The beginning of our journey to convert a van to a camper
- danilogan91
- Apr 9
- 7 min read
Intriguing, isn't it? But where to start.
The concept of converting a work van, or any space for that matter, into a liveable unit? To take something that exists for a purpose, and, well repurpose it?
How does one buy and convert a van, then live in said van?
A cool concept, that in all honesty I'd assumed was too cool for me.
But here I am, writing about converting a Van to travel the UK and Europe for a few months.
This story starts at the decision to move back home to Australia after many incredible years living in London. While I never quite knew when it'd be, that I'd return to Australia, I knew that when that time came, I wanted to be able to travel for a few months on the way home.
Wanting to and being able to, don't always co-exist in the matter, so I am grateful that for me, they have. And a cheesy bonus, I get to do it with the love of my life.
We had originally discussed the idea of a cycle tour - again a cool idea once too cool for me. I'm not saying I've got cooler (absolutely not), it's just that the know-how and support that I could, came with the dating-Karl-bundle.
When we decided we wanted to see more, go further and that the previous spring had been depressingly wet and cold, the idea evolved. A two step evolution that first went down the path of buying a second hand convertible car to carry our bikes and camp in a tent - dirt cheap & no flare, but with a head scarf effortlessly cloaking my hair, cat-eye sunglasses elegantly placed upon my nose, and a big darling necklace glittering around my neck. The vibe, was there.
Though bigger again the day dream became, evolving further for a second time; for comfort, convenience, bang for the buck, and the excitement of the impending project, we settled on a goal to travel around the UK and Europe in a van.
Dating a man who's mind is deeply wired to understand electrical, mechanical and technical processes and concepts, took the doubt-work out of where to start and allowed for a path toward the end goal, to be sketched and navigated.
What was that path, you ask? Over the next few weeks I'm going to release our van converting mini series - sharing everything we've done to take ourselves from being a vanless couple, to a couple nigh of living in a van and travelling the UK and Europe for a few months.
Starting here, with a prelude touching on research and planning.
In the weeks to follow, the converting process will be detailed across this Van to Camper: a beginners guide, series.
Stage one:
A Work Van to the shell of a Camper
Stage two:
Starting to look liveable
Stage three:
Creating comfort
It’s a journey to take you on, and one that if you are interested, can absolutely be achieved - let me show you how!
Research
This is where confidence and excitement co-fuel each other. It's a research mix of What [van] and the How [to convert it to a Camper].
And the starting places are all around you - whether it’s chatting with a friend who has attempted or conquered this project before or trawling through blog sites, watching YouTube channel, scrolling through Instagram reels.
The process blossoms through the fun of seeing how other couples or individuals have done a van conversion, and imagining how you might bring it to life with your own personality.
Any 'where do we start', quickly gets replaced by 'ok we can lay a foundation for a plan forward.'
In our experience, the 'how' research helped informed the 'what' research - to know what to look for, and vice-versa. With the 'what' research helping to refine the 'how'. Sound convoluted? Stay with me - and believe in the process.
Our 'what' research was done predominantly on eBay and Gumtree, and became a full time hobby for the months prior to buying. A few day dreams thrown in among it, of course.
We looked at different sized models, we looked at some van's that were partially converted, others that were completely bare and some that were ready to go as campers as they were. While that seems like broad searches with an overwhelming amount of options, there were three key areas that informed the search for the Wishlist of vehicles we ended up with:
Make/Model/Year of the vehicle
Mileage (in consideration with the above)
MOT - Validity and History
If these three area's align with your circumstances (Budget) and plan (length of travel) then you can be comfortable it's a Van that can be added to your wish list.
Here in the UK you can look up MOT history here - super handy tool that I recommend having open on another tab while browsing.
The 'how' research came together through a mate that had done something similar, a lot of blog reading, YT watching and Instagram reels viewing.
Using these resources in context to the van your looking at, allows for further development of draft plans and processes.
Ultimately though, the research needs to start to be supported by an understanding of your budget before purchasing a van.
Budget Planning
A real first stages step. Having done some initial research on the how and what, it’s easier to start making some budget plans, enabling you to estimate more realistically what's inline with your circumstances.
It is important to start both at similar times to ensure at a minimum, a first look budget can be laid out before spending too much time looking at a van, and the obvious, well before buying a van.
You want to know what’s affordable for you in the purchase of the Van, but also what costs will be associated with getting it to the level of living you want for your adventure.
Is it a shell that needs everything? Is it partially converted already? Does it just need some touch ups and insurance?
We were able to plan ahead for our savings, so that when it came to research and budget planning we already knew what we were willing to spend on purchasing the Van itself, as well as the renovations, to ensure we would still able to travel with a decent chunk of savings to travel for multiple months.
Admittedly, I struggled to find accept the balance to save while living abroad at first. Mentally, I was resistant from fear of compromising my last year in London. But talking through with a supportive partner, and also just (in all honesty) doing the financial health practice of looking at your finances and assessing your income and expenditure, finding the balance lead to enhanced fulfilment - toward both my finances and on the path to converting a van.
Area's that helped me stay on track toward the goal, and still enrich my living abroad life:
Experiment in home cooking - completely delicious, and allows for new flavours to be mixed into your cooking repertoire. It also makes the times we dined out in London to feel that much more special.
Plan Holidays and book ahead - sounds simple but truly ask yourself, how many holidays do you plan months in advance? History shows that we were notorious for waiting until 'it got closer' to book flights and accommodation to a destination we'd decided months earlier to visit. But as we learned last year, booking well ahead maximised our long terms savings, as well as the money we'd have to spend on the given holidays.
The Receipt: Last year I visited 9 countries, was away domestically or internationally at least once a month (some months more) - and I did so without skipping month of my saving goals. Planning and booking ahead, it's a win win.
Today Tix Lotteries and Rush tickets - A cheap way to experience some of London's best entertainment without breaking the bank. I've scored some amazing, cheap seats to West End shows by using this feature.
Walk or cycle before public transport - The cost of London transport continues to rise, so by taking to the pavement not only is it cheaper but more beautiful to the eye too.
Plan social gatherings around coffee and croissants, morning meals can be less intense for your hop pocket.
Shop second hand, and sell your own closet items Not an ad, I just need to reiterate to the internet how handy Vinted is. Benefits to the earth and benefits to your bank account, keeping you on track toward your saving goal.
An important watch out on the budget process though: Insurance. If you've owned and insured a vehicle in the UK before, this might not sting as much to you. Though for us as non-vehicle-owner-expats our insurance cost was far more than we'd budgeted for.
What worked in our favour was that we'd managed to find our van for a bargain price.
If we'd opted to spend a little more on the van (which at times we considered), then the purchase of insurance would've seen our budget completely blown out, leading to a reduction in travel money.
Planning and being actively aware of where money needs to be spent is in the best interest for a smoother process, not to mention the sanity of your nervous system
I won't detail our budget now, but across the instalments of Van to Camper: a beginners guide, I'll share our planned budget vs actual spends across each stage.
It’s in this mini-series to follow that I’ll detail our journey to a converted camper van.
It’s been a ride. It’s been challenging, it’s been fun, it’s been exhausting.
It’s been so fulfilling in ways previously unknown.
Stay tuned for the first instalment - A Work Van to the shell of a Camper.
With love, happiness and joy,
Dani xx
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