It’s been a year since I started the project of creating my dream van ↠ @theonelifevan ↞ and as I get a lot of questions about it, I wanted to share the process and some resources with you! If you are thinking of building or buying a van I can say it’s ONE HUNDRED PERCENT as awesome as you might think it is! And my journey with van life is only just beginning... However, it can be a bit of a minefield and hard to know where to start. I hope this helps :)
Here’s the process I went through:
This is where I started. It’s a perfect place to let your imagination run wild and pull all your dreams in one place. My Pinterest Board was also a really useful resource for @vanlifebuilds who brought my dreams to life!
FIGURE OUT YOUR NON-NEGOTIABLES!
I knew from the start that I wanted to be able to stand up in my van, store my bike inside, have a proper double bed that doesn’t need to be folded away at the back by the garage doors, I can open them and lie in bed looking out at amazing views! An outdoor heated shower was a must as I will always be coming back sweaty, muddy or sandy from adventures. Lots of storage for my bike and adventure kit, a kitchen and solar panels so I can go off-grid. Lots of charging points as I run my business as I travel. Swivel round front seats to maximise space in the van. I loved the idea of using sustainably sourced/recycled materials where possible. My dream was to have a mountain and ocean theme running throughout the van these are my happy places. My brother makes beautiful stained glass windows so I wanted to create a space for that.
EBAY + GUMTREE
I spent a weekend trawling through Ebay and Gumtree to get an idea of what’s on the market and what kind of budget might be required for the kind of thing I was looking for. I considered buying one from here and doing a conversion to upgrade it, but settled on the idea of starting from scratch. When I do something I tend to go all in!
FIND THE RIGHT CONVERSION COMPANY
I wasn’t even tempted to do a self-build as I was really busy with work, DIY is not my strongest skill and I was living in London so didn’t have the space or tools etc to work on a van. I looked on Quirky Campers for inspiration as I’ve always loved their vans and they have a list of approved van converters. I went through all of them and contacted the ones I loved to discuss my vision and get a steer on costs. Quirky campers is a fantastic resource because there’s loads of beautiful campers to look through and get ideas for yours.
I joined van conversion groups on Facebook. Good to be part of the community! Lucky I did this as this was how I found Van Life Builds!
I watched HOURS of videos on YouTube especially the ones with people talking about the things they wished they would change about their van to make sure I didn’t miss anything
Another tip is to hire a van before you commit to buying or building one so you can get a feel of the kind of functionality and design that suits you. I hired a VW California Camper from Campervantastic to cycle the North Coast 500 and that really tipped me over the edge of wanting to build my own.
I researched taking my van to Europe and things I needed to consider as I knew I would be travelling abroad
VAN LIFE BUILDS
I discovered the gems that are Wayne and Jade aka Van Life Builds whilst scrolling through Facebook and saw Jade’s post of this incredible van her friend Wayne has just built for her. He’d been a carpenter all his life, recently moved back from Australia and both of them were looking for a change in life. The pictures she posted of her new van took the van community by storm and honestly, it was a cut above anything I’d seen. I contacted them immediately and they suggested we meet. The rest is history! I was the first client of their booming business – they have since finished three vans for other clients making their dreams a reality too! Van Life Builds went above and beyond to bring my dreams to life, but more on that in a bit!
With Wayne - Van Life Builds - ready to get cracking on my VW conversion!
My Mum was an integral part of my van journey from the day I set up my Pinterest page to the finished product and making/buying me so many cute little things for the van! Together we drove to meet Wayne and Jade on a very rainy day in July. Sitting in Jade’s van at a service station on the M4, we started to sketch out rough plans on paper and get to the nitty-gritty of van lay out options and budget. I knew instantly they were the people I wanted to work with. There was just something really special and genuine about them. Plus Wayne is exceptionally talented and Jade has amazing creative vision and ability to source the best products at great prices! Winning combo.
CHOOSING THE RIGHT VAN
I looked for a van that would be easy to maneuver and drive on my own and booked a test drive at VW. I’d narrowed down my options to a medium wheel base VW Crafter or the Transporter. Other options are the Mercedes Sprinter which is very similar to the Crafter, but I was keen to go VW. When I first saw the medium wheel based crafter I felt nervous about driving it and thought it would feel really big, especially as I was living in London. I loved the Transporter - but I knew it wouldn’t give me the space I needed. I test drove both around Croydon, London on a Friday at lunch time, good practice dealing with busy roads. Ha! To be honest, the moment I stood inside the Crafter, I knew this was my van and I viewed getting confident and comfortable with driving it a challenge just like many other things in my life.
It’s funny because you’d think that now my conversion is done, the van would feel smaller than it does when it was an empty van, but it’s actually the opposite. It feels like there’s so much space inside – it’s truly incredible what you can do with a van!
Once I’d settled on the Crafter we looked everywhere for the best deal. Another minefield really… the advice everyone gave was to get a van with as low mileage and as young as I could afford. I ended up buying mine from Citygate - VW dealership in London and found a great deal on a 2018 Crafter with air con, cruise control – this is a game changer! And 10,000 miles on the clock. I spoke to anyone I knew, like my local garage, friends etc, who might be able to give me advice on buying a van. I’ve never owned a car before so this was a big decision and I wanted to get it right.
