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Who lives in a van? Or wants to?

Part 2 said:
Tbh I haven't noticed it being a problem. The panelling is only 7mm thick and if anything it's quieter than the standard van with all the insulation etc.
Click to expand...
Transit Connect looks very interesting. How does the interior volume compare? Why are the Americans so keen? Got any links I could look at?
 
David Clapson said:
What a rubbish idea for sleeping. I would want to take all the seats out so I can have a proper memory foam mattress on a smooth base. Got to have a comfy bed.

So you've already ruled out LPG? Is it hard to find on the Continent?
Click to expand...

The pull out bed which Part 2 is building is what I would do in a smaller van.

I don't know about Europe, but it is only worth converting in the UK if you are using the van to commute in and you have supplies in your area. You couldn't do the NC500 in Scotland on LPG for instance.
 
Its probably not ecologically sound at all but there seems to be a traveller family in this area who live in a shepherd's hut on big road wheels which they tow with a transit van.It actually looks like it might be quite a cosy living-space.
 
Bahnhof Strasse said:
Scotland’s pretty good for parking up.
Click to expand...

Not any more - the current popularity of vans, and the likes of the NC500, plus the widespread misapprehension that the Scottish access laws mean you can roll-up and "wild camp" anywhere in a vehicle has led to a huge increase in numbers, esp in the places with the poorest facilities and least able to cope with such numbers has, seen attitudes harden considerably over the last few years.

Never mind the fucking eejits who litter and worse still, dispose of their toilet waste in rivers and lochs - Sometimes contaminating people's water supplies.

Many TROs and other restrictions have been enacted over the last two years in the most popular rural and urban areas to control parking-up and more are due to be in place by this summer. Private landowners have also been doing a lot to deter people parking where previously they would have reasonably tolerably turned a blind eye. COVID also brought a lot of these problems into sharper focus and even places like the Islands, who used to be very welcoming (due to the lack of other forms of visitor infrastructure) are now insisting that vans be able to prove that they have a site booked before they are allowed on the ferries.

Some areas are still quite welcoming though - notably the Scottish Borders/South West as they have been given the shitty-end of the stick for tourism development for the last fifteen years due to policy that overly favours the Highland honeypots and have seen numbers plummet as a result. Van visitors are now being positively encouraged. Similarly, the North Aberdeenshire and Moray coasts, where vans have been seen as the saviours of a few places cut-loose by local authorities/developers in favour of places that attract big money visitors but for now the total numbers are low by comparison with other areas.

Event licencing also means that a minimum definition for a campervan has been adopted for events/festivals etc - to actively discourage the van/sofa/mattress crowd. This is in part because there used to be a near-annual crop of horrific accidents involving vanloads of improperly secured teenagers on their way to one or other of the festivals and it didn't make for good publicity.
 
David Clapson said:
Transit Connect looks very interesting. How does the interior volume compare? Why are the Americans so keen? Got any links I could look at?
Click to expand...

Volume wise I've read the high roof is as big as a standard transit but not checked that out. I suspect they're popular in US because they're Ford. They're really expensive and people buy them new as vans to convert. Second hand still seem to command high prices.

Most of the stuff I follow is in a Facebook group, Transit connect campers, there's a mixture of UK and US in there. Here's a few examples from a link I had stored.

www.parkedinparadise.com

9 Ford Transit Connect Camper Conversions

These DIY builders make great use of space out of a compact car.
www.parkedinparadise.com www.parkedinparadise.com

There's loads on YouTube aswell if you search transit connect camper.

Also a few YouTube channels. Josh Oakes in US was one of the first I saw.


Another vanlife channel whose videos are easy to follow is Hugh tube. He's young and doesn't pretend to know it all and does things wrong sometimes so for me it's easy to imagine being able to learn like that aswell.


And Greg Virgoe is someone who gets recommended a lot. Explains things really well. Very knowledgeable on insulation, electrics etc


 
A big part of me'd love to do this, but tptb have been making it harder and harder since the nineties.
 
Probably a silly question, but what are the disadvantages of getting a really big van? Like this ex -Police one? 3 litre Iveco diesel. I know what's it like driving them, have had several jobs doing it. Does the size stop you from taking it to places that smaller vans can go?
100,000 miles, £8k. 2008 Iveco Daily XLWB COMBI-CREW-CAMPER CONVERSION Van Diesel Manual | eBay

s-l1600.jpg
 
You try parking it at Sainsbury's.

LWB T5 is a little over 5m and it just about fits in a car park space. Not the smallest turning circle either. You're more into #trucklife territory with that vehicle. Space for a 125cc motorbike in/on the back for shopping trips?

eta that Iveco is 7m long.
 
Last edited:
So do you take 2 spaces? Or don't they let you in?

I would have a m/c in the back, a Dorsoduro 1200. I'd need to come up with a cunning way of loading/unloading it. Also a bicycle in the back.
 
ive mentiond before but got a mate who is very handy- uses his newish small van for day to day work and late autumn he slides the work gubbins out and replaces it with a custom built mini camper setup. and goes to Spain or Italy for a couple of months. He has however just got a GF and she isnt massively keen
 
pogofish said:
Not any more - the current popularity of vans, and the likes of the NC500, plus the widespread misapprehension that the Scottish access laws mean you can roll-up and "wild camp" anywhere in a vehicle has led to a huge increase in numbers, esp in the places with the poorest facilities and least able to cope with such numbers has, seen attitudes harden considerably over the last few years.

Never mind the fucking eejits who litter and worse still, dispose of their toilet waste in rivers and lochs - Sometimes contaminating people's water supplies.

