Home

Don't have my van anymore =/
However in my new job we have just bought a ASUS GL703GS for showing demo's and work abroad, if I were to go back in a van, i'd be looking at one of these or better, along with a second screen to work from!

It's handled VRay rendering, intense 3DS Max scenes, VR demos in UE4 and Apex Legends  and didn't miss a beat,

What temperatures do you get over there? I think the worst we've had last year was like -5c haha


Well, the van is 90% stripped, and its revealed more problems that i thought.
I could of left it as it was, all fitted etc, but just didnt feel like mine.

Turns out, I may have to strip the floorboards, fill holes and refit! New carpet too.
Just rust, damp, knackered wood all over. So annoying, but knew something like this might happen

The past 6 weeks has been a great experience.
Learnt a hell of a lot in such a short time.
I've managed to adapt to a new way of living, learning to cook different, how to manage time a little better, better at quick fixes or adapting to problems.
OK most of it  has been self inflicted with doing little jobs, or changing something, but its been an experience.

Currently still making the van my own, stripping unnecessary bits to save weight. Was unable to fix a water leak on one of the pipes due to the odd shape of the pipe being used, couldn't find a fitting anywhere, so thought it would be time to completely strip the van back to near bare bones and re-fit/rebuild!

I will try get some images of the process!

Month update:

Well its nearly been a month in the van and thought id just post a quick update.

Bar the odd night ive stayed at a friends, its been full time in the van.
And this week has probably been the most difficult bar from the first few days.

I've come to learn that you don't need as much internet as you think you do, to buy as much crap food that you generally do, dont need as many pots or pans to make great food.
You get by on the most simple of things, and the most simple of things can fill you with content.

I've started to take on jobs with the van, ive got an oil, water and fuel leak, as well as welding and some knackered bearings. Most of which is being sorted by a mechanic, as I need a solid job doing right now and also need some reassurance.
Bar that, ive attacked the inside myself, shower unit has been stripped, for the amount i use it (shower at work) it will rarely get used, and instead, going to look at a splitter for my main sink, so if i do need a shower, just attach a pipe with showerhead under my sink and off I go. Also got a folding shower base being worked on and fitting at somepoint.

However this has led to some some more exposed van (good because it wasnt insulated before), more work for me, and some more drafts to battle!

Anyone got any quick tips on temporarily battling drafts until a permanent fixture is in place?

Hi bud,
I do the same job (or close enough!)

At the moment my desktop is setup at the back of my mates tattoo studio, pay a small bit towards elecy and the brew gear and just go there when im doing work. Bar that for the van I will be eventually getting a laptop and some spare batteries.
I foolishly got rid of my Lenovo Y50 before getting the van for next to nothing, and that used to run a bunch of Steam games, Maya (2013) and  UE4, I had to keep drop some visuals to increase performance, but could pick up the work on my desktop for rendering etc,

Im running 530ah in battery juice and around 400w+ worth of solar. So a genny/hook up would be the only option really for a desktop,

If you find any more info let us know how you get on!

End of the day i dont have much of a choice ha,
But yeah, there have been some great moments, like coming in from work, chilling on the bed whilst the kettle boils, surfing the net,
Nothing needs to be done, or needs work just yet, just have a brew haha

Will hopefully get a blog up soon

Well, 2 weeks down in the new van.
It has everything I need, and seems to be doing well, needs a lot of work but its all manageable

Got a a million little jobs to make it more my own place, and its new adjusting to a smaller place and fitting everything in!

So far so good!

Hello and welcome. gogglet72 lives full time in his converted ambulance, check out his youtube channel. one awesome inch lives in his van full time but he is in Canada. he is converting his while living in it, he also has a youtube channel.

Cheers will check them out!

I would be very wary of this strip it down and start over mentality.  I've seen  too many where people tore everything out then got overwhelmed and wind up selling for a loss.

Tearing stuff out is much easier than building it back, and even those who succeed frequently regret it.  It's very time consuming and can also get very expensive.  Another option to consider is live in it as-is and save up for something better.  Keep doing that until you have your dream vehicle.

Yeh I can understand it being a bit overwhelming,
Maybe doing a section at a time, beds first, then cooker, then shower etc might help reduce the impact!

Hi fellow noob!

Hows the conversion coming along?

B&Q is a good starting point =]

Plenty of them about, and average prices!

Hi =]

I've gone and bought myself an LDV Convoy to live in fulltime

My main reason for this is a combination of a few things;
- Not the best paying job
- Family are scattered from North Wales to Yorkshire
- Kids have moved up to Newcastle
- I work in South Manchester and have friends in North Manchester
- My car has already done 20k in the last 6 months
- Fed up of house-shares!
- Some debt to clear

So once all added up , van life seemed the only option available.

I really wanted to do the full conversion on this but lack of time/place to work on it meant it needed to be already converted.
Managed to find one with everything, solar, inverter, shower, hot water heater, diesel heater, cooker/sink. The works!

My plan as soon as I get it, is to model the van i 3D, jot down where all the wiring/pipes etc go, model in the current layout, and work on alternate layouts/space saving ideas. Then over summer, spend a few days completely stripping/spraying/refitting it!

Anyone else on here living full time in a van in the UK/have a blog?

Cheers!

Dodge

Cheers for the tips and info!

Definitely looking at a retractable extension for an alternate power source, so if I do pop to a mates over night i can pinch their elecy!
For internet ill be looking for free hotspots and using a upgraded antenna so i can park some distance from it. 

Definitely a second battery, one for high power appliances such as the PC/Laptop, and then one for lights, fridge etc

I supposed the only way to see how it works is to try it!

I've hit that point where it seems like its definitely going ahead, how have you found the last 5 months in terms of savings, experiences, have you got a blog with do's and dont's? haha, I know half of this should be learnt from experienced, but hoping to save as much as I can on the initial outgoings for van/equipment

Cheers!

Hi all,

I'm looking into van living because
1) My job doesn't pay too great, but its steady
2) I have gypsy blood so living like this/static caravan really appeals to me for some reason!
3) I travel alot! Not in the sense of abroad, but my kids live in Newcastle, I work in South Manchester, and family are dotted around North Manchester/North Wales.

So with that in mind, my Astra has done 20k in the last 7 months...
I can find places to cut down, i.e, during the week, park near work, at weekends to Wales, and alternate weekends, stay up near the kids.

However my main concern is electrics! I'm work on computers and do a lot of PC related tasks in my spare time (portfolio, odd jobs, gaming)
So having a PC setup/desk would be my main thing.

Is this possible using leisure batteries and an inverter for a couple of hours a night? Would solar do enough or is there a good way to charge it whilst on the move alongside it?

And lastly, is there a good way to keep out condensation to prevent any damage to electrics?

Cheers for the info and welcome =]

Hi, I'm Dodge,

And yes, for now, it's a car not a van =]

I've seen the book dotted about when looking into living in a van as a viable option and the mods that can be done, then I found this forum! Perfect!

Anyway, my choice came through a combination of things, moving out of my current gf house as it was getting a little cramped and stressy, couldn't find any house shares locally that were cheap, the house prices around here are daft! And my ex has moved over 200 miles away with my girls. So I thought best to stay in my car, have a little adventure and look at upgrading to bigger car/van if it was an option! If I can manage through the winter in a car, then how much better must Summer be! And like most people on here, theres something quite appealing about it all?!

Just done my first night and, yep I need something bigger and a half decent bed!
Is there any quick tips for dealing with condensation?

Cheers! And looking forward to reading some stories!

Dodge