The Van Conversion Guide 14th Edition

by Nate Murphy
© 2023 Alloyfish Ltd
All rights reserved

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced,
or published in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording or otherwise, without the prior written
permission of the publisher.

The Van Conversion Guide Introduction 2

How this eBook works
This eBook is readable on most devices
because it is in PDF format.
It is updated, on average, every six months. You
can use your purchase email address here to
get the latest version. The version of this book
is written on the cover page.
Online resources & mini-course
This eBook comes with a number of tutorial
videos and downloadable schematics. These
will help you create the various systems found
in a van conversion.
Where you see the following two signs, there is
a video, or a schematic, resource available.

You can access your resources by following the

following steps:
1. Go to:
https://www.diyhero.me/offers/TVCLmxLz
2. Sign-up using your email address
It is important that you use your ebook
purchase email address, otherwise the account
will not be activated
3. You should now be able to access tutorial
videos and other schematics

The Van Conversion Guide Introduction 3

Other resources
Free online calculators
We have two free online calculators that can
help you figure out your electrical system
needs.
You can access them by following the links
below:
thevanconversionguide.com/solarcalculator
thevanconversionguide.com/systemcalculator

The Van Conversion Course

We have made the worlds most detailed van

conversion course, with over 150 video tutorials,
an exclusive online community and one-on-one
Electrical System Design consultation included,
learning how to build out a van has never been
easier!
You can find the course here: diyhero.com
As an eBook buyer you can get $100 off by
using the following discount code at check out:
EBK100KS
Please note, this code cannot be used alongside
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If the sales are not open, please join the wait list
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Electrical Consultation
Do you want expert support in the design of
your electrical system? If so, you can purchase
a one hour electrical consultation that will result
in a detailed system specification.
You can order your consultation here;
thevanconversionguide.com/electrical-design-
service/
We aim to help you install a system that is both
safe and fits your needs.

The Van Conversion Guide Introduction 4

Table of contents
How to videos  6 Water tank installation  107
Introduction  7 Internal shower installation  109
Choosing a type of van   10 Internal shower installation (hidden shower)  112
Layout and Design Electrical Installation
Featured Design 1   14 Electrical Installation (second fit)  118
Featured Design 2   15 Fitting solar panel  119
Colour schemes  17 Split charge relay installation  120
Bulkhead  18 Inverter installation  121
Fridges  22 Battery Management System  122
Gas systems options   24 Building Furniture
Heating systems  26 Kitchen  130
Roof vents  28 Drawers   132
Shower design  30 Finishing touches
Bed designs  32 Kitchen tile back-splash  135
Toilets  34 Fabric & side panels  136
Sound system choices  36 Trash  138
Van Safety  37 Upholstery  139
Van security  38 Window sills & blinds  142
Lighting choices  41 Flooring  145
System design Finishing touches  146
Electric basics  44 Thank you!  148
Electrical system1. The Parts  47
Electrical system2. Sizing your system  52
Electrical system3. Solar system  58
Electrical schematic  59
Electrical system4. Lighting system  60
Water system1. System Options  61
Refillable Gas System  65
Gas schematic  68
The build
Work phases  70
Tools  72
Holes in the van
Installing bonded windows   75
Under slung gas-tank  76
Lock box  77
Hammock fixings   78
Preparation & insulation
Pre-frame stud work  80
Electrical install (first fix)  83
Insulation options  85
Cladding & finishes  90
Gas Installation
Gas installation   93
Gas compliance  93
Compliant system  98
Non-compliant system  101
Heater installation  103
External shower installation  104
Water Installation

The Van Conversion Guide Introduction 5

 Ford Transit conversion
How to videos
If the links do not work: which happens on
some devices, then copy and paste the link into
your browser (chrome, safari, firefox etc..) and it
should work fine.
I lived in this van for three years and the video
The link will not work with in the YouTube App. about it has been watched more than 11 million
Always use an internet browser! times – helping thousands of people work out
how to do a van conversion.
The DIYhero course demo-van
Although it looks great, it is still a relatively
budget van conversion. It features very simple
water and waste systems and low cost solar
and electrical systems.

https://youtu.be/wksm1xI1Ms0
This is my latest van-build. It was built in order
to film our detailed van conversion course and Small, budget van conversion
is relatively high in specification. This van has
various innovative features and space-saving
ideas.

This van is featured within various sections of

this book, and the schematics featured here
(and in the mini-course) are based on this I converted a friend’s van in a week. It was a
van conversion. It has a king size bed, seating much smaller van and we tried a few different
for four, an internal shower and an enormous things. It is a low cost conversion - befitting of
kitchen. the size and cost of the van.

Van Tour: https://youtu.be/P1jWAV8Nn-Y

Van build https://youtu.be/GH8u9ELlvBA

Citreon Relay / Promaster van conversion Van tour https://youtu.be/MFH0ndvWP1E

I built this van to live in while I renovated a

house (and for further adventures). This van has
a few advanced features – and it’s systems are
shown later in this book.

This van featured a king size bed, tabled seating

for six and a good sized kitchen. It had an out-
the-back external hot shower.

https://youtu.be/RRhiIr4c424

The Van Conversion Guide Introduction 6

Introduction
Thank you for buying this eBook!

Welcome to the 14th edition of this book! This book is never truly finished because there are
always new products, systems or ideas coming on to the market that provide better options for
converting vans. Because of this, I continuously improve it. This eBook also comes with video and
schematics that you can view online - the videos will help you to better understand the ‘how-to’
parts, and the schematics give you something detailed to follow.

Originally I wrote this book as a guide for ‘how I converted my van’ but now, six years, three vans,
and a few hundred van-tours later, it now covers a broad range of options for the self-build van
converter.

I am confident that the ideas and tips in this book will save you hours of work, help add to your
own thinking, and perhaps most importantly, save you making some costly mistakes. I hope you
find it useful!

I wish you the best of luck with your project!

Nate
Free updates for life
As a buyer you can get free updates whenever
I release a new version. When I do, I will let you
know via email so you can download the update
free of charge.
Sometimes these emails go into spam so you
can always check in your account for the latest
version.
Otherwise, you can always check if there is an
updated version to download in the mini-course
resources area.
You can access your resources by following the
following steps:
1. Go to:
https://www.diyhero.me/offers/TVCLmxLz
2. Sign-up using your email address
It is important that you use your ebook
purchase email address, otherwise the account
will not be activated
3. You should now be able to access tutorial
videos and other schematics

Get featured
If you happen to make something really
beautiful - or interesting - and think it is worthy
of touring for the Nate Murphy YouTube
channel - get in touch. It is always great to
share interesting designs.

Disclaimer
The information provided in this ebook is done
so in good faith. Nate Murphy & Alloyfish Ltd
cannot take any responsibility or liability for any
loss or damage caused directly or indirectly
from the use of the information provided in this
book. You must always follow manufacturer
instructions, understand and work to meet
local regulations. Always seek advice from a
professional when you lack competency.

The Van Conversion Guide Introduction 8

Choices
& design
Choosing a type of van Second-hand Vans
The first big decision! Most people buy second hand vehicles, but if
you are going to put your heart and soul in to
My choice of van came down to the fact that I your build, you probably do not want to buy
planned to live in the van for extended periods something at the end of its life.
of time - and therefore a bigger van, ideally
where I can stand up, was the obvious choice. What mileage and how much to spend?

If it was just a weekend van, which I used for This obviously depends on your budget but for
other driving, or commuting to work, then I my van I ended up spending more than I initially
would probably go for something smaller and hoped - but this was based more on economics
more fuel-efficient. than mission creep.

Typically weekend vans tend to be smaller, but My general aim was to spend no more than half
if you plan to live in it full time - or for a very the cost of the van on the conversion. This is
long trip - it is worth converting a larger if you based on the premise of the vehicle’s mileage-
can. based depreciation.

I chose a long-wheelbase high-top van for the As an example, if I spend £4k ($5k) converting
following reasons; a 10-year-old van with 200,000 miles on the
clock, after a few years, regardless of the
» Long Wheelbase; I wanted to have a full size condition quality of the interior components
bed so to leave room for other things it made the van will be coming to the end of its natural
sense. life. People will not want to spend too much on
a van with an engine that might die soon.
» High Top; I am 6ft/183cm and do not fancy
having to stoop every time I want to cook - This is based on any particular depreciation
people say parking is an issue, but as I mostly formula, but it seems to fit fairly well, and I
live in natural areas not in city car parks - this think if you did some further asset depreciation
has not been a problem analysis it would probably be in that sort of
ballpark.
» Citroen Relays (the same as Dodge Promaster
in the US and Fiat Ducatos in Europe) are found My first van (Second Hand)
everywhere. As a common van it is easy to get I spent £7000 on the base van (2012 model - 4
the parts should it need repairs. years old at time of conversion) – in total it cost
£8400 including taxes. Unfortunately, it is hard
to find non-commercial sales so most of the
time you get stung with sales tax. If you have
the time you can sometimes find vans for sale
privately but it is harder.

Citreon Relay L3H2 - the same body as Dodge Promaster & Fiat Ducato

The additional benefit of buying a not-too-old

van is that it looks fairly modern from the and I
did not really have to do any rust repair work.

The Van Conversion Guide Choices & Design 10

 My Second Van (Bought new)
For my second van I bought a brand new
Citreon Relay L3H2 (Enterprise) This van body is
the same as a Dodge Promaster, Fiat Ducato or
a Peugeot Boxer.

So, based on my £8400 van - my approximate

max-cost for the kit-out is £4200.
This is obviously a lot of money but my aim for
my first van was to use the van for a few years
and then sell it for same amount I spent on it. I bought it through my company – so money
After 3 years of using the van, I sold it for £500 from my old van went into my pocket and gave
more than I spent building it. If I spent more me other tax benefits. If you can justify your
time selling the I could probably have sold it for van as a business expense it reduces the cost
more – but turning a profit was not the point – I of ownership (it is always worth checking with
was simply happy to prove my original thesis your accountant).
that by doing a decent job in the first place I
could make van ownership practically free.
The end result was that the van cost me
practically nothing – if you add up three years
of mechanical fixes (£750/$1000) the end
result was that my van cost me tiny amount of
money per year to own. Now that is affordable
rent!

I sold this van, with 10,000 miles (16,000km)

on the clock for £38,000 ($45k) and made
approximately £15k ($18k) in profit. This money
stayed in my company in order to by my third
van as a demo van for the diyhero.me van
conversion course.
Van ownership can be free
As we can see from these examples, if you do
a decent job on your conversion, and the van
does not have incredibly high mileage, you
can make van ownership either free, or even
profitable.
This is great news for those of us who commit
to building a van ourselves. Of course we
commit a lot of time to building the van but
even if we sell the van, we still keep new-found
skills and experience - and these are intrinsically
valuable.
The Van Conversion Guide Choices & Design 11
Layout and Design
The van layouts are always based on two things;
a load of research and lots of thinking about
what I need.

It is easy to start adding ALL the features, but I

do my best to stop the wish list from becoming
the shopping list! For me, mostly it would be
one to two people travelling in my van but, as
the van has three legal seat-belted seats in the
cab, I like build in the potential to sleep three if
needed.

Designing the layout of a camper is probably

the most fun part of the planning process and it
greatly depends on the following three choices:
» Fixed or non-fixed bed
» Internal shower, or not
» The position of your kitchen unit

Once you make these basic decisions you

can work out the details of their positions and
subsequently seating, storage, and areas for
electrical, gas and water systems.

I made these videos to help give ideas for

different layouts:

10 Bed Designs
https://youtu.be/1aXUzZCDhm0

10 More Bed Designs

https://youtu.be/1aXUzZCDhm0

10 Kitchen Designs
https://youtu.be/_FA2QI6Y4Po

The Van Conversion Guide Choices & Design 12

Bed configuration
If you are shorter, you can probably sleep com-
fortably side-to-side in many vans, but for me, a
bed needs to be ‘long ways’ as I am too tall. The
best thing is to get in the van and see what will
work for you (remembering that you will lose a
little width when you fit the van out).
Windows
Where you put your windows will define some
of the other elements of your design.
Windows are a mixed blessing – it is great to
have more light, nice views and perhaps venti-
lation but if the window is single glazed (most
bonded windows are) they can cause a lot of
heat-gain when in the sun, and heat-loss when
it is cold.
Because double glazed/skinned windows tend
to be expensive and small I mostly use bonded
windows. They are good value for money and
can let much more light (and scenery) into the
van.
Kitchen unit
The next major decision for your van is where
you put your kitchen - this determines what
space is left for seating.
Bulkhead
The bulkhead is the bit that separates the body
of the van and the cab. Most panel vans have
one made of sheet metal in place.
On both vans I have built I have separated the
cab from the main living space although many
people keep this open - and have a swivelling
‘captains’ chair (or two) giving them more seat-
ing and giving the van a larger area.
When done well this can make the whole van
feel more spacious and can be a good option
for a van conversion.
By removing the bulkhead (or perhaps your van
does not have one) you can have swivelling
seats which make the entire living space much
larger - this can be a big advantage especially
for shorter wheel-base vans.

The Van Conversion Guide Choices & Design 13

Featured Design 1
I lived in this van for two years (while I
renovated a house) and another year I used it
for trips. The spacious design made living in the
van with my partner feel comfortable and not
cramped, even when cooped up in bad weather.
This design features;
» King-size bed (or double)
» Seating for (snug) 6 around the table
» Decent kitchen workspace
» External hot shower
» Ample storage under the bed
» 70litre water tank
» Fridge (slides out from under seat)
To the right are the basic measurements (in
centimetres). If you want to copy it – feel free
to do so. I really liked this design, the only thing
I would add would be small windows by the
bed (to allow airflow over the bed when the fan
extracts).
Based on requests we created a 3D model of
this van which you can get here.

The Van Conversion Guide Choices & Design 14

 The images (on the following page) show my
Featured Design 2 to-scale ‘blocked out’ shapes of various items
This is the van that I built as a demonstration and my general thoughts on where they should
van for the diyhero.me van conversion course. go. When the van arrived, I adapted some of
these to match the reality of the van and it’s
This design is a modified version of the previous structure.
design that also incorporates an internal shower
and toilet. The top cupboard and shelves around the
shower changed from my designs (I added a
This design features: shelf and removed a corner cupboard). Person-
» King-size bed (or double) ally, I find it is best to have my overall design
» Seating for 4 around a table worked out, and then build around the applianc-
» Huge kitchen workspace es and van structures. This also leaves me with
» Internal hot shower some creative freedom as I do the build.:
» 140litre twin water system
» Fridge (slides out from under seat) As with the previous van design, you can see
» Safe (also under seat) that it is not very detailed, it is simply enough to
work toward.
In the second and third images, I have ‘gone
over’ the shapes in the above image and add-
ed colours, textures and even fabric designs to
get a feel for how things will look. This was very
useful because it helped me understand the
final destination for the interior.

The Van Conversion Guide Choices & Design 15

The Van Conversion Guide Choices & Design 16
Colour schemes
Having a background in design makes you go a
little over-the-top in the planning stage.

As the primary color in the van is essentially the

colour of pine cladding – I looked for inspira-
tion from ski chalet designs to find what sort
of colors work well. I noticed the use of neutral
colors with a tendency to have a warm, but
slightly muted, color as an accent.

I liked the warm lighting effects – so when it

came to my design I looked to recreate this in
some way. I played with lots of colors in the
design file – it seemed right. The hard bit was
finding reasonably priced and suitable uphol-
stery fabrics to fit my design ideas.

I usually use three colours in my vans:

- A main colour (for example blue)
- A highlight colour (say gold/yellow)
- Neutral colours (greys)

To the right is an example mood-board with

various chalet interiors and the basic color
schemes that guide them. It might help you
think about how to ‘borrow’ colour ideas from
the experts!

The Van Conversion Guide Choices & Design 17

Bulkhead In my first van, I made a large sliding hatch, and
it was possible to go through it to access the
The bulkhead is the separator which, in many
cab without going outside.
commercial vans, prevents things in the back
from flying forward into the cab in an accident.

People often remove this, add curtains and a

swivel chair and effectively make your van big-
ger and add extra seating. Others, like me, like to
keep the bulkhead in for security, temperature
management, and aesthetic reasons.

Open Bulkhead Pros & Cons

» More space
» Adding a swivel chair means your seating
area includes the cab In my second van (pictured in header image) I
» Easy access to the cab when its raining or in just had a small hatch - this would be really hard
an emergency to climb through - it was more for additional
» Condensation on the windscreen (need to light and to pass things back and forth (towels
use foil protectors) to dry for example).
» Privacy is more work to maintain
» Van seats remind you that you’re in a vehicle In my third van, it was totally closed off. This is
» Heats the van up faster in summer fine for me, a man who generally does not have
» Cools the van down faster in winter to worry about the prospect of creepy men
lingering around outside.
Closed Bulkhead Pros & Cons
» Heats up slower in summer A safety note for women
» Cools down slower in winter If you are a solo female traveller, I would sug-
» Feels less like a van and more like a cabin gest having a way to access your cab from
» Less condensation on windscreen inside the vehicle. I know of three women who
» Less space have had incidents, where men behaved in such
» Harder to access the cab (you can include a a way that they felt it was better to just get into
door/hatch) the cab and drive away. Needless to say, having
» More secure - harder to access the van inte- to leave your van and walk around it, in such a
rior via the front doors situation, is not ideal.

The Van Conversion Guide Choices & Design 18

 Toilets
Feature choice The reality is, if you are living in the mountains
This section will take you through all the key you are pretty OK to ‘go’ into the woods, dig
features - what options exist and their pros and a hole (far from paths or water-ways) do your
cons. It will cover, heaters, showers, toilets, gas business, bury it and take your toilet paper
tanks, vents, split charge (or battery to battery with you. Because of the places where I spend
chargers) and lighting. almost all my time (in fairly quiet locations) a
fixed toilet was not really necessary.
First, a few of my perspectives on the big
feature choices: heating, toilets, showers and In cities or towns there are toilets pretty much
fridges. everywhere but not having a toilet can lead to
problems if you have an emergency or forgot
Heating to plan ahead. Therefore, if you are going to
When I was converting my first van for full-time spend time in towns or cities (or popular vanlife
living, a family friend assured me that adding a locations) I would strongly advise that you have
heater would be a waste of money. Thankfully, some sort of toilet inside your van. This will
this time, I didn’t listen to the advice. make city-living less stressful and, in popular
In general, I like to be warm, and certainly I don’t locations, it will also reduce the impact you
want to be cold all the time. Also, on a practical have on the environment, and the communities,
level, I have never dated someone who is warm that host vanlifers.
all the time. I imagined being somewhere cold My system consists of a couple of pee bottles
for a couple of months, with a cold grumpy in the van - kept under the sink - for when you
girlfriend who wore every single layer she cannot be bothered to leave the van (an old
owned 24/7. Then I imagined how the world Nalgene for the girlfriend). Pee-bottles are a
could made much better place with the flick of little gross, but you quickly get over that.
a switch.
I have also purchased a small cassette toilet for
This thought process added a few hundred the above reasons. It is fairly easy to use and
bucks to my build cost but, after living in that dispose of waste (e.g. into a public toilet). You
van for three years, I can tell you that it was one can read more about toilet options later in this
of the best decisions I ever made. guide.
For normal circumstances, I have a trowel.
The Van Conversion Guide Choices & Design 19
Showers
An internal shower takes up a lot of space
and it requires a more complex and expensive
system. It might feel like you simply must have
an internal shower, but the true answer is that ‘it
depends’.
It depends on when and where you travel, it
depends on how hardy you are, and the sort of
travel you do.
Here are three systems I have I installed:
The gas-powered shower being installed (it can only
Van 1 - Shower bag
used when the back doors are open).
For three years I washed in lakes and rivers or,
when these were not available (or too cold), I Van 3 - internal hot shower
used a solar shower bag - which I heated up in I wanted to demonstrate a full shower install
the cab of the van during the day. If the day was for the van conversion course so I installed an
too cloudy I would add a saucepan of hot water internal shower into this van. It has a tanked gas
to take off the edge. powered water heater (you just turn it on a little
I had a set-up with magnets and a shower while before you want a shower).
curtain between the back doors. It was fine, not The shower wall is made from the counter
amazing, but it worked. top (I could not bear the idea of losing all that
space - or the spacious feel that I like. It has
a half-height shower curtain to stop splashes
escaping.

