Matt, could he not look at a second hand 3 way fridge (they’re about £20 on the bay of fleas) and just not plumb the gas side in? They sip electricity – far more efficient than a peltier box and more versatile than a simple cool box.

This sounds awesome Matt, wish I’d done similar when I was his age rather than the typical lad’s hol to the Costas (nightmare stuff looking back).

Already mentioned but wind deflectors will help greatly on the move. We started off with a T5 van before fully converting it – no A/C and the deflectors helped reduce the buffeting at speed. Initially insulated and ply-lined it myself, cheap lino cutoff on the floor, top half of bulkhead removed (to get driver’s seat far enough back for me), Ikea futon as a seat/bed in the back although that was stupidly warm and soon swapped to a double airbed.

Cut down a bigger sunshade to fit the T5, attached via reusable cable ties to eyelets screwed into the roofrack mounting points. It worked but if I was doing it again I’d use C-channel stuck to the roof – much neater and ours was approx £25.

On the subject of C-channel, there’s a place in Essex that sells long lengths of awning rail for a lot less than from campervan suppliers. I _think_ it is this place: http://www.keder-rails.co.uk/

They can chop the rail into two 3m length as well, so it will fit a full length of a T5 SWB and you get both a spare length to sell on and a long cardboard tube.

We’ve also done the c-channel (bought a length from a local caravan place) stuck in the rain gutter thing, works a treat with one of these sheet awnings (which are surprisingly versatile)

https://www.funkyleisure.co.uk/debus-vw-t4t5t6-sun-canopy–anthracite-grey-6770-p.asp

Other colours are available.

Another tip, which I might have already said, shade is your friend. Pick parking/camping spots that will be in as much shade for as much time as possible.

I know there they’re expensive but a Waeco compressor fridge is worth its weight in gold in a European summer if only for a saving a fortune keeping pre-Apres beers cold. They hold their value well when you come to sell so the total cost of ownership is low. They are also electrically really efficient.

Hot_fiat I’ve never found a 3 way fridge that isn’t hugely inefficient and power hungry on 12v power, they are good on 240v or gas but are not desigened to run on 12v for an extended period.
£400ish will get you a decent 12v compressor fridge which will run indefinitely off a 100-150watt solar panel. Nothing makes a bigger difference to eating well and cheaply than a fridge that works.

@steveh dunga. Thought that might be a way out. We’ve a Dometic compressor cool box & it is massively efficient – will happily sit on the leisure battery for three or four days keeping things at 4C. It’ll even dive down to -17 so we can take frozen stuff away.

Unfortunately not, the technology is very different. 12v is almost only to keep things cold while driving between spots. Compressor stuff on the other hand is great.

£400ish will get you a decent 12v compressor fridge which will run indefinitely off a 100-150watt solar panel. Nothing makes a bigger difference to eating well and cheaply than a fridge that works.

Total conversion budget is £1200…

@steveh dunga. Thought that might be a way out. We’ve a Dometic compressor cool box & it is massively efficient – will happily sit on the leisure battery for three or four days keeping things at 4C. It’ll even dive down to -17 so we can take frozen stuff away.

+1 to that. Won’t be a cheap addition Matt, but might be useful for afterwards. We bought https://www.dometic.com/en-gb/outdoor/uk/products/food-and-beverage/portable-coolboxes/electric-coolboxes/dometic-coolfun-ck-40d-hybrid-_-136334 and run it alongside a massive passive coolbox we already had. Camping with 240v hook-up, we run this as a freezer to refreeze our icepacks which keep the coolbox as a huge fridge. Also brilliant for stocking up on cheaper ice-creams from the supermarket…

Understood Matt but that and a solar panel, while expensive would make a bigger difference to van life than anything else, I’ve done enough of road tripping about ridig bikes over the year to be sure of it.

Waeco = Dometic nowadays, ours is the CF40. Must be 15years old, currently being used as a freezer in the garage. Has done multiple tours of Europe in various vehicles.
Low voltage cut off so you don’t need a leisure battery set up.
High upfront costs but Im guessing you’d hardly lose anything on it selling when they are back if they kept the packaging/box etc or buy a used one to start with.
Ice cold beers, milk, dairy etc, stop the butter melting etc.

A couple of questions…

– gas, and finding “correct” fittings in France & Austria – looking at a single or double burner portable stove, but concerned about getting gas. Advice please….

– has anyone sliced up a memory foam mattress to make an odd shaped bed? Looking to buy a second hand mattress and cut…mrs_oab can make cover.

depends on the fitting. IIRC the commonest ones in france are not the ones we usually use here. What I would do is buy a stove there that uses the common french fittings. Indeed I have had to do this in the past when i was unable to get the screw on gas cans we normally use

Good idea – a stop at the first Decathlon…

Something I’d suggest, though I know nowt about caravanning or living in a van. The insulation you have- foil(is it the foil covered bubble  wrap ?)

I have seen people cut window sized squares of this foil insulation stuff to help keep their van cool. I imagine a van sitting with the hot sun streaming in the windows is going to make for an unpleasant interiour and foil insulation across the windows is going to work far better than simple curtains.

Just a thought 🙂

The whole van is insulated with fluffy insulation and silver foil / silver bubble insulation. Windscreen has a fold out reflective cover. Only window is roof vent, which has an extract fan. Floor has ‘intake’ from under where it’s cooler. Mrs_oab making door size midge nets so he can sleep door open…
And whole van is silver/blue colour.

has anyone sliced up a memory foam mattress to make an odd shaped bed? Looking to buy a second hand mattress and cut…mrs_oab can make cover.

