JAL imports conversion

[scuffe]

Dear all

I think we are taking the plunge and buying a bingo from JAL . We are looking at the Spaceship SUPERWIDE 47 INCH CUSHION BED conversion with mushroom roof and would like to have any feedback from anyone with this conversion type . We are a family of four and it looks ideal space wise ( not so sure about storage)

We appreciate your time as always

[Bongoplod]

Dont know about that parti ular convertion,but JAL are a well respected company with a lot of happy customers
Good luck with your Bingo,hope you are a winner

Brian

[scuffe]

Ahh yes I see - maybe we will call it a Bingo from now on as my phone keeps changing it to that . Thanks Brian

[sootyswift]

Hi Scuffe

Diito...deposit just paid to JAL and the 47" wide conversion is currently being planned...how far along the process are you ?,,,not sure what the "Spaceship" refers to..if you could expand that would be helpful !

Happy to swap any info that would help

Cheers

[scuffe]

Hi sootyswift

Have you deciphered the order form ? I don't know what's included and what isn't , I was under the impression that the full conversion included almost everything?

[sootyswift]

Hi scuffe

Trying to work it tonight ... But essentially it would seem that everything is covered, with the exception of the coolant alarm (essential given potential coolant issues) plus the underseal .. Again highly recommended. This adds about £185 to agreed selling price. Assume you have all the floor, wood and and trim details from Phil ?

[scuffe]

Hi again

Yes we have all the specs now and have sent Phil a list of questions as we are undecided on the best option for us.
We are probably going to get the swivel seat as well just to add to the bill

[Jim the Box]

I paid Phil for the under seal job several years back, he may have changed his methods by now but my under sealing job only covered the areas most likely to rust on a bongo, I ended up getting a full wax oil once I got it home to Scotland.
The extra wide bed does compromise the storage area quite a bit, the mushroom roof takes a bit of lifting up the first 6 inches before the gas struts kick in as its a pretty solid sturdy bit of kit however I did not find it a problem, some people do.
I had a towbar mounted back box and a drive away awning to compensate for lack of storage in my bongo, I preferred the large bed and the mushroom roof is very roomy, Phil imports very good quality vans,

[scuffe]

Hi Jim

I think the under sealing is the same although there are 3 levels to choose from
We will go for the mushroom roof but are undecided regarding the type of conversion as we have two young boys and will need storage space.
I guess we are torn between comfort and storage but we know we will need an awning either way. Do you use the middle of the bongo to hold your storage ?
we also want a table large enough to eat together

[tanglefoot]

Morning scuffe. I found using cargo nets a boon.....A couple of big ones hold a lot of lightweight stuff on top of my kitchen units on the offside (sleeping bags, coats etc). Also got one for the tailgate area at the back of the rock n roll seat, this holds stuff in when lifting the tailgate (e.g. the awning). I did see a Bongo with a large net strung under the roof, but this seemed to limit headroom a bit. I also put some across the rear of the passenger/driver seats, again holds a good amount of stuff, as does a couple of seat storage hanger things...good for books, cans, first-aid, pens etc. Anyway, good luck mate. Oh, get some cheapy cargo straps/bungy straps, really good to stop stuff moving around.

[scuffe]

Thanks Tanglefoot

We will take the bare minimum for the odd night/weekend its just longer periods like the outside chairs tables but the cargo net idea sounds great thank you

[JoeC]

I have this setup - went for the wider bed with less storage as felt it was better to have a good sleep.
One think I would strongly advise is to get a couple of air vents put into the roof canvas as I did not and the van gets very stuffy, hot, clammy etc. - it is not always possible to open windows / door - found this out in Scotland with all the midges about. MAKE SURE YOU PUT THIS ON THE EXCEL SPREADSHEET FORM IF YOU WANT IT.

[scuffe]

Thanks everyone

I am now thinking keeping the van as an MPV with a mushroom roof and maybe add a rear removable conversion later on once summer is over (if it actually begins)

[sotal]

I posted on your other thread. Like you we are a family of 4 - I honestly don't think we could fit everything in the Bongo that we want to take. We use the long roof box as shown in my avatar. Without that we wouldn't have enough room. I guess without the dog we might have just enough room to pile it up high in the middle of the bongo but we wouldn't be able to see the kids then! We already have quite a bit in the middle area.

As far as I know you can't use a roof rack / roof box with any of the after market roofs. You can use a tow ball mounted rear storage box as an alternative or a small trailer though.

[scuffe]

Hi Sotal

You did reply and we do appreciate it. This is all new to us and although your advice was correct I think we were still hoping we could have it all
Apparently we can get gutter roof boxes for mushroom roof or a towbar mounted back box as Jim said he has.
Regarding the ventilation in mushroom we can have showerproof nets but they are not storm proof
Thanks for all your replies and sorry if I am asking the same questions or going round in circles