Above; the solar-shower system I used for 3 years. The

bag provides enough for two, fairly brief, showers.

Van 2 - External hot shower

In my second van, I built in a gas powered
shower to replace the solar shower. Like the This feels like a good solution for ‘the shower
shower bag, it was fitted out the back of the problem’ but it does add some complexity to
van. the build. If building the van solely for my own
This required more kit (pump, accumulator, use, I would be quite happy with the previous
bigger water tank) but being able to have an system - but I have to be honest, this internal
instantly hot shower felt like a real luxury after shower is rather nice.
three years of using a solar shower.

The Van Conversion Guide Choices & Design 20

Fridges Desire
If there was ever an appliance that seems over- We need to be careful about desire! When we
expensive it would be 12V fridges. My current are talking about desire, we are talking about an
van-fridge costs more than the fridge in my intellectual appetite for things that we lack and
house. (Well it would have if I did not buy a that believe to be good. In this sense, a desire is
refurbished unit, half the price of a new one!) different from a need.
In my first van that I used for 3 years I did not According to the post-war French social
have a fridge at all. As a climber, I spent most theorist René Girard, desire is not something
of my time chasing Autumnal conditions, so I that comes ‘from within’ it is the product of a
could get away with out one. I found that the social process.
food storage area, being under the bed, was
generally cooler than the rest of the van. Not Girard called this mimetic desire (mimesis is
eating meat, or buying soft cheese, made this the Greek word for imitation) and, as such, he
pretty alright. saw these mimetic desires as desires we have
because of our social influences. He recognised
In my second van, I bought a Dometic cool box- that it is human nature to be drawn to what
style compressor fridge. This was expensive, other people want.
but unfortunately cheap cool boxes can be very
poor when it comes to energy efficiency which It is likely that if I perceive a product or lifestyle
really takes a toll on your battery levels. to be desirable, it is because someone I am
exposed to has ‘modelled’ it in such a way that
I did the same in my third van, it is currently my it appears desirable. The closer the people
favoured fridge system, as it can easily fit in a ‘modelling’ desires are to being like us, the more
slide out drawer under a bench. we are likely to pay attention, and internalise
what they want. It is often the case that these
We will go into fridges, and the different social influences can drive our desires, without
options, a little later in this book. us being aware of the fact - it is always worth
What you don’t install trying to understand where our desires come
Deciding what you don’t install is perhaps just from.
as important as figuring out you do. It is very So, really, this is a quick warning about social
easy to get carried away and end up with a van media (and those lovely influencers). We are
that requires a second mortgage. easily led astray into other peoples desires, and
If we are seeking adventure, this might not these are desires - not needs.
be so wise. We humans are pretty adaptable As it is very easy to spend the equivalent of a
creatures, we can often make do with less. Not year’s worth of travelling budget on a bunch of
only that, but our desire to have all the shiny luxury systems - I challenge you to stay mindful
things might ultimately make our project so about actual needs, and keep check on your
expensive that it stops us getting out there and desires.
experiencing the world.
By all means, install some luxury items, just
Primarily, we need warmth, shelter, food, water, don’t let them stop you getting out on the road.
and friends. If your designs have got out of
hand and you now ‘need’ $150,000 in order to
have a few months travelling - get back to the
basics and start your thinking again.
Of course, you might be somewhat wealthy
- good for you - build that fancy van! But for
those of us who are not, we shouldn’t let other
people’s luxuries build a barrier to living our
dreams.

The Van Conversion Guide Choices & Design 21

 prices.
Fridges
Best used for: Occasional Road Trips /
Why have a fridge?
Vegetarian travellers
A fridge is fairly essential if you eat a lot of fresh
Search for: Electric cool box, travel fridge,
meat, want to store soft cheeses, fresh milk
TropiCool
or need a cold beer at the end of the day. Or,
simply, if you spend a lot of time in hot places. Powered by: 12v/24v DC and sometimes with
240v AC
If you are mostly vegetarian or vegan you might
be OK without a fridge especially if your food is Cools to: Around 20°C to 30°C below the
stored low in the van and you stay away from ambient temperature (cold enough).
very hot places - a standard non-powered cool
box may be enough depending on where you Power consumption: 30 – 80W
travel. Price: Ranges from $100 (£80) to $500 (£400)
For three years I did not have a fridge at all and depending on size and quality.
for those on a tight budget, a standard cool box
may do the job. Compressor fridges / 2 way
Otherwise, there are three main options for Compressor fridges use a compressor to
refrigeration: circulate the refrigerant and can be powered
» Thermoelectric Cool box by 12v or by mains power (hence 2 way). They
» Compressor Fridge come as normal style fridge units, cool boxes
» Gas Fridge or as drawers. Basically, these are like a normal
domestic fridge but smaller.
Which you choose will largely depend on your
power system and what the van is for. If you are
living off-grid full-time you will have different
requirements than those building a van for
weekend use.
Thermoelectric cool boxes
Thermoelectric cool boxes that run on your 12V
system can be a good budget alternative to the
more expensive options that follow.

Best used for: Long-term van living & self

installation
Search for: 2 Way, Compressor Cooler
Powered by:12v/24v DC and sometimes or
230v AC
Cools to: Below freezing – down to about -10°C
Power consumption: 50 – 75W
Price: Ranges from £270 ($350) upwards
If you turn it on in the day while the van
becomes warmer (and you have plenty of solar) If you have a decent solar & battery system
it can then stay cool enough throughout the (around 300W solar, 150 usable AmpHour
night. battery) then you are probably going to be able
to run a fridge like this. A long spell of warm
These are typically not very efficient and this & cloudy weather could be difficult to keep it
poor performance is reflected in the lower
The Van Conversion Guide Choices & Design 22
running though. What I use
This is probably the happy medium for most
people who need a fridge; it is easy to install
– does not need external ventilation and has a
reasonable price point.
Absorption refrigerators / 3 way
If you like to camp off-grid or away from
campsite electricity, these fridges offer you an
alternative to compressor fridges.
On the downside, this type of fridge requires
ventilation through the external side wall of your
van and it needs to be level to work correctly.

The Dometic Waeco CFX35 (I have previously

used the smaller CF26). They both worked well,
have a decent capacity and are fairly quiet when
the compressor is running. (It comes on and off
to maintain the temperature you set).

Gas powered fridges do run silently – this

is a big pro for those who sleep lightly but
they do have a more complicated installation
process and should be installed (or at minimum
checked) by a qualified gas fitter.
If you need a fridge, and have the budget, these
do allow you to run off-grid long-term pretty
effectively and if you are using refillable LPG
then it is a good value way to keep your food
cool.
Best used for: Long-term van living, those with
refillable LPG systems
Search for: 3 Way, Absorption Fridge, LPG/
Propane fridge
Powered by: Gas, 12v/24v DC and sometimes
or 230v AC
Cools to: Below freezing – down to about -18°C
Power consumption: 50 – 75W
Price: Ranges from £350 to £1500 ($500-
$2000)

The Van Conversion Guide Choices & Design 23

 Refillable gas system (LPG/Propane/Autogas)
Gas systems options This is my system of choice, I can fill the tank
WARNING: Your gas system could kill you. (without removing it from the van) via a fill
Get your gas system checked by a qualified point on the exterior of the van at gas stations
gas fitter. It is really worth it. Regulations are that sell LPG/Propane.
different in different countries and this will
Why LPG/Autogas?
probably define your installation – find out what
If you use normal propane/butane tanks you
they are before starting.
need to exchange them when you run out of
ADVISORY: Install a Carbon Monoxide alarm gas. This is fine, but as cylinders can vary from
and a Gas Leak detector. It is worth it. country-to-country it means that, depending
on where you travel, you may need more than
Gas system options one cylinder. You may also end up being given
Do we all need under-slung refillable gas a tank which is in bad condition and hard to
systems with remote sensors and copper pipe exchange again when home.
fitted throughout the van? Of course not - as
always it comes down to what you are using LPG (Autogas / Propane) however, the gas that
the van for and what budget you are working some people power their cars with, can be filled
with. up at many gas-stations throughout the world.
This is not all garages, but considering how
These are the main options: infrequently you will need to fill it up this usually
Budget; disposable canisters (cooking only) is not a problem.
There are various apps that help you find
gas-stations that have LPG/Autogas top-ups.
It costs me around £18/$22 to fill up my 20kg
tank. Over a year my gas bill is approximately
£100/$125 which is not bad as an annual heat-
ing & cooking bill.

What size tank do I need?

The cheapest easiest system is essentially a
To give an example based on my experience:
cartridge style camping stove. For weekend use
this might be enough. » In summer, 11kg of gas lasts about 3-4
months in summer
Exchangeable vs Refillable
» In winter, 11kg of gas lasts about 1 month in
winter (using the heater quite a lot)
If you are running other systems from your gas
(fridges, other hot water systems or frequent
showers) it will run out faster. Therefore, the
more systems you have the larger the ideal tank
for you.
Exchangeable canisters are popular and are
In my experience, filling up the gas once a
good for domestic or short overseas van-trips.
month for 3 months of winter is not a big deal.
Campingaz and Calor have a range of different
cylinders which can be used and replaced in Types of refillable systems
garages or similar. The two main options for a refillable gas system
is to have a canister inside the van (in a vented,
Canisters do not tend to be swappable in
sealed, gas locker) or fixed to the underside of
different countries so, for longer overseas trips,
your van in an under-slung system.
I would lean toward a refillable LPG system.

The Van Conversion Guide Choices & Design 24

Gas tank inside the van
If inside the van, your Gas Canister should be in
a vented sealed locker.

Under-slung gas systems will have a fill hose

that attaches to the side of your van (or can the
wall of the van) and the regulator, and hose that
connects it to your tank, will also be fixed to the
underside of the van.

You can buy lockers that fit the gas-canisters

from various suppliers, or you can make one
yourself, the key thing is that it must be sealed
and vented through the bottom of the van.
The gas bottle must be vertical, it cannot be
laying down (always follow manufacturers
guidance).
You can use a smoke pellet (usually purchasable
through hardware stores) to test your gas-
locker to ensure that it does not leak anywhere
but out the the bottom of your van.
If you are going to rent out your van or think
you might want to do so in the future, I would
strongly recommend having your gas system
installed by a qualified gas engineer who can
sign it off as gas-safe at the same time.
It will cost a bit of money but if the end result is
that you can profit from you van then the cost
will be fairly negligible in the long term.
Under-slung gas tank
Under-slung gas systems are typically more
expensive and more complicated to install.
They do have the advantage of not taking up
precious space within your van and can be safer
because all high-pressure systems are on the
outside of your van.

The Van Conversion Guide Choices & Design 25

 » Fan can be a little noisy
Heating systems
Diesel heaters
You essentially have three options for heating
your van; Gas, Diesel or Wood.
Heating takes a lot of energy and you won’t
get enough from a solar system (that you can
fit on your roof) to heat your van – especially
considering that on cooler weather often you
have less sun. So – electric heating is not an
option.
Gas heaters
These generally need to be installed by
someone who knows what they are doing and
cost around £800 or more – they tap into the
fuel line and are a reliable way to heat your van.
You can find Chinese Diesel heaters for about
£150 ($200). They usually require a little Diesel
tank to be filled somewhere in the van and tend
to be quite noisy (more for those outside your
These work well in combination with a refillable van) but they do work.
propane or LPG tank. They are not too
expensive (£450 ish) and not to hard to install Both proper Gas and Diesel heater options
– ideally this is installed by someone qualified takes air from outside, burns fuel and vents the
to do so an at minimum checked by a gas exhaust outside the van. Gas heaters that don’t
engineer. can be dangerous!

Gas heater pros & cons Diesel heater pros & cons

» Cheap to run if using refillable LPG/Propane » Runs from diesel tank and on that basis you
will not really run out of fuel
» Fairly easy to install
» Can be mounted entirely outside of the van
» Runs on thermostat so saving space

The Van Conversion Guide Choices & Design 26

 » Runs on thermostat
» Typically uses more electricity to run than Wood burners
Gas heaters
Some care needs to be taken to avoid fire risk
» Needs servicing from time to time & carbon monoxide poisoning but can be a
cheap option even if it does take up quite a bit
» Fairly expensive of space.

‘Chinese’ Diesel heaters

These came onto the market several years ago

and are a popular budget option
» Pretty cheap (£150)
» Easy to install
» You need to fill a separate internal tank with Wood burner pros and cons
diesel – this can mean you have an additional » Can scavenge to get free fuel
small diesel tank in the garage (and diesel
smells if you spill it » Takes up a lot of space

» Typically uses more electricity to run than » Requires storage of wood inside the van (to
Gas heaters keep dry)

» These tend to be quite noisy (esp outside » Requires finding/buying wood for burning
the van) which might annoy your van
» Takes time to light/get going
neighbors or near-by campers
» If in very cold weather, either you need to
keep feeding it overnight or wake up to a cold
van
» Can make things smell a bit smoky
» The chimney sticks out above the van
(another thing to cast shade on solar panels)

The Van Conversion Guide Choices & Design 27

 image. (I have used this system, and love it).
Roof vents
A roof vent is useful for extracting air while
cooking, for helping to cool the van, enable
airflow during the night, and to let natural light
enter the van. There are a few brands of roof
vent (Fammia, Thule, Maxxair) with different
models and price points.
Dual roof-vents for hot weather
A good and commonly used system for cooling
a van at night is using a dual vent system. Powered fans
Ideally one (or both is powered) enabling a Having a roof vent with a powered fan gives you
circulation of air. a few advantages;
» Ability to draw in cold air at night – or to help
the van stay cool during the day
» Ability to extract cooking steam or stuffy
hot air
There are a few powered roof vents on the
market, but the fans I have direct experience
with, and therefore can review are as follows:

» Thule Omnivent this fan has more of a broad

Through the use of windows (usually by the effect, it sort of distributes the air all around
bed) or two roof-vents you can create a the van. The wind-up and down handle is stiff
circulation of air that can quickly bring the and a bit awkward to use. It is not too expen-
temperature of the van to match the cooler sive. I would give it 2 stars.
night time temperatures outside. » Maxxfan Deluxe (with remote) more ex-
The downside is that two roof vents does take pensive, but it boasts some great features. It
up valuable solar panel space! To avoid this can be used in the rain, the remote control is
you can have one powered fan and a couple excellent and it opens and shuts electronically.
of opening side windows - see the following I give it 4 stars and think it is worth the money.

The Van Conversion Guide Choices & Design 28

Mushroom vents / Extraction fans
If you have installed a skylight (especially if it
has a powered fan) you probably do not need a
separate extraction fan for cooking. If however,
you are not installing a large roof-vent then it is
worth adding some form of extraction fan for
use when cooking.
I installed one on my first van. I cut a hole in the
roof for the extraction fan (it has to fit within
the roof runnels else the rubber seal will not
work).

The extractor fan simply has to fit in to the

hole and be screwed to the vent part. I had to
find some longer screws for it to reach. The
insulation and cladding meant the screws that
came with the unit were not quite long enough.

This mushroom vent cost about £30 ($35). It

is one of the few 12V vents I could find online
– and it is not the greatest product. It is quite
loud but it does work.

The Van Conversion Guide Choices & Design 29

 Option 1. Solar shower
Shower design
There is nothing like a missing shower or toilet
in a van tour video to get people commenting!
On a practical basis however, adding one – or
both - can add quite a bit of complexity to your
build.
Here is a short film with ten different camper
van shower systems:
https://youtu.be/VZkYE1K43cM

Simple, non-built-in shower solutions I used this for 3 years in my first van. I would
Built in showers take up space, need special leave the Solar Shower in the front of the van to
systems for water heating, a larger water tank heat up during the day and if I want a shower, I
and probably a grey-water system. Typically, a would hang it on the back doors, use a shower
built in shower stores a toilet, either built-in, or curtain held on by magnets and have a shower.
cassette. It is OK. In winter, if the weather is bad or it is
If however, you do not want to take up a lot cold, than it is less then ideal. You can always
of space - that you only use for a few minutes put a saucepan of hot water into the shower
a day - then here are a whole range of other bag to take the edge off the cold.
options! Option 2. Weed killer bottle
You can use a pressurized weed killer bottle and
shower using the spray. Do not use a used one
for washing your body – weed killer tends to be
incredibly toxic. Again, with this option you can
put in warmed up water.

The Van Conversion Guide Choices & Design 30

Option 3. Solar roof rack find many options.
Built in shower – pros, cons and installation
basics

These are pretty good if you are travelling

in warm and sunny places. They can be a
really effective ways to deliver hot water for
showering.
Option 4. Bucket / battery powered showers

It probably seems crazy to a lot of people why

you would not have a shower and toilet in the
van. So if you decide you want a full on shower
room in your van - fair play!
Pros of a built-in shower:
» Get a warm shower in any weather
» You can build-in or contain a toilet too
» As close to house-life in a van as you can get
This electronic product simply pumps it up to Cons of a built in shower:
the nozzle from a bucket. You could also use
» The system you need; water heating, larger
a metal bucket and warm the water-up direct
water tanks, add significant work and cost to
from the hob. This is a simple and cost effective
your build
system and the unit charges via USB.
» The shower ‘cupboard’ can take up a lot of
Option 5. Portable gas-powered shower
space in the van
» Waste water – you can add a grey-water
tank (or let it just pour out under the van –
when using organic-friendly soaps away from
others)
» Having your van level becomes more
important

These systems can be fitted to the back of your

van and can be connected up to a gas bottle
and are for outside use only (not suitable – or
safe - for permanent internal shower)
Above is is the Costway gas heater. If you
search for ‘gas shower heater camping’ you will
The Van Conversion Guide Choices & Design 31
 Table and bed system
Bed designs
Aside from a fixed bed which has the advantag-
es of maximizing storage, reducing your daily
admin but does reduce seating area options.
Here is a video with 10 different van conversion
bed designs:
https://youtu.be/1aXUzZCDhm0
Slide out bed

This is also a fairly standard design which gives

you a table and a potentially very large bed. The
table-top sits within the ‘hole’ and is supporting
by a strip of wood that goes around it. Usual-
This popular and easy-to-build system uses two
ly people use two cushions (that squeeze fit)
mattresses which serve as a back-of-seat as
to cover the table top and create backs to the
well as the other half of a mattress.
chairs.
To construct put the parts together you need
Under the seats is typically used for storage,
to insert ‘slide part’ in place before you screw
accessed by lifting the cushion, or for battery
down the slats on the static section!
and electronics storage. The legs detach totally
You can see an interesting implementation of and can be stashed somewhere over night.
this system in a small space here; https://www.
Search for ‘Island table leg sets’ to find the kit
youtube.com/watch?v=m0elTKz5qhU
for this kind of table legs.
The Van Conversion Guide Choices & Design 32
Bed plug to bench
This is the table and seating area in my second
van – it can seat a snug six and the table is great
for working on (where I am writing this right
now).

The Table Leg

The table leg has a simple construction for the
folding mechanism. I added a slider bolt to pre-
vent the whole table going down should some-
one accidentally kick the leg in. The pivot bar is
6mm threaded bar (the same I used to attach
the stud-work to the ceiling structures).

