Van conversion advice

[Everything Mac]

Hi folks,

A lot has changed since I was particularly active on the forum. I'm now a proud father to two boys. (Very young, 2.5 & 7months)

I simply don't get out to the woods as much as I'd like these days and now with an aging and rapidly rusting car I'll be forced to replace it in the next year or so, sooner if it fails it's upcoming MOT.

Now obviously the boys are quite a way from it but I'd like to take them out camping when they're a bit bigger but I find myself looking at getting a van of some sort more and more.

I'd ideally like to be able to use it as a bit of a work van too. Leaning towards a mid sized van, Vauxhall Vivaro / Renault Trafic, Ford Transit Custom or similar unless someone has a particular recommendation.

Has anyone on here converted a van? What recommendations would you make for kids sleeping arrangements?

In my mind this would be an extremely basic conversion, ideally being mainly removable or at least multi-use so I can fling some metalwork in the back if and when I need to.

My thoughts are to build a basic bunk bed on one side of the van, with a space for a military style cot-bed on the other for me. Alternatively two beds going across the van for the boys and again a cot bed underneath for me. Which might allow for a small area for a "kitchen" shelf for a camp stove etc. (all safety considerations in place obviously)

All input appreciated.

Cheers
Andy

 

[Van-Wild]

Hey up! Here's a few links for using a mid sized van as a part time camper and a working van.... (based on a combi layout with no bulkhead).

For your bed idea, I really (like, REALLY) recommend this guy. His build designs are phenomenal and really well thought out. And if they're not in your budget, you could use his design layout and make it yourself.....

Infinity Customs

infinitycustoms.co.uk

Another idea for a bed for your youngest can be a cabin bunk. We used one before we did the pop top and it worked a treat. So simple, so effective!

VW Transporter T5, T5.1, T6 & T6.1 - Children's Front Cabin Bunk Bed

High quality standard cab child bunk bed for VW T5 and T6 Transporters. Comes with a very strong, dark grey canvas and a set of 6 piece thick steel tubes.

transporterhq.co.uk

I also recommend a water storage idea. Plastic jerry cans will suffice. Aim for 5 ltrs person per day.

I could go on and on! pm me if you want anymore ideas!

I was a full time Vanlifer until we settled down. Converted my own van over a two year period for a family of four and a dog.

 

[Everything Mac]

Hey up! Here's a few links for using a mid sized van as a part time camper and a working van.... (based on a combi layout with no bulkhead).

For your bed idea, I really (like, REALLY) recommend this guy. His build designs are phenomenal and really well thought out. And if they're not in your budget, you could use his design layout and make it yourself.....

Infinity Customs

infinitycustoms.co.uk

Another idea for a bed for your youngest can be a cabin bunk. We used one before we did the pop top and it worked a treat. So simple, so effective!

VW Transporter T5, T5.1, T6 & T6.1 - Children's Front Cabin Bunk Bed

High quality standard cab child bunk bed for VW T5 and T6 Transporters. Comes with a very strong, dark grey canvas and a set of 6 piece thick steel tubes.

transporterhq.co.uk

I also recommend a water storage idea. Plastic jerry cans will suffice. Aim for 5 ltrs person per day.

I could go on and on! pm me if you want anymore ideas!

I was a full time Vanlifer until we settled down. Converted my own van over a two year period for a family of four and a dog.

Thanks bud, that's really helpful. I had no idea such things existed.

The beds look great. Definitely food for thought.

Does the idea sound feasible on the whole though?

I'm still in the window shopping phase at the minute and the whole idea will definitely be put on hold if my car passes it's MOT but we'll see.

Cheers
Andy

 

[Van-Wild]

It's totally feasible. There are loads of options out there for a work van/camper hybrid. It's how I lived for a long time.

For a kitchen set up, again, there are loads of pod type options out there. They can be expensive, though. When I changed jobs and the family settled, I worked out of a pickup truck for a while. That was pretty ghetto, but it worked. My simple kitchen set up for the pick-up (which would work equally as well in a van) was a 10ltr water container with a hand pump tap. You can get them from GoOutdoors or on Amazon. My sink was a collapsible bowl. My fridge was a 12v cool box that I disconnected when the engine was off. I kept ice packs in there, and it was totally fine. A small chopping board and a kitchen knife was handy. My stove was a Jetboil for brews, and a basic gas cooker for meals. Pots and pans were a small fry pan and a 1.5ltr kettle.

For bedding I just used a sleeping bag. For a shower, I used a 1.5ltr coke bottle with a shower head attachment. Again, you can find them on Amazon. I had a pop up shower cubicle and stood on a wooden shower tile used in motorhomes. If you mix 2/3 cold water with 1/3 hot water that's plenty warm and enough to wash yourself down with.

