Blake's van build on GMBN

Hopefully he puts up the total budget at the end, if it’s under £20k Inc the purchase of the van I’d have to look into it all,

Van prices are still a bit mental. Chip shortage or whaever the latest excuse is pushing up the value of decent second hand.

I've just bought a 4 year old Vito for that, but you could easily get an older van for less. Some of the older vitos or T5s are worth a look. I think this build is full on camper. Depends on whether you're solo or with family.

I built a t5 a few years ago and 3 of us did several weeks a year in it. Nowadays I've got a caravan but still use the van for bikes and other kit. If you're just going solo, you could do a self build with all you need for a fraction of the price.

It's a fun series so far, and Blake comes across as a decent bloke. His builds are usually a good mix of interesting ideas, bodging and fun.

There's a series on daytime TV at the moment with Jimmys Deville and Doherty which is quite good. Jimmy's build and some home builds. The nice ones don't come in under 20k though.

If his arms fell off he wouldn't be able speak.

It’s a fun series so far, and Blake comes across as a decent bloke. His builds are usually a good mix of interesting ideas, bodging and fun.

IIRC, he trained in South Africa as a CAD monkey / engineering something? It shows on some of these projects.

Not seen this yet but I enjoyed his garage/workshop build.

I haven't watched the video yet but I'd suggest that his final costs are kind of irrelevant to your own van. Even a panel van with basic insulation is a decent place to sleep. It's a vast improvement over a tent with none of the complication of a full on 'build' of course you can do this in stages later on.

For most of my bike riding and van driving life I've had a van with some combo of flashing, bubble wrap, recycled bottle insulation, ply wood and carpeting. Then just basic bed, storage, sleeping bag etc. Installing loads of fridges and stoves and power inverters is cool but sometimes you just need an empty van to drive around in, not a motorhome.

I'm desperate for a van myself right now but the asking prices are appalling so I'll be waiting. I know from experience I won't get carried away on a project though. I'll insulate it to perfection, cover it in 4 way stretchy carpet as always then build a basic bed frame and storage boxes which can be easily removed.

Oh woe is me, life without a van sucks.

then add on a panda 100hp for local driving/commuting once or twice per week…

Also, I'd buy a regular Panda unless you really need all 99 horse powers! The seats are crap and it has the suspension travel of a skateboard. Great fun but exhausting. We went to the Alps and back in one twice and both times I got home swearing I was going to set fire to it.

True you can obviously fit out the van over time, I think I'd want a bit more than a mattress and some insulation to start though! 😁

I reckon if you got a van for under 10k it'd be doable for under £20k.

My current car was bought partially for long trips up north in mind, a big comfy diesel estate - with a van and a car the van takes over that realm so the car would only be for local stuff. If a Nissan leaf or similar electric runabout was in budget I'd get one of them instead of a cheap petrol car.

You really don't need all that 'stuff' to have a van to go camping in though. Like the poster above, insulation and a decent bed is what you need.
If you're on a site, electric is good. If you're off grid, then you need to think about what you want to power. There are big power banks for £500 which will power devices for days, although if it's an E bike, you'll need mains. A cable RCD is the minimum you could get away with, or there are plug and play kits you can buy to install for a proper go.
From experience, I'd look to cooking out of the van. You can pick up canister stoves really cheap, or you could install a slide pod style box in the back. The budget way is to get a load of good stacking boxes and keep everything in them. They could form the base of a bed if strong enough.
Amdro make versatile kits which are function over form and are worth looking at. They could inspire you for ideas on what can be done when you don't spend fortunes on a rock and roll bed and a kitchen unit.
A c rail on the side and a canopy or a pull out fiamma awning would be well worth it if you're after something quick and easy rather than a full on awning. It means you can have somewhere for shade or shelter, you could put up a windbreak around it for a bit more shelter.

My van is a kombi with 5 seats but I want the versatility of space in the back with seats for the kids but also an overnight option for just me and the bike. I plan to build a bed base which will run over the back of the dropped rear seats, with storage under it for cooking kit and clothing/bike stuff. The bike will run down the side of me. I'll be building it from furniture ply and the intention is to be able to flat pack it all for garage storage.

