Bill & Ruth were taken by the idea of a camper van while driving around Romania in the Summer of 2019.
Being able to stop and enjoy a mountain view sunset with a glass or two of local wine and salted covrigi before bed or just not rushing to a pre-booked hotel or apartment after a long day, was the stimulus to think of camper vans.
After many months debating the pros and cons, Bill watched a YouTube video by Nate Murphy on his conversion of a Ford Transit in 17 days! This was the inspiration needed to kick start the project. Nate's videos & ebook on how he transformed the van are very good guides of where to start and are full of ideas and tips. Nate is very practical and has an easy-going manner which makes every job look so easy! Anyone should be able to build a van with Nate’s book. He has kept his book updated with more information and topics.
From the initial enthusiasm to actually buying a van took about 4 months of design and planning. There is a huge amount of stuff to look at and understand before you take on a project like this. Bill has 35 years of design engineering experience and DIY knowledge, this has so far come in handy as you need to be able to modify a design in the vehicle, as paper and real life do not always match. You also need to know about 12V DC electrics, 240V AC mains, propane/butane gas, plumbing, woodworking, metalwork, painting, adhesives, solar loading calculations, insulation, heating, ventilation, ergonomics and patience!
This website documents what we did, when and how. There are many, many websites, and videos on the web of the next perfect design layout of the ultimate van. They are all great in their own way.
We don't claim that this is the best camper van or built in the best way. All the designs were based on experience and what we wanted.
I have added links to all the suppliers I used were appropriate. I'll add a section on suppliers and costs later.
I think I should add that I never had a complete idea of what it would look like at the finish. Every day I worked on the van introduced a new challenge and a design change. The smallest detail was talked about and re-designed for days between us. Often, we tried 2-3 solutions and ended up back at the beginning but at least we were happy it would work. This constantly changing beast was often frustrating but ultimately it is what made it interesting and added personality to the van. We knew this was a unique van never to be replicated.
The basic layout we designed at the start remained throughout and the time spent up front was proved worthwhile to get a van that met our needs.
