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Hi everyone, hope all is well. I was regularly popping in the forums last year when i was building my van but then when it was finished I just got out an used it

It's off to a friend for some extensive welding at the end of the month, I managed to find a second hand awning recently which will make it a little more roomy when it it's raining. I found last year that once the wood burner was fired up cooking tea you had to have the door open otherwise your head would boil

I've also got to fix my electricity yet again as that seems to have given up. I would probably start using the van again from the end of February

Hello again,

I've been busy over the last week as the van is going for it's first proper trip next weekend. I've started building our pull out bed, and this will be complete within the next few days.

I have wired in a solar panel, which I guess is not entirely necessary as the split charge will almost certainly give me enough power for a couple of days. I just fancied it, and thought it would be interesting for the children. It's a very simple thing to fit, the guide on here should see you right.

I bought a big spray bottle from a garden centre as I've seen them mentioned here, it's the type used for weeds etc I guess.  I can pump it up and get a nice spray or quick jet of water from it and I can take that and the sink bowel out of the van with ease.

I also made 2 clipboards out of old pallet wood and drilled some holes in a block of wood to hold pencils (I need to round the edges off!) inside their bunks


My photos are too big! I'll be back ...

I have just set up my 12v system. I have a 100W solar panel and a split charge system for the other 364 days a year. I have a couple of USB sockets, 2 lights running off a 3 pin switch and a cigarette lighter type socket. All these run off a marine type fuse box and bus bar, fairly standard stuff

Everything works as it should except when I plug my 12v fridge in via the cigarette socket, when I turn it on the lights go off. What have I done here, have I overloaded the circuit somehow and how would I fix it?

I've never really wired anything up like this before so apologies if it's obvious!

Is anyone running a wind turbine on their van?

I quite fancy building one for fun, as I don't think its a viable power option (perhaps I am wrong?) I imagine you need clean air to get them to spin enough power to make a difference (hence them being at sea or open land)

What's the noise like? Have you got yours attached to the van or a separate pole away from it? How did you build it? What have you used for blades? I am OK with the motor, but I'm stuck on blades

I've clearly got too much time on my hands

We had been toying with buying a purpose built camper for sometime but we could not justify the expensive of a ready-made or even if we could they just didn't feel right. We made the decision to buy a van to convert in August 2016, having run fleets of Sprinter vans in my professional capacity a Mercedes was the obvious choice. It took a month or so of searching until I found a MWB 2002 van that had already been insulated with units from a caravan pretty much nailed in.

Although it had a crude set up with some rather dodgy electrical bits it did have side and rear windows and a full length roof rack and 11 months MOT. Picking the van up in Somerset and staying overnight in an awful Pontins chalet confirmed I was making the right decision for future family getaways!

Very pleased with my purchase it drove the 270 miles home ripping out all the previous owners build it then sat on my driveway for.....5 months, while I planned and researched my build (I was basically procrastinating, scared of my lack of skills) - I did drive half a mile up the road to the woods in December to be questioned by the police (yawn) and freeze my biggie smalls off but that doesn't count!   

Sometime in February armed with bits of old pallets, many packs of B+Q cladding and a shiny new saw I set to work. I am not at all a handy person, I work in a practical type job but ultimately behind a desk, apart from basic DIY and a reasonable effort at building two cupboards into an alcove 10 years ago my skill set is minimal

I always figured that my van should be almost a life lesson to my children, that life can be lived without TV and mains electric. Heat can be had from the wood burning stove, light generated from solar energy and that life can be just as enjoyable when you have less of everything.

I've tried where possible to reclaim wood from old pallets and crates from work, cut offs and end pieces from friends and family and make bits and pieces work or fit without spending unnecessary money, take the car exhaust used for a chimney flue for example.

I've not kept a record of the cost of the van but excluding the wood-burner which was a gift the van currently stands at about £1500 (I spent around a £100 on the cladding, which I wish i'd used pallets but that seemed like a massive job)

The extra rear seat was £28 on ebay with built in seat-belt and the sink bowl 99p

Most of all I've really enjoyed it, it should be finished within a few more weekends and on the road, just our bed to build and some curtains and then modify/build as we use it.

If you are still reading this post, I'm writing this for all those like me who may think you need to be good at wood work, have an expensive drill (mine was £12.99) or worry that it will cost a fortune. Nothing in my van is straight or square and I don't care, it's solid.

The beauty of a van conversion is you can build it too suit your needs, and to your budget, then simply light the burner, crack open a Thatchers and admire your work.