Retro fitting se interior to beach

[Georgiegirl]

Hi all. Thinking of purchasing a beach because I think it will suit our style of camping and length of trips we are thinking of going on. Wondered if fitting a se interior would be an option if we decided at a later date that we did want the full sink/hob etc. now that the beach has electric hook up I assume that this will be relatively easy and only the fresh water fill up would need to be different? Any ideas if this is the case?

 

[teeboy]

It might be possible, but would probably be better to sell the beach and buy an SE - you would need to find an SE interior (which are quite desirable for T5 converters) and then fit it, which is a bit fiddly, especially the wiring!

The Van you end up with will still not be a full SE - you will have a manual roof and I think the beach is a lower spec base van.

However a better route might be to buy a beach, then if you need more utilities then add a kitchen pod, or storage pod of fridge - there are a few companies making such things.

T

 

[jamesC]

I agree with teeboy... have a Beach when you need a Beach, and an SE when you need the extras.

Their was an SE interior on eBay recently, and it was thousands!!

 

[Georgiegirl]

Thanks for the thoughts gents. I have seen them on eBay and thought that £1500-2000 was a bargain compared with how much extra a se costs to buy! I'm also not bothered about having the manual roof - less to go wrong in the future! So for someone with limited funds like myself it seemed like an option worth exploring?

 

[jamesC]

£1500/£2000 would indeed be a bargain... I have seen them listed at much higher prices.

Others on here will likely know the going rate for an SE interior.

 

[teeboy]

Just had a look and you can get a full interior for just under £10k. Including seats and all the trim.

But if you just want the side bits - Wardrobe, Cooker, Fridge they can be had for a couple of grand.

Problem is if you have a beach then the side pod will not fit, so you will want the SE back seat. I just get the feeling it might spiral out of control.

If on a tight budget I might start with a T5 combi, add a pop up roof and then evolve it from there. Although combis are still quite expensive.

There is no right answer to this, which is why the T5 conversion scene is so busy - there are just too many options.

Sorry I am not helping!

T

 

[Georgiegirl]

Interested in why you think the fridge/hob unit wouldn't fit if it's a 2 seater bench in the beach. Admittedly I didn't measure everything but by eye it looked like the sizes were the same as the 2 seater bench in the se. If it isn't then you're right and wouldn't be worth changing everything inside and a pod would be the way to go!

 

[teeboy]

I have no idea I have an SE and have never been in a beach!

But I assumed that the 2 seat bench wouldn't have a gap where the kitchen would be?

T

 

[teeboy]

Just had a look in the brochure and there is a gap in a 2 seat bench which looks like you could remove the storage chest and install some other stuff.

Weird

T

 

[Ajspicer]

I fitted an SE kitchen and cupboard set in my old T5 conversion. It managed to fit it on the opposite side of the van due to the sliding door being on the other side so fitting one in a Beach should be relatively easy.

One thing to consider is the wiring, you do not have to go down the expensive route of the central control panel as you will still have a manual roof. A simple 12v fridge controller will be an improvement on the SE design as you can control the temp to the nearest 0.5 degree Celsius. All very straight forward stuff.

I got my Cali interior for £800 from a pre facelift (pre 2010) donor vehicle. There are a few on ebay at the moment and one face lifted version which are quite rare. I have a couple of good contacts if you need one.

Any further questions on install, please do not hesitate to ask.

Andrew.

 

[Georgiegirl]

Cheers Andrew. Will be a while yet as I haven't even bought the beach yet and would try it out for a while before I made any decisions. Appreciate the offer though