The table is made from 9mm (3/8 inch) Hard-

wood Ply and is connected to a camper-van
slider rail (a part I bought on ebay). The leg is
hardwood and it’s construction – specifically
how to stop it collapsing on people is detailed
below.
The bed-side seating area is created by remov-
ing the ‘bed plug’ which is part of the memory
foam mattress that I cut off and turned into
a removable cushion The bed-plug itself can
be used against the back of the van to make a
comfortable lean-to back. (See 3rd image)

The Van Conversion Guide Choices & Design 33

 No toilet (pee bottle)
Toilets
A pee bottle is kind-of nice, saves going outside
The age-old question; ‘Where do you sh*t?’
in cold or rainy weather.. or if you just don’t feel
Here is my take on it. If you are in a city, there like dressing yet. Nalgene wide mouth bottles
are bars, gyms, restaurants and cafés with can work for women if they work out their aim.
toilets open from around 8am to 1am in most
Portable toilet – cassette toilet
places. This covers you for the basic needs
but if you get caught short, its really not ideal
- therefore having some kind of toilet for
emergencies is well worth it.
If you are in popular vanlife places - or plan
to go to them - again, just for the sake of the
local area (and the people who live there) get
yourself some kind of toilet.
If you are in the wild – then you can nature poo
anywhere. Just take a trowel and go for a ‘Pike’
(poo-hike). Dig a 6 inch hole and away you go.
Best practices is to dispose of the toilet paper
into a bin and don’t go anywhere near a stream
or river.
There are a wide range of portable toilets which
Do you need a Toilet in your van? use chemicals to flush, clean and manage
A guide (clue, probably) odours. You can make a space in your van
https://youtu.be/xlDpZ91S_vY where it can slide away when not in use. These
are ideal especially for when you are caught
For those of who prefer their comforts or are without a non-van alternative.
perhaps a bit older and dashing to some woods
is not ideal here are the main toilet options; They are not maintenance free and you can
usually empty them at any normal fill point or
other mains-connected toilet.

The Van Conversion Guide Choices & Design 34

The main advantage is that they take little Built-in toilet with black-water tank
space. There is no additional build required and
for a relatively small amount of money you have A built in toilet brings the requirement for a
a toilet in your van. black-water tank. A ‘black water’ tank (toilet
waste) needs a big hose to empty it – and a
Fixed-position - cassette toilet grey-water tank to empty after so the black
water hose is cleaned up.
This is not really a suitable set-up for most van
conversions, especially off-grid conversions
as you need proper caravan waste dumping
facilities fairly frequently to deal with the waste.
I will not delve into these requirements in this
book but if you search for adding black water
tanks / plumbing in a flushing toilet for your van
it should be fairly easy to work it out.
Note; in the US black water holding tanks are
pretty normal and there tends to be lots of
dump sites. In Europe dump sites are much
less prevalent therefore a cassette toilet is
These toilets are the middle ground between a recommended
portable toilet and a fully plumbed in toilet that
goes to a black water tank.
These cassette toilets are best when integrated
into a shower unit. The seat/bowl typically
swivels to give more room in the small shower
space.
The cassette is removed from the back of the
toilet and therefore it is usually placed with the
back facing in-to the van so it can be accessed.
These fixed units (that can be plumbed in) cost
more – around £500.
Again the cassette can be dumped into normal
mains plumbed toilets or at waste dump sites in
campsites etc..

The Van Conversion Guide Choices & Design 35

 I am a fan of the JBL Flip series (waterproof)
Sound system choices – good sound & portability. The total cost is
I looked in to sound systems but it got fairly less than just the amplifier component of an
complicated - needing amplifiers, speakers, and inbuilt sound system – and these are more than
Bluetooth modules, and it was looking quite ex- enough for the space of the van.
pensive. On top of that there is a space aspect,
See above, I use a couple of fold-away hooks
where will the speakers go?
(Ikea) to hold the speaker out the way.
In the end I decided not to bother and went for
the simple solution - a USB charged Bluetooth
speaker.
I think this is best option for the following rea-
sons;
• They can deliver great quality sound
• You can use them on your adventures outside
the van
• They are powered by USB – simple is best!
• They can connect to your phone
• If it breaks – it does not affect the van build
• You can move it around the van as you wish
• Technology goes out of date? No problem.
For me it was a relief not to have to think about
an inbuilt sound system and this solution is far
better.

The Van Conversion Guide Choices & Design 36

 I bought a fire extinguisher and put it in its own
Van Safety little alcove – it feels out the way (but easily in
reach) and does not affect the over all look of
the van very much.

I recommend having a gas leak detector, a car-

bon monoxide detector and a fire extinguisher
at minimum.
Lots of people think you must put the detec-
tors low down - but on all commercial builds
you will see them placed higher-up. Although
gas and carbon monoxide is heavier than air, the
space is small and the nature of gas means that
the detector will work anywhere.

The Van Conversion Guide Choices & Design 37

 GPS trackers
Van security A GPS tracker does not prevent theft but
There are three types of security you can install it can enable law enforcement to find the
into a van conversion: vehicle. Sometimes thieves steel a van and
drive it somewhere else so they have time to
1. Prevention of the theft of the van itself go through it and unload whatever they steal.
2. Prevention of access to the van They just leave the van wherever they parked
3. Prevention of contents theft (if accessed) it, meaning that your van could just be sitting a
4. Personal safety mile or two away and a tracker can enable you
Prevention of the theft of the van itself to find it.
A big part of stopping someone stealing your
van is making it appear to be more effort than
it is worth (or at least less attractive than the
next van).
Steering wheel locks
These make it hard to use the van if you were
able to start the engine. A skilled or tooled-up
thief will probably be able to remove it but it
does act as a deterrent.
Typically the better trackers require a monthly
subscription to access the ongoing service
they provide.
Prevention of access to the van
In general, vans are not actually very hard
to break into. Sliding doors can be jimmied
Pedal locks and back doors can be popped open using a
A pedal lock is another way to prevent someone crowbar and enough force. Thieves know this
driving off with it. They are effective but are a and have learned how to break into the popular
bit more effort to fit on and off - and provide models.
less of a visual deterrent. Additional deadlocks
The best way to protect your doors from forced
entry is to install additional deadlocks. These
heavy duty locks and plates are bolted into your
van and make it substantially harder to access
your van via the doors.

Kill switches
You can install a number of different switches
to your van, including a switch that cuts off the
fuel pump, the battery, ignition of fuse-box.
These are typically hidden (or in some cases
remote controlled) switches that make the van
appear to have something wrong with it. The
idea it that the thief tries to start the van, thinks
that the battery is flat (or something) and gives
up.

The Van Conversion Guide Choices & Design 38

 You can screw this into the floor of your van or
build it into furniture. Of course, a well tooled
up thief could probably break into it, or prise the
safe out of the van - but it is unlikely that most
thieves would bother.
Personal safety
Last but not least, your safety is pretty
important - and this section is especially
Window security film important for women who travel alone. I have
The windows are a significant weak-point in two key recommendations for this:
your van and if you can easily break a window
and get into your van, then all the dead locks in Have a way to access to the cab
the world are not doing you much good. It is a really sad fact that women who travel
alone are often harassed and this is no different
Window security film, primarily useful for large for travelling in a van. Almost every woman I
glass bonded windows means that if someone know who has spent considerable time living
tries to break through the window the film in a van has a story of some form of male
sticks it all together - making it really hard to harassment.
get in. This film is can be applied yourself, or by
a company that specialises in it. These may not be stories of someone
aggressively trying to gain entry to their vehicle,
When smash-and-run theft tends to happen in but they were situations scary, or creepy,
a few minutes, this additional difficulty may well enough that they were very glad of being able
put off a would-be thief. You still have a broken to get into the cab and drive away without
window, but the stuff inside your van is safer. going outside of the vehicle.
Prevention of theft of contents The bottom line is, if there are concerning men,
or concerning behaviour, outside of your van
Apart from the annoyance, and the cost of
- by leaving the van you are placing yourself
repair, if someone does break into your van,
in more danger and at greater risk of direct
they are breaking in for a reason - and typically
contact with the people who worry you. Just
that reason is easily sold valuable items.
staying inside the van is also an uncomfortable
Bulkhead option - it is much better to be able to drive
If you keep your bulkhead in place, it makes away and park-up elsewhere.
it much harder to access the body of the van
Therefore, I would recommend having a way
through the cab (which, by nature of design,
to access the cab from inside the van, this
is vulnerable to break-in). This in itself can be
does not have to be a full size door, but at least
quite a good deterrent. If you have a slider door,
something you can get through if you want to
or hatch, you may consider making it the same
in a hurry.
colour as the rest of the bulkhead, or using a
solid material to make it look (or be) impassible Internal locking of doors
from the outside. Old vans often do not have a way to lock the
doors with the touch of a button. For the same
Hidden compartments
reasons as above, and generally to sleep better
If someone breaks into you van, you can use
at night in sketchier park-ups, it is much better
hidden compartments which are really hard
to be able to lock your doors from the inside.
to find. As a typical opportunistic break-in is
happens quickly, thieves are focusing on quickly
opening and emptying all the cupboards to find
valuable items, therefore hidden compartments
can be effective.
Install a safe
Installing a safe can be a good idea, especially
to protect important documents or electronics.
The Van Conversion Guide Choices & Design 39
Prevention!
The reality is, if thieves well tooled up, then
nothing will stop them from getting into your
van, so the main aim is to reduce the chances
of being a target of opportunistic thieves.
Always, prevention is better than the cure.
Much of this will be to do with where you leave
your van unattended. Check for broken glass
on the ground (a sign of previous break-ins).
Consider paying for parking in more suspect
places.
Check this video out - it has many ideas for
different security systems.

https://youtu.be/0BjBYbIrZnE
Call me an optimist, or naive, but personally I
am not too hot on security systems. For sure
one day I might van might get broken into and
lose my stuff, but somehow I prefer to not to
live in fear and, if that happens, then I pay the
price.
In reality they could steal my laptop and a
camera – both well used and several years old
– and some well used climbing gear. None of
which would hurt too bad if I had to replace
them. This way of thinking frees me a little and
allows me to worry less.

The Van Conversion Guide Choices & Design 40

 Types of light
Lighting choices The three main types of light used in a camper
Lighting can really ‘make’ a van. Poor lighting van conversion are spot lights (local switch),
is either annoying, or feels bad when you are low profile spotlights and strip lights.
inside it. If there was any area to give a little bit
of thought - it is lighting!
A lighting ring is when you have a few lights
running off one switch. It can be useful to have
different options for your day-to-day lighting.
You should buy only LED lights (for energy
I typically split this in two the three areas of my efficiency and life-span) and they should all
design: match your system voltage, so typically 12V (or
24V).
» Kitchen - where you want the option of
bright lighting Spotlights with local switches make good
reading lights, or to slight specific areas, but you
» Dining area - again, it is nice to be able to
probably do not want to use them for the whole
see what you are eating
van, else you need to go round turning them all
» Bed area - good to have both options for on or off as required.
bright light and soft light
Low profile spotlights are great for fitting in
To manage this, I will usually have three options to cladding or panelling. If you do not get low-
for bright ceiling spot lights (low profile 12V LED profile spotlights you will need quite a bit of
spotlights) and a couple of LED strip lights that space behind them to hold the unit. Typically
give indirect / warm feeling lighting. low profile LED spotlights are around 10mm /
3/8 inch deep.
Therefore, my lighting switches are usually
something like this: 12V LED strip lights tend to be the more power-
» Kitchen spots hungry of the lighting options, but when used
» Dining spots in recesses, they can really look fantastic. You
» Bed spots can buy them with dimmers or even with multi-
» Kitchen LED strips colour remote controls.
» Bed LED strips
The Van Conversion Guide Choices & Design 41
Lighting temperature (Kelvin rating) Personally I am not a fan of cold lighting, so I
Lights typically come with a colour rating, and always go for warm-tone options.
this will dictate how the lighting will feel inside
your van. Warm tones can be further enhanced by having
indirect light reflect of other warm tones, as
The colour you use will partially depend on with the LED strip light in the image below.
the colour of your van. If you have painted
everything bright white you probably want to go
for white lighting (else warm lights will make it
look yellow), if your van has natural colours, pine
cladding, or similar then you probably want to
use warmer colours.

There is something very cosy about a van lit

with indirect warm light.

Above, colour chart showing kelvin rating for

lighting. Around 3000k is good if you want
warm-white light.

The Van Conversion Guide Choices & Design 42

System
design
Electric | Water | Gas
 For this reason, you can order such a service
Electric basics through our website (thevanconversionguide.
com). Look for our ‘electrical consultation’
Electrics are intimidating and, for a novice, it
service. Also, if you are based in the US or the
looks wildly complicated! I want to reassure
UK we can also ship you the entire kit down to
you that it is not that bad. I will walk you
wires and components.
through the electrical basics, then move on to
help you design your system.
Electronics basics
There are a few simple principals that are useful
A quick safety note; when working with
to understand.
electrical systems there is a risk of electric
shock. You should always be careful and use a
Firstly, what is electricity? When electrons
professional to help you install it. I did not do
move, they carry electrical energy from
this, but it has to be said.
one place to another. This is called current
electricity or an electric current. We measure
System design
electricity using Volts, Amps and Watts.
If this is your first time creating an electrical
system I would advise you do either take two
Voltage is a measurement of the electric
routes:
potential or “pressure” at which electricity flows
through a system.
Route 1: Build a simple system and more-
or-less follow a schematic from this book or
Amps are rate that current flows through an
someone else reputable. Be sure that if you
electrical circuit. If voltage is like water pressure,
change components that it will still function
amperage is like the rate of water flow. “Amps”
correctly together.
is the common shorthand for this.
Route 2: Get an off-grid engineer to help you
Watts (= Volts x Amps)
design a more advanced system, and install
Watts are units of electric power. Think of
it based on the specifications provided. This
wattage as electricity at work when heating or
means that for more advanced systems, you
illuminating a room in your home.
are installing the right kit that will work together
correctly (and safely).

The Van Conversion Guide System Design 44

Electrical circuits
For an electric current to happen, there must Parallel
be a circuit. A circuit is a closed path or loop Parallel wiring is essentially how you will wire-
around which an electric current flows. up most of your electrical circuits. In this,
because the electricity is not passing through
A circuit is usually made by linking electrical two appliances they both can both receive the
components together with pieces of wire cable. full 12volts and the lights are operating at their
Thus, in a flashlight, there is a simple circuit with correct brightness.
a switch, a lamp, and a battery linked together
by a few short pieces of copper wire.

When you turn the switch on, electricity flows

around the circuit. If there is a break anywhere
in the circuit, electricity cannot flow. If one of
the wires is broken, for example, the lamp will
not light. Similarly, if the switch is turned off,
no electricity can flow. This is why a switch is
sometimes called a circuit breaker.

Short circuit (bad news)

Short-circuiting is when an electric current
flows down the wrong or unintended path with
little to no electrical resistance. It can cause
In parallel circuits it does not matter how many
serious damage, fire, and even small-scale
bulbs you put in place, the voltage will stay the
explosions. In fact, short circuits are one of
same. For this reason, the majority of lights,
the leading causes of structural fires around
USB points or other things that will come
the world. If you’ve ever seen sparks in your
off one fused line (or switch) will be wired in
electrical panel, it most likely was a short circuit
parallel.
causing them.

When it comes to your appliances or batteries

there are two main types of circuit:

Series
This is when your circuit items are placed all in a
row, in this instance, three light-bulbs. This may
appear to be the logical way to do things the
voltage is ends up being spread-out throughout
the loads. Here the battery provides 12V but
each bulb only receives 4V because it is spread
out over three bulbs. The result is that the bulbs
are much dimmer than if they were wired in
parallel.

The Van Conversion Guide System Design 45

Batteries series & parallel
When it comes to batteries we also need to
think about how they should be wired. If you
have two batteries and you connect them
up in series then, just as the light bulbs in the
previous example ended up dividing the voltage,
batteries as the source of power multiply.

Below is two 12V batteries wired in series, the

result is a 24V supply. You might want a 24V
system, but if you don’t this would be a bad way
to wire your batteries.

Instead, if you want a 12V system and you are

using two batteries, you would wire them up in
parallel as shown below.

The Van Conversion Guide System Design 46

 Batteries are typically measured in AmpHours
Electrical system (the number of hours that it will provide 1 amp
1. The Parts of power).

Van Conversion Electrical Kit There are two types of battery you might want
The following parts are the ‘main’ components to use in you van conversion; lead acid (typically
of an electrical system. we would use AGM) and Lithium.

Leisure battery Lead acid batteries are cheaper but come

You already have a battery in your vehicle, this with some disadvantages. Firstly you can only
is the starter battery that is used to turn the use 50% of the charge of the battery because
engine over every time you start it (unless you running it down damages the battery - when
have an electric car, then it is the power source it is flat a chemical reaction occurs that
of the vehicle). renders the battery useless - so, If you have
a 200AmpHr battery, you only really have
Starter batteries are designed to give a big 100AmpHrs of usable charge. They are also
amount of current in a short period and are heavy and will only last a few years of full time
not suitable for running the low amperage use. In my experience, if you are using your van
appliances in your van conversion. Not only full time, all seasons, you can expect a lead acid
that, but if you run down your starter battery, battery to last 3 years - 5 if you are lucky. This is
you can no longer start your van. because inevitably you will run it down too far
and they just don’t last that long in general.
Lithium batteries are more expensive, but come
with some advantages. You can use 100% of
the charge of a lithium battery, they are much
lighter and take up less space. You can expect
good quality Lithium batteries to give you 10
years of life.
Not so long ago it made sense to buy lead acid
batteries just on the basis that you could buy
So, instead of using the starter battery, we three sets of batteries (therefore giving over 10
include a leisure battery. This is a battery that is years) and still have money left over compared
designed to deliver lower amounts of power for to buying Lithium, but times have changed.
longer periods of time. The push for greener technology has massively

The Van Conversion Guide System Design 47

reduced the price of Lithium batteries and As the gasses are contained within the battery,
today it generally makes sense to buy Lithium if in certain circumstances (e.g. persistent
you can afford to. overcharging) there can be a risk of pressure
build up and gas leakage through the valves. If
Of course, if you just want to get out on the you want to be super safe, then you can vent
road for a few years on a tight budget, lead the sealed batteries. but probably by having a
acid batteries still have a place, but otherwise, way for any potential gas to get out and mix
Lithium is the way forward. with air in the living space it will be enough.
Why not cheaper normal car batteries? Leisure Note: a key reason for over-charging might be
batteries have a longer discharge cycle to a too low rated Solar Charge controller – more
normal car batteries and are therefore much about this later.
more suitable for charging appliances. Leisure
batteries do tend to be a bit more expensive, Solar panels
but they are the right batteries for the job.
Non-fully sealed batteries / vented batteries
Personally, I would not bother considering non-
sealed batteries because they need external
venting and periodic maintenance. See later in
this guide for more info about venting.
Batteries and Venting
I have split this up into another section just so
it is clear – it has safety connotations, so it is
worth making sure you get it right. Solar panels are either monocrystaline or
polycrystaline. For the size of an array we can
Lead acid batteries break down some of the
install on a camper van it probably does not
electrolyte into hydrogen and oxygen during
make a lot of difference which you use - the
the final stages of charging. In general, if this
main thing is to have enough!
gas escapes it’s not a problem, but if not vented
and in an enclosed space it can be a danger Typically monocrystaline panels are black (as
with a risk of explosion or fire. This is especially pictured above) and polycrystaline are blue
true of wet-cell batteries that you have to top- with visible cells. I prefer the sleek look of the
up from time to time. monocrystaline, but I am also aware that this
is not necessarily what the more technically
I did not vent my batteries –this is because my
minded people care about.
batteries are Fully Sealed leisure batteries. In
Fully Sealed batteries the gasses are contained Solar Charge Controller
within the battery.
Just cut out the faff and the danger by getting
a fully sealed battery. These days it just makes
sense… Just give your supplier a call and check
if you are unsure of what you are doing or
buying. If you are not happy or confident with
their answer – use a different supplier that can
provide better product advice.
Non-sealed batteries
You will need to contain and vent these to
a vent in the side of the van. But really, just The solar charge controller is the ‘brains’ of
getting fully sealed batteries will make life your system. It tends to sit in the middle of
easier. everything, taking in solar energy, charging your
battery and distributing power to your load.
A note about over-charging sealed batteries

The Van Conversion Guide System Design 48

There are two main types, PWM and MPPT. You Inverter
are always better buying an MPPT solar charge
controller because they are up to 30% more
efficient and, typically, PWM units are cheap
and often less reliable.
You need to make sure your solar charge
controller is sized right!
Battery to Battery charger (or split charger)
The power in you van will generally be 12 (or
perhaps 24V) but you might have appliances
that you want to use that run only on mains
voltage (230V). To run these devices you can
use an inverter.
An inverter takes 12V DC and converts it in
to mains voltage AC. This can enable you to
power things like microwaves, blenders, laptop
chargers or power tools. The inverter will need
to be capable of delivering the power you
Most people install a way to charge their leisure require and to help you work this out, they are
battery from their engine as they drive, This is typically measured in Watts.
essentially powered by the alternator (a motor
There are two types of inverter: PureSine and
in reverse that charges the starter battery when
the other type you don’t want to buy. It is worth
you drive).
noting that technically, to be ‘by the book’ in
There are two main systems for this, using a terms of regulations, an inverter should have
split charge relay or a battery-to-battery (DC- a MCU and RCB (mains controller unit and
DC) charging unit. residual circuit breaker).
A split charge relay is a device that charges I did not install this system as I only really use
your battery only when your when your engine it for laptop chargers and other low power
is running, and prevents it from happening systems.
when the engine is off (to avoid running down
Fuse box & fuses
your starter battery). These simple device are
It is important that appliances are fused,
cost effective but are generally not suitable for
whether they be light rings of pumps and
Lithium batteries or for use with newer vehicles
fridges. Fuses are thinner sections of wire that
that have smart alternators. If you go down this
are designed to burn out and stop current flow
route, typically there are two types one that
when more current than expected flows.
connects direct to your battery, and one that
connects to your battery AND alternator, the
former is typically a lot easier to install.
A battery to battery charger (pictured above)
is a charging product that can safely and
efficiently charge all types of batteries and
typically, for most types of vehicle. This will
need to be correctly sized for your system (and
your alternator).

