For those who’re a sole dealer and also you journey for work, lodge prices, meals away, transportation, and drinks can rapidly add up. Fortunately there’s a answer – one that would prevent 1000’s: convert your work van so it may be slept in when you’re away.
Amateurs and skilled DIYers alike have been in a position to convert their van on a price range, so, with the precise time, persistence and willingness to be taught, we’re assured you are able to do the vast majority of work your self utilizing the steps outlined beneath.
1. Set a price range for the method
Your price range will dictate what you are able to do together with your car. Van conversions can value anyplace from £900 for a easy set-up, all the way in which as much as £30,000 if you would like one thing actually high-spec. For those who’re changing a small van, this will often be accomplished for underneath £5,000.
As with quite a lot of family conversion tasks, it’s straightforward to let your price range get away from you, so just be sure you plan the challenge as a lot as doable that will help you follow your price range.
2. Plan out your van conversion
There are a lot of alternative ways of changing your van; from merely including a mattress behind your van and calling it a day to one thing as advanced as including a purposeful rest room and kitchen.
You might need the boldness to finish the conversion your self, otherwise you would possibly wish to seek the advice of an professional who can full the be just right for you.
There are dozens of the way you’ll be able to go about this, so it’s essential that you just plan out the area as greatest you’ll be able to. A great way to start out this course of is to think about the non-negotiables you wish to add. This might embody a food-prep space, an area to sleep, a bathroom and bathe room, energy to work in your laptop computer, and a storage space on your work paperwork and gear.
When you’ve thought-about the non-negotiables, plan out the place you’d like to put these to make a cushty but sensible area. It’s a good suggestion to check out van conversion examples for inspiration – there are many examples of this on YouTube.
3. Take out insurance coverage earlier than you begin
Some dangers are nonetheless concerned with proudly owning a car even when it isn’t being pushed on public roads. This could embody harm brought on by fireplace, theft or floods. We provide construct up SORN cowl when you’re endeavor the van conversion to assist with this.
4. Strip and clear your van utterly
Step one is to take away the whole lot out of your van and strip any of the inside that’s already there. Now’s an excellent time to wash the within of the car and restore any harm if you happen to’ve owned it for some time.
Be careful for any rust spots which have constructed up within the van as these could cause points additional down the highway; if you happen to discover any, it’s greatest to deal with them earlier than you proceed.
5. Add home windows and air flow to your van
Most traditional vans don’t include home windows on the again. That is often superb if you happen to’re solely utilizing your car to move gear, however if you happen to’re planning on cooking or sleeping in your newly transformed camper, it’s often greatest so as to add home windows and different types of air flow to forestall moisture from increase within the van as this might trigger mould or rust. It’s additionally nice to have some pure gentle coming via.
Minimize holes in your van the place you’d like to put the home windows. It’s a good suggestion to have purchased the home windows you’ll be putting in shut handy earlier than you narrow the holes as this can assist forestall moisture from moving into the car.
It’s essential that you just don’t make a mistake right here as reducing the holes incorrectly can be expensive. Earlier than you begin reducing, use the home windows to hint an overview so you realize exactly the place to chop.
Air flow will assist forestall your van from getting stuffy if you use it to sleep, plus it’ll take away condensation if you’re cooking or having a shower. A roof vent is right for this – on condition that warmth rises, the upper the vent the higher. MaxxFan vents are typically a well-liked selection as a few of their fashionable fashions embody:
- a gap roof vent to let contemporary air into the residing space
- a fan to attract cooler air into the car
- a heater to assist maintain you heat
- a rain cowl that may shield the car even in moist climate
- a flyscreen to forestall bugs from coming in
6. Add insulation and heating to your van
Though conserving your van cool is essential, it’s important that you just add insulation and a warmth supply to the van as they have a tendency to get chilly at evening.
A layer of sound-deadening insulation may assist forestall exterior noise from getting in. This could go on first because it often has a easy peel-and-stick software.
After that, you’ll be able to add insulation to any holes within the van, in addition to to the panels. One of the vital widespread supplies to make use of for that is insulation created from recycled plastic. You will get self-adhesive insulation or spray adhesive to make the job simpler.
For those who’ve determined to put in a air flow system that comes with heating, you may not want a separate heater on your van. If not, you’ve gotten a number of choices accessible, together with diesel, petrol, fuel or electrical heaters, or wood-burning stoves.
7. Set up fuel and electrical energy
Planning on cooking in your campervan? In that case, you’ll want to put in electrical energy and fuel.
When you have expertise as an electrician, this ought to be fairly straightforward to arrange, however if you happen to don’t, we’d advocate that you just rent an professional. It’s essential that you just get this step proper – not doing so could be harmful.
8. Set up a kitchen space
When you’ve bought your fuel and electrical energy related, organising your kitchen ought to be pretty straightforward. You should purchase an entire kitchen unit particular to your car mannequin if you happen to’ve chosen a well-liked van to transform, or if you happen to’d favor a custom-made kitchen, you should purchase the whole lot individually.
For this step, take into account whether or not you’d need a mini fridge or if you happen to’re pleased with a cooler, and take into consideration whether or not you need a range and sink or if you happen to’re pleased with one thing somewhat extra naked bones. For those who’re a foodie, you’ll be able to even equipment out your van with an oven and a compact microwave.
9. Set up a plumbing and water system
Plumbing is pretty easy to put in (although this does rely upon the system you select!) so you must have the ability to do it your self.
The system could be so simple as including a freshwater tank, a gray water tank for wastewater, and a small tub to your van. This may give you the whole lot you must do the dishes, wash your face, brush your enamel, and carry out different easy duties.
