In the event you’re a sole dealer and also you journey for work, resort 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 whilst you’re away.
Amateurs and skilled DIYers alike have been in a position to convert their van on a funds, so, with the fitting time, endurance and willingness to study, we’re assured you are able to do nearly all of work your self utilizing the steps outlined beneath.
1. Set a funds for the method
Your funds will dictate what you are able to do along with your car. Van conversions can value wherever from £900 for a easy set-up, all the way in which as much as £30,000 if you’d like one thing actually high-spec. In the event you’re changing a small van, this could often be accomplished for beneath £5,000.
As with loads of family conversion tasks, it’s straightforward to let your funds get away from you, so just be sure you plan the venture as a lot as potential that can assist you stick with your funds.
2. Plan out your van conversion
There are various other ways of changing your van; from merely including a mattress behind your van and calling it a day to one thing as complicated as including a practical lavatory and kitchen.
You may need the arrogance to finish the conversion your self, otherwise you would possibly wish to seek the advice of an knowledgeable who can full the be just right for you.
There are dozens of how you’ll be able to go about this, so it’s vital that you just plan out the area as greatest you’ll be able to. A great way to begin 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 rest room and bathe room, energy to work in your laptop computer, and a storage space in your work paperwork and tools.
When you’ve thought-about the non-negotiables, plan out the place you’d like to position these to make a snug 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 will embody injury brought on by hearth, theft or floods. We provide build up SORN cover whilst you’re endeavor the van conversion to assist with this.
4. Strip and clear your van utterly
Step one is to take away every little thing 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 injury when you’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 street; when you 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 nice when you’re solely utilizing your car to move tools, however when you’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 stop moisture from increase within the van as this might trigger mould or rust. It’s additionally nice to have some pure mild coming via.
Reduce holes in your van the place you’d like to position 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 chopping the holes incorrectly will likely be pricey. Earlier than you begin chopping, use the home windows to hint an overview so you recognize 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 good for this – provided that warmth rises, the upper the vent the higher. MaxxFan vents are usually a preferred selection as a few of their in style fashions embody:
- a gap roof vent to let recent 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 can shield the car even in moist climate
- a flyscreen to stop bugs from coming in
6. Add insulation and heating to your van
Though conserving your van cool is vital, it’s important that you just add insulation and a warmth supply to the van as they have a tendency to get chilly at night time.
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 utility.
After that, you’ll be able to add insulation to any holes within the van, in addition to to the panels. One of the crucial frequent supplies to make use of for that is insulation made out of recycled plastic. You may get self-adhesive insulation or spray adhesive to make the job simpler.
In the event you’ve determined to put in a air flow system that comes with heating, you may not want a separate heater in your van. If not, you’ve a number of choices out there, 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? If that’s the case, you’ll want to put in electrical energy and fuel.
If in case you have expertise as an electrician, this needs to be fairly straightforward to arrange, however when you don’t, we’d suggest that you just rent an knowledgeable. It’s vital that you just get this step proper – not doing so will be harmful.
8. Set up a kitchen space
When you’ve bought your fuel and electrical energy related, establishing your kitchen needs to be pretty straightforward. You should purchase a complete kitchen unit particular to your car mannequin when you’ve chosen a preferred van to transform, or when you’d choose a custom-made kitchen, you should buy every little thing individually.
For this step, take into account whether or not you’d desire a mini fridge or when you’re pleased with a cooler, and take into consideration whether or not you desire a range and sink or when you’re pleased with one thing a bit extra naked bones. In the event you’re a foodie, you’ll be able to even package out your van with an oven and a compact microwave.
9. Set up a plumbing and water system
Plumbing is pretty simple to put in (although this does depend upon the system you select!) so it is best to have the ability to do it your self.
The system will be so simple as including a freshwater tank, a gray water tank for wastewater, and a small tub to your van. This can offer you every little thing you’ll want to 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 movement 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.
Make it possible for earlier than you put money into a system like this, you recognize roughly how a lot water you’ll want every day as recent and gray water tanks come in several sizes. In the event you’re planning on putting in a bathe, you’ll in all probability wish to triple and even quadruple your every day estimate.
10. Add lights for a comfortable really feel
Lights for the inside will add that cosy contact you’ll want to 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 beneath excessive cabinets, cabinets and even beneath your mattress or seating space for a heat glow with out the depth that overhead lights typically convey.
You might 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 superb choice as you received’t need to make up your mattress each night. This does, nonetheless, take up loads of area, that means you received’t have as a lot in the course of the day.
In the event you’ll be spending a lot of the day working exterior your van and solely plan on sleeping within the car, this feature needs to be nice, but when not you would possibly wish to take into account different choices.
As an illustration, you may put a settee mattress within the again so you should utilize your van comfortably in the course of the day and sleep soundly at night time. A sliding couch mattress is an effective choice 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 choice. This is sort of a couch mattress, besides as a substitute of a settee, the mattress folds into automobile seats full with seatbelts.
In the event you’re eager on separating your residing space out of your sleeping space, including a pop-top to the roof may very well be the most suitable choice. These usually must be professionally fitted as becoming one your self is kind of an advanced course of.
A pop-top roof is actually an extension of your van which will be raised or lowered relying on if you’ll want to use the additional area. So as an illustration, if you’re travelling, you may decrease the pop prime and solely increase it if you’re going to sleep.
That is nice for tall travellers as it may offer you additional clearance, making it a really versatile function.
Notice that when you do resolve to get it professionally fitted, one of these roof can add to your funds considerably.
12. Take into consideration cupboard space
In the event you’ve ever lived in a small flat, you recognize that storage is one thing you at all times want extra of. The identical goes for staying in a van. Fortunately with cautious planning, your frustrations will be utterly averted.
For a begin, overhead storage makes good use of vertical area within the van, so you’ll want to add cupboards when you really feel such as you’ll want the area. Simply be certain so as to add a locking mechanism to the cabinet doorways so they continue to be closed. This can forestall your belongings from flying out whereas driving.
Multifunctional furnishings is an easy but efficient answer to any storage points you’ve. For instance, you may 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 sneakers you want fast entry to may go within the storage compartment often discovered behind the entrance seats. Likewise, hats, fishing tools and different gadgets may very well be hooked up to hooks on the partitions and secured utilizing bungee cords if wanted.
In the event you haven’t added a pop-top to the car, you may additionally set up a ceiling internet, which may make use of extra vertical area.
13. Reclassify your car
When you’ve completed your camper conversion, it’s vital that you just reclassify it with the DVLA. The necessities for this are pretty strict, so be certain to examine whether or not your vehicle will be eligible beforehand.
Simply how a lot may I save?
While the preliminary outlay for a van conversion is kind of pricey, even funds motels can set you again round £100 an evening within the UK. Given you’ll additionally need to spend cash on meals and transport, this could rapidly add as much as round £150 to £175 a day – and that’s when you’re being frugal.
In the event you’re travelling to a significant metropolis within the UK, you’ll doubtless face even greater prices; business trips in London value nearly £500 a day on common, whereas Edinburgh, Birmingham and Manchester have a median every day spend of over £300, and, when you’re travelling to Belfast or Cardiff, you may 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 resort 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 whilst you’re on the go, plus bottles of water to maintain you hydrated whilst you work.
Evaluate this to travelling by van, the place you can also 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 every day spend may very well be as little as £25 for gasoline, home-cooked meals, a thermos of espresso, parking, and campsite entry, with campsites doubtless being your largest expense.
Because of this when you had been to go away for seven nights, you’d solely spend £175 in comparison with £1,050 for seven nights in a resort (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 may 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 in 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 book a callback at a time that fits you.
