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Van tour: Phil’s DIY camper – but wait till you see the shower

September 29, 2016 by Mike 27 Comments

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When you’re converting a van into your home, finding different ways to use every day items goes a long way. It helps to be constantly looking around and asking yourself ‘what can I use that for?’ or ‘how can I adapt this to make it work in my van?’

That’s what Phil did. After 5 months his van is finally ready to travel Europe. So let’s have a tour of his van…

This van used to be a minibus

He bought it for £900

diy-campervan-ford-transit-3

5 months ago it looked like this

diy-campervan-ford-transit-5

But now it has a kitchen

The cooker was donated from an old 1980’s campervan

diy-campervan-ford-transit-kitchen

The sink was salvaged from a skip

diy-campervan-ford-transit-sink

The units were £10 from gumtree

diy-campervan-ford-transit-kitchen-units

This cupboard was an old drawer

diy-campervan-ford-transit-cupboard

And here’s extra seating… and a child’s bed

diy-campervan-ford-transit-extending-seat-bed

The seat folds down

diy-campervan-ford-transit-seats

Into a bed

diy-campervan-ford-transit-bed-fold-down

There’s good storage above the cab

diy-campervan-ford-transit-storage

And storage underneath the bed

diy-campervan-ford-transit-storage-boxes

It has solar power

He’s got 1x175W panel on the roof going into 2x120Ah batteries

diy-campervan-ford-transit-electrics

With built in USB charging

diy-campervan-ford-transit-usb-charger

It has what every van needs (including mine)

diy-campervan-ford-transit-mosquito-net

7.5kg of LPG gas storage – Safefill cylinder

diy-campervan-ford-transit-gas-safefill

And here’s the shower

He modified one of these rain showers (this one) to hinge on the back door. Although, it’s probably best used in Spain rather than the north of England.

diy-campervan-ford-transit-rain-shower

diy-campervan-ford-transit-shower

The cost

£900 for the van and just under £1600 for the conversion. That’s not bad at all. Phil has managed to make use out of all the things around him to keep costs down whilst still managing to have a conversion that is of decent quality and that will last a long time. Great job!

Thanks for showing us your van, Phil

You can follow his Instagram @campervanbuuren

diy-campervan-ford-transit-9

It’s always interesting to see how other people do things. And hopefully for the people who want to convert a van these ‘van tour’ posts give you some ideas and inspiration – everyone solves problems differently and uses space differently and no 2 DIY campers are the same.

What do you reckon? Comments below

And please share this post if you enjoyed it.

Also see other vans posts: Van tour: 10 day campervan and Van tour: this bus will make you want to live in a bus

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Filed Under: guides, Living and travelling in a van, van tour Tagged With: uk

Books to help you…

Make a van into your home…Live the life (new!)…
From Van to Home bookLive in a Van and Travel book
Get From Van to Home hereGet How to Live and Travel in a Van here

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Stephen Vernon says

    September 29, 2016 at 2:19 pm

    Amazing camper!! very creative with the storage solutions..

    Reply
    • Phil Aitch says

      September 30, 2016 at 11:44 am

      Thank you Stephen. 🙂 @campervanbuuren

      Reply
  2. Mike says

    September 29, 2016 at 4:48 pm

    I put in all my payment info and hit the button to pay for it twice, but all it did was scroll to the top of the payment page?

    Reply
    • Mike @vandogtraveller.com says

      September 30, 2016 at 10:59 am

      Hey Mike, what are you trying to pay for? the ebook? you just go here: https://vandogtraveller.com/van-conversion-book-from-van-to-home/ click ‘Buy now’ and it’ll take you to a standard Paypal page. After you paid you’ll have an email with your link to download the ebook. I’m here if you need any help with it

      Reply
  3. Marijke Van Biervliet says

    September 29, 2016 at 5:18 pm

    Love the shower! How do you install the tube and shower without leaking back in de door?