From experience, I’d look to cooking out of the van.

Cooking in the rain is epic.

How much do we think that's going to weigh with all that steelwork?

Offset by a carbon bike though...I'm liking the videos but I suspect costs will be irrelevant as Martin is going to be 'cheap', his tools are supplied by sponsor and his steel is already priced at mates rates...

Yeah the steel framework is much beefier than most go it seems, but then most don't build seats with isofix points on them - you can understand safety being a priority with kids in the back.

If you are doing the labouring yourself, you can get a van fully fitted for £5-6k, and that's including nice parts such as double glazed windows, proper fridge, oven and heating. Supply of parts might be your main issue.

Edit: a posh crash tested rock and roll rear seat would be extra

Cooking in the rain IS epic, when there is a canopy over your head. You could the rear hatch as slidepods do. Any cooking in the rear on gas needs to be vented anyway. You could get away with a meths stove like they have in boats but they are slow. Other option is a hot plate but you obviously need electric for that.

I only recently saw Cathro's van on pinkbike - I bet that was a shade over 20 grand !

How much do we think that’s going to weigh with all that steelwork?

Hah, that was my thought too. Not that steel frame on its own, but if thats the general standard of beefyness continued throughout the build, he's should be thinking about that 3.5 tonne limit!

Cooking in the rain IS epic, when there is a canopy over your head. You could the rear hatch as slidepods

It's epic to watch folk attempting it in shit weather I'll give you that. Does there come a point you say **** it and go to the pub.

In the first video he stated the van has a 3.5 ton payload. I hope he only mis-spoke rather than misunderstood…

He did, I'd forgotten that. Presumably the mechanic would know about gross weight limits? Although his attitude to health and safety seems a little, er, 'relaxed' so maybe he's just not arsed.

If his arms fell off he wouldn’t be able speak.

well, made me laugh anyway

Although his attitude to health and safety seems a little, er, ‘relaxed’ so maybe he’s just not arsed.

Seems to be the attitude of a number of the life style builders on Instagram

Specifically those built by cyclists aimed at cyclists.

The attitude seems to be multiplied if your a "so called" professional builder selling them..... Tiles and ceramic sinks for ultimate lifestyle seems to be king. Screw weight.

I guess when your not the one getting the DVSA ticket at the checkpoint your not arsed. That said.....has anyone ever been tugged as a non commercial . Ive been pulled once in 2004 and that was to check my diesel fiesta wasn't running on anything other than forecourt diesel

Tiles and ceramic sinks for ultimate lifestyle seems to be king. Screw weight.

Never mind the vehicle weight, I wouldn't want to come to a, er, sudden stop and have a Belfast sink continue on behind my head at a rate of knots.

Of course if you keep the bulkhead that's less of an issue.

There are far better on you tube. It’s also allot cheaper just to buy a second hand factory built van especially  if your happy with it not saying vw or merc on the grill.  I really wanted to build on but the economies are mad so we bought a second hand factory one

You are probably right about economics, especially if you include resale but is anybody making a factory camper with a decent garage (that isn't a massive winnebago)? I think a lot of home building is more about getting what you want than getting it cheap

I've watched plenty of youtube videos on conversions, this is one of the better ones so far. Especially since he's doing it with bikes in mind.

If you're driving £40k car then I wouldn't think twice about swapping that for a nice van and a commuter.

I'm in the process of converting my Crafter. I'm about £2.5k in at present. I think it'll be the same again to get it finished, then another £1k for awning and head unit upgrade. I'm sure some of the fancy ones on Instagram have crazy build costs.

£40k? I wish!

£20k probably, so with a few k over, with a cheap 2nd car included (considering how much I'd save on just one trip away) it'd still be worth it.

I'm starting to fall into the deep deep hole that is van conversions... There's some really decent ones on the tube and I'm expecting Blakes to be very good. Tbh none of the builds look 'that' complicated, it's mainly being able to build stuff that fits well. Oh and learning the electrics, but I work in IT so can normally figure these sort of things out fairly well.