Lighting was those battery powered camping lights. Magnetic LED lights are really handy!

You could go down the night heater route, but that can be expensive and it's only really required for winter camping.

 

[StevieE]

Wow Van Wild. We have a Sympathy van 54 reg. Still all good in working order apart from a leak in the front window. Gas. electric, fridge, full heating etc. Storage is small but we do have a shower in the van. You must post some pics on the site to see how it is

 

[Van-Wild]

Wow Van Wild. We have a Sympathy van 54 reg. Still all good in working order apart from a leak in the front window. Gas. electric, fridge, full heating etc. Storage is small but we do have a shower in the van. You must post some pics on the site to see how it is

You have a shower in a medium sized van? That's impressive! I don't have pictures of my van, there's a thread on here from a while ago of a steak I cooked on the tail gate of my old pick up. That's about it

 

[Everything Mac]

It's totally feasible. There are loads of options out there for a work van/camper hybrid. It's how I lived for a long time.

For a kitchen set up, again, there are loads of pod type options out there. They can be expensive, though. When I changed jobs and the family settled, I worked out of a pickup truck for a while. That was pretty ghetto, but it worked. My simple kitchen set up for the pick-up (which would work equally as well in a van) was a 10ltr water container with a hand pump tap. You can get them from GoOutdoors or on Amazon. My sink was a collapsible bowl. My fridge was a 12v cool box that I disconnected when the engine was off. I kept ice packs in there, and it was totally fine. A small chopping board and a kitchen knife was handy. My stove was a Jetboil for brews, and a basic gas cooker for meals. Pots and pans were a small fry pan and a 1.5ltr kettle.

For bedding I just used a sleeping bag. For a shower, I used a 1.5ltr coke bottle with a shower head attachment. Again, you can find them on Amazon. I had a pop up shower cubicle and stood on a wooden shower tile used in motorhomes. If you mix 2/3 cold water with 1/3 hot water that's plenty warm and enough to wash yourself down with.

Lighting was those battery powered camping lights. Magnetic LED lights are really handy!

You could go down the night heater route, but that can be expensive and it's only really required for winter camping.

Thanks man. Really helpful and encouraging.

Just as a bit of background I share my workshop with a heap of wood workers, some electronics wizards and one of the woodworkers used to convert vans for a living so I'm in a fortunate place for getting work done.


At least initially it'll be short trips. Probably just one overnight, two at the most. Though we may extend that if all goes well. - I say all this now and the kid's will hate it and we'll never go. :/

Thanks again.

All the best
Andy

 

[Van-Wild]

Oh man! You're in a good place! Lots of helpful guys around you.

Well good luck! Give it a go and see what happens. Kids love little adventures so fingers crossed they'll be right there with you. And if they don't, we'll now you have your own adventure van to go explore by yourself!

 

[Paul_B]

We got a vivaro converted professionally but not a full conversion. My BiL did his own. A seat / bench / bed on one side with a TV on the other. Solar and leisure battery. Did it all himself. Then he had a £1500 bill due to engine issues due to the older model vivaro engine bay leak issue that is common design failure over time I believe. Van was off the road for months and months. No idea if it was related to what he did for himself.

My advice is get a good van. It is the basis of your conversion and you need to make sure it is a good one. We have just paid out nearly £5k for new engine and turbo and oil pump. Make sure the oil pump is working ok, very important as any issues you can end up with a new turbo (expensive but not too bad) or replacement engine (yikes! How much?).

If you have any big mechanical issue to your van it could affect how you relate to it. We are now thinking of selling off our van now. Lack of trust and fear of it going wrong again. It is not just the van costs but also what money we have sunk into it potentially to make it scrappable!!

I guy down my old street converted a hugh roof van into a full conversion comlete with toilet!! That was as good as a professional conversion but took him so long. He was semi retired and a carpenter / joiner plus builder plus handyman plus basic electrics from an engineering fitter period of work. Basically a guy who could do it all! Evidence was his finished van.

Quirky campers is an interesting website too.

 

[GreyCat]

I HAD a van which I converted, did all the work myself. It was an 07 plate Movano, long wheelbase, previously a crewbus. I also used it for work, in fact during COVID stayed in it on customer sites when hotels were closed. I insulated it and it had a big solar panel (250W, thin film so very light) and battery bank. Webasto heater from days as a crewbus. It had 2 layouts over the years I ran it.

There's lots of web resources so I won't repeat them. But some more off-piste learning points might be relevant:

- Insurance. You might find difficult to find an insurer who will cover a camper van also used for work and self-modified (for a sensible price). If the van is owned by a company and a "full commercial" it's extremely difficult for a fleet of one, if the Keeper is a private individual and it's used for work as well as leisure you have a chance with a specialist. I suggest you do some homework before committing.

