The VAN Project
Exactly a year ago, we took the step to buy a VAN, because we are always on our way, we came up with the idea to convert it from ourselves to our wishes and needs.
Searching for the right VAN was not that easy. Our first idea was for the Volkswagen Transporter. Soon it turned out that this was not the right choice for us. Affordable with few kilometers seemed an impossible thing. A good friend of us sent us some photos of a Mercedes vito that had been totally converted into a camper. Perfect. The Vito was going to be it. After half a day of searching and having called around, we found one. A few days later to visit. In perfect state. Used by a pharmaceutical company. As new from inside and few kilometers. It did not take long before we decided to buy it.
Because an empty van does not look like a camper, a lot had to happen. The partition from the cargo area to the cab had to be removed. After that we immediately went to pick up all the material with the van to isolate and coat and decorate it.
Damp mats were attached to the full interior to reduce vibration of the sheet material. What has worked wonderfully well. Dodo mats are a must.link places.
What did we need. In the first place, a place to sleep comfortably. Plans were drawn and redrawn until we had the perfect layout for us with the necessary storage space.
We could get started. The entire inner lining of the vito went out. Then the complete walls were covered with extrusion (insulation) against the heat and the cold.
On the day a hole was made where later the ventilation would come. Cold bridges were sprayed as well as possible with pur insulating foam.
Wooden slats were fixed to the ceiling and the walls. On this the wooden plates were fixed where later the inner lining would be glued.
After this we started with the decoration of the storage space. We need four drawers, 2 of 1 meter depth and 2 of 60 cm depth. There is also a separate storage space under the bed for storing non-everyday items.
With the help of my father-in-law, we started on the first drawer unit.
The walls were covered with felt to give it a warmer look and feel.
The drawer units were also secured. Locks were fixed so that it would not slide open when driving. The next step was making a storage space on the right side. This would serve on the one hand as storage space for clothing and on the other hand for storage of water and other things that we could easily access.
When building a campervan yourself, you have the opportunity to make optimal use of every place and we have done this. With this camper we can easily ride 3 weeks without any problem.
What you do yourself, you usually do better. So we decided to set up and finish him a bit more. the partition that we have removed is now fitted with a curtain. Lighting was also installed, as well as additional 12 volts batteries. the next step was to load the VAN and leave.