I might have to book a van or 2 from one of the sites like goboony in spring/summer to see what they're like on a trip or 2.

You are probably right about economics, especially if you include resale but is anybody making a factory camper with a decent garage (that isn’t a massive winnebago)? I think a lot of home building is more about getting what you want than getting it cheap

loads of them. Just spend 20 mins on auto trader and you will find plenty of choice

loads of them. Just spend 20 mins on auto trader and you will find plenty of choice

Nope, still lost.

Where are these loads of van based campers with large enough garages for 2 MTBs? As I can find only a handful with garages, even then most are either too small to store bikes upright with the front wheel off, or too big, designed for motorbikes, leaving about 3ft above the bed.

get an old ambulance

Well other than the extra space. He pretty much covered all the reasons not to buy an old ambulance.... While of course forgetting to tell you that they spend their life ragged from cold with what is a pretty heavy bodywork on the back . Often idling for long periods , hacked and slashed electrical system hiding many gremlins(when they remove the blues and twos/radios etc) and with a low availible payload. Maintained yes but it does little to remove the full extent of the (necessary) maltreatment.

But shit he's convinced it's the right thing wouldn't catch me doing it.

Actually reminded me of the time on one of the selfnbuild groups(sure it was the iveco self build page) someone bought a fridge van against all advice .....saved on insulation didn't it.

Well build build build......summer comes round.

Owner complained of an unbearable stench......

Boak

A luton would be just as easy but for some reason I've never seen anyone build one. Any idea?

Luton vans I've seen are more of a glorified rain cover over a flat bed truck. Not substantial enough to attach anything to the sides of. You'd need to build an internal frame to attach anything that wasn't bolted to the floor. And you have no access to the cab from the back, which even big campers do.

There's a few Luton conversions round here. They tend to be more for living in than lifestyle though. There's quite a nice one that when you roll up the shutter there's a nice wooden front door and window. As mentioned, the shell is very weak so you can't really do much with them without a lot of work.

Don’t buy an old ambulance. They’ll have done a lot of miles, been treated like crap by the staff (trust me on this one), the fuel economy is terrible and they weigh a lot (most are over 3.5t with all their kit). And from long years of experience as a paramedic driving them, they’re not that reliable. Yes they tend to have a good heater and they’ve been serviced more regularly than most vans, but in my opinion that doesn’t balance out the abuse they get.

Yeah not convinced by that build, the 'full size shower' isn't that much bigger than most of the camper shower trays, a double bed isn't anything to boast about, and he doesn't have a permanent seating area, plus he's lost the use of the front seats as seating.

Oh, and even with the graphics (each to their own....) it looks like a horse box.

Oh and learning the electrics, but I work in IT so can normally figure these sort of things out fairly well.

I don't think IT will help you with that. It's not rocket surgery but your background will not be of any advantage.

I don’t think IT will help you with that. It’s not rocket surgery but your background will not be of any advantage.

I meant it more in the way that I'm used to learning about/building/maintaing complex systems - not that my work knowledge/experience would directly help with the electrical side.

You just need to get inventive if you want to fit everything into a small van. This one is brilliant in my opinion, just lacking some windows.

I'm sure I saw that in the sortimo van racking catalogue.

For when you have to be nailing kits together monday-friday and want to park at the trail.head on the weekends right ?

I like the raising bed feature, even in a 'full size' van it'd be handy to allow full bikes to be carried or bigger items, or to have full through access

However, watching a Scottish couples van tour, they mentioned how important a closed off rear bed section is, due to midges. Otherwise when you've got the back doors open working on/loading bikes you'll end up with about 20 million midges in the van.

For size, I wouldn't see a reason to not go for an L4 van, it wouldn't be my main car and the only size consideration would be to be able to park it on my drive.

In particular I really fancy disappearing up to Scotland for 3 weeks next September, but having the freedom to move about based on weather and where I fancy riding, doing some of the Highlands, Nevis range, Skye etc.

June is a better month.

