From the moment I passed my driving test, dreams of owning a campervan and the inherent freedom filled my seventeen year old head. It wasn’t until my late 20s that I realised, with a bit of thought, saving, and hard work, I could actually buy a van, convert it myself and travel for a bit. But as we all know, dreams don’t often come true, at least not the way we planned them.

THE DREAM

Three months travelling and living in a van on the west coast of Europe was the goal. Beaches, waves, and wine aplenty! Rachel (my wife) and I floated the idea of sabbaticals the next year with our managers, and neither of us were given our P45, so we began the search for a suitable van to convert into our very own freedom vessel. 

THE COMPROMISE

The weeks and months that followed were spent unsuccessfully searching for a suitable second-hand van, and developing my already unhealthy obsession with the hashtag #VanLife on Instagram while a grey cloud of reality grew over us. We were engaged, and eventually we came to realise that buying and building a van, travelling for three months, and having the wedding we wanted, when we wanted it wasn’t going to be possible without a lottery win. 

Once I’d finished stropping like a six year old girl due to this realisation, we came up with a compromise…

• Ten day road/surf trip on the west coast of France (in a tent). 
• Buy a smaller van than originally planned.
• Get married.
• Convert new van with whatever money is left.

I needn’t have stropped - France was incredible (as the video below shows) and made us want a van even more, a couple of stormy nights in a tent will do that. Then (over a year later?!) we finally bought a 2007 Mercedes Vito with 130,000 on the clock.

THE BUILD

First off, I must confess, I did cheat a little (“Curse you!” cry the self build purists). I wish I had the time to have done everything myself, but we were already far behind our original plan. So, to give us a head start, I paid a local conversion company to do some of the bigger jobs (windows, 12v electrics, carpet lining, insulation and floor) while we were on honeymoon. I could then come home to a shell with the summer ahead of me to build and fit the furniture - basically all the fun stuff. 

I’d drawn some sketches and come up with a rough plan whilst sunning myself in Thailand and factored in a couple of wants and needs: 

1. Space for storing / transporting surfboards

2. I really wanted to be able to lie in bed with my head by the back doors so I could have them open in the morning and lie in bed (weird I know, and I’ve only done it once!)

I opted for the standard kitchen and storage unit down one side with an ‘L’ shaped pull out sofa bed opposite. The sofa bed would lift for storage and have a removable section so I could use the full length of the van for surfboards or anything else I need to move around. 

After a lot of procrastinating, with my basic skills and a few borrowed tools (thank you to those legends!), I got started. Using evenings and weekends, I managed to finish the build in three months without any major setbacks or issues. It’s basic, but comfortable and the layout works well. There are a couple things I’d change if I did it again, but overall, I'm super happy with it.

THE REALITY OF “VANLIFE”

I use the term vanlife very loosely. We don’t get away in it as often as I dreamed we would - we don’t go anywhere now we’re in lockdown! We use it more as our base camp wherever we go, we love sticking the kettle on and cosying up in the van at the end of a long winter walk, or parking up at the beach and cooking a meal. We spend more time outside thanks to the comfort it provides. 

It’s served me incredibly well on surf trips and photography missions, there’s no better feeling than filling the tank with 500 miles of freedom and just hitting the road for a few days with little or no plan. You don’t have to go far to feel a million miles away, but the west country and Wales are my favourite places to head whenever I can (which isn’t very often!). 

It’s already enriched the time we spend with our son, too. Lunches on the beach and climbing over everything are his favourite things to do. I already can’t wait for lads trips, just the two of us! 

I’m not really sure of the purpose of this blog?! I’ve always wanted to document it, partly for myself, but also to encourage others to give it a go. I wish someone told me I could've done this sooner than I actually did, just a little nudge to set the wheels in motion. So, if you’ve ever thought about getting a van or a camper, just go for it! If you can’t afford it, start saving now and then one day you will. It changes your life in a way, a day out for us can be to drive somewhere, park and chill. It’s equal parts adventure, comfort, and convenience. I struggle to imagine my life without it now. I’m no expert, but if you’re thinking of giving it a go, here’s my top tips for vanlife success… 

1. Plan - it doesn’t have to be much, but before you even make your first cut, you should at least know what you're building, where and how. You'll think constantly about the layout in your head, but it’s no good in there! Get your plans on paper, you’ll solve a few problems before you even encounter them and then have something to work from. 
2. Give yourself time - think about how long it might take, then double it! 
3. Research - there are endless resources online, differing opinions on things like insulation etc. I definitely recommend taking the time to get to know the ‘do nots’ but don’t get too sucked in or you’ll put yourself off (you can always cheat like me and get the professionals to do the bits you're not sure on). 
4. Just start - unless you’re a carpenter or a skilled craftsman, you’ll spend half your time figuring out how to put things together. I spent hours sitting in the back of my empty van with a tape measure and some masking tape (great way to mock up your layout) doing nothing, it wasn’t until I threw caution to the wind and started actually cutting some wood that things came together in my head and from there, I gained momentum.

I hope this has given you a little inspiration, whether that be to start your own build or just to head outside. Expect to see more stories on the blog of our "advantures" in future.

Thanks for reading, take it easy

Darren