Watching this with interest as part of me fancies having a van – I try and escape Kent to the proper UK riding destinations as many times a year as I can and having a van would make it so much easier.

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.

Hiring a campervan for that long is £2k at very minimum, more like £2.5k.

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, my current car is worth about that, then add on a panda 100hp for local driving/commuting once or twice per week…

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.