1. Plan. Really well
Planning is the most important thing to do if you don’t want to end up with unfinished project, wasted money and nerves. There are lot’s of wannabes posting a lot about camper van project but have never even started one, or stopped on the way with dismantled vans. To get the thing done you’ll need step by step plan with calendar, contacts, tools, budget and timing. Plans that are not written on paper or in word document doesn’t exist.
2. Save a lot of money
Car projects always cost more that you ever thought. In most cases people stop working on their project because they don’t have enough money. Even in case of good plan you can never calculate all expenses waiting for you. So, get you life together and save lot of money first.
3. Choose a type of camper
Starting with small SUV finishing with military vehicles all kind of cars can be converted into camper vans. Here is a list of some categories. SUV (Jeep wrangler, Toyota 70 series, Land Rover Defender) Trucks (Ford Raptor, Toyota Hilux) Mini vans (Toyota Noah/Voxy, Mercedes-Benz Vito, Mitsubishi Delica) Vans (Ford E-series, Ford Transit, Fiat Ducato, Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, VW Crafter) Legen(wait for it…)dary camper vans (VW T series) Buses (School Buses, All regular buses) Military vehicles (GAZ 66, MAN, Kamaz, Ural) Everything is depended on your needs. If you need to drive in mountains you’ll need high AWD vehicle. Remember, that once you gain size you lose capability of off-roading. Smaller vehicles are better in winter conditions and on rocky roads.
If you live in a flat country and mostly drive on paved road you can get a big and low vehicle like a van or a bus. In this case you’ll need more money and time to convert, though will have enough space for shower and toilet.
If you need a good off-road vehicle, fresh and not that small for a good price take Ford Transit AWD. That’s what we did in Mta Campervans.
4. Buy a vehicle
This is the stage when you shouldn’t make a mistake. Camper van is not a thing that you buy and sell every year. This is a dream project that will be with you for tens of years, so try to get as fresh vehicle as you can. Old ones will break you heart. In your country and region you’ll have more options to check visually and drive by yourself. If you need a vehicle that can’t be found in your neighbourhood importing is the only option. Once the vehicle is in your yard it will need to do some fixing. Try to do them before you’ll start converting. Later you won’t have time for it.
5. Layout
Your sleeping and cooking position is pretty much based on layout of camper van. Let’s sort everything by priorities. Bed – the main thing about camper van is a bed. If you can’t sleep inside it’s not a camper van. Bed should be long and wide enough to have a good sleep. If you wake up tired the whole trip will be horrible. Kitchen – On the camping trip you need to cook at least twice a day. If you choose a small vehicle you can have a portable kitchen kit. In good weather you can cook outside, in a bad weather directly on your bed. Water – a tank and a tap are must. You’ll respect it once wash dirty dish and your face. It should be fixed somewhere and better to have 2 options of dirty water exit: 1. To the dirty water tank – in case you park in streets or private territory. 2. A hole in the floor – in case of parking in forest. Storage – You’ll take lot’s of things to camping trip. Hiking shoes, equipment, clothes, food, first aid kit, off-road recovery kit, spare tires, boat, bicycles and etc. For all of this you’ll need special space. Not everything can be put on bed. The more space you have inside the van is better, but a good roof rack is game changer too. Electricity – you’ll need a small room for your batteries, voltage converter and wires. Save a special place for this before you start building it. Toilet – If your van is big enough to build a room for toilet you should do it. It will solve a very big problem. Just imagine – you’re in the mountains, in the night, there is no one around you, it’s snowing and you need a toilet. Not that good perspective, right? Don’t save money on this comfort. If you took a shorter vehicle with better off-roading capacity don’t get envy. That guys with toilet will never drive as far as you can. Shower – That’s luxury. It’s difficult to spend more than one night without shower. Rivers, lakes and waterfalls are an option too, but c’mon… If your vehicle is not high enough to stand you can always make a shower outside. Water tanks and the heater will be inside, but the shower will be hanged outside. Fridge – You can live without it, but if you have money, energy supply and space take it too? On Pinterest you can get great design inspiration. On YouTube you can learn how to do things by yourself. In Facebook groups you can get advice from camper van owners. Take a pan and a paper and draw the layout. It’s important.
6. Electricity
You don’t want to mess up with this. If you aren’t a professional engineer hire someone who can properly do this thing. Electricity is the very first thing to do once you start building. Lights, plug ins, water pump and 220v converter are the key things. Also, you’ll need to solve energy source problem. Batteries can be charged by the generator of car or by solar panels.
7. Thermal insulation
Vehicles are built by metals that change temperature much faster than buildings do. In order to keep worm in winter and cool in summer we make thermal insulation of vans. There are several way of them. I recommend to use foil and rock wool. They should be adjusted to every corner of vehicle: on the floor, on walls, in the ceiling. You can use thick curtains f or covering windows and front part of the vehicle.
8. Heating
Once temperature goes below 7 degrees celcius you’ll need heating. Non of the thermal insulation is able keep temperature in cold winter nights. It will help to keep it for few hours, but you’ll wake up in the middle of night by cold. For the morning there will be as much cold as outside. So, you’ll definitely need worming tool. There are few options, but I recommend a diesel heater. It’s very convenient, cheap and if you install it right it’s totally safe. We have it inside the van, but I saw one guy installed it under the van that is very clever btw.
9. Furniture
You can use wood and metal for furniture. Wood is easier to install, though will be spoiled because of driving vibration. So, I suggest to built metal rack for furniture. It’s better to be done by the professional too.
10. P.I.M.P. it
Once you have a camper van its time for making it special. You can paint it in different ways, install spacers and A/T tires, stairs to the back or on the side of van, winch for off-road ones and etc. In this field the sky is the limit.
To sum up all you need is a good plan, a lot of money, inspiration and a good nerves. If you can’t or don’t want to own one – rent it here .