The Van Conversion Guide System Design 49

This helps reduce the chances of electric shock electrical regulations. To help with this you can
and also fire. If an appliance malfunctions and install DC distribution, which is essential a multi
creates an electrical short, without a fuse it connection terminal that makes it all tidier.
may just keep heating up until it causes a fire. Some also have in-build fuses reducing the
Electrical faults are the main cause of motor need for in-line fuses elsewhere.
home fires so it is well worth getting this right.
Note that the cables that go from the battery
Battery monitoring system to the DC distribution must be appropriately
You can monitor your battery using a volt meter sized.
but it only gives you useful information in
certain circumstances.
When your voltage is accurate (not so often!)
A voltmeter tends to be inaccurate in the
following circumstances:
• When your solar panel is charging it (it will
sometimes show as high as 14V in this case)
• When you are drawing power to lights or other
things – it will show lower
• When you have been doing either of the
Mains hook-up (MCU/RCD)
above in the last 20 minutes or so.
If you plan to spend time at camp-sites or wish
It basically takes a little while for the battery to to be able to charge your batteries via a camp
‘settle’ so you can get an accurate idea of the site hook-up, you will need an external socket a
charge. This means that to know the level of (MCU) mains controller unit, a Residual Circuit
your battery you need to check the charge later Breaker (RCB).
in the evening after you have been away from
To do this you need a Mains Controller Unit
the van and everything has been off.
which is basically a box with a RCD and a circuit
Much better is to install a battery monitoring breaker within it.
system (for example the Victron Smart Shunt
Below is a 25 Amp Residual Circuit Breaker and
pictured below) that more accurately measures
has a 10 amp double pole MCB’s (Miniature
the charge of your battery.
Circuit Breakers)

These are not super cheap, so often people

make do without - but if you want to know
where you stand with your power, they are well
worth installing.
You can typically get these ready made in a
DC distribution plastic box – often made to about the right
When you come to install your battery it is easy spec for bringing power into sheds.
to have a lot of wires going to it, this might end
up being a bit of a nest of lugs going onto one • The RCD is essentially protection for the
battery terminal. mains circuit and is designed primarily to
prevent electrocution – but also other shorts or
This is not ideal (from an installation point of unintended current flow.
view) and it is likely to not be compliant with
The Van Conversion Guide System Design 50
• The circuit breaker simply shuts down the Isolation switches
electricity in the case of an overload or a short
circuit.
Note: In my latest van I did not install a MCU/
RCD or mains charger unit. The solar is simply
enough for me and the Split Charge is enough
of a back-up and I almost never pay for
camping / mains hook-up. Isolation switches are basically beefy switches
Battery charger that enable you to turn off entire parts of your
system. For example, an isolation switch on the
Many people install a battery charger, allowing positive cable before your main fuse box will
you to charge your battery from the mains hook enable you to turn off every single appliance in
-up. your van in one go.
This is useful for maintenance and, if there is a
problem, a way to quickly turn everything off.

In line fuse holder & fuses

These fuses are used for heavier gauge cable,

fitted with lugs, and hold fuses (typically 30 to
100Amps).

The Van Conversion Guide System Design 51

 Sizing your system
Electrical system Before we go into detail about how to choose
2. Sizing your system the various parts of your system, we first need
to come back to what you need; what you will
The electrical system is the system people are use the van for, what appliances you want to
typically most intimidated by but, honestly, it run, and where and when you are travelling.
is not so bad. If you know how to install wiring
correctly, you can carefully follow a schematic, Calculating your needs
and you can end up with a reliable and good To work out what we need (to help us know
system regardless of your experience. our system size - how big our solar panels
and battery need to be) we first need to
This does however require you to firstly buy understand a few electric basics - starting with
the right kit for your build, know how to install Volts, Amps and Watts.
it correctly, and have a reliable schematic to
follow. Voltage is a measurement of the electric
potential or “pressure” at which electricity flows
What could go wrong? through a system. Voltage is also described as
If you install your kit incorrectly - quite a lot. the speed of individual electrons as they move
Firstly incorrect wire sizes could result in an through a circuit and is measured in units called
electrical fire, incorrect connections could volts.
damage expensive equipment, and incorrectly Amperage is another way to measure the
specified kit may not work as intended, or amount of electricity running through a circuit.
cause damage to system parts. Poorly installed Amperage is the “rate” that current is flowing
electrics can cause electrocution. through the circuit or the number of electrons
In this section we will go through the electrical moving through the wire. Amperage is listed in
system parts, how to specify a system and how units called amps (or amperes).
to wire it all up correctly. Of all these different units of electricity,
wattage is probably the most familiar. For years,
you’ve been buying 40-watt light bulbs and 60-
watt light bulbs with the general understanding

The Van Conversion Guide System Design 52

that a 60-watt bulb is going to be brighter than
a 40-watt bulb. But why?
Wattage, it turns out, is the amount of power
an electric device consumes. Another way to
think about wattage is “electricity at work” —
the power it takes to actually do something,
whether it’s running a vacuum (400 to 900
watts), ringing the doorbell (2 to 4 watts) or
illuminating a light bulb (40 to 75 watts).
To calculate wattage, you simply multiply
voltage (pressure/speed) by amperage
(volume), expressed as V x A = W. The faster
each electron moves through the circuit, and
the greater the volume that the circuit can hold, Now, if you have a 5 watt LED light, you are not
the higher the wattage. going to use it all the time, so how long you
are likely to use it matters too. Some products
AC & DC cycle on and off – like heaters and fridges so
AC stands for ‘alternating current’ and is used you don’t assume they consume power all the
on the mains grid because it easier to generate time.
and is better for transmitting over long To account for this, we want to figure out the
distances, for that reason (and others) this is total Watt-Hours that our electrical system
what is used for mains electrics. needs.
DC stands for ‘direct current’ and is generally Imagine in your van on only have a LED lighting
safer (our bodies can withstand electrocution of array.
DC more easily). Batteries only store electricity
in DC, therefore anything that comes from The LED lighting totals = 5 Watts
directly from your camper van battery is DC. Hours used per day = 6 hours
Therefore Watt hours = 5 x 6 = 30Wh
How much solar/battery do I need?
Batteries are usually measured in AmpHours
Clearly the more appliances we use, the (how many hours it can provide 1 Amp of
more electricity we need - and therefore the electricity, at 12V), so we want to take our 30
more energy we must generate. To generate WattHours and convert into AmpHours. To
electricity in a van conversion we typically get it do this we just divide it by the voltage of your
from solar panels on the roof, or via the engine system; which will probably be 12V
as we drive.
Therefore: 30Wh / 12V = 2.5 Amp hours
Therefore, if we want to operate off-grid (not
plugged into the mains) we need to either have This means that, if you had a 100 Amp Hour
enough solar panels, or drive regularly. battery it would be albe to run our LED array for
40 days.
To work this out, we need work out our power
needs - based on the appliances we plan to use 100AmpHr / 2.5AmpHr = 40
- and how much we would use them per day.
If all you were running were a few LEDs you
Many products will only have an Amp rating but could go 40 days without charging the battery,
the equations below will help. If your system is but you will probably want to power more than
going to be 12V and you know the Amps you a handful of lights.
can calculate the Wattage of the product.

The Van Conversion Guide System Design 53

Here are the calculations I used for my latest van:

The result of this is that I need approximately 2000 WattHours per day. How much it takes to
collect this power from solar depends largely on how much sun my array gets.
If I have 3.5 hours of sun per day, quite likely if we are travelling outside of summer, then I would
need 2000/5 = 400W of solar panels. If I want to be able to last 2 days, in very bad weather (with
no solar gain) without driving and charging my battery via my altenator, I need a (2000/12) x 2 =
333 AmpHr battery.
With these two numbers, I can define the rest of my system!
Choosing a Solar Charge Controller
Solar charge controllers are defined in Amps, typically 10, 20, 30, 50, 75Amps. It is important
to choose the correct size Solar Charge Controller because if it is under rated you could either
damage the unit, or cause over charging and damage to your battery.
Once you know the size of your solar array, if you are going to wire them in series, it is easy to
specify your solar charge controller.
(Solar Panel Watts / System Voltage) x 1.1
The 1.1, adds 10% to the calculation as a margin of safety.
For example:
(500W Solar Array / 12V) x 1.1 = 45.8Amps

In this circumstance, a 50Amp solar charge controller would do the job just fine.
If you are going to wire your solar panels in parallel, you will need to use the following equation,
typically this results in a more expensive solar charge controller.

The Van Conversion Guide System Design 54

Choosing my battery 15% of the battery’s capacity – so if you had a
200AmpHr lead-acid battery, you would look at
Using my figure of 333AmpHrs, this is a pretty putting in a 30Amp charge controller.
big battery, and realistically might be over
specified. • Lithium batteries generally have larger charge
currents, this can be as much as 50% of the
I did however get a battery from AmpereTime battery capacity, so if you had 400AmpHrs of
for free, so got their 400AmpHr battery. This Lithium battery – you could use a 200Amp DC-
would have cost $1800, and is relatively cheap DC charger (but this depends on the rating of
for a Lithium battery, so far it has worked just your alternator)
fine. It is worth making sure that returns are
possible if something does. Voltage rating – the DC-DC charger should
have a voltage rating that matches the voltage
Choosing a Battery to Battery charger of both your starter and your leisure battery.
Because I have chosen a lithium battery ,and I Typically, this is 12V or possibly 24V.
have a newer vehicle, I will use a DC-DC charger Alternator rating – the alternator will have
- opposed to a split charge relay (voltage a maximum current that it can output, this
sensing relay). is usually within the range of 150-250Amps
Why you need a DC-DC charger for newer in vans. Not all of this can go to your leisure
vehicles battery as your van will use some of this power
Newer vehicles typically have smart alternators for powering various electronics. Therefore,
(the part of the engine that produces electricity there is no point in using a very large DC-
to charge your starter battery and other DC charger if your alternator cannot supply
electrics). A smart alternator reduces the enough power for it. It is possible to change
voltage it outputs when the starter battery your alternator to something that has a higher
is full – so DC-DC charger needs to make it output, but alternators are not cheap!
appear as if the starter battery is never full. A Isolated and non-isolated DC-DC chargers
DC-DC charger will also prevent the starter- The difference is to do with the grounds that
battery from being drained by the leisure your leisure and starter battery use. If the
battery faster than it is being charged. It then grounds are the same (so in a van, if both
regulates the voltage to meet the charging ground to the chassis – as is typical) then the
profile of your battery (you need to set this up). grounds are not-isolated, they share the same
What size DC-DC charger do I Need? ground. In such a case a non-isolated charger is
The size of the charger you need depends both the right thing to buy – and this will be the case
on your alternator and the size and type of your for most van conversions.
leisure battery. You should pay attention to the Some vans, or boats, may have fiber-glass or
following: composite bodies which mean that batteries
Maximum Absorption Rate – this is the may not connect to a common ground (like
maximum rate that your battery can absorb a metal chassis) and in this case an isolated
power and should be listed in the battery charger is the correct choice. For most people,
specification. If your battery has a maximum who convert metal vans, a non-isolated charger
absorption rate of 20Amps, and you buy a is the right choice.
40Amp DC-DC charger, then you have bought Choosing an Inverter
a charger that produces more than your battery This just comes down to what will you power
can take – and therefore is money wasted. simultaneously? What is the wattage of these
(Note, if you had two of the same battery, appliances, and the result is the wattage you
then the absorbtion rate would be 40Amps, so require.
it would make sense to have a bigger DC-DC
charger). It is always worth getting a pure-sine inverter,
they are more expensive but will be better for
• For most lead-acid batteries manufacturers any sensitive equipment (e.g. laptops).
suggest using a charge current equal to about

The Van Conversion Guide System Design 55

For example, if you want to power a laptop Note; you will need much thicker wires for
charger (65W), a blender (650W) at the same your split charge systems and linking up the
time, you will need an inverter with a wattage batteries (16mm2 100Amp wire typically). It is
which is higher than 715W. Probably 800 or easiest to buy a Split Charge kit with all fuses,
1000W will be appropriate. wires and attachment kit and fit it as instructed
- installation requirements will depend on the
Choosing a Battery Monitoring System type of split charge system you get.
You can use a cheap voltmeter to figure out Solid or Multicore?
the charge of your battery but they are not very For a van conversion you want to use multicore/
accurate (most of the time) so if it is important flex. It will be easier to work with, and it should
to you to know the voltage of your battery be more reliable in the long run. You can do
then it is worth installing a battery monitoring most of your system, with the exception of
system. appliances that require an earth, using twin-
I did not install this as I mistakenly thought the core/flex cable.
battery had it’s own system. I later bought a Wiring Colours
Victron Smartshunt and will install it later. There Typically, in a camper van we will use Red for
are a few on the market, and they typically cost + positive, Black for - negative (neutral) and
around £120 / $150. green-yellow for earth.
Choosing a Solar Charge Controller However, you may purchase cabling from your
Based on needeing 500W of solar panel, I local hardware store which has house colour
will install a 50Amp Solar Charge controller conventions. Which colour is used depends on
(500/12)*1.1 = 45. your region.
I chose Victron because they have a great In the UK and Europe domestic cabling colours
reputation quality and reliability. As this is the have converged on:
brains of the system, I want it to be reliable. Brown for + positive (Live)
Wire Sizes and Type Blue for – negative (Neutral)
Below is a useful table to give an idea for wiring Green-yellow for earth (Ground)
sizes. In the United States it is:
Basically, because I have no appliances over Black for + positive (Live)
18 Amps (4.5 Amps is the most I have seen White for – negative (Neutral)
go through the entire system – across lighting Green-yellow for earth (Ground)
and appliances) so my cabling, at 1.5mm2 is
appropriate.

The Van Conversion Guide System Design 56

Regulations
It is worth checking on the regulations in your
country, and any specific standards that your
conversion must meet to pass any local tests,
be deemed insurable and safe.
It would be awful to have to rewire, or worse,
re-do half a van conversion because of a simple
mistake!
Warning!
Electrics are especially important to get right.
I recommend getting a qualified electrician to
check your system.

The Van Conversion Guide System Design 57

 Parallel vs Series
Electrical system How you wire your solar panels is important and
3. Solar system impacts the design of your system. In short,
if you wire your solar panels in parallel you will
The solar system is probably the coolest part need a larger solar charge controller.
of an off-grid van conversion. After living in an
apartment, paying an electric bill every month Series wiring
it is quite amazing that it is possible to live in a In series, the system’s voltage is added up,
van and get most of your power for free, from a while the amps are not. This means you can use
couple of solar panels. a lower amp-rated solar charge controller.

Solar Basics
The solar system comprises of the following
key components:
• Solar panel
• MC4 Cables
• Solar Charge Controller
• Batteries
• Remote monitor Parallel wiring
The electricity generated by the solar panels In parallel, the voltage stays the same, but
goes to the solar charge controller – which the amps are multiplied - requiring a larger
intelligently distributes this power, either to the (and more expensive) amp-rated solar charge
battery, or to the appliances that you are using. controller.

The Solar Charge Controller (if you get a good As batteries often require a higher voltage in
one) also does a few other clever things – like order to charge, panels in series mean that
intelligent battery charging, preventing over you are able to charge your system for longer
voltage, and maximizing the usable energy from periods of the day.
your panel.

There are also advantages to parallel wiring - if

one panel is covered by shade (say a close tree)
- the others will continue to produce electricity.
In a series system, the whole array is taken out.
Personally, I would always wire a van conversion
in series.

The Van Conversion Guide System Design 58

 295W Mono 295W Mono
Solar Panel Solar Panel
Solar: 590W Solar Charge Controller: 50Amp
Battery: Lithium 400Ah 6 switched 12v circuits
Invertor: 1200W 6 non-switched 12v circuits
DC-DC Charger: 12v 30Amp

Copyright 2023. All rights reserved.

MC4 Connector

MC4 Connector

Remote inverter switch (optional)

Double pole
solar isolator

6mm2 Solar Cable

Orion-TR Smart
Safety Electrical Connection: 12 | 12 - 30
Do Not Remove Label must 100 | 50 Non-isolated DC/DC charger AC-Out 230V Consumer Unit
MUST be installed including:
be affixed to cable
25mm2 pure sinewave inverter
Type A 30mA RCD & <16A DP Type
IN GND OUT
phoenix 12 1200 B MCBs

10mm2 25mm2

100Amp
16mm2

16mm2
Chassis

16mm2
10mm2 The earth conductor Your local regulations may require a true neutral. In this
ground from the earth lug on case one of the AC output wires must be connected to
10mm2
10mm2

the chassis, and the chassis must be connected to a

the chassis to ground reliable ground. Please note that a true neutral is needed
should have at least half to ensure correct operation of an earth leakage circuit

60Amp
the cross-section of the breaker (RCCB / RCD)
conductors used for the
Appliance 1 1 1 Appliance 4 battery connection
60Amp

Appliance 2 1 1 Appliance 5
Appliance 3 1 1 Appliance 6

16mm2
16mm2

2 2

3 3

35mm2

35mm2
5 5

SmartShunt Battery
Monitor installs here
25mm2
35mm2
Leisure Battery
LiFePo4 Plus
A6
A1 A2 A3 A4
A5 16mm2
35mm2 Positive & Negative cables
10mm2
from Leisure Battery to Busbars
10mm2 should be of identical length
12v 400Ah
100Amp
10mm2
10mm2 35mm2 Battery Terminal Covers must be fitted
Must be within 1000mm
Switched Appliance 1

Switched Appliance 2

Switched Appliance 3

Switched Appliance 4

Switched Appliance 5

Switched Appliance 6

60Amp of Leisure Battery

An auxiliary battery should be placed in a separate compartment, with easy

access for maintenance or removal, and secured to prevent movement of
the battery, eg. When the motorcaravan is in motion.

