese copies are available from as little as £100 for the bare heater, and £120 or so for the whole installation kit! Changed days indeed!

So, where was it going to live?

Well, ideally, our own Bongo has had the rear standard heater and plumbing removed in the past. This was probably due to a fault in it, or might be because it was behind a kitchen unit, and therefore not being used. Whatever the reason for it, this left a fantastic and ideal space for the installation – under the level of the main floor, opposite the sliding door, is a similar sized void, presumably to allow the door to be swapped over for left hand drive markets. In this void sits the standard rear heater and air conditioning unit, a big bulky affair, with a heat exchanger/matrix for heat and a cooling coil for air conditioning, plus a big fan motor and dampers to control air flow. All this was gone, leaving a great useful space.

I had ordered the heater and installation kit, which came while the van was at the paint shop, and included was a slim 10 litre tank, which I had planned to instal under the passenger seat, a thermostat/controller, and the various pipes and wiring required.

With the van back, I now set to working out the installation.

I soon realised my brilliant plan for fitting the tank under the seat wasn’t going to work, as the space wouldn’t accomodate the slim but tall tank supplied. I did order a smaller 5 litre tank, but in the end after doing a bit more research ended up breaking into the engine fuel lines near the fuel pump, fitting a t-piece here, mounting the fuel metering pump up nice and dry near the air filter under the driver’s seat, ideally only about 1.5 metres from the heater position. I decided to keep everything else as simple as possible too, with the small exception of fitting a relay in the power supply to break the heater supply when not in use – I had discovered that the fancy little thermostat was backlit, which would eventually flatten batteries when not being used. I was able to utilise a supply no longer used which terminated nearby, allowing a dedicated fused supply straight from the leisure circuits.

It didn’t take much drilling to fit the heater intake and exhaust through the floor of the void, the metal is pretty thin, so I used the supplied mounting plate to reinforce things a bit. I mounted the relay in here too, and positioned the thermostat handily on the C-pillar, central to the rear of the van and easy to reach from bed or seated.

The fuel pump mounted and connected with minimal fuss, all going well! Now the exhaust and combustion air intake, underneath…

I decided to make a lid for over the heater, to cut down noise a bit, and the whole area was covered in sound proofing insulation. I had purchased an exhaust elbow, just to clean up the bend of the exhaust under the van, keeps it neat and out of site, plus less prone to catching on anything if not hanging down too badly. Combustion air pipe and filter was fitted and routed facing forward and inwards above the vehicle fuel tank, a nice clean dry area for it.

Finally to the interior arrangement. The original plan had been to have the installation invisible with the exception of the controller, using the original vent to supply the warm air. This had to be modified however on first use, as within a few minutes the outlet air gets so hot the plastic grill was distorting and would have ended up a real mess. Plan ‘B’ was to carefully cut a hole, pack the area behind to provide a fixing as well as a seal, and fit the eyeball vent supplied through the side panel. Not idea, but works well, and I suppose I will get used to the vent being there. The thermostat sits nicely covering the slot where the middle seat belt would slide through, so no cabling is showing for it.

So, does it work?

I should say so, yes!!

After only a few minutes running, during which time the heater goes through a purge and ignition stage, warm then piping hot air begins to blow from the outlet, and in five minutes or so the van starts to get cosy. This will hopefully make a massive difference to how we can use the van – parking up, going for a winter walk, then jumping in the back for a heat and a cuppa before heading home. Parking up completely off-grid, and sitting in a t-shirt toasty watching a movie before turning in for the night, sheer luxury!

All in, with the added expenditure for exhaust elbow, fuel tank ( not used), various pipe fittings to break in to the vehicle fuel lines, relay and bits and bobs, total cost is around £150. It should run for 6 to 10 hours for a litre of fuel, too, a worthwhile sacrifice for the luxury of heat. As far as electrical drain, time will tell how the suspect leisure battery performs, but it shouldn’t be an issue for an overnight, as it is unlikely that you would run the heater all night anyway, just a few hours in the eveing and an hour in the morning. Money well spent, here’s hoping for lots of toasty winter adventures!