Many TROs and other restrictions have been enacted over the last two years in the most popular rural and urban areas to control parking-up and more are due to be in place by this summer. Private landowners have also been doing a lot to deter people parking where previously they would have reasonably tolerably turned a blind eye. COVID also brought a lot of these problems into sharper focus and even places like the Islands, who used to be very welcoming (due to the lack of other forms of visitor infrastructure) are now insisting that vans be able to prove that they have a site booked before they are allowed on the ferries.

Some areas are still quite welcoming though - notably the Scottish Borders/South West as they have been given the shitty-end of the stick for tourism development for the last fifteen years due to policy that overly favours the Highland honeypots and have seen numbers plummet as a result. Van visitors are now being positively encouraged. Similarly, the North Aberdeenshire and Moray coasts, where vans have been seen as the saviours of a few places cut-loose by local authorities/developers in favour of places that attract big money visitors but for now the total numbers are low by comparison with other areas.

Event licencing also means that a minimum definition for a campervan has been adopted for events/festivals etc - to actively discourage the van/sofa/mattress crowd. This is in part because there used to be a near-annual crop of horrific accidents involving vanloads of improperly secured teenagers on their way to one or other of the festivals and it didn't make for good publicity.
Click to expand...


Yep. I know the trossachs were off limits after weegies ran amok when the lockdown was eased and left shite everywhere. Some of my Family live along the sides of Lomond and they were getting people parking up in their land/ big lochside garden and banging on the door asking to use a shower. they were not happy
 
David Clapson said:
So do you take 2 spaces? Or don't they let you in?
Click to expand...
It's more the arseache of 25 point turns to get in/out in something like that Iveco. I suppose it depends where you want to go though. I met some Danish guys a few years ago who were driving a massive Unimog camper and gave zero fucks about where they went/parked up. They were actually quite annoying tbf.

If you're camping on sites, you'll be checking the pitch sizes/costs very carefully.

David Clapson said:
a Dorsoduro 1200
Click to expand...
No worries, I'll look after it while you're away.
 
David Clapson said:
Probably a silly question, but what are the disadvantages of getting a really big van? Like this ex -Police one? 3 litre Iveco diesel. I know what's it like driving them, have had several jobs doing it. Does the size stop you from taking it to places that smaller vans can go?
100,000 miles, £8k. 2008 Iveco Daily XLWB COMBI-CREW-CAMPER CONVERSION Van Diesel Manual | eBay
Click to expand...
Do you really need something that big? My Bongo was 4.5 metres, the Toyota is 5m. I reckon a MWB Sprinter or Transit is big enough for me, with an awning for longer stays. That one above will be murder on the narrow roads in Cornwall, also 3L is going to be thirsty.

My problem is that I want it to be ulez compliant and automatic which looks like it is going to be close to £20k and I can't bring myself to spent that much on a van.

You are a Londoner, aren't you? Have you factored in Ulez? Van needs to be 2014-16 to be Ulez compliant if it is diesel.
 
David Clapson said:
I've done long cycle camping trips, carrying a lot less than I would in a van, and sleeping in a small tent. And using the great outdoors as a loo. I'd take my camping gear so I could park the van for a week and go cyclecamping.

I'd leave most of my possessions in the attic.
Click to expand...
What happens to the cat while the van is parked for a week?
 
teuchter said:
What happens to the cat while the van is parked for a week?
Click to expand...
She comes too. No point doing it otherwise. As mentioned upthread, I hope she will enjoy cycling and motorcycling. She likes car journeys and the bus and tube. She hasn't tried bikes yet. We shall see.
 
David Clapson said:
She comes too. No point doing it otherwise. As mentioned upthread, I hope she will enjoy cycling and motorcycling. She likes car journeys and the bus and tube. She hasn't tried bikes yet. We shall see.
Click to expand...
You should try her on the bike for some day trips from london first. If she likes it, no need for the van.
 
Boudicca said:
Do you really need something that big? My Bongo was 4.5 metres, the Toyota is 5m. I reckon a MWB Sprinter or Transit is big enough for me, with an awning for longer stays. That one above will be murder on the narrow roads in Cornwall, also 3L is going to be thirsty.

My problem is that I want it to be ulez compliant and automatic which looks like it is going to be close to £20k and I can't bring myself to spent that much on a van.

You are a Londoner, aren't you? Have you factored in Ulez? Van needs to be 2014-16 to be Ulez compliant if it is diesel.
Click to expand...
I'm in Brixton, so within the expanded ULEZ. Bugger.

I'd like to take my bicycle and motorbike. The motorbike gear is quite bulky.
 
Boudicca said:
My problem is that I want it to be ulez compliant and automatic which looks like it is going to be close to £20k and I can't bring myself to spent that much on a van.
Click to expand...

The £20k includes everything presumably...what would you budget for the conversion?
 
These are my top two vans:

1612421579767.png


1612421689889.png

www.ebay.co.uk

2017 Iveco Daily 35S13v 2.3Diesel 126bhp MWB Automatic EURO 6 Panel Van Diesel | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 2017 Iveco Daily 35S13v 2.3Diesel 126bhp MWB Automatic EURO 6 Panel Van Diesel at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products!
www.ebay.co.uk

PLus another £10k to convert. I really don't want to spend £30k so i'm trying to work out what my compromise will be. Maybe an Alphard would be big enough. I'm not planning to live in it, but I am planning long trips around Europe, so I do want something comfortable and reliable.

My best mate is a cabinet maker and thinks it is a silly idea, but if I buy a van and drive it to his workshop, I think he will help once it is in front of him.

If you want to carry bikes, you may want a 'race van' with a garage under a fixed bed at the back. There are endless debates about how long you can make widthways beds, but the Ducato/Master/Relay vans are wider than the Sprinter and Transit.

Quirkycampers is a good place for van porn.
 
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