PM if you want some foam, we make 12k tons a year of it…..
Collect only from Rossendale Lancs though.

Abigale uses these as they are universal in most places and don’t take up any room

Wanted to get her one of these but she prefers the basic stove a saucepan and a frying pan

https://www.bbqworld.co.uk/m/cadac/cadac-safari-chef-30-compact.asp

See that one Tracey has. I’m sure your aware but given your profession but…

https://www.bohemivan.com/2019/06/portable-gas-stove-explosion-warning.html?m=1

Not the only one- just the first I found….. We had one go up in flames just like that – as well as them being a bit pants for heating stuff in anything but warm weather.

Re the c-channel it’s quite cheap decathlon used to do a large tarp you can sow the c-channel onto and it makes a big awning.

@RustyNissanPrairie

Sadly I think the journey down will be more than picking up a second hand mattress. Thanks for the offer though.

@trail_rat – agreed that cheap can work, but not always. He will be cooking outdoors or in the awning.

Think of ways to keep cool. We’re currently in South of France and it’s forecast to be 36 degrees all of next week!

We did a DIY foam bed for our van, got a big slab and cut into two so it converts to a bench seat. Easy job, works really well. Wife made the covers, she’s good at stitching things. Full (almost) width double bed right across the van when sleeping, on a DIY telescoping bed frame.

Think of ways to keep cool.

Yep, can’t stress this enough. Unless you’re parked up in the shade, vans really soak up heat from the sun in the day and release it all night, even sleeping with the side door open can be really hot and uncomfortable, getting as much breeze through as possible is absolutely key.

I’ve suggested these before, but I’ll do it again, the latches that you can get so you can lock the rear doors in an open-but-inaccessible position make a real difference.

(This is from experience of an April – Sept roadtrip through Europe in a silver T5, from Norway to Romania and most countries in between)

Yep, can’t stress this enough. Unless you’re parked up in the shade, vans really soak up heat from the sun

Ditto

My caravan can reach into the 40’s on a sunny UK day. Fortunately I have aircon

has anyone sliced up a memory foam mattress to make an odd shaped bed? Looking to buy a second hand mattress and cut…mrs_oab can make cover.

Yes!  We bought two single memory foam mattresses from Ikea, and then cut the ends off them, so they made the top and bottom half of a short king sized bed.  Just used a bread knife.  My Mum (cough yes, I am useless) then adapted the covers to fit.  We have some anti slip mat under them when in bed mode to stop your bottom falling between the gap!  Works very well.

Gives you an idea, from when before the covers were shortened: https://www.instagram.com/p/CS_lg-gsbd7/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Agree with trailrat’s warning.  I had to help a young couple put out one of those stoves that burst into a flames in a site in Aviemore.  Fortunately all outside, but shook them up a lot and left them with no stove.

has anyone sliced up a memory foam mattress to make an odd shaped bed? Looking to buy a second hand mattress and cut…mrs_oab can make cover.

Yu can probably buy a piece of memory foam or similar cut to the shape you want, there’s plenty of “we cut foam” sites online. The grey ‘reflex’ foam is really comfortable, it’s what we have in the campervan. A five inch slab of that would be lovely.

We actually found the ikea mattresses ended up being cheaper than the cut to fit places when you also took into account the covers (which in our case was just a smaller rectangle); and the ones we went for had the wobbly (so to speak) foam top which helps for sleeping on (I can suffer with a bad back, so this did matter to me – your son is young enough to not worry!).

https://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/15900930/campingaz-elite-camping-chef-double-burner-and-grill-15900930

One of these stoves with a 907 bottle. Easy to find replacements in France.

A big ‘thank you’ to the STW community again. A forumite met my son last night and gave him an IKEA mattress for free.
Ace. 🤗

Amazeballz. S’good here sometimes.

I have seen people cut window sized squares of this foil insulation stuff to help keep their van cool.

Caravans have roller blinds with foil on the outside for this purpose. If you go to a caravan breakers you’ll find piles of them and the associated rails and mountings. Might be tricky to fit to a van though.

Do they really need a fridge? When I were a lad we did 3-4 week trips round france with a cool box without freezer blocks. Most of the food was grim but if you buy your fresh food every other day it should be ok.

Do they really need a fridge?

Where else will they keep the cold beer? When I did it in the 80s we didn’t have a fridge, but it was March and April. Could have done with a heater though, the jerry can of water froze solid in Arc 2000.

Do they really need a fridge?

Cool box arrived yesterday. It’s going in a super insulated cupboard space, with vent to bike garage area for compressor. He’s going to see if he can get a 12v timer up and running, so that the box can cut in and out and rely much more on the insulation.
It may work. It may not.

I can’t remember what thread it was on, but wasn’t there someone talking about an adapter that allows you to use a euro style gas canister on threaded stove?

We’re close to finished, I’ll post pics this week.

But, questions…

Parking up / camping in Austria seems ‘no’, yet there’s a few posts online about places to park up. Any suggestions (or even STW’ers) around Saalbach-Hinterglemm who can suggest cheap / free camping? From the 27th july-3rd August.

Oh, and we’ve been told by a few places that Campingaz is the answer for cooking – apparently you can get it in Europe…

I watch a YouTube channel called travelbeans (see also lost in transit). They were in Austria over the Winter and camped at various places including ski lift car parks that had toilet facilities for a price!
Worth a look for some hints although it may be slightly busier in the Summer.