Factory Fitted Chassis Ground

Starter
Battery
12v
60Amp

Must be within 1000mm

of Starter Battery

This diagram is intended to assist with installation and illustrate the connections that are required for operation. All Cable & Fuse Sizes Based On Manual Stated Manufacturers Recommendations ELECTRICAL INSTALLATION MUST HAVE AN ELECTRICAL INSTALLATION CERTIFICATE (EIC) ISSUED
Installations must always be completed by a skilled person in accordance with manufacturers specifications, BS PRIOR TO FIRST USE
7671, BS EN 1648-2 and all on-site conditions. Grounding requirements vary according to your region. Victron MUST Be Installed By a Skilled/Competent/Qualified Fitter
advises making an earth connection to all metal enclosures as shown in this diagram. 230 VOLT IS EXTREMELY HAZARDOUS DO NOT TOUCH ANY LIVE WIRED PARTS OF THE INSTALLATION!
Every realization remains the responsibility of the fitter WHEN IN DOUBT, ALWAYS CONSULT A SKILLED ELECTRICIAN!
All products should be mounted vertically on a non-flammable surface, with the power terminals facing down-
wards. Observe a minimum clearance of 10cm under and above the products for optimal cooling. BOOK A CONSULTATION WITH TINY BUILD ELECTRICS TO ENSURE YOUR INSTALLATION IS COMPLIANT
“Cables shall be supported at maximum intervals of 400mm for vertical runs. Horizontal runs, unless run in con-
duits or ducts, shall be secured at maximum intervals of 250mm”.

Electrical schematic
You can download the above schematic as a
PDF using the mini-course portal.

This is the electrical schematic for the system I

installed in my latest van conversion. It has been
signed off by an electrical engineer.
As the diagram is clear, always refer to the
schematic (not images or videos) for the
correct way to install a system.

The Van Conversion Guide System Design 59

Electrical system
4. Lighting system
This is a diagram for a lighting set-up I have
used in the past:

Essentially four lighting choices; front, back

ceiling lights, side lights and a door light.

For me lighting is one of the most important

parts of the conversion. Indirect strip lights
to create a warm & relaxed environment and
brighter spots when needed work well.

The Van Conversion Guide System Design 60

 System 1: Simple jerry-can system
Water system Ideal for budget builds without a shower and
1. System Options for those with a desire to keep it as simple as
possible - and make it easy to collect water
Water management is a core aspect of vanlife, from public taps.
especially when living off-grid or away from
easily accessible water supplies. Water-use anx-
iety is a real thing – when your uninitiated van-
guest leaves the tap running like they are living
in a house it’s important to maintain your calm
and be kind!
There are a two main ways of managing your
water:
Jerry-can system
• One or more 20 to 25 litre water containers
• You can fill up a few at a time and swap them
out as required
• Uses cheap and easy to install submerged
pumps
• Good for places where it is hard to drive your
van close to a water source
• Usually combined with solar shower-bags or As the waste tank is the same size as the
similar freshwater tank so when you fill one, you empty
• Cheap and functional the other, meaning that you should never have
a waste-tank overflow problem. By having the
Large internal or under-slung water tank waste tank also in a Jerry can it means you
• Generally, 70 to 150 Litres can easily carry it to a suitable drain or toilet
• Internal if going to cold places to dispose of the wastewater. If you are using
• External if very space sensitive biodegradable soap - and it’s just water from
• Required if including shower system cooking and washing-up - then it increases the
• More expensive number of suitable places to dispose of your
Here are three different water systems: water.

The Van Conversion Guide System Design 61

The tap in this system is also a switch which, System 2: Pressurised system with fixed tank
along with the pump, will need to be connected and external shower
up to your 12v system.
Installing a hot shower, using an instant gas
The tap turns on the water heater, meant installing a larger water
submerged pump and sends tank and requiring a pump that can handle a bit
water to the tap. of pressure.
The rucksack bungee is a little Check out the video guide below with more
bit of a hack for flexible waste information on installation.
pipes (if it is long enough). You
can use it to force a U bend
into your waste pipe – stopping
smells from your tank coming
up into the van. To empty the Main Components:
‘U’ – just pull it straight and its
• Fammia 70L water tank. These popular tanks
done.
can be used in many directions to fit your space
Cost - approximately $120/£105 with the requirements.
following components. • Shurflow 40PSI pump – this pump turns on
• 2 Jerry cans ($42/£35) when the pressure drops (for example when
• Submerged pump ($25/£20) you turn on a tap). It is a little noisy but works
• Pipes ($12/£10) well and the tap is not on an awful lot.
• Tap (with 12v switch) ($55/£40) • Fammia A20 Accumulator – this is essentially
a rubber balloon inside the plastic container
which softens the kick from the pump and
makes your water run more smoothly
Shower Cut-off Valve
When I left the van unused in cold weather, I
learned the hard way that you need to drain the
shower to stop it freezing and destroying itself.
I have now added a cut-off valve (before the
shower) so that I can easily drain the shower if
not using the van in winter.
The wastewater in this design has two options;
1. Through a waste pipe to under the van - often
you are in nature and a bit of toothpaste and
washing up water is OK to let run under the van
(use biodegradable soap)
2. Into a 20-liter Jerry can - for when you are
in places you cannot let your van leak water
(you do have to keep an eye on it so it does not
overflow)
The shower - I installed a hot shower out the
back of the van (this I why I chose the 40PSI
You can get hand-pump taps, which do not pump – the lower pressure pumps would not
require wiring in, but they are a little annoying quite be enough).
for the times when you want to use both hands. The level tube – this essentially allows you to
see your water level – I put a fishing float in
mine to make it easier to see.

The Van Conversion Guide System Design 62

 Above: system schematic
Left: installation
In the photo, you can see the waste pipe (black)
which can be put into the green Jerry can –
or into the waste pipe which simply empties
below the van.
The vertical transparent pipe on the left is the
water level measure.
The yellow tank is a 11kg Gaslow LPG tank (held
solidly with a ratchet strap).
Pump switch
With a pump that turns on when the pressure
drops you need to have an accessible switch.
Otherwise, if you run out of water it will keep
pumping and compressing air (this is not ideal).
Likewise, if you have a leak, it is useful to be able
to turn the pump off quickly.
System cost:
Approximately $340/£285 with the following
components.
• Fammia tank & accessories ($115/£85)
• Fammia accumulator ($38/£30)
• Sureflo pump ($80/£65)
• Pipes ($50/£40)
• Tap (with 12v switch) ($55/£40)
• Jerry can ($30/£25)
Note: the gas parts of this system - using
rubber hose & devoid of a properly sealed gas
locker - is not regulation compliant. It is legal,
but it would not be possible for me to rent this
van out. See later for a compliant system.

The Van Conversion Guide System Design 63

 Copyright 2023. All rights reserved.

Water Installation
12V Submersed pump

SINK SYSTEM 12V Switching Tap

Fammia
• 70 litre (18gal) tank fill point

• Sumberged pump
• Electric switching tap
Cupboard wall
If opened, this will pump
Shut off water from the ‘shower’ tank
In this system the tap is a swtich valve to the ‘sink’ tank
when it is opened, it turns on the
pump, which forces water up the
pipe to the tap.

See shower fitting PDF

12V

15mm
Submersable pumps are cheap
relatively reliable and they do not
pump too fast (a good thing!)
In to the shower
compression fitting
12V Submersed pump 15mm

15mm
Reducers x2
12mm
Fammia
fill point

Van wall
1/2 inch BSP

Jubilee clip

Jubilee clip
12mm

12mm
10mm 40mm
Flexible Flexible hose
hose 12mm
12mm
1/2 inch BSP

12mm
1/2 inch BSP

12mm
From the pump on. this system is presureised, Propex Malaga Water Heater
when a tap is opened, the pump starts and water 12mm
Jubilee clip flows.
Jubilee clip

12V
Switched

It is important to have a switch for the pump on a 12mm

12mm
pressurised system. In part incase you have a leak
so you can stop it pumping, but also, when you run
out of water the pump keeps pumping compress-
ing air. The switch needs to be easily accessible!
Different appliances will have different fittings,
SHOWER SYSTEM some might be 1/2” BSP (or occasionally other
• 70 litre (18gal) tank sizes). The Propex Malaga has points where you
can simply push on 12mm pushfit parts and you
• Shurflo 30PSI pump are done! Very easy.
• Fammia Accumulator
• Propex Malaga Water Heater
• Shower mixer & head

System 3: Pressurised system with internal System cost: $1400 / £1100

shower, internal water heater, 140litre twin-
tank system. • 2x Fammia tank & accessories ($230/£170)
• 30PSI Sureflo pump ($80/£65)
This system is similar to the above system but • Fammia accumulator ($38/£30)
it uses push-fit fittings, has a tanked water • Submerged pump ($25/£20)
heater (inside the van) to provide hot water to • Pipes ($100/£80)
an internal shower. • Tap (with 12v switch) ($55/£40)
• Jerry can ($30/£25)
The second water tank, that is used for the sink • Push-fit fittings ($70/£55)
only means that you cannot run out of drinking • Water heater ($650/£500)
water while having a shower (you can however • Shower mixer/head ($120/$100)
pump water from the shower-tank to the
drinking water tank if required.
Download the above schematic as a PDF from
the eBook mini-course resource area.

The Van Conversion Guide System Design 64

 There are two main types of refillable gas
Refillable Gas System system, internal and external (under-slung)
A refillable gas system makes a lot of sense if tanks.
you are travelling for longer periods of time,
Internal tank
or through multiple countries where gas-tank
An internal tank requires a gas-locker with a
exchange may not be possible,.
drop-vent (a hole out the bottom of the van).
Refillable gas (usually coming under Autogas/ This is essentially a sealed box that contains
LPG/Propane) can typically be filled up in a the high-pressure system. This means if there
minority of gas stations, There are several apps was a rapid discharge of gas, your van would
that allow you to find these gas stations and if not rapidly fill up with gas - instead it would exit
you keep an eye on the level as you travel, it is through the bottom of the van.
usually not too much of a problem to fill up.
An internal tank is generally easier to fit, it is
Refillable gas tanks typically have an over-fill closer to your appliances and is typically a
prevention system (for safety reasons) and bit cheaper. Often they have a gauge on the
many gas stations will not allow the filling of top to indicate how much gas is in the tank,
tanks that do not. meaning you do not have to wire-up an external
monitoring system.
You can usually buy a kit for refillable tanks that
includes fill hose, high-pressure hose and a The major downside is that it takes up a big
regulator. chunk of space which could otherwise be used
for storage.
In any gas system you have a high-pressure
system & low-pressure system. The high External tank
pressure part is the tank (temporarily the fill An under-slung tank means you keep the entire
hose) and the high-pressure hose (or fixings high-pressure system outside of the van in it’s
that come before the regulator). entirety. This is not just technically safer but it
saves a whole load of space. It however does
The regulator reduces the high pressure of take up some of your ‘under van’ space which
the tank to (usually) 30millibars. From your can impact where you can fit water tanks or
regulator onwards - to your appliances - is the other appliances.
low pressure system.

The Van Conversion Guide System Design 65

Gas pipe
There are two types of gas pipe that you can
use in a van - copper and rubber. However,
regulations are fairly strict on what should be
used where and how they should be fitted.
Copper hose (usually 8mm) is the gold
standard, and from a regulation point of view,
the only one you are really meant to use.
A few installation notes:
- See the ‘Gas Regulation section, and the Gas
System Schematic download for more details)
- Copper gas pipe should be fixed where it can
be accessed (there should not be any joints
behind the scenes which cannot be changed/
checked or tested)
- The pipe should be proper gas pipe (and meet
standards)
- Each ‘branch’ of your system should come
- The pipe should be fixed using a p-clips
from a switched manifold (allowing you
(ideally rubber coated to protect the pipe) at
to turn each appliance supply on and off
minimum every 50cm
independently).

- Copper pipe underneath the van (therefore

exposed to the elements) should be plastic
coated to protect it against small stones the Although you may not have to abide by gas
tyres may throw up fitting regulations, it is worth adhering too
because they have been created for a reason.
It is worth noting that in many markets, if you
want to rent out your camper van, it must have
gas-safe certification.
Rubber hose is very easy to install, I am not
entirely sure why you are not meant to use
rubber hose in a van conversion, but that does
not stop a lot of people using it (including me
on two van conversions).
Rubber hose can be attached using hose
junction fittings and jubilee clips. It should only
be used where there are moving appliances (for
example a stove that is stowed away in a draw)
and should not be used outside of a single
enclosed area in a van.

- Copper pipe should be fitted entirely with Also note, rubber hose should be changed every
compression fittings (without adding gas PTFE 8 years. If you use rubber hose, perhaps write
tape - which should be used only on screwed down the date of the install somewhere so you,
threads) or future owners, when to change it.

The Van Conversion Guide System Design 66

Regulators Below is the wiring diagram for the gas-sensor
Regulators that are fixed underneath the vehicle I installed - yours may be different but it will
tend to have integrated brackets. Some, like the at least give you an idea of how they generally
one pictured above, have crash-switches that function.
automatically turn off in the case of an impact.
To see the level, you turn on the switch, wait for
Sensors / fill gauges the reading, and then turn it off again.
It is really useful to know your gas level. There
are few things more annoying than getting half
way through cooking a meal only to have your
gas go out.
As mentioned above, internal tanks often have
a gauge built-in to the manifold at the top of
the unit. Underslung tanks, however, generally
require some sensor that is wired to a display
that is installed inside the van.
Below is the my gas sensor display, you flick the
switch on & after a few seconds it displays how
much gas is in the tank.

The green-black wires go to the sensor under

the van.

This is considerably better than crawling under

the van to find out!

The Van Conversion Guide System Design 67

 GAS IS DANGEROUS, PLAY IT SAFE
Copyright 2023. All rights reserved.
SEE NOTES AT BOTTOM OF PAGE

Gas Installation Propex Malaga Water Heater

Underslung 20L refillable tank
Hob Propex HS2000 Heater
Gas level sensor & indicator
Truma Monocontrol Regulator
Trume Manifold Supplied compression fitting
elbow (to screw thread)

Gas safe PTFE Tape must only be used on

threaded fittings only (not compression) to
completely seal the joints.
8mm-8mm
compression fitting 8mm-8mm
compression fitting

All pipework needs to be clipped to the

structure of your van. The maximum 12V
500mm MAX (19inches)

8mm Copper Gas Pipe

distance between your clips cannot be All pipework from the regulator to your appliances Level Indicator
more than 500mm. needs to be rigid copper or steel pipework - copper
coil is best. (All appliances that are permanently LO HI
fitted to the van need a rigid connection to them.)
Use rubber-coated P-clips to protect
the pipe.
All pipework needs to be installed where it’s easily accessible for
Manifold testing. You shouldn’t have joints buried under the floors, in the
Indicator
walls, or in the ceiling. Your gas must be installed in a location Switch
where it won’t get damaged or be under strain.

VAN WALL
The filling point cannot be
You must have a shut-off
8mm Copper Gas Pipe
fitted within 500mm of an
valve for each appliance. Each
Fill point opening window or
valve must be clearly labelled
opening door. It should be
fitted on the outside of
8mm Copper Gas Pipe your van so that it can be
Condiuit accessed without opening
up the vehicle.
High-pressure
Drop vent Gas fill pipe

FLOOR
INSULATION
VAN FLOOR

Regulator
30mBar
(Max) Stainless steel
high-pressure
pig-tail

20L Underslung Gas Tank

Gas tank should be sprayed with

rubberised protective paint

Plastic Coated
8mm Copper Gas Pipe

This diagram is intended to assist with installation and illustrate the APPLIANCES & FLUES Gas systems MUST Be Installed By a Skilled/Competent/Qualified Fitter.
connections that are required for operation. Installations must always be All gas appliances installed in your van must be room-sealed appliances. Every realization remains the responsibility of the fitter
completed by a skilled person in accordance with manufacturers Gas appliances such as fridges and heaters need to be ventilated with a flue to the
specifications, BE EN 1949: 2011 + A1: 2013 and the Gas Safety (Installation & outside.
GAS IS EXTREMELY HAZARDOUS. WHEN IN DOUBT, ALWAYS CONSULT
Use) Regulations 1998 (GSIUR) and all on-site conditions. Regulatory These are the regulations for installing a flue. A SKILLED GAS FITTER.
requirements vary according to your region. - The location must be further than 500mm away from any refueling point.
- It must not be fitted directly underneath an opening window. ALWAYS GET APPROPRIATE REGIONAL INSPECTION AND
CERTIFICATION BEFORE FIRST USE.

Gas schematic
The above schematic shows the gas system
I installed on my latest van. It has various
regulatory pointers (do check local rules!).
Download the above schematic as a PDF from
the eBook mini-course resource area.

The Van Conversion Guide System Design 68

The build
 Phase 1 – Holes in the van
Work phases
By now you should have figured out the
specification for all of the following:
» Van layout & design
» Window choices
» Vent choice & position
» Electrical system overview (lighting, USB,
mains sockets, B2B charging, battery size and
location, appliances)
» Appliances and positioning - fridge, heater,
Things that have to go into the van from the
water heater, sink unit (etc..)
start (including anything that goes through the
» Solar panels & where they fit
walls of the van) so insulation can be installed
» Gas system, type of tank and how it
connects to appliances » Windows installation
» Insulation choice
» Fixings – eye plates
If so, you are probably ready to progress into
the build! I see the build as comprising of three » Solar Panel installation
main phases: » Vents installation
Phase 1: Holes in the van » Under-slung gas tank
Phase 2: Preparation & Insulation » Key-safe lock boxes
Phase 3: The build Phase 2 – Preparation & insulation
Phase 4: Kit install & finishing touches
Thinking about the build in this way helped me
work out my ordering process, for example my
window, solar panel and fan had already arrived
before I had received my van. This meant I
could get to work immediately.
If you are trying to build intensely thinking
ahead for any component dependencies is
really important. I did my first conversion in 17
days and my second in 21 days. Both of these » Floor insulation & ply
periods were intense - and a bit brutal – but it is
very efficient to build a van over a short period » Accurate marking out/planning
of time. » Conduit (if required)
At a guess, I spent 250 hours building my » Pre-framing / stud work
second van over 21 days – it obviously depends
on the complexity of your build and the level » Running wires (electrical first fix)
of finish - but to think about the pockets of
» Waste pipes (depending on location)
time you have spare – or the full days needed
to build a similar van – this is probably a decent » Insulation
number to think about. If you are new to making
things then it will take longer. » Vapour barrier

If you are building something quickly, it is

generally good to be order everything for the
next phase as you are start the one.

The Van Conversion Guide The Build 70

Phase 3 – The Build Phase 4 – Kit install & finishing touches

This is the main woodwork part

» Stud work The rest – including all the finishing touches

» Cupboards » Electronics wire-up

» Sockets / lights » All electronic parts

» Cladding » Final gas system installation

» Panelling » Flooring

» Bed structure » Panels

» Kitchen top (kitchen unit) » Drawers

» Water systems » Sockets

» Gas systems » Auto-carpet, trim, fabrics

» Everything else!