June is a better month

If you like midges...

I spent 10 days in the tweed valley and Arran last year late September/early October and only saw a few at dusk a couple of days of the trip.

get an old ambulance

Do not buy an old ambulance. I work on film crew for the BBC series. 5 ambulances each year, I don't think we've ever made it through a 12 week block without and least 2 or 3 of them ending up off the road at some point. Either with electrical issues (there's an arm sized loom from front to back that's just waiting to short out on something and drain the batteries), or they seem to shit out gearboxes as 3.5t vans aren't designed to be ragged at 100mph whilst weighing over 4t (yes, lots are more than a little overweight).

And that's with the service giving us their best, freshly serviced, lowest mileage vans. Not the 2nd re-body that's being scrapped.

Apparently most get donated to the army who leave fleets of them behind in warzones where if they don't get shot to pieces the locals can keep cannibalizing them for parts to keep some running.

That tiny van has a lot of good ideas. Obviously not built for Scotland but the concept is sound IMO

Luton vans I’ve seen are more of a glorified rain cover over a flat bed truck. Not substantial enough to attach anything to the sides of. You’d need to build an internal frame to attach anything that wasn’t bolted to the floor. And you have no access to the cab from the back, which even big campers do.

Yeah I'm aware of that, internal framing doesn't phase me as you would need to sort insulation anyway. Cab access isn't an issue either, I like fixed items that don't necessarily stay fixed to stay away from me, especially in a self build.

The flat bed thing is a good point but those low loader lutons that seem to have become a thing would get round that.

£40k? I wish!

Sorry - I've got that number stuck in my head. I've been helping my parents motorhome shopping at that price point.

This is one of the textbook Insta #vanlife types - £15k for a professional kit out.

For size, I wouldn’t see a reason to not go for an L4 van, it wouldn’t be my main car and the only size consideration would be to be able to park it on my drive.

Mine is MWB and it still doesn't fit in most normal parking spaces, so no reason not to go LWB. The XLWB is a big old beast and potentially a bit overkill unless you're planning on building beds for kids or something.

I like the 'Blake Builds' series - always some pretty interesting stuff.
I'd like to build a camper, but would need to make it wheelchair accessible for my wife.
No many info about DIY builds for them though.

If you don’t like midges then just get some mosquito nets. Or turn the inside lights off

Makes no odds if lights are on or off for midges...that isn't what attracts them...

If you don’t like midges then just get some mosquito nets. Or turn the inside lights off

Have you ever actually seen a midge?

Have to say the layout of this one intrigues me, shows what you can do in a big van.

Huge wetroom at the back with space to hang bikes, then a very simple seating area which converts to a bed.

With that simple a way to change it to a bed, I'm not sure a fixed bed is needed. With a bit of sectioning off in the wetroom that would be your shower/toilet, as I'm not sure I'd want to be showering right next to the bikes 😁

Ben Cathro's van is the best 'practical daily biking' small van I've seen...really clever design where it can be a typical T5 camper with wheels off bike storage, or you slide the rock and roll all the way forward and the bikes go in complete.

Tired ambulances...check out the last couple of videos 🙂

Fixed beds...having had both types, I'm a complete convert and for a dual use van, I'd rather take a wheel off than have no fixed bed. Its an extra living space so one person can be up doing their thing whilst the other has a lie in, you don't need storage for bedding, you can store loads of extra stuff on it (even an extra bike in a bag) and it gives you lots of easily accessible space for stuff like fridges, batteries, heaters. And as there is a permanent garage underneath, you can throw in things like firewood, cement, or like me last month, nipping around collecting unwanted hardcore, probably about 3 tons in 4 trips, without worrying about messing up the nice interior.

Have I seen a midge? Probably, but I’ve been bitten/eaten by pretty much every biting insect in UK, Europe and some other parts of the world (kayaking the White Nile
in Uganda during the wet season left me looking like the Elephant Man thanks to the mozzies!). I assumed that if you can get a Midge net for your head then you could get screens for the doors.