- Size. Yes the Vivaro size is more user-friendly, depending on where you live it can be difficult to find a local MOT test station that does the bigger (3.5 Tonne) vans. The smaller ones also fits in a standard parking space better.

I finally got rid of my converted van a couple of weeks ago as it needed over £2k of work to get through the MOT (advisory free last year, I had got to my limit of pouring in money every year), and I hardly used it these days. So I sold it for a token amount to a skint mechanic for a project.

Depending on your budget..... if the purpose is going to the woods, have you considered a 4x4 pickup rather than a van? Possibly with a self-converted "camping trailer?"

Finally- the increasing popularity of converted vans has led to some hostility to users, a discrete pickup with a tent could be an advantage in some places.....

GC

 

[Everything Mac]

We got a vivaro converted professionally but not a full conversion. My BiL did his own. A seat / bench / bed on one side with a TV on the other. Solar and leisure battery. Did it all himself. Then he had a £1500 bill due to engine issues due to the older model vivaro engine bay leak issue that is common design failure over time I believe. Van was off the road for months and months. No idea if it was related to what he did for himself.

My advice is get a good van. It is the basis of your conversion and you need to make sure it is a good one. We have just paid out nearly £5k for new engine and turbo and oil pump. Make sure the oil pump is working ok, very important as any issues you can end up with a new turbo (expensive but not too bad) or replacement engine (yikes! How much?).

If you have any big mechanical issue to your van it could affect how you relate to it. We are now thinking of selling off our van now. Lack of trust and fear of it going wrong again. It is not just the van costs but also what money we have sunk into it potentially to make it scrappable!!

I guy down my old street converted a hugh roof van into a full conversion comlete with toilet!! That was as good as a professional conversion but took him so long. He was semi retired and a carpenter / joiner plus builder plus handyman plus basic electrics from an engineering fitter period of work. Basically a guy who could do it all! Evidence was his finished van.

Quirky campers is an interesting website too.

Thanks for the info. What age was the vivaro your BiL had issues with?

I won't be rushing into buying a van for sure but will definitely check it thoroughly.

Of the ones I've mentioned would you have a preference/ suggestion over the othere? From what I've researched many of them are all more or less the same vehicle with different badges.
The newer Ford's wet belt design seems to be a real issue but on the whole I'm looking at slightly older models circa 2014/15.

Cheers
Andy

 

[Everything Mac]

I HAD a van which I converted, did all the work myself. It was an 07 plate Movano, long wheelbase, previously a crewbus. I also used it for work, in fact during COVID stayed in it on customer sites when hotels were closed. I insulated it and it had a big solar panel (250W, thin film so very light) and battery bank. Webasto heater from days as a crewbus. It had 2 layouts over the years I ran it.

There's lots of web resources so I won't repeat them. But some more off-piste learning points might be relevant:

- Insurance. You might find difficult to find an insurer who will cover a camper van also used for work and self-modified (for a sensible price). If the van is owned by a company and a "full commercial" it's extremely difficult for a fleet of one, if the Keeper is a private individual and it's used for work as well as leisure you have a chance with a specialist. I suggest you do some homework before committing.

- Size. Yes the Vivaro size is more user-friendly, depending on where you live it can be difficult to find a local MOT test station that does the bigger (3.5 Tonne) vans. The smaller ones also fits in a standard parking space better.

I finally got rid of my converted van a couple of weeks ago as it needed over £2k of work to get through the MOT (advisory free last year, I had got to my limit of pouring in money every year), and I hardly used it these days. So I sold it for a token amount to a skint mechanic for a project.

Depending on your budget..... if the purpose is going to the woods, have you considered a 4x4 pickup rather than a van? Possibly with a self-converted "camping trailer?"

Finally- the increasing popularity of converted vans has led to some hostility to users, a discrete pickup with a tent could be an advantage in some places.....

GC

Interesting point about the insurace. I must admit it's not something I had particularly considered. My intention is this would primarily be a work van with the occasional trip out.

Size is definitely a consideration. We have an awkward angled driveway and it'd need to fit on there. It fits my current car ok so a larger van is pretty much out of the question.

A pick up is certainly an option but probably not what I'd go for just now.

Noted re the potential hostility. I'll bear that in mind.

Cheers
Andy

 

[chjo]

I have done a few vans, Hiace,T4 and even a berlingo. Having kids with you I would suggest a hi-roof van would be the better option that way you can rig up a bunk bed for when the lads get older. I would insulate the vehicle and the plyline and leave it like that for a few trips, you can be comfortable using camping equipment/furniture.