The Van Conversion Guide The Build 71

 without changing bits every time
Power tools » Belt sander - useful for cleaning up edges
Good tools are not cheap, but they are better quickly and shaping wood (I lay mine on the
value for money than cheap tools. Every time I side to use it as a table-top sander)
have bought cheap power tools (like when I was
Luxury power tools
a student) I have regretted it. It is always a false
» Table saw - this is a dream machine, amazing
economy because they do not last as long.
for cutting accurately, making drawers, and
You are far better off buying professional tools. any long cuts. I have one, I love it.
Typically most brands have a two or three It is worth noting, if you have one of these, you
tiered product range, the cheaper range is for do not necessarily need mitre saw or a circular
DIY’ers who rarely use their tools, and the upper saw.
ranges are more robust and are aimed at the » Nail gun (Brad Nailer) - this can be used
professional market. for fixing cladding, panelling, non-load
bearing structures and is especially useful
Why buy the pricier tools? for trim. Delwalt sell a 18v cordless nail gun,
Firstly, if you plan to do more projects in the which is great because it does not require a
future, these things will last a really long time, compressor.
Secondly, if you finish your van and decide
‘never again’ professional tools are better at The tools I use
retaining their value. Let’s say you use them for All the main, established, brands make pretty
a couple of years, you put them on eBay and good tools. These are the ones I use, just to give
you sell them for 25% less - then it will work out you an example.
to be a fairly cheap rental.
If you are buying cordless (battery powered)
Of course, if you are on a tight budget, then tools, buy them from the same brand so you
go cheap, but if not - its always better to buy can interchange the batteries.
good, buy once.
Cordless Drill
Power tools DeWalt DCD778D2T-SFGB 18V Li-Ion XR
You can build a van with surprisingly few power Brushless (2Ah Battery)
tools but, if you want a high quality finish,
precise craftsmanship, or to do your build Impact Driver
efficiently, then you will need the right tools. Dewalt DCF887D2-GB 18V XR Brushless Impact
Driver (2Ah Battery)
This is my take on what you need:
Essential power tools
With these power tools you can build a van
and they are likely to be the most used tools
throughout your build.
» Jig Saw - with wood and metal blades
» Cordless drill - with metal drill bits; spade
drill set, and hole cutter set
» Circular saw to cut big sheets of plywood
Jigsaw
in straight lines or to cut wood that the jigsaw
Makita 4329 / 2 450W Electric Jigsaw
cannot handle
Nice to have power tools
These tools will make your life a lot easier, I
strongly recommend buying the tools with a
star*
» Mitre saw - to cut wood batons quickly and
accurately, useful for cutting joints too
» Impact driver* - basically a dedicated power
screwdriver so you can drill and screw things

The Van Conversion Guide The Build 72

Belt Sander Hand tools
Makita M9400 4” Electric Belt Sander 240V There are quite a few hand tools that can really
make your life easier during a build, of course
not all of them are essential. I have attempted
to break these down below:
Essentials
» Ear defenders, eye protection & dust mask –
(not handy, essential)
» Square - the main tool for building straight!
Circular Saw » Tape measure (two, one is always lost)
Bosch GKS 190 1400W 190MM Electric » Spanner set
Professional Circular Saw 240V » Hammer
» Metal file
» Pliers
» Wire Strippers
» Wire Cutters
» Lug crimp tool
» Volt Meter
» Paint brushes / roller
» Masking tape
» Carpenter pencils
Table Saw » Sharpie markers
Bosch GTS 635-216 Professional Table Saw » Copper pipe cutter (if using copper gas
pipe)
Nice to have
» Rivnut set - to insert bolt fixings where you
cannot access behind
» Pocket screw set - to screw wood butt joints
» Foam gun - makes all foam gun work easier
(don’t forget to buy foam gun cleaner)
» Pipe cutter (esp if using push-fit pipe)
» Wood or metal vice - you need a bench of
this but just makes working easier. You can get
Mitre Saw away with using a Workmate (or similar).
Titan TTB794MSW 210mm Electric Single-Bevel
Luxury
Sliding Sliding Mitre Saw 240V
» Wood plane
This is not a ‘big name’ tool, but has done the » Wood chisel set & mallet
job quite well.

The Van Conversion Guide The Build 73

Holes in the
van
Windows | Vents | Fixings
Installing bonded
windows
In general, bonded windows are relatively
inexpensive, can provide lots of light and look
great inside and out. They are typically not
insulated - so they do condensate more and
are more prone to heat loss, but for me, these
downsides are worth it.
Finish the cut at the top middle section. This
means that, with a gentle push, the metal panel
(with sharp edges) drops inside the van and not
This is an overview of the window installation
on your toes.
process.
5. Take a file and run it around the edges to take
Note: Not all windows have the same
off the sharp edges
installation process. Do check the suppliers
recommended method.
The process is fairly straight forward – but there
is plenty that can go wrong!
1. First mark out the window placement on the
outside of the van. Measure it about three to
four times for your marking out. I used a marker
pen to draw the hole to be cut out.
2. Put the window up against the van to check
the lines you are drawing matches up with the
actual window area!
6. Close up any panel work with pliers or mole-
3. Once you are 100% sure, drill a 10mm hole
grips. Just be sure to protect the shape of the
to put in your jigsaw blade, put on some ear
outer panel with some wood.
defenders and eye protection (it is very loud)
and cut your hole! Using wood behind the metal panel I used
some mole grips to close these sections that
would stop me putting the window edging on
neatly.
7. Apply the edging, tap it around so it is
pressed fully into the corners, then when you
are sure you have it right, cut the edging so the
ends fit neatly together.
8. Paint on primer to frame. Clean the window
adhesive area – this was in the form of some
wipes – it removes grease and other dirt that
could stop proper adhesion.
Cutting the window hole (notice the crossed
out line – I changed the marking after I put the
window up against the van to check)

The Van Conversion Guide The Build 75

9. Apply the glue to window. It seems like you
have to put on a lot of glue, and you do. It
has to fill in the whole gap between the glass
and the panel. There is a gap because of the
thickness of the rubber edging.
If you do not put on enough, especially at the
top, it will leak! Above, making a cardboard jig in order to mark
out holes under the van - ready to fit an under-
Tips:
slung tank.
Cut a good length off the nozzle on the glue to
make squeezing the adhesive out easier Installing a roof vent
Don’t squeeze too hard as it tends to buckle the I installed a Maxfan roof vent, although they are
handle of the gun (buying the better quality gun more expensive than some of the alternatives
will also help with this) I do feel that they are good value for money.
They have a good build and the remote control
10. As soon as you have applied the glue, place
features (if you get it) are really nice.
the window on to the van – get someone to
help!
11. Hold it there for a while – I just held it for
as long as it took that you could not feel any To start with your fan installation you need to
movement when pushing it up.. and then a bit work out where it is placed. Some vans have
longer to be sure. It probably takes 15 minutes – slightly flatter areas on the roof (for air con units
depending on temperature. Let it set for 24hrs - or similar) and these are the easiest places
before driving. to place a vent because the runnels are less -
making sealing the vent easier.
The first task is to carefully measure out the fan
Under slung gas-tank location ready to cut with a jig saw. Make sure
If you are installing an under slung gas tank you you are using a find tooth metal blade and don’t
will need to install this before you install your forget to use masking tape to protect your
insulated floor. (They typically bolt into the floor paint work.
of your van).
If your tank has a bracket that mounts on the
structure of the van - then this might not be
necessary but it is worth checking first.
See ‘Gas compliant system’ chapter for more
information about this.

The Van Conversion Guide The Build 76

Drill a hole in each corner, then use the jig saw to reduce the chance of a leak.
to ‘join them up’ and cut the hole.
The last part was to fit the unit itself - this
I then made a mounting frame to go screwed into the baffle using four screws.
underneath - this gives you something to
screw the vent baffle into and gives the vent
additional support within the metal roof. To do
this I cut the wood to fit around the frame, cut
some simple joints on the end of the wood - in
preparation for glueing.

Later, once the insulation and even later, the

cladding was finished inside the van I added
the internal baffle - this needed to be cut down
to match the thickness of my roof - and was
screwed in to place.

I glued the frame’s joints with polyurethane Lock box

wood glue and clamped them up. I did this
around the actual vent part so that it definitely I installed a key-safe lock box under the van. this
fits! means that if I lose my keys, I can always get
inside my home.

I chose a location which is hard to access - this

makes it hard to attack with tools. There was a
good space on my van just behind the sliding
door mechanism.

From there I used Sikaflex EBT+ a sealant and

adhesive, and added a few thick beads in order
to create a seal and bond the fan to the roof.

The first thing was to hold it in place and use a

marker pen to mark out the hole locations for
the bolts (the unit has four bolt holes in the
back of the unit).

I then screwed the fan baffle into the metal and

subframe. I put some sealant in each screw hole
The Van Conversion Guide The Build 77
Then I place my bolts, nuts and washers and, On that basis I bolted six stainless-steel load
holding the topside with some pliers, I used the bearing points to the roof; four over the bed
impact driver to tighten them all up. and two at the front. I got mine from a yacht
supplier – they only cost a few dollars each.
These were big enough to protrude through the
wooden panelling and were rated for 300kg. I
used stainless steel countersunk machine bolts.
Using the powered screw driver I made them
super tight to the metal work. This way they are
unlikely to get loose.

These lock boxes are easy to install, and an

addition that can safe some real headaches in
the future.

Tip: You should find the thicker metal in the

van for attaching these. On some vans (Citreon
Relay/Dodge Promaster for example) the some
of the metal box-work/framing is made with
quite thin metal – which might buckle with too
much weight.
Usually, the structural framing above and
Hammock fixings around the doors tend to be a thicker grade
I like to put some strong ceiling attachments in
steel and are more suitable for attaching load-
the van.
bearing points.

Partially for having a hammock from the van

to outside trees but also to allow me to attach
things to the roof in the future if I need to (e.g.
surf boards).

The Van Conversion Guide The Build 78

Preparation
& insulation
Pre-framing, first fix wiring &
flooring
 holes in each side of the rib, then bolted the
Pre-frame stud work stud work to that.
If you are going to attach panelling or other
This made the stud-work square to the outside
things to the van you will need to have a way to
of the van and very well attached.
attach it to the van. You can go directly into the
metal work – but in some places there are holes Side pieces of stud work – annoying to make as
or strange angles, and it is not really possible to they are all different sizes.
screw it in anywhere – therefore it is useful to
create a series of wooden structures which you Note, I put stud work at each end of the van,
can rely on and that will make your life easier and one each of the three structural ribs.
later. To keep to the curve of the van’s roof I cut
some slots along the wood to allow it to flex a
little.

Now this is complete, when it comes to

attaching the cladding, we are prepared!

On some vans, these structural ribs are not very

deep (see video above) and you need to use
thinner wood. The ribs however are not square
and have tapered sides. To manage this, I drilled
The Van Conversion Guide Insulation & preparation 80
Pre-framing
Good pre-framing requires a little forethought
for what you will install and where in your van.
By the time you are doing the finishing touches
here you should have your insulated floor
installed, upon which you can carefully mark
out the layout of your van. This will help you
understand what sort of pre-framing you need
and where.
The above image shows how I pre-framed my
shower area, to the right is the finished van.
As I required a smooth curve for my shower
panel I spent some time putting in horizontal
studs in order to support this. This was repeated
to the right (not all shown above) to enable
me to fix in my slat wall - which also required
horizontal fixings to bend it into shape.
Behind the kitchen, I just needed enough
uprights to give me options for fixing the
kitchen and to provide adequate strength.
Above the kitchen I used the pre-frame to
create the shape of the cup-board opening. All
of these were really useful later in my build.
The following page shows other aspects of my
pre-frame stud work which was put in place
before first-fix wiring, insulation and vapour
barrier.

The Van Conversion Guide Insulation & preparation 81

The Van Conversion Guide Insulation & preparation 82
 Where I am wiring a few items in parallel (LED
Electrical install (first fix) lights, or a couple of USB points) I will put tape
Before installing the insulation and the vapour in a loop (see below). I leave enough to give
barrier it is best to run the appliance wiring in me a bit of flexibility in positioning and to make
your van. This will be all the wires that go to working on the connectors easier.
lights, switches, USB points, electric vents - and
anything else that will be fitted into the walls
and roof.
This is my process:

1. Mark it out
I use a marker to draw out where everything will
be (approximately). I will draw roughly the path
of the wires so that I can visualise the lighting
rings that I will install.
I might run some cables under the floor using
This stage helps me work out where I can bring conduit, this is flexible tube for cable, but
all the wires - often we can drag them through this will depend where my electrical storage
some of the structural elements of the van. compartment will be.
2. Wire it up
Most of the wires go to lights, USBs, or my
switch panel, so are essentially the same cable.
In my last van I used about 120m/360ft of
cable! It can be surprising how much cable
goes into a van - especially if you have multiple
lighting rings.
I attach them to the roof using Gorilla tape (or
similar strong tape). If the weather is very hot,
and you leave them for a while, cheaper gaffa
tape tends to melt/peel off faster.

The Van Conversion Guide Insulation & preparation 83

The above image shows the path of the conduit to your conversion - ideally, if you use a switch
I ran. I used 35mm conduit because I wanted to loom it is fairly close.
pass large DC-DC charger cables through it.
Below shows the wiring I use to make a switch
I used the conduit because I wanted to run the loom. The loom is all connected up on the
battery-to-battery (DC-DC) charger cables electrical board using a bus terminal (lots of
from where my battery was - at the back of connectors in a line).
the van - to the cab (where my starter battery
is). If my battery was on the right hand side -
or somewhere near the front - where I could
run cables through furniture - I would not
necessarily need to do this.
While I was installing conduit I also ran cables to
the right hand side of the van where my heaters
were to be placed.
In-line switches
The most economical way of running cables to
switches is to take a cable to a switch and then Checking
directly go to your appliance (say a light). This I would take time to check your plans against
requires a little more thought but is a good way what you have installed. Give some time
to do it. to thinking about anything you might have
forgotten, or anything you might like to add
Below shows the wiring for an in-line switch. If
(or have the option of adding later).Make sure
you wire up your switches in this way, you need
that the positioning of the lights and appliances
to make sure you have a ‘loop’ in the right place
work based on your latest thinking. Once you
for where you want to install your switch.
have added insulation, vapour barrier and
cladding - it gets much harder to bring cables
through the top of your van!

Switch loom
I tend to run cables to switches separately and
then connect them all up at my electrical board.
This gives me a little more flexibility for what I
use my switches for - reducing the pressure on
the planning part - and makes wiring up the van
bit easier.
By doing this, and having all your switches run
from your fuse box separately can use a lot
more cable if your switch panel is far from the
electrical compartment. If you have 6 switches
5 meters away, it will add 30 meters of cable

The Van Conversion Guide Insulation & preparation 84

 I remember staying in a friends uninsulated,
Insulation options non-heated van in winter in Chamonix, the
Insulation is pretty important if you want to outside temperatures crept down to -25C
have a good living environment. (-13F) and the entire body work of the van built
up a thick layer of frozen condensation. When
You install insulation to: the van warmed up in the morning, or when we
• Protect against cold drove somewhere the next day, the condensate
melted and dripped over everything in the back
• Protect against heat of the van. Not only that but everything in the
van froze - eggs, water, vegetables. This is not a
• Reduce condensation
good way to live.
Protecting against cold
How to insulate a van
The cold will sap the heat from your van with
Some people go super nerdy about it, and there
or without insulation but insulation will greatly
is so much technical information out there, but
reduce the speed that your van cools down.
to a large extent it depends on your budget and
When combined with a heater, an insulated van
what method suits you, and your needs, best.
will simply use less fuel to heat your van.
In this guide I will go through two simple insu-
Protecting against heat
lation methods, which anyone can do without
Protecting your van from getting hot is proba-
specialist equipment.
bly the main benefit of insulation. We can install
systems to heat the van quite easily but cooling
a van is harder. It is not generally feasible to run
an AC unit from solar – therefore if your van,
and everything inside it gets hot, it can take a
long time to cool down.
Condensation
If you have ever unpacked a tent after a cold
night you will find that the fly sheet is totally
wet on the inside. This build-up of moisture in a
van can cause all sorts of misery in cold weath-
er.
The Van Conversion Guide Insulation & preparation 85
Installing an insulated floor brushes the roof – It would not have been good
This is a system I always use for my vans. I glue to lose another inch.
studs down, fill the gaps between them with
PIR board and seal any gaps with spray foam. For the floor I put in wooded stud and glued
it down, with the shape of the base of the van
it left just the right space to put in insulation
board. I screwed the plywood down on top of it
(a new ply base came with the van).
For the walls and the roof, the shapes tend to
be a bit awkward, but my general process was
as follows:
1. Measure and cut the shape out using a jigsaw
2. Place it in, ideally it is just a little too big, so it
wedges in
3. Use spray foam as ‘cement’ and fill in any
On top of this I put down ply (sometimes you
gaps (using the gun grade foam)
can re-use the ply that was already in the van).
But otherwise it just needs to be cut to fit the This also worked on the ceiling, which saved
shape of the floor. having to prop the insulation panels against the
roof for ages while glue dried. Wedging it in and
Be sure to finish joints of plywood on studs so
using the spray foam was really quick.
that it is strong throughout.
Using the expanding foam as a fixant worked
Insulation System 1
really well and was quick to do. The box work (at
the top of the photo) needed various pieces to
be cut, slid in and tessellated until it was full. I
then used foam gun to fill in any gaps.

Celotex / Polyisocyanurate / PIR board

• Walls & doors: 50mm Celotex foam board +
Insulation foil + Cladding/Panels Gluing in the foam board insulation with the
Roof: 30mm Celotex + Insulation foil + Clad- spray gun
ding
Important!
Floor: 30mm Celotex foam + 9mm (3/8 inch)
ply/flooring There are some areas of ducting, especially
around the doors, which have functional mech-
Ducting: Filled with spray foam
anisms in (locks/access to lighting etc.) – just
Remaining metal work: Auto carpet check you are not filling something that one
day you will need to access. or you will have to
In general, I do not want to lose too much spend half a day trying to dig-out because the
height so there is a bit less on the ceiling and door no longer locks!
floor. As it is, if I stand straight my hair just
The Van Conversion Guide Insulation & preparation 86
On my first van I sprayed a bit too much spray Extreme cold insulation
foam around my light unit, when I needed to If you want get nerdy about it - Celotex (or sim-
change the bulb it was a nuisance to get the ilar polyiso insulating board) is not ideal for vans
light unit out. where the average temperature will be lower
than around 5°C (41°F).
This is the van 70% insulated. At this point I
have half applied the foil to the van. However, because the main benefit of insula-
tion is to prevent the van getting very hot and
Notice the slots in the foam around the elec- that if you are operating in cold temperatures
trical conduit. These spaces could have been for long periods then a heater is essential for
smaller, but I eventually just filled it will foam your comfort – then the polyiso board is proba-
gun in the end anyway. bly still a reasonable choice.
Better cold-weather insulation
XPS (extruded polystyrene) is a better perform-
er (as are some others – see link below) when
it come to cold weather performance. XPS is
not the most environmentally friendly product
to produce – however in a life-cycle analysis it
may be beneficial.

The van is looking a bit of a mess at this time

but don’t be disheartened – this is a major
preparation stage and, once finished, everything
you do starts to make it prettier!
An easy way to put up the foil insulation layer..
I used some old screws, pushing them through
the foil and into the foam insulation behind it
– simply to tack it up in its pace. A whole load
of these and the insulation is quite effectively
attached. I then used foil tape (or gorilla tape)
to seal up the edges.

The Van Conversion Guide Insulation & preparation 87

Insulation System 2
Polythene Fleece (typically recycle bottles)

If you get van-specific fleece, it is usually fair-

ly soft, relatively easy to tear, cut, and stuff in
holes and apply.
Use spray glue to spray on the van, and onto
the fleece and simply stick it to the wall.
If you are going to go down this route – I would
give them a call/drop then an email and tell This is a much faster process than the PIR
them what van you are looking to insulate and board/Celetex which needs each section craft-
they will put an order together. You can see the ing to fit your van’s spaces.
quantities I used at the end of this book. Step 4. Dodo Thermo Van Liner (or foil-based
• Walls & Ceiling and doors: Sound deadening & liner)
fleece
• Floor: 30mm Celotex foam + 9mm (3/8 inch)
ply/flooring
• Ducting: Filled with spray foam
• Remaining metal work: Auto carpet
Step 1: Do the floors the same as the system
described above – the video guide below ex-
plains why I used the same flooring insulation
for my second van.
Watch the video below to learn how to install
the rest of the Dodo wrap system. It is fast to The van liner can be used direct to the metal as
do and I have found it to be really effective. a first layer or – as I use it doubled up as a vapor
barrier.
Step 2. Add sound deadening. These heavy
sheets are easy to stick on and the whole pro- Tips for installing the van liner;
cess takes just a few minutes. • Have someone help you when it comes to
Step 3. Fleece installation wrapping it around the van – the rolls are big
and it is tricky alone
• Make sure the corners are pushed in as much
as you can. If you do not then you get a bowing
effect and it is hard to fit wood up-to the cor-
ners
• If this does happen (it probably will some-

The Van Conversion Guide Insulation & preparation 88

where) then use some thick tape (like Gorilla tive way of doing your insulation but does re-
tape) and cut the liner, allow it to open a bit and quire professional spray foam kit and therefore
tape it up to re-create the moisture barrier. it is unlikely that you will be doing it yourself.
The cost is for a long-wheel base/high top van
should be around £450 so it is not vastly dif-
ferent compared to other insulation methods
especially considering someone else does the
insulation work.

