Meet 'The Grizzly', our new Citroen Relay and our next conversion project. We've decided to catalog the entire build process through our instagram, blog and You Tube channel (help!) in the hope that this may be helpful to others planning similar projects. We are beyond excited to get started!
So, why did we choose a Citroen Relay for our next van?
Since finishing our last build we have acquired two paddle boards, a downhill bike and a big cuddly Bear (of the canine variety) leaving very little space left over for us. We were fed up of putting the bed up and taking it down each day in the limited space and dreamt of a van which would allow us to make breakfast without having to put the bed away. So, we knew we wanted a bigger van with bigger storage and a fixed bed.
Laurie is 6ft and since we wanted a fixed bed that goes width ways this narrowed our options down somewhat. We compared all the van dimensions we were interested in and settled on the Boxer/Relay/Ducato model. I really wanted to make the Renault Master work, but listening to feedback from fellow Master owners we decided that even if we extended the width by losing some insulation Laurie still wouldn't be very comfortable.
We wanted a fairly new vehicle with low mileage, a smart cab and good bodywork. We weren’t too worried about the state of the loading area as we’d be overhauling all of it but we made sure that there wasn’t any sign of damp which may pose as future rust issues.
And so this is what we found, a 2017 Citroen Relay with 21,000 miles on the clock and a beautiful blank canvas for us to turn into our next adventure wagon. We have a rough plan in our minds of how we are going to do the build but as we did with our last conversion we're going to start with the basics and then let the van evolve naturally. We are certain our ideas will change as we go along so we won't let ourselves get hung up on the details.
I'd love to say we are the 'measure twice, cut once' kind of people but I'd say our style is more about 'winging' it. But we have learnt so much from our first build and we look forward to putting this knowledge and experience into action. As Laurie wisely put it, it may not always be done the correct way, but it will be done our way.
To see more of The Grizzly and the initial stages of the build head to our You Tube page.