 

[StevieE]

Always wanted a Berlingo. Great van. Off the subject you can pick up our own model for around 14k if you look around.. Small wheel base on our Auto Trailer Sympathy so fits on our drive as well. Only problem is its only capable of three passengers and you would have to sleep in a king size bed between you all but huge roof to stop you banging your head.

 

[Everything Mac]

I have done a few vans, Hiace,T4 and even a berlingo. Having kids with you I would suggest a hi-roof van would be the better option that way you can rig up a bunk bed for when the lads get older. I would insulate the vehicle and the plyline and leave it like that for a few trips, you can be comfortable using camping equipment/furniture.

Cheers. Yeah that's what I'm thinking. Insulate and just stick the ply lining back up. Possibly painted but we'll see. I'm currently on a youtube rabbit hole with it.

I spotted a bunk bed system that hooks onto the back of the front seats which will be perfect really. Another option will be a hammock type set up which would work well too.

Cheers
Andy

 

[66jj99]

The number 1 bit of advice that I received is "don't put a skylight over your bed"

Have a good plan for ventilation, inc. passive and fans.

Have a plan for kitchen extraction

New windows or skylights (& any shell penetration): seat with non-setting butyl tape, and use Sikaflex 552 as the final seal.

If a fixed bed is needed do it on slats to avoid mould

May be useful to keep the shell lowkey and smart (so not obviously a camper)

Avoid cold bridges

Insulate everything, include the floor.

Trim roof & walls In fabric to avoid condensation.

 

[StevieE]

Also get a habitation check on it. Might lower your insurance.

 

[Everything Mac]

The number 1 bit of advice that I received is "don't put a skylight over your bed"

Have a good plan for ventilation, inc. passive and fans.

Have a plan for kitchen extraction

New windows or skylights (& any shell penetration): seat with non-setting butyl tape, and use Sikaflex 552 as the final seal.

If a fixed bed is needed do it on slats to avoid mould

May be useful to keep the shell lowkey and smart (so not obviously a camper)

Avoid cold bridges

Insulate everything, include the floor.

Trim roof & walls In fabric to avoid condensation.

Thanks bud. Solid advice.

All the best
Andy

 

[GreyCat]

Thanks for the info. What age was the vivaro your BiL had issues with?

I won't be rushing into buying a van for sure but will definitely check it thoroughly.

Of the ones I've mentioned would you have a preference/ suggestion over the othere? From what I've researched many of them are all more or less the same vehicle with different badges.
The newer Ford's wet belt design seems to be a real issue but on the whole I'm looking at slightly older models circa 2014/15.

Cheers
Andy

Known issue with Vivaro/Traffic and also Movano/Master. The design of the windscreen drains sends water onto the top of the engine, one particular position is not protected by the air inlet manifold so sooner or later the resulting corrosion makes is "extremely difficult" to remove injectors or glow-plug from that cylinder.

I had this on my Movano. At around 200K miles the glow plug in that position badly deteriorated, to the point where soon it would drop into the cylinder as it continued to fall apart. It was in the "corrosion" position so wouldn't come out. In the end, had a top end rebuild as if you're going to take off the cylinder head and drill out the glow-plug remains, may as well do the injectors (one also corroded in that position) in that position too whilst in there. Local garage who had serviced the van for year and who have a lot of van enthusiasts did it, the van sat in the corner at the back of the garage for a couple of months.

(The Vivaro/Traffic issue is sufficiently well known that there's a Bosch injector dealer with a special rig for pulling stuck injectors......)

Interesting point about the insurace. I must admit it's not something I had particularly considered. My intention is this would primarily be a work van with the occasional trip out.

Size is definitely a consideration. We have an awkward angled driveway and it'd need to fit on there. It fits my current car ok so a larger van is pretty much out of the question.

A pick up is certainly an option but probably not what I'd go for just now.

Noted re the potential hostility. I'll bear that in mind.

Cheers
Andy

My van was in the same category, mainly work, some leisure use. Not easy to insure, most specialist for campers/motorhomes are leisure use only. Also difficult is purely commercial insurance as modifications need declaring. I used Brentacre, good quote, work and leisure use and a relaxed attitude to modifications. Worth a look maybe?

GC

 

[Van-Wild]

About insurance...... any vehicle that isn't coach built (think 'propper motorhome) or built and marketed as a camper (think VW California) cannot be insured as a camper anymore. DVLA changed the rules. It can now only be insured as a 'Panel Van With Windows'.

You'll have to look up the exact terms yourself, I'm busy throwing lures into the water and hoping a fish will jump out!