Insulation Method 3
Professionally Sprayed Foam Insulation
Another method for insulation is to have the
whole inside of your van sprayed professionally
with foam.
The process for this is as follows:
• Attach wood stud-work (so you can still at-
tach things to the van walls afterwards)
• Mask out all areas which are not to be spray
foamed. It is very important that you do this Before & after spray foam images thanks to
carefully and thoroughly – including all rubber Mateusz Pakulski
seals, windows, locks, mechanisms, light panels
etc..
• Take it to a company who sprays the foam

Typically the foam is 30-45mm thick and it also

provides a moisture barrier. This is a very effec-
The Van Conversion Guide Insulation & preparation 89
Cladding & finishes
I used 8mm interior cladding. This is thinner
than external cladding and easier to flex around
the van shape and it has a better finish than
external cladding.

Typically, the cladding has a smooth side and

a slightly rougher side. Just make sure you are
putting it on the right way!
Applying the cladding to the window side. I first For the top of the van, as we have fixed points
screwed plywood strips to each end (see where to fix the cladding to, (the stud work across the
the cladding is screwed) and also in the middle. ceiling) you need to ensure the joins are on one
The cladding is fixed at both ends with screws, of these bits of stud work.
and in the middle using cladding clips.
The cladding I had was 3 long, about 40cm too
Cladding clips. They usually come in packs of short to go the full length of the roof. For that
50 and include little nails. The spiky projecting reason, I cut the cladding down to two lengths.
section shares the slot in the cladding’s groove
and the nail goes in the hole behind it as the • One length from the Front to the Second-to-
fixing. last stud-work
• The other half the length from the
Back to the Front join stud-work

The Van Conversion Guide Insulation & preparation 90

I started on one side of the van and worked my Danish Oil
way over to the other. The way cladding clips
work mean you can only work one way! Along To finish the cladding I used Danish Oil. It is
the tongue of each piece of cladding I put a pretty good stuff.
thin line of sealant glue. The idea was to reduce Danish Oil protects the wood without making
any creaking and make it more solid. it too glossy. It makes it slightly darker – but on
As I went I measured and cut holes for the roof the pine, not much. I bought two 500ml cans.
eye-plates, lights and for the extraction fan. This These two cans were enough for my whole
was done BEFORE I fixed the cladding up. build.
To apply it, once you have given the cladding a
rub down with sandpaper, you just use an old
rag and wipe it on. Leave it 6 hours and repeat
this until it has three coatings. You can buy fast
drying Danish oil but I find using this stuff gives
me headaches as it off-gasses.

Where your cladding needs more support (es-

pecially on the doors) using screw cups is a nice
touch & it protects the wood from splitting.

Once done, I sanded the cladding down. P150

sandpaper is about right.

The Van Conversion Guide Insulation & preparation 91

Gas
Installation
Regulations, internal & external
tank, drop vents, pipes & hosing
Gas installation Gas compliance
Gas inside your van – safety notes What are the regulations for installing gas in
my campervan? Do I need a gas safety locker?
A tank inside your van is basically a bomb of How will I know that it’s safe? There are a lot
deadly gas inside your bedroom. Start with that of things to be uncertain about when installing
mind-set and rationalize from there. LPG in your self build camper van - and it’s hard
Check you are doing or thinking about the fol- to find the right information online.
lowing: Greg Virgoe (of YouTube) helpfully bought a
• You have a vent in the floor for any leaked gas copy of the standards and we have worked
to escape. More than one if necessary. with him to create this concise guide to help
• Ideally store the gas system in a sealed cup- self-builders understand the regulations for
board – so if the gas leaks it has nowhere to installing and testing your LPG.
go but out of the vent (and not into the living Before we get stuck in, a word of warning from
space) Greg;
• Test all your gas pipe joints (you can use
50/50 washing-up liquid and water dabbed on “Hey guys! Installing LPG in your campervan is
the joints) if there is a leak it will bubble and you by far the most dangerous part of a self build.
can do something about it In the UK (and in many US states) there is no
• Make sure the gas cylinder, pipes and appli- governing body for gas installations in vehicles,
ances are well fixed down, so there is no pos- so there is nothing to stop a DIY van builder
sible movement from vibration of the van. I from doing a home installation. If you plan to
fixed my internal cylinder in with a ratchet strap install your gas yourself, you need to make sure
which I fixed permanently to the framework. it’s done safely and tested thoroughly. Remem-
• On threaded joints use gas grade PTFE tape ber, gas can be fatal and should be treated with
and make sure everything is appropriately tight respect!”
• If using copper tubing, use appropriate gas
compression fittings (do not use PTFE tape) This lack of regulatory oversight is not the same
• If using rubber tubing, make sure you push in all countries or states. In the US - as far as I
the tubing all the way down the nozzle adaptors understand - you can do almost anything you
– its hard to do - and use the right size jubilee like, but in Spain, Germany and many other
clips on all joints and tighten appropriately countries the regulations are far stricter. Always
check the rules that apply to your vehicle!
GET IT CHECKED BY A PROFESSIONAL – it is
your life (or those you love). It is not expensive Gas regulations for van conversions
to get it checked. The regulations for installing LPG into caravans
• See this advice as a rough guide - I am not and motor homes are detailed in the BS EN
a gas professional, I cannot really advise you 1949:2011+A1:2013 document. It does provide
– other than telling you how I have done my all the information you need, but it’s very long to
conversions and try and persuade you to take read and also expensive to buy.
safety seriously How to test your LPG installation
• Also, I recommend that you install a gas leak A gas leak in a small space could be catastroph-
detector, a Carbon Monoxide detector, and a ic. Before you use any appliances with your DIY
fire extinguisher! gas installation, it should be tested for leaks to
make sure it’s completely safe.
If you aren’t comfortable testing the system
yourself, get a qualified gas engineer to carry
out the test for you. Speak to a local caravan
accessories supplier to find an engineer.
Before we learn how to test the system, it’s

The Van Conversion Guide Gas installation 93

essential to understand that there are two sides system side of the regulator (there will be a test
to a gas installation: The high pressure side and point on the regulator).
the low pressure side. Each side needs to be
tested differently. 5. Pump the system up to 150mBar.
6. Leave it for 5 minutes and allow the tempera-
ture to even out.
7. Then take a first reading of the pressure.
8. Wait another 5 minutes.
9. Then take the final reading.

The high pressure side

The high pressure side of your LPG system runs In the time between the two readings, the
from the gas cylinder up to the regulator. In this pressure should not have dropped any more
area, the pressure changes with the temper- than 10mBar. Ideally, it would not have dropped
ature - from 1.5bar at 0°c up to 25bar at 70°c. at all! A pressure drop would indicate a leak in
This chart shows the pressure depending on the system.
where your cylinder is stored
Testing the high-pressure side
The low pressure side
It’s sufficient to test the high-pressure side of
Low pressure side of your system runs from the your system with a leak detection spray. Be-
regulator to your appliances. The regulator re- cause the pressure is much higher there, it’s
duces the pressure down to a very low pressure okay to test with working pressure. Spray all the
of 30mBar / 0.435. joints with leak detection fluid (similar to fairy
Testing the low pressure side liquid). If there is a leak, the fluid will bubble up.
There should be no leaks within a 30 second
Once you have completed the installation in period of applying the leak detection spray.
your van, you need to test it up to five times
the pressure. You will need a manometer and an Gas locker regulations
LPG hose for the test. In caravans, access to the gas compartments is
Follow these steps to test all of your pipework, usually on the outside of the vehicle. However,
right up to the appliances. in self builds, it’s difficult to make an opening
in the side of your van - and so you can have a
1. Turn all the taps off on your appliances. sealed compartment which is accessible from
2. Open the local isolating valves - this allows the inside. (Another option is to install an under-
you to test right through to the appliances. slung LPG tank, which is fixed to the underside
of your van.)
3. Connect the LPG hose onto the plus side of a
manometer.
4. Connect the other end of the hose to the
The Van Conversion Guide Gas installation 94
 • You must be able to undo all straps and meth-
ods of securing without the use of tools.
• The compartment must not hinder access to
the regulator, isolator, or any other gas compo-
nents.
• The gas compartment must be ventilated -
the ventilation area must equal 2% of the floor
area.
• The drop-out vent in the bottom of the cylin-
der must not be obscured.
Ventilation
It’s essential to add a drop-out vent to your gas
If you choose to install a gas cylinder inside your compartment. LPG is heavier than air, so if you
van, the following restrictions apply. do get a leak, the gas will fall out of the bottom
of the compartment and escape through the
You can carry a maximum of two cylinders with vent.
a maximum capacity of 16kg each.
Drill a hole through the bottom of the gas com-
• The cylinders must be stored in a compart- partment and the floor of the van to install the
ment sealed from the living space. vent. A 50mm vent offers 800mm2 of venti-
• The sealed door must not go right to the floor, lation. If you have a small cylinder (below 7kg),
there must be a 50mm up stand. you can get away with one 20mm drop out
• The cylinder must not be positioned directly vent.
above your van’s exhaust pipe. It must be at
least 250mm outside of a zone around your Electrical cable
exhaust. If you need to run electrical cables through your
gas compartment, it is safe as long as
• There are no joints or connections inside the
compartment.
• All of your cables are protected by conduit or
trunking.
• The openings in and out of the compartment
are sealed.
Pressure regulation and working pressure
It’s important to regulate the pressure in your
LPG system. A regulator turns the high pressure
gas from your cylinder into low pressure gas
(max. 30mBar) that is used to run your appli-
ances.
Rules for the regulator
The regulator can be fitted on top of the cylin-
der.
• It can also be bolted to the wall and attached
to the cylinder with a short, high pressure hose.
The hose must not be longer than 400mm and
there must be no stress on the joints.
• The cylinder needs to be securely fixed at • The cylinder must be positioned so that you
both high and low levels. are not obscuring the regulator or any shut-off
valves.
The Van Conversion Guide Gas installation 95
• There should be a maximum flow rate of
1.5kg/hr.
• Each system should be clearly marked with
the pressure in the system.
• All hoses should be clearly marked with a
pressure rating, colour coded, and tested for
resistance to LPG.
Components and materials for installation
Pipes
• All pipework from the regulator to your appli-
ances needs to be rigid copper or steel pipe-
work (copper coil is best).
• All appliances that are permanently fitted to
the van need a rigid connection to them.
No flexible hose to permanently fitted applianc-
es!
• Flexible hose Gas safe PTFE Tape must only be used on
• Flexible hose can be used for moveable appli- threaded fittings only (not compression) to
ances (e.g. portable stoves). completely seal the joints.
• It must not be more than 750mm long.
• There must be a shut-off valve on the bottle In compression fittings, the seal is formed by
before the hose. the olive, not the threaded nut, so PTFE tape
• The hose must be to LPG standards. could actually cause a leak instead of prevent-
ing one. You can use a small amount of gas-
It must be visible and not hidden under floors or safe jointing compound to seal compression
behind walls. fittings.
Fittings Shut-off valves
There are a few kinds of fittings that you can You must have a shut-off valve for each appli-
use in your LPG installation. ance. Each valve must be clearly labelled with
‘Gas’ and with the direction for turning it on and
• Compression / Ring cutting (olive and nut)
off.
• Soldered
• Flared Installation design
When you first start designing your van, you
should consider where your gas service pipes
will be installed. Planning ahead is key to make
sure that everything is safe and easily accessi-
ble!
There are a few rules to remember for the lay-
out of your LPG installation.
• All pipework needs to be installed where it’s
easily accessible for testing. You shouldn’t have
joints buried under the floors, in the walls, or in
the ceiling.
• Your gas must be installed in a location where
it won’t get damaged or be under strain.
• All pipework needs to be clipped to the struc-
ture of your van. The maximum distance be-

The Van Conversion Guide Gas installation 96

tween your clips cannot be more than 500mm. on the tank when being filled.
• The cylinder must not be filled to more than
Connecting appliances 80%.
All gas appliances installed in your van must be • There must be a level indicator on the cylin-
room-sealed appliances. der.
• There must be a manual shut-off valve.
They must all be connected with rigid pipework • There must be a pressure relief valve.
(apart from portable appliances), installed free • There must be an overflow regulator.
of stress, and have a local means of isolation. • The regulator must be fitted at the top of the
Warning: other appliances are unsafe. cylinder.
• The cylinder must be stored upright.
• They use up all the oxygen in your van. • A warning label must be fitted to state that all
• They give off fatal gases. appliances should be manually isolated before
• They give off water, which leads to condensa- refilling.
tion.
You must shut the manual valve on top of the
Flue Terminals and Locations cylinder when you are refuelling.
Gas appliances such as fridges and heaters Don’t take any chances with your DIY gas instal-
need to be ventilated with a flue to the outside. lation.
These are the regulations for installing a flue. It’s vital that your system is safe and does not
leak - otherwise, it could be life threatening.
• The location must be further than 500mm
We can’t stress enough that if you are unsure,
away from any refueling point.
you should always get a professional gas safe
• It must not be fitted directly underneath an
engineer to carry out the installation for you, or
opening window.
check what you have done.
• It must be more than 300mm to one side of
an opening window or an opening door. It’s not a requirement to get a gas safety certif-
icate for self build vans, but if you plan to hire
Filling point
out your van, it will need to be signed off by a
professional first. Getting a gas safety check is
a quick and low-cost process that will give you
peace of mind about your installation.

Similarly, the filling point cannot be fitted within

500mm of an opening window or opening door.
It should be fitted on the outside of your van so
that it can be accessed without opening up the
vehicle.
Installation of LPG tanks
• The LPG tanks that you install must meet the
following safety standards.
• There must be an automatic cut-off system

The Van Conversion Guide Gas installation 97

 on the nuts and washers. Afterward I tightened
Compliant system these up with a spanner.
This is an install of an under-slung gas tank that
aimed to be compliant with gas regulations.
This install includes a manifold, copper tubing,
external regulator, and is connected to an air
heater, a water heater and a gas hob.

Connecting gas fittings

When connecting any gas fittings you need to
be careful that you do not damage whatever it
is already connected to.
Under slung tank
To do this you must always support the
This is bolted to the bottom of the van, the tank
opposing joint with a spanner. In this
was installed before the insulated floor.
circumstance you are tightening against
To install my tank I first made a cardboard jig your own strength - otherwise you are risking
with holes that corresponded to the bolt holes breaking a fitting or twisting your pipework on
on the tank. the other side.
This is the same for all connections, you may
be tempted to tighten against an appliance, or
gas tank fitting, but this is always bad idea. It
is easy to break your appliance with the torque
a spanner - and it might be very expensive to
repair.

I took this under the van and marked the holes

using a marker pen.

Above, using opposing spanners to connect

up a compression fitting. Notice the point in
the middle of the fitting for this very purpose!
(Note - this is the same for many water
fittings).
Fill pipe
I drilled the holes to-size and as I held the tank The fill pipe (in this case a rubber tube)
up and put bolts through the holes a friend put connected to the fill point using an elbow
The Van Conversion Guide Gas installation 98
compression fitting. the direction of turn - usually labelled on the
tool), lightly tighten the cutting wheel, rotate
High-pressure hose the tool and repeat. This will quickly cut your
The high pressure hose was fitted to the tank pipe cleanly.
using gas PTFE tape.
Regulator
The regulator was fitted under the van. The
high-pressure hose was fitted to the regulator.
The copper tubing (that goes into the van) was
fitted with a compression fitting.
Manifold
I made a section of my cupboard to hold the
manifold, in the end I put a small cupboard door
over it - meaning that it is easily accessible.

Note, if you over tighten the took, you will

deform the tube and will mess up your cut -
patience is best!
Air & Water heater connection
This is the housing for my water heater and air
heater. I put both appliances in one unit (with
manifold and fill hose connector. This means
that the holes in the floor (for connecting the
manifold and the fill tube) act as a drop-vent.
A drop-vent means that if there is a leak, the
gas has somewhere to go (it is heavier than air)
and should always be installed where you have
gas appliances. You can purchase parts that
have a little grill on them, shown below, that fit
through the floor of your van.
Copper tubing
To fit the copper tubing (usually 8mm) you
ideally have a tool to bend the pipe - either a
spring (cheap) or a pipe bender (better).

You also need a pipe cutter, this will give a clean

cut and will not deform the pipe. You can buy
an adjustable pipe cutter - these seem to be
better than fixed-size cutters that can deform
the pipe in the process of cutting it.
Tot cut a pipe, put on the pipe cutter (notice

The Van Conversion Guide Gas installation 99

The Propex Malaga water heater was mounted
onto two rails that put it at the right height for
the vent that I installed in the side of the van.

The water heater has a section of 8mm gas

pipe sticking out the back of it (see above, it
has a yellow cap on it (bottom rear of unit).
To connect this to the gas tube you just need
to use a straight compression fitting (shown
above in ‘connecting gas fittings’ section.)
Connecting up the air heater
The Propex HS2000 heater has an elbow
compression to screw thread fitting for
connecting up the gas.

To fit this I added a decent amount of gas PTFE

tape and screwed it in - once this is in place -
and pointing roughly the right direction - you
can connect the gas pipe to the compression
fitting.
When applying gas PTFE tape you want to
apply in the direction of the turn so that, when
you screw it in to the fitting, it does not have a
tendency to unravel or snag up.

The Van Conversion Guide Gas installation 100

Non-compliant system
Regulator
These 37mbar are pretty standard bits of kit.
Check the thread you need to attach to your
gas tank.

This is the position of the LPG filling point on

my Transit van. In my latest van it is on the
outside – this is because the kitchen was on
that side.
Shown is the UK LPG filler type, you can buy
I used Gas PTFE Tape on all my screwed joints.
adaptors for other locations fairly cheaply
Filler hose online.

I bought the official filler hose from the supplier

of the LPG tank. It is expensive but you know it
is going to do the job!

The Van Conversion Guide Gas installation 101

Floor vent
You need a hole in the floor under your gas
tank/system to allow any leaking gas a chance
to escape. If you want to be safety-conscious
make the whole gas-area sealed/air tight so
that any leaking gas has only the drop-vent as a
place to escape.

I drilled a hole through the van and used one

of these vents, they are fairly widely available if
you search online for ‘campervan gas drop out
vents’ or similar.

The Van Conversion Guide Gas installation 102

 The heater needs two holes going through the
Heater installation bottom of the van.
This is the heater I used in both my van
You cannot put it anywhere – under the van
conversions;
there are structural and functional elements
that mean you have to measure in from the
edge of the van to work out where it can be
placed.
I first drilled a pilot hole to check I was in the
right place. I wasn’t, so based on that hole
drilled another, marked out the final two holes
for the heater inlet and exhaust.