Have a look at welfare vans, we had an ex network rail Transit, crash tested rear seats, microwave, Eberspacher, brewing ern, sink, lined, extra storage. Low miles and was really cheap albeit 8years ago.

Some have toilets in the rear area but ours was a normal load area with a middle bulkhead between the centre 'living space'.
Was a great van till it did what all Transits do and rusted to death.

Nope, he has done that Atherton mince and some of the STW advent videos from the start of last year - terrible takes and chopped in bits that did work...can't watch that - however that is my issue.

Saying that, I've now no idea if you can or can't sleep in a camper - I can as I've done it a few times so I know I can sleep in it.

Watched the latest episode from Blake and I'm liking his enthusiasm...likewise not convinced about welding all that weight in, but his thinking sounds good.

Well he needs the rear seat in metal as it's going to be a proper seat with seat belt mounts. Then the rest of the framework could have been in wood but realistically it would save maybe 20kg? Not a huge about in the overall scheme.

I like that he's including prices, the van was a lot cheaper than I thought!

His steel seemed cheap!
Good idea with rerouting the existing section of loom.

Have I seen a midge? Probably, but I’ve been bitten/eaten by pretty much every biting insect in UK, Europe and some other parts of the world (kayaking the White Nile
in Uganda during the wet season left me looking like the Elephant Man thanks to the mozzies!). I assumed that if you can get a Midge net for your head then you could get screens for the doors.

@zerocool midges dance in between the weave of mosquito nets, I've watched the little bastards do it with my own eyes. Everything needs to be a tight fit, as in sealed tight, or it's a waste of time. #vanlife open backs, nets or not, would be horrific in midge season. I've suffered in far better circumstances, they really can make the best site utterly miserable.

Mmmm midge nets for doors.

Perfect for keeping the midges in while you sleep.....

Is this ever going to get finished? Sure he said that his mate was going to complete it and put some videos up while he was busy working in the summer...

I'm mainly interested because I want to see them put it on a weighbridge at the end and realise with all the steel, ply, water, fuel and a couple of passengers they've got about 20kg payload left for bikes and luggage. 😜

I think his mate was going to do some Instagram 'things' for the wiring whilst Blake disappeared for a bit...I don't do Instagram so no idea what has been done, but I'm also wanting to see this built and done...

Couple of my opinions regarding vans and campers... (I drive a lwb work van most days and have done for over 10 years and also have a lwb camper too)

Parking isn't really an issue, yea some smaller car parks are a pain but majority of car parks are fine even if they require a bit more thought when parking.

Weight... Everyone screams about vans being overweight. My LWB transit with a full tank of fuel, furniture built with 12mm ply, full size double mattress, large gas bottle, fully insulated, fridge, hob, 40 litre water tank, seating area, 4no. Batteries, solar panels and loaded with all other kit. Comes in around 2900kg leaving 600kg for bikes, passengers and food/drink.
A friend's converted transit jumbo also weighed in well under 3000kg.

Avoid ambulances,
So much aftermarket wiring to contend with and most have a gross weight over 3500kg so not driveable on a standard licence.
They also stand around with the engine running a lot so mileage isn't a true indicator of how much work the vehicle has actually done.

Price of used vans are still over inflated but do seem to be coming down a bit.

Weight… Everyone screams about vans being overweight.

Quite rightly, IMO – safety. Although I suspect it’s the smaller T5-sized van conversions that are most likely to have weight issues. Most will have 3,000kg or less MVW and on those it’s easy to approach that with a full conversion, 4 passengers etc.

Example being my previous T5 LWB T30 (so 3,000kg MVW) camper. Unladen panel van weight officially 1,903kg. A ‘proper’ full conversion done by Jerba inc poptop, SCA seat/bed, furniture, hob/sink, batteries etc. With a full fuel tank, camping chairs, driveaway awning, etc and everything onboard EXCEPT food, clothes, people and bikes, it was 2,650kg on local weighbridge. Very easy to add 350kg of people, bikes, food and clothes so we sailed very close to the limit on that. Possibly slightly over the year we brough 80 bottles of wine back from France.

