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I was planning on buying a LWB Sprinter but after looking at some vans, we think we'd be better off going for a Luton as it's for permanent dwelling and my partner is just over 6 foot.

The information I'd find especially helpful is what's the best way to insulate an aluminium frame? When I planned for the Sprinter panel van, we were going to go for Ecoquilt on the walls and XPS on the floor (unsure about ceiling).

Also, this has to be stealth so we want to cut a hole in the cab? Does this have any MOT implications, and does it then need to be reinforced?

Thanks!

Hi Kylee. I have Van Dog's book and also bought the Sprinter Sourcebook - although this is geared towards the US market, I did find a lot of useful information in there and there's a lot of discussion about buying a new van.

We're buying our van this month but we're going for a 2005 Sprinter Luton and we'll be doing most of the work ourselves - my view is I'll learn a lot, save money, and can tailor it to our exact requirements and finish!

Hi all

I'm currently in the research stage of my conversion of Mercedes Sprinter 311 CDI LWB.

I will need to go in and out of London for the first year due to work and my understanding is that for LEZ compliance, the following has to be true:

If under 3.5 tonnes GVW, the van has to be registered new after Jan 2002
If over 3.5 tonnes GVW, the van has to be registered new after Oct 2006

Now, when I've looked at the Sprinter in mind, the GVW is 3.5 tonnes so presumably, no matter what, I can't possibly load it to more than this weight without it being unsafe to drive regardless - based on that logic, there would be no point in buying a model post Oct 2006 other than the fact that it would probably be more reliable/less mileage.

However, a friend of mine who got screwed with his 2001 van told me that they'll change the rules every couple of years so if I buy a 2006 van now and it's over 3.5 tonnes, next year it will probably be non-compliant as it will be more than 10 years old, but I'm not sure if he's right about that. I can't see anything about upcoming changes other than the 2020 ULEZ.

I can't seem to find out how the 2002 and 2006 cut off dates were reached - Mercedes have told me it's to do with the engine size but didn't actually give me any guidelines as to what to look for in a van to make sure it's compliant. Elsewhere, I've read that it's catalytic converters that make it compliant. Can anyone help?

Thanks

Yeah I'd go for lino due to the fact that it can be wiped clean easily, whereas carpet might get mouldy and horribly stained over time, especially if you cook in the van and are messy like me! You can always add a small rug to make it feel a bit cosier.

[while]

To George: There are a lot of variables, including the direction of your panels (you want these solar south which might not always be possible depending on how you're parked up), how much sunlight per day, etc.

In theory, a 40w panel working at full capacity for 5 hours a day (with full sun) will put out 200W (in practice though, it's usually less than that).

To work out what you could realistically power, you'd need to think about whether you could store extra power in the battery (if you're in climates that have a lot of sun, for example), and whether you could bolster it via charging via the engine or mains. If you look at the sorts of things you want to run and do some calculations on the power usage, you can work out what panels and battery you'll need.

So suppose your coolbox is 12V and 50 watts. If you ran this for 8 hours a day, that is 8 hours x 50W = 400 Watt Hours. (to get Amp Hours, you divide this by the voltage (12V) so 400/12 = 33.3 Amp hours)

So based on a 40W panel putting out 200W a day, you could only power the coolbox for 4 hours daily if running purely off the panel (200W / 50W). But...you could potentially charge the coolbox while the engine is running off the car battery.

Coolboxes and fridges use far too much power for my planned set up so I'm hoping to get around this by to converting a chest freezer into a fridge (if you Google, there's some info on how to do this and why you'd do it).

There will be people on here who are a lot more experienced so please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong on the above!

I managed to extend my backpacking travels by freelancing online (using a site called Elance which has now merged and become Upwork, and sadly a shadow of what it used to be). I'm a graphic designer but for my work, the issue with working completely digitally is that for some types of projects, I'm up against people in Asia working for $3 an hour!

I'm thinking of keeping my van in the UK for the first year and temping in order to fund the summer months, similar to what you're planning, but ultimately, I want to be able to not have to rely on agencies providing me with the work. I'm an arsty type an not bad at portrait drawing so think this might be something worth developing so it's more of a "portable" opportunity and doesn't rely on a power hungry computer, and a few other "crafts" have taken my interest as well. Could you busk, teach something, make something, fix something, get to know an area really well and offer on-foot tours, write a book, sell photos...etc? It all depends on how much you want to make vs. need to make and your current skillset. 

If you Google "Ways to make money on the road", there's a tonne of ideas from various nomads - some more lucrative than others. There's quite a few good books on the market as well in terms of helping you find a passion that you can turn into a money-making idea, or using your existing skills and experience to offer a new service.

Good luck!

I'm planning on buying a chest freezer and converting it to an efficient fridge to run off the solar - supposedly, these can produce as little as 50Wh per day. A massive difference compared to a lot of fridges I looked at that were putting out about 400Wh daily. Compressor fridges are pretty expensive but at least don't have to be level to run properly, although can be a little noisy.

Thanks - my partner's parents live in a small village about an hour from Manchester so I might try registering it to that site.

Hi all,

I came across this site a few months back and really enjoyed reading about the numerous van adventures...they tugged at my travelling nerves so I decided to buy the book and have a read through to the point where I'm now seriously considering buying a van this year. I've also had a mooch about the forums.

My partner's sister had zero conversion experience and converted a van last year which she uses for touring with her other half's band and has done a damn good job! I've always been a keen traveller and itching to get back out there again and would love to travel around Europe as I'd also like to build a cob house so a van would be useful for scouring locations.

The biggest thing holding me back right now is the insurance...wtf?! I don't drive so my partner would be the one behind the wheels but whenever I've used insurance comparison sites to get a rough idea to see if this is actually financially feasible, they're coming out at nearly £2K.

These quotes are generally for Ford Transit 2.4 MWB and LWBs that are between 10 and 14 years old. I'm gobsmacked. My partner is 28 and has had his license for about 10 years - I think he may still have points on there from 5 years ago and I'm not sure if he has any no claims bonus, but even when I put on a 6 years NCB and no points, it's still coming out at about £1,500 at absolute best. As I'd need to get my other half to drive and pick a van up, it seems a royal pain in the backside if we have to spent £1,500-2,000 just to keep it in the yard while I spend the best part of the year doing it up.

I read that Mike managed to get his insurance (for a LDV van - not camper van) for £350 when he wasn't old enough to get motorhome insurance...how come so cheap? As I don't drive, I'm not hugely clued up on these things so if anyone knows any tips to get the cost down, I'm all ears. I'm not particularly fixed on a Ford Transit but I only have a vehicle budget of £1,200.

Thanks!