ONTO THE BUILD!
The whole process from the day I set up my pinterest page to Wayne and Jade starting work on my van took six weeks. We decided on a layout, and Wayne got to work stripping out my van and fitting the insulation.
Over the next few months we worked closely together deciding all sorts of things from which sky light to go with (I went for the bigger one to increase light into the van and so I can climb through it onto the roof to star gaze!) So many decisions needed to be made and honestly, it was so so so fun!! Each time Mum and I went to visit the Van Life Builds workshop, it was coming together more and more. The days we spent there looking at the work that ad been done and discussing options for the next stage of the build were some of my favourite days ever! It felt so amazing to be creating my space and making decisions over every single inch and detail of the van.
These are the kind of emails Van Life Builds would send me to keep me in the loop and make decisions together!
In a small space, it’s amazing how resourceful you can get and save/make space. So many features have a double purpose. For example, all my lights have USB ports in them for charging electronics, the sink cover doubles up as a chopping board, the front seats swivel round to create more seating options in the van, the table and two bench seats create a single bed and there’s storage places tucked away in every spare corner of the van.
On one of my visits to Bristol, Wayne and I went to Bristol Wood Recycling Project and picked out the pieces of wood to be used for my ceiling, kitchen and table. Out of thousand of pieces of wood, we took great care choosing the ones we thought were perfect and walked away with all this wood for only £60! Also ticking my box of using recycled/sustainable materials where possible.
We also went to a local metal construction garage and made plans for the roof feature. Again, it’s just amazing what you can do with a roof – creating so many more options to transform a standard van into a fun house! Thanks to Wayne’s vision I now have a ladder leading up to the roof, a panel where you can sit and look at amazing views or the night sky, or store surf boards, solar panels and a hammock rack. Totally transforming what would otherwise be just a roof.
Making decisions
There are SO many decisions to make about your van whether you are doing a self-build or working with someone to do yours. The best way to get it right is to do a ton of research, or hire people who know what they are doing. I took their lead on many of the more technical aspects like water, electricity, gas, heating etc. It’s all so fun though, thinking about how many windows you want and where, what you want in your kitchen and of course, what you can fit without making it feel or look crowded. This was really important to me. To breathe and move around without feeling crowded inside.
By late November the van was really coming together and we were onto the final push! Now it was time to make decisions about the finishing touches; paint colours, handles and hooks, the details of the garage and bike storage under my bed.
I gave Wayne and Jade space to make decisions without me as I fully trusted them and I like surprises! The end result completely blew me away!
Picking up OLLI!
On a frosty morning in late January Mum and I arrived at their workshop in Bristol to be greeted by Wayne and Jade. They had only had 3 hours sleep as had been up late doing finishing touches, including wrapping my van in a giant red ribbon!
The big-reveal was an unforgettable moment for all of us. A huge project that everyone put their heart and soul into, each in our different ways. I never imagined I would find a team that would care about my dream and vision for this van in the way that Van Life Builds did. The universe was on my side the day I met them and I am so grateful! The job they did was absolutely outstanding with extraordinary attention to detail and craftsmanship. They even put a bottle of prosecco and a thank you note in the van, left me little inspirational messages on my chalk board and put fruit in my fruit hammock. It was all just completely perfect and the most amazing van I have ever seen!
I drove The One Life Van aka OLLI away and took it home. That night we popped the bottle of prosecco and ate pizza celebrating this new chapter with my dream van.
DREAMS INTO PLANS
What I love most about OLLI is that it feels like my space; it’s a complete expression of me. It’s an adventure wagon to explore the world in for starters, but the wood, the colours, splashes of glitter, having ONE LIFE LIVE IT carved into my bed. All of it makes it such an amazing space to hang out in and I’ve never had that feeling before. I just love it!
I use Park4Night app to find places to stay
Fill up LPG gas (very low cost) and my 70L water tank from petrol stations using a 240v electric hook up power lead
I have 3 ways to charge my batteries:
Sun (solar panels)
Driving (split charge relay)
240 Hook up (using power from a house or campsite)
I collect things from different places I travel to. I have a sheepskin rug from Iceland, wooden spoons from Zambia, a family of miniature house plants from Devon, tea towels from Cornwall. It’s such a fun aspect!
I have one gas hob in the kitchen to create more worktop space, but have a camping stove pulling out to create an additional hob. I debated having a microwave for a while, but thought it wasn’t necessary. An Omnia Sweden oven can create an oven on a gas hob and store away when not using which is ideal!
I don’t have an internal toilet or shower because there wasn’t space for it. Instead I use public facilities and my outdoor shower which is so good!
OLLI has been in lockdown for a lot of 2020 as we all have, but as the UK has opened up we’ve been lucky to have a few mini trips to The Lake District, Cornwall, Dorset and Dartmoor. One of the best parts is sharing the van with my friends and family. I am so happy and can’t wait to see where OLLI and I go over the coming years and next chapter of my life. Explore more!