Including a water pump to this setup will take this to the following stage because it permits water to circulation from the freshwater tank via pipes to faucets. You may select between both a guide or an electrical water pump.
Handbook pumps are often activated by hand or foot, whereas electrical pumps work mechanically everytime you use a faucet or bathe.
Ensure that earlier than you put money into a system like this, you realize roughly how a lot water you’ll want every day as contemporary and gray water tanks come in several sizes. For those who’re planning on putting in a bathe, you’ll most likely wish to triple and even quadruple your day by day estimate.
10. Add lights for a comfortable really feel
Lights for the inside will add that cosy contact you must make your van really feel like house. Select LED strips and bulbs as they draw the least quantity of energy. You may set up strip lights underneath excessive cabinets, cabinets and even underneath your mattress or seating space for a heat glow with out the depth that overhead lights typically deliver.
You possibly can additionally add fairy lights or desk lamps (wired or wi-fi) to your bed room and seating space(s) for softer lighting within the night.
11. Add a mattress and seating
In case your van is giant sufficient, having a everlasting space to sleep is a good possibility as you gained’t should make up your mattress each night. This does, nevertheless, take up quite a lot of area, which means you gained’t have as a lot in the course of the day.
For those who’ll be spending many of the day working exterior your van and solely plan on sleeping within the car, this feature ought to be superb, but when not you would possibly wish to take into account different choices.
As an illustration, you would put a settee mattress within the again so you should utilize your van comfortably in the course of the day and sleep soundly at evening. A sliding couch mattress is an effective possibility as it may be modified from couch to mattress and vice versa in minutes.
If you wish to add automobile seats to the again for enhanced passenger security whereas driving, a rock-and-roll mattress may very well be an excellent possibility. This is sort of a couch mattress, besides as a substitute of a settee, the mattress folds into automobile seats full with seatbelts.
For those who’re eager on separating your residing space out of your sleeping space, including a pop-top to the roof may very well be the best choice. These usually have to be professionally fitted as becoming one your self is sort of a sophisticated course of.
A pop-top roof is basically an extension of your van which could be raised or lowered relying on if you must use the additional area. So as an example, if you’re travelling, you would decrease the pop high and solely elevate it if you’re going to sleep.
That is nice for tall travellers as it could give you additional clearance, making it a really versatile characteristic.
Be aware that if you happen to do determine to get it professionally fitted, this sort of roof can add to your price range considerably.
12. Take into consideration cupboard space
For those who’ve ever lived in a small flat, you realize that storage is one thing you all the time want extra of. The identical goes for staying in a van. Fortunately with cautious planning, your frustrations could be utterly averted.
For a begin, overhead storage makes good use of vertical area within the van, so make sure to add cupboards if you happen to really feel such as you’ll want the area. Simply ensure that so as to add a locking mechanism to the cabinet doorways so they continue to be closed. This may forestall your belongings from flying out whereas driving.
Multifunctional furnishings is a straightforward but efficient answer to any storage points you’ve gotten. For instance, you would select bench seats that double as storage compartments for additional area.
Wall area and the backs of chairs may assist maintain your odds and ends organised. Any footwear you want fast entry to might go within the storage compartment often discovered behind the entrance seats. Likewise, hats, fishing gear and different gadgets may very well be connected to hooks on the partitions and secured utilizing bungee cords if wanted.
For those who haven’t added a pop-top to the car, you would additionally set up a ceiling web, which may make use of extra vertical area.
13. Reclassify your car
When you’ve completed your camper conversion, it’s essential that you just reclassify it with the DVLA. The necessities for this are pretty strict, so ensure that to verify whether or not your car can be eligible beforehand.
Simply how a lot might I save?
While the preliminary outlay for a van conversion is sort of expensive, even price range motels can set you again round £100 an evening within the UK. Given you’ll additionally should spend cash on meals and transport, this will rapidly add as much as round £150 to £175 a day – and that’s if you happen to’re being frugal.
For those who’re travelling to a serious metropolis within the UK, you’ll seemingly face even increased prices; enterprise journeys in London value virtually £500 a day on common, whereas Edinburgh, Birmingham and Manchester have a mean day by day spend of over £300, and, if you happen to’re travelling to Belfast or Cardiff, you would spend over £250 on common.
Add to this public transport prices for attending to the city or metropolis you’re travelling to, in addition to going out of your lodge to the place you’re doing enterprise, and this might add up rapidly. And that’s not even counting cups of tea or espresso, and snacks when you’re on the go, plus bottles of water to maintain you hydrated when you work.
Examine this to travelling by van, the place you may make your personal meals and have entry to ingesting water, tea and occasional, plus your personal technique of transportation. This might save 1000’s.
Your common day by day spend may very well be as little as £25 for gas, home-cooked meals, a thermos of espresso, parking, and campsite entry, with campsites seemingly being your largest expense.
Which means if you happen to have been to go away for seven nights, you’ll solely spend £175 in comparison with £1,050 for seven nights in a lodge (taking the bottom determine of £150 a day). That’s a saving of £875 throughout the seven days.
Whereas the preliminary outlay for a van plus a van conversion is pretty excessive, with just some enterprise journeys you would make sufficient to cowl the prices spent in your car, making it a way more cost-effective answer in the long term.
Get van and campervan insurance coverage on your new car
Whether or not you personal a van, a self-built campervan, otherwise you’re beginning to convert your car, we might help you get cowl that’s tailor-made to your wants.
Name us for a quote on 0800 369 8590 or e book a callback at a time that fits you.
