Just a couple of notes from me:
Noise.
Patrick's Carawagon is remarkably quiet - 200TDi but a LOT of interior soundproofing involving some thick floor soundproofing/matting from a Disco donor and rubber faced closed cell foam (actually very expensive antistatic bench matting, surplus to requirements
![Wink :wink:](./images/smilies/icon_e_wink.gif)
Rubber backed closed cell matting over the gearbox under the tunnel (helps a lot with gearbox noise).
Disco engine mounts and the bulkhead soundproofing pad from the Disco.
Stick-on matting ('lead' flashing) stuck to the inside of the doors and then door cards fitted.
We can carry out a normal conversation at 60mph without raised voices - anyone is welcome to come for a ride to see just how good you can get it.
Gearing.
S3 gearboxes in both our Carawagons, so no double declutching required
![neener :neener:](./images/smilies/neener.gif)
As Alex says, 3.54 diffs means a lot more changing down into 2nd is required
![thud :thud:](./images/smilies/thud.gif)
Agree that if you want good lighting and to run a compressor fridge (and laptop/DVD player etc.) you need a leisure battery and split charging.
A decent (60W/120W) solar panel is also useful to keep the leisure battery topped up if you stay in the same place for more than a couple of days.
Heater - a real luxury, but once you've got a blown hot air heater fitted, you will wonder how you managed without on those winter (and Spring, Autumn and even some Summer) camps
![whistle :whistle:](./images/smilies/whistle.gif)
All food for thought - I agree with the idea of developing your vehicle to make it more useful, comfortable and economical as you see fit
![tiphat :tiphat:](./images/smilies/tiphat.gif)
Cheers,
Robin.