    Reply
    • Phil Aitch says

      September 30, 2016 at 11:42 am

      Hello Marijke, The shower head comes with a pipe attachment, you can then connect a portable shower pipe between the boiler and shower head, you can also get the pipes that reduce the flow of water to save water. The boiler has a pump in it.

      Reply
  4. Kat Susan says

    September 30, 2016 at 2:22 am

    Great conversion! Especially love that shower!

    Reply
    • Phil Aitch says

      September 30, 2016 at 11:43 am

      Thank you Kat 🙂 @campervanbuuren

      Reply
  5. Vanholio! says

    October 6, 2016 at 11:14 pm

    That shower is genius!

    Reply
  6. Nathan says

    October 10, 2016 at 10:13 pm

    I’ve been struggling with the shower thing the whole time I’ve been planning mine, but I think this solves it 🙂

    Reply
    • Phil Aitch says

      November 8, 2016 at 11:13 pm

      You’re welcome

      Reply
  7. Jeff Penver says

    October 12, 2016 at 9:44 am

    Nicely done. I have those USB sockets too 🙂 My wife needed the 12v socket for her straighteners!

    Reply
    • Basa 1959 says

      October 30, 2016 at 4:49 am

      I’d be trading in the wife LOL – next it will hair dryer and leckie tooth brush.

      Reply
    • Phil Aitch says

      November 8, 2016 at 11:15 pm

      Hi Jeff. Yeah I thought I would need these to charge my phone and iPad though the night and it works a treat, so glad a laid the wires in the walls at the start of the conversion.

      Reply
  8. 2born2travel says

    October 12, 2016 at 8:12 pm

    Awesome! Love the ?

    Reply
    • Phil Aitch says

      November 8, 2016 at 11:16 pm

      ???

      Reply
  9. Vitor Coelho says

    October 12, 2016 at 11:24 pm

    Really cool shower, solves my problem on a boat project…

    Reply
    • Phil Aitch says

      November 8, 2016 at 11:17 pm

      Nice. Would look cool on a boat. Need to add me on Instagram and send me a picture when you’re done @campervanbuuren

      Reply
      • Vitor Coelho says

        December 18, 2016 at 11:35 pm

        Will do!

        Reply
  10. Basa 1959 says

    October 30, 2016 at 4:47 am

    Love the innovation a great way to live simply brilliant, use public loos, library perfect for retirement in 10 years wondering how much will be needed on the engine and maintenance therein lies the unanswered question. Great job thanks for posting.

    Reply
  11. Jessica Meinhofer says

    October 31, 2016 at 3:21 am

    I think the shower is my favorite thing about this camper!!

    Reply
    • Nesting Zombie says

      January 7, 2017 at 4:18 pm

      Yes, Great shower isn’t it, I hope they have got a MASIVE water tank, as it would use lots of water I would imagine. But what a bit of luxury WOW..

      Reply
  12. Phil Aitch says

    November 8, 2016 at 11:19 pm

    Thank you Jessica ??

    Reply
  13. Emily Cook says

    January 6, 2017 at 5:56 am

    Hey Phil,
    I used to have an old Transit riot van with my partner, but I lost custody when we separated. Tempted by another, just not sure whether to go for a panel van and insert the windows, or a minibus. Any tips?
    Emily

    Reply
    • Nesting Zombie says

      January 7, 2017 at 4:08 pm

      Hi ya Emily,
      I would go with Panel van, Then you have the option of fitting windows as the chosen fit out progresses. Just gives more options on Size n Shape.
      Good Luck though.
      Paul

      Reply
    • Phil Aitch says

      March 11, 2017 at 9:34 am

      Hey Emily, hope you’re well. Just seen this comment sorry. Well i’ll be travelling in warm climates and not very cold places. I have tinted the windows now for more privacy. The windows are good to get good natural light in which I love. Also lose heat very quickly if these windows aren’t covered protected. Go with a van and fit your own windows around your own design…. 🙂

      Reply
  14. Meg Manchester says

    November 21, 2017 at 10:38 pm

    I’m curious as to how they have the water pressure to run into the shower? Is there a massive tank in or on the roof of their van?

    Reply

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