Hello everyone!
I have a dream of building my own campervan for me and my family (wife + 2 months old daughter). The answer to the question whether this is a good idea or not is still unknown to me. I hope that by getting a clearer picture of the vehicle/time/resources needed for this project will also give me a sense if this is something that I want to do.
Firstly, some aspects of the project that seem relevant — What I’ve learned from reading through different topics is that people don’t usually give enough considerations to the costs, available building space and time related to their project, so I layed down some details for myself:
- I have set a 50000€ budget for this project. I understand that this being enough is heavily dependant on the vehicle that I’m going to buy (whether new/used; H2/H3; 4x4 or FWD etc). Does this budget seem appropriate for achieving this end goal — a van that meets the requirements mentioned below?
- I don’t have a garage, but I do have about 4 different potential family backyards where I could live and build. This also means that I have some helping hands when it comes to some more technical stuff about different things related to building.
- I am self-employed and have a pretty flexible schedule, so I can consciously divide my time between work and this project. I have given myself a 2-year deadline to complete the project (so the plan is to start traveling when our daughter is about 2.5y old). This includes searching for the right vehicle, buying it, building everything possible by myself/with some close friends and outsourcing some of the more difficult work. Does it seem realistic?
To answer these questions let’s look at my requirements for the vehicle:
- I’m hoping to build a campervan for long trips which would last from a couple of months to a year. So it should pretty much be a van that is designed for full time living. Generally speaking the inside of the van should fit a bed, a kitchen (sink, fridge, stove and cutting area), a shower and a place for the three of us to sit together. From what I’ve seen from different builds, this should be achievable in theory.
- We are a family who really enjoys nature and being away from crowded places, so one of the requirements would be a possibility to do a bit of light offroading in order to get to trailheads and a bit more remote destinations. This would probably mean a 4x4 or a AWD vehicle? Or would a van with some lift be enough? How does the heaviness of a 4x4 or AWD system effect the build, is it much harder to build out a 4x4 van and meet the weight requirements?
- What are the engine requirements for such a vehicle? We really enjoy mountainous regions and would like to explore different such places mainly in Europe. What kind of power does the vehicle need to have in order to carry everything a campervan needs to carry + be able to drive in mountainous areas?
- Van dimensions — me and my wife aren’t particularly tall persons, I’m about 178cm and she is 171cm. Still I have hunch, based on my research so far, that an L3H3 van would suit us best. I don’t have many questions about the length, L3 seems to be the perfect balance between being able to fit everything we need and still be a vehicle that can manuever in more difficult conditions. What I do have doubts about is the height. I know that technically it would be possible to stand up in a H2 van, but it still seems to me a little too cramped. H3 is harder to drive, has worse fuel consumption and is harder to find (less used vehicles for sale), but it feels to me that the H3 height would really contribute to making the living space more enjoyable to spend time in. Any recommendations and opinions from people with experience on this are highly appreciated!
- Year and mileage of the van — I’m not a mechanically inclined person and don’t know much about building or fixing things. What I do have is some free time, some financial resources and a passion for learning new things. All this points me to two different directions. On the one hand a new(er) vehicle would suit me better, because I don’t have the knowhow and experience to fix a broken car in the middle of nowhere. In general new things seem to take more time before they break, so it would be quite obvious for me to go down this route. On the other hand, this would be my first time building a campervan, which would probably mean, even with careful planning, some mistakes along the way. This points me to a direction of an older van in order to keep the costs down and take this as a learning project. Any suggestions?
- Seating — The van needs to have 3 seats, one of which has to have the ability to connect a child seat. What are your opinions on a layout? Would you prefer a 2 seats in front + 1 seat on the 2nd row (DCiV style) or a 3 seats in front layout? Do I understand it correctly that van seats don’t usually have child seat connections and I would need to exchange at least one of them? In your opinion how important is the inside the van access from the driving area to the living area? I’ve seen a lot of UK vans that are built without direct access to the back, but I somehow have a feeling that it would be quite important to go with the open design in order to use the space in an efficient manner. This would mean 2 swivel seats in front and one regular seat on the second row.
- Considering all this, I’ve mainly looked at Ford Transits. Transit is the one vehicle that kind of meets the budgetary needs, has a 4x4 or AWD option available and has a pretty extensive aftermarket throughout Europe. As a downside Transits have curved walls/ceiling, which means a more difficult build. Mercedes Sprinters seem way too expensive for me to buy and maintain, so I’ve pretty much discarded them. There’s also the VW Crafter, which one can find in a 4x4 variant, but there aren’t many of these and most of them have a H2 height. They are also more expensive than the Transit. There is also the trio of Peugeot Boxer, Fiat Ducato and Citroen Jumper, but I’ve seen almost no 4x4 or AWD models. If I’d drop the offroading requirement I believe they would become a good cheapish option, but there’s also the problem that L3H3 size is really difficult to find.
These are the most important questions for me at the moment. I know this is quite a list, but it seems to me that I should get some experienced opinions on all of these things before I can choose a right vehicle for myself. If you think of anything else that I’ve completely missed please do let me know. Also, feel free to voice your “negative” opinion if this seems way too optimistic of a project for a complete beginner.
Thanks in advance!