Thankfully all owners like that run proper load-rated wheels and tyres so no concerns there... (T32 17" steelies on mine)

Comes in around 2900kg leaving 600kg for bikes, passengers and food/drink.
A friend’s converted transit jumbo also weighed in well under 3000kg.

Oh, fair enough. His has A LOT of steel in it though and every conceivable option and accessory.

Weight… Everyone screams about vans being overweight

But thats because a lot of vans do go overweight, either smaller vans that have a gross less than 3500kg, or large vans that have a lower payload due to size and offer up more space to fill. Once you've done it, normally your only option is to rip it all out and start again. The largest 3.5t Ivecos have less than 900kg payload inc driver and have about 17 cubic meters to build out inside!

I have a similar payload as you but still need to be careful and my old horse trailer had a noseweight of around 250kg which of course comes off the vehicle gross. Current horse trailer is lighter on the nose which is nice.

Looks nice for sure. Still want to know what the total weight is... 😁

It's a nice van/build, but, for me I'd want both my wheels on - there are absolutely loads of 'off the shelf' campers with garages big enough - even small ones. Conversions never seem to cut it...

It’s a nice van/build, but, for me I’d want both my wheels on

Me too mate, me too. wheels on, brs straight, ready to roll out of the van straight away.... Plus.... i need to be able to do that with 4.... hence why i've got the layout i have and sacrificed the kitchen/bedroom aspect of vanning.

It’s a nice van/build, but, for me I’d want both my wheels on – there are absolutely loads of ‘off the shelf’ campers with garages big enough – even small ones. Conversions never seem to cut it…

Any examples?

Because before I built my van we went to the motorhome show and could find very few examples (excluding cachbuilds) that would take a pair of bikes, wheels on or not.

Unless you’re using an XLWB van is a big ask putting long 29er’s in with wheels on without sacrificing half the van.

For our build, Mrs BS stipulated she was having a separate toilet/shower compartment or I was on my own in it! Ours is a L3 Boxer and I have to remove both wheels which is a massive pain in the hoop and even then they only just fit. Having said that it’s only once a day, and having the van sorted in the front makes up for the inconvenience.

Agreed a full wheels on 29er is now well over 1.8m and generally higher bars - so using huge space, not just a bed length as a wheels off is.

It’s a nice van/build, but, for me I’d want both my wheels on – there are absolutely loads of ‘off the shelf’ campers with garages big enough – even small ones. Conversions never seem to cut it…

Everything is a compromise. It's a mid size van and he want to fit his family in there. Different if it's just for one or two people.

I didn't box my garage in for that reason. I have enough space to sit up in bed, but when I'm on my own I can lie the bike flat with both wheels on. Front wheels off if I'm carrying more than one.

That's what eldest_oab's van is - one bike wheels on on its side. Three bikes one wheel off and a fourth needs both wheels off.

That's in SWB transit.

The largest 3.5t Ivecos have less than 900kg payload inc driver and have about 17 cubic meters to build out inside!

Iveco are a H frame design.... Not chassis based so they are already carrying more weight than their Ducato/Jumper/Relay equivalent.

The Iveco is a nice van, but it's very slim and narrows towards the roof. Very long which is great, but due to its onstruction it means the payload is low relative to other vans.

I've a 6.4m,H3 Ducato.
(longest/highest). Payload is around 1300kg.

Self built. Two sliding drawers in the garage. One carries four bikes, the other carries tools, kites, shoes, chairs and table plus other random stuff.

The finished weight, i.e. the weight of just the fitted furniture and components was 2918kg with ~60 litres of diesel (90 litre tank) and ~30kg water (124 litre total capacity).

German MOT equivalent assumes only 75kg per person per available seat. We only have two seats, so we've a payload of ~430kg. Four bikes, plus bike gear, full tanks, general clothing, food, alcohol, other random stuff sees us...... Close to the limit.... Which side we're on I'll let you guess.

There is meant to be a change coming to the B1 driving licences, those limited to 3.5t, to up them to 4.25t. Partly coming in due to the weight of e-vans.

Would be ideal for us.