These are the pipes (black inlet, chrome;

exhaust) coming from the heater. As you can
see you cannot just put it anywhere!
It is a Heatsource HS2000, 12V, Single Outlet After connecting the inlet and exhaust pipes (as
2KW Gas Heater. per the heater’s manual) attached them under
the van – making sure the inlet and outlet were,
as instructed, not inside a cavity under the van.
I zip tied them in to place – drilling holes where
necessary to do so.
I got it as part of a full installation kit - this was
handy as it came with all the fixings necessary,
and I did not have to think too much when it
came to installation!
Why this heater?
I wanted a heater that ran off the LPG gas and
had an external flue. This Heatsource 2000
comes with a thermostat so it will cycle on and
off overnight.
Installing the heater
The heater is located under the plywood beside
the LPG tank. You can just see the ducting for The ends are screwed in using clips that came
the hot air. as part of the fixing kit.
The heater firstly needs to be connected to the
12V – so that goes through my fuse box using
the supplied fuse.
The Van Conversion Guide Gas installation 103
 It is important to note that this cannot be
External shower installation installed inside your van. I did this nevertheless
External gas powered shower installation because I can only use it when the back-doors
are wide open. Therefore, when the gas burns
This is what I installed in my second van. It is the poisonous gasses come out the vent, they
actually pretty good (but be sure to drain the also go outside.
system if you are not using the van in freezing
weather) – I do not need to have a separate
room to shower in but can have a hot shower
whenever I want.
This system requires a 70l (or similar)
water tank, a 30psi or higher pump, and a
accumulator.
I used the ‘Eccotemp L5’ Portable Outdoor
Tankless Water Heater - but there are other
similar products out there. I chose this unit
because it was vertically small (so it would fit
under the bed) and would do the job. I created a heat shield to stop the heat and
moisture from burned gas from going into the
bed for obvious reasons.
I used 1.5mm aluminium sheet and bent it to fit
– however it would also be possible to mount it
in such a way that it did not vent into the bed if
your metal working skills are not up to scratch.
The gas shower is simply attached to the LPG
gas line and the waterline coming from the
pump. When you turn on the shower, the pump
fires up, and the two DD batteries in the shower
ignite the gas and you have hot water.
The shower came with a gas hose attached to
a regulator. I already has a regulator, so I simply
I removed the grey handle and made a frame to cut the hose (to keep the fittings that went
mount the shower. directly onto the shower unit) and got a 8mm-

The Van Conversion Guide Gas installation 104

8mm hose adaptor and connected it into my Tanked water heaters
gas system.
The following is the Propex Malaga water heater,
I could not find a one-piece male-male 8mm it has an integral water tank which takes 15
adaptor in my local hardware shop, so I screwed minutes or so to heat up from cold.
these two parts together using Gas PTFE tape.

After years of looking at vans, and living in

them, I think this is the best middle ground
solution. It is relatively cheap to install, it takes The unit requires a vent that goes out the side
up hardly any space inside the van and the of the van. It is a pretty compact unity and fairly
shower is hot. easy to install.

Note, this shower installation (due to the use Because it is mounted on the side of the van
of rubber hose that connects to the shower it can be put inside cupboards or other places
unit) did not meet gas-safe standards. It did away from the shower. This makes it a bit more
however, work very well! flexible in terms of installation.

The shower screen was made using PVC

backed fabric. This was given structure by thin
wood batons which had screw-hooks on each
end. These hooked into small eye-plates which
were fixed into the cladding on the doors.
This design is fast to put-up and take down, the
PVC dries quickly and the wooden structure
means that it does not blow around if it is
windy.

The Van Conversion Guide Gas installation 105

Water
Installation
Pipes & Fittings | Tanks |
Showers
 BSP fitting, or to 10mm Internal Diameter pipe-
Water tank installation clip adaptor (shown in following image).
The Fammia 75 litre / 20 gallon water tank is
a commonly used water tank. It has a large
opening (big red cap) which enables you to
clean the tank. It has two placement options, on
the flat (red opening facing up), or upright (as
shown below).
It cannot sit in a ‘landscape’ position (on its
long side) because when the water filled to
the height of the breathing hose, the air would The fill point (above) has a rubber washer, this
not be able to escape and it would become goes on the inside of the tank (with sealant).
impossible to fill any more. It comes with a plastic nut which you use to
tighten the joint up. Once sealed, leave for 24
hours to cure.
You can either use fittings to connect to the 1/2
inch screw-thread, or you can use the 10mm
pipe-adaptor (pictured in-place above).
Brackets - the water tank comes with threaded
bar with washers and nuts to allow you to bolt
the tank to an internal structure of your van.

There are several parts to install with this tank,

these are:
Water inlet/fill point - this is typically a locking
fill point which fits into the wall of your van. You
just need to use a hole cutter to cut a hole the
right size.
TIP: when using large hole cutters, drill the
centre hole first (without the hole cutter part),
otherwise when it pops through, the hole
cutter part is prone to dig-in, bounce, and I attached one water tank to the bulkhead - I
make a mess of your paint work. installed riv-nuts to enable me to do this.
The filler hose - on the Fammia tank this is
40mm ID hose. You fit it with a pipe-clip/jubilee
clip with a little bit of sealant to ensure it is
water tight.
Breathing pipe - this is a tube that goes from
the tank to the fill-point and gives a way for
air to escape as you fill it - this makes filling
smoother.
Water outlet - the tank comes with a fitting
that can be attached to any of the ‘square’ areas
with a center point for drilling. This needs to be
sealed in and tightened and attaches to 1/2inch

The Van Conversion Guide Water Installation 107

 Flat installation
If you are laying the tank flat on the ground, you
may not need to use the threaded bar. I just
put some stud-work around it to stop it sliding
around and used a length of building strapping
to fix it in place.

Preparing the tank for connection

The tank has two options for where to place
your fill & breathing pipe and, whichever ones
you choose, need to be drilled out in order to
TIP: with building strapping, by screwing in
make a hole. (This leaves debris inside your tank,
using a hole which does not quite reach the
make sure you clean this out before you fill it
wood, you can use the power of the screw to
with water as it could cause problems with your
cinch it down tight.
pump)
The blocky-square features on the corners
and middle-of-edges are for fitting your water
outlet - they have a centre hole to help get your
placement right (see image below). These have
slightly thicker plastic and will make a more
stable connection point.

If you have a water outlet which is not at the

bottom of the tank you will need to attach a
hose to it to reach the bottom of the water
tank.

The Van Conversion Guide Water Installation 108

 many other parts of your van.
Internal shower installation
The water heating system
This is a fairly generic overview for a shower
installation. Later I will show in more detail a There are a lot of options but here is a pretty
system I have installed. simple route to go down.
Buy a tray!

You have two options – a base that fits a 1. Cut holes in the right places for your vent
cassette toilet or standard base (you can also (you could also use a roof vent)
make the base large enough to store a portable 2. Lighting (not shown here) will need to be
toilet in there too). added
If I wanted a shower and a toilet I would choose 3. Wire up the switch for the van
a larger shower tray & use it to store a portable
cassette toilet. 4. Fix pipes into the frame (from the outside or
through the timber)
Build the frame

Your frame is entirely built around the size of

the shower tray and the orientation of your Fix your pipes to adapters (the exact type will
shower within the van. depend on the plumbing standards for your
region) any good hardware store will be able to
Simply build it using stud-work like you have advise.

The Van Conversion Guide Water Installation 109

 Otherwise, here is a simple method using a
slightly extended wall panel

This could also go straight into a mixer tap-unit.

5. Glue in shower tray, you may need to add
some wood below it to support it. Be sure that
it is well supported and sits well when placed.
- Glue it in with sikaflex or similar sealing
adhesive. I would be quite generous with the
adhesive.
6. Add Shower Wall – I would recommend using
plastic shower wall as it is easy to cut and can The door is made with a simple frame – the
give a durable and nice finish. front and back (perhaps thin ply on outer side
& shower wall on the inside). By including trims
- If you are adding a curved top – the plastic and some rubber seal you can probably make
board can be scored (outer layer cut) from the door waterproof quite easily. Magnetic
behind to allow it to bed. shower seals are also available.
7. Plastic shower walls come with a range of
corner options which should be used to create
a nice effect and a better seal

It is helpful to have some kind of catch or lock

to hold your door shut while you are inside it!
At the floor level built in a step and again look
at rubber sealing options – this will depend on
the configuration of your door. But you want to
make sure that the water will not run down the
door and out the bottom of it into your van!

8. Door & sealing – there are probably a hundred

ways to seal your door. I would recommend
looking at the plastic panel manufacturer’s
options for seals and edgings as there may be
some good options.
The Van Conversion Guide Water Installation 110
In-built shower heater
GAS WARNING! Again, get it done by an expert
if you do not know what you are doing. At
absolute minimum get it checked. Gas & faulty
heater flue systems can kill you!
You must have your heater adequately and
safely vented – if you do not the heater will
burn up all the oxygen in the van and give you
carbon monoxide poisoning which can be fatal.
Wall mounted, instant heaters.
These typically require a flue coming vertically
out of the unit and through the roof, or
potentially a side-wall.

The Van Conversion Guide Water Installation 111

Internal shower installation
(hidden shower)
This shower design aims to mitigate the major
downside of having an internal shower; a huge
wooden box that takes up space, makes a van
feel more cramped and is only used for a few
minutes a day.

The design essentially hides the shower under

the kitchen counter top, and uses part of it to
create the side of the shower wall (see above).
It has a half height shower curtain (rolls down
from the top) which is hidden behind the ‘top
wall’ which is required to meet the counter top.

The shower wall is the same as the shower wall

throughout the kitchen, so that when the show-
er is in ‘kitchen mode’ it looks like it is always a
kitchen.

The Van Conversion Guide Water Installation 112

System design
The system itself is quite simple. The water
flows from the pump, it splits with one line go-
ing to the Propex Malaga water heater, and from
there the hot water goes to the mixer valve. The
other line goes to the cold on the mixer valve.

The mixer valve is a standard one you would

install into a house and the shower head is an
‘eco’ one (generally uses less water).

Push-fit fittings
I used push-fit pipe and fittings throughout this
water system. The following illustrations show
the main details

The Van Conversion Guide Water Installation 113

Shower fittings
I used quick-fit shower fittings. These do make
life easier and result in a strong and secure
shower fitting.

The diagram above should help you understand

how to fit the shower mixer valve to the pipe
and the wall.

The Van Conversion Guide Water Installation 114

Electrical
Installation
Cables | Fuses | Chargers |
Inverters | Lighting
Electrical installation

Stripping wires
You can use a wire stripping tool, or you can
use a pair of wire cutters, to strip the end of the
wire. Once stripped, to maintain order, you can
gently twist the wires.
To make the slots, first use a hole saw to cut
Lugs & crimp tool
two holes. Then use the jig saw to join them up.
A crimp tool is useful for crimping a lot of lugs -
Sand the edges of the holes down to make it
and is pretty essential for heavier-duty lugs.
smooth.

Main electrical board

To make your electrical board, the first thing is
to sit in the van and work out where you want
the different items to sit. This will depend on
where your cables are, where your battery is, Then you can screw on your appliances and
and where your cables are coming from. and wire up your board (see wiring diagram as a
reference).

After that, you can put your board in-place,

draw through the cables into the right positions
After that, you can mark out the location of and fix them to the board.
items on the board, and cut slots, which will
allow your cables to come through to your elec-
trical appliances.

The Van Conversion Guide Electrical Installation 116

Ground / Earth
I drilled a hole in a bit of the metal work in the
base of the van, sanded down around it and
bolted my earth wire to it.

My earth cable & connection point – I had some

spare 16mm2 wire so I used it to connect my
earth to the van body. (See image above - this
photo was taken before it was tightened up).

The Van Conversion Guide Electrical Installation 117

Electrical Installation
(second fit)
This is the lighting set-up I have used;
Essentially four lighting choices; front, back
ceiling lights, side lights and a door light.
For me lighting is one of the most important
parts of the conversion. Indirect strip lights
to create a warm & relaxed environment and
brighter spots when needed work well.
How to wire up lights in parallel
For many appliances, for example pump, heater,
The reel of LEDs comes with a connector – but
fridge etc.. you will just run a cable from your
only one. I found I was able to connect my strip
fuse box and connect up the positive and nega-
LED to a terminal connector by splitting the
tive – easy!
contact and screwing a terminal connector on
For lighting you will want to wire them in paral- to it.
lel. Taking it from a schematic to real-life can be
This is a bit fiddly, but it works.
tricky – but here is a pictorial diagram for how
to wire-up parallel items.
Terminal block connectors are cheap and you
just cut off the number you need. You can use
them for almost all your wire-to-wire connec-
tions in the van.

Tips:
• Don’t strip the end of your wires too long else
they will make the other side hard to insert and
screw up
• Make sure your wires are properly ‘in’ the unit
so there is not wire showing outside of the plas-
tic part of the terminal block connector

The Van Conversion Guide Electrical Installation 118

 it once for a period of a week. But actually I like
Fitting solar panel the fact that I can lift the panels up for cleaning
Options or maintenance.

Metal brackets
The simplest connections are metal L brackets
that connect the solar panel to the roof, these
are cheap and can be bolted on both the panel
and the roof. Typically you will bolt them to the
panel first, then fit them to the roof.
Plastic corner mounts
You can also purchase plastic mounts which
are screwed to the roof (first applying sealant
under the bracket).
To do this, I use a couple of stainless steel door
hinges and a couple of angle brackets to attach
my solar panel to the van.
This video tutorial inside the mini-course will
give you the detail you need to do the same
should you wish..

Bringing the cables inside

The cables need to be taken through the roof
in a waterproof way. To do this you can used an
electrical (external/weatherproof) junction box
with a hole cut in the bottom to take the cables
from the solar panel into the van. You can also
buy products that are made for the job.
Depending on your van (and your solar panel)
it may be possible to sit this underneath the
solar panel. It should be screwed and glued with
ample amounts of sealant.
Additional Cables
I needed to buy a couple extra cables to reach
my solar charge controller. The cable type you
will probably need to search for is ‘MC4’ cables.

How I did it I bought a 3m/9ft pair of cables with the con-

The simplest system is to simply use pre-made nectors already attached.
brackets as above however, I prefer to use a MC4 connectors
slightly hybrid system which enables me to lift These are the standard connectors used for all
the bracket up. This allows both cleaning under- solar cables. They are waterproof when con-
neath - and if you are in winter conditions - the nected and they come in two different parts.
fixing of the panel at an angle that better suits The parts ‘click’ when they connected properly
the position of the sun. This can practically tri- and they can be released by depressing the
ple the solar gain in the middle of winter. little catches on the sides.
How useful is this? Honestly, I have only used

The Van Conversion Guide Electrical Installation 119

 Below; The Durite VSR, a popular choice for
Split charge relay voltage sensing relay systems.
installation
Above is the basic circuit for a voltage sensing
relay (split-charger).
A voltage sensing relay is not recommended
when charging Lithium batteries or if your
vehicle is newer and it has a smart alternator.
Generally, across the board, a battery to
battery (DC-DC) charger the better choice, but
Voltage-Sensing-Relays (VSR) are cheap and
therefore have their uses for those on a budget.
If you do install a VSR split chargers need
connecting to the alternator (or ignition line)
in the engine. I would recommend, for ease of
installation, that you get one that just attaches
to the starter battery.
The size of the ‘battery use’ will depend on what
you buy, see manufacturer guidance.
Please note: Different split charge kits will have
different installation requirements – do check -
most suppliers will provide a schematic for the
system you purchase.

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 The remote switch is worth installing as you can
Inverter installation easily turn off your inverter when you are not
If you want to runs mains appliances off your using it - saving your battery.
12V battery system you will need an inverter.
The inverter should be fused on the positive
The above diagram shows you how to install it
cable, and it must be grounded using an
(from DC distribution).
appropriately sized wire.
Most invertors have a plug socket on the back,
See the section about choosing an inverter to
this means you can put a plug with some cable
figure out the size of inverter that you require
straight into it - and wire the other end to a
(Watts).
plug socket. This is what I do - however the
best practice is to connect it up to a MCU/RCB
(see earlier chapter on mains hook-up) and then
run to your plug sockets or mains appliances.

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Battery Management
System
Due to the inaccuracy of a volt meter it is useful
to install a BMS. I recommend using the Victron
Smart Shunt, it is a good product and you can
connect to it using bluetooth.
To connect this product, see the diagrams to
the right (they provide more options based on
your battery configuration in the installation
manual that comes with the product).
Installation process:
Connect the negative battery terminal to the
M10 bolt on the “BATTERY MINUS” side of the
shunt. Tighten the shunt bolt with a maximum
torque of 21Nm.
Note that there should be no other
connections on this side of the shunt or on
the negative battery terminal. Any loads or
chargers connected here will be excluded from
the battery state of charge calculation.
Connect the negative of the electrical system
to the M10 bolt on the “SYSTEM MINUS” side
of the shunt. Tighten the shunt bolt with a
maximum torque of 21Nm. Make sure that
the negative of all DC loads, inverters, battery
chargers, solar chargers and other charge
sources are connected “after” the shunt.
Note that up until 2020, the SYSTEM MINUS
connection was labelled LOAD MINUS.
Connect the ferrule pin of the red cable with
the fuse to the shunt by pushing the pin into to
the “Vbatt +” terminal.
Connect the M10 eye terminal of the red cable
with the fuse to the positive terminal of the
battery.
The battery monitor is now powered up. the
Bluetooth LED will start blinking and Bluetooth
is active.
In order to be fully functional, the battery
monitor needs to be configured - check the
manual that comes with the product for the
full details.

The Van Conversion Guide Electrical Installation 122

Building
Furniture
Beds, seats, cabinets, draws &
kitchen units
Building furniture
When it comes to building furniture – or
the general structures within your van - I
recommend using screws rather than glue. This
allows you to change things if you get it wrong
and, as the screws create an instant joint, it
allows you to build quickly.
When buying wood, be selective – look at each
piece down its length (from one end) to check
if it is straight, check for any damage or knots
that have fallen out, and reject any wood which
is not very good. This is a normal and perfectly
acceptable thing to do in a wood-store, and The image above shows the kitchen and seat in
bent wood will not make your life easier! progress. You will see that I build my stud-work
around the things that need to fit there. This
For almost all the stud-work I used the following way you can be space efficient and know that
dimensions of wood everything will fit.
• Main studwork: 33 x 33mm Although you have a general plan this part of
(1 3/8 inches square) the build feels a little like sculpture, you will
need to problem solve as you go, and adapt
• Bed-slats/various: 20 x 45mm
plans, and stud-work to fit your constraints.
(0.78 x 1.77 inches)
It is also a great stage because after doing all
• End-of-bed, drawer fronts/other; 93 x 20mm
the groundwork of insulation, laying cables and
(2.75 x 0.78 inches)
putting holes in your van, it finally starts to look
Anything which is approximately this size will do like the van you have been dreaming about.
the job. Check the video out in the mini-course,
it has some basic advice for how to easily build
your structures.

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 Fridge Slider
Under the opposing seat, I housed the fridge on
runners. Behind the fridge is a safe, this provides
a place to keep valuables - passports, laptops -
if parking and leaving the van somewhere which
seems less safe.
I always use a steel square to check each joint The gap in the studwork (at the front of the
in my structure to make sure my build does not fridge) was to allow the fridge lid to open - and
go awry. lift up a flap/folding cushion section. (See the
van tour for this van)
Water & space heater housing / seat
The following pictures show a seat that houses
a Propex Gas air heater, a Propex Malaga water
heater, a gas manifold and a gas fill point.

Below, the fridge sliders in action.

As there was space at on the left hand side, I
put in a removable false floor and panelled it in
to make an under-seat cupboard.

The fridge was glued to this board.

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Building the top cupboard I used 9mm (3/8 inch) ply to make the
I installed a corner cupboard. The first thing I cupboard doors. I made them bigger than the
do is to screw up a ‘top beam’ temporarily and cupboard holes.
then, using clamps and bits of wood, try and
work out the size that feels right for the space.

I then clamped the cupboard door to the frame

and drew around it (to make sure it all fits -
Once this is done I fix the top stud in there is some variation due to the sloping roof).
permanently. If there is a metal van structure
I will use a riv-nut, and then back it up with
pleanty of screws where I can. We do not want
this coming loose!
I then spend time making sure I have everything
square and horizontal - and build out the basic
frame.

I cut the doors out, filled the gaps, painted

them, attached piano hinges, and screwed
them in place.

After adding uprights, I traced round the

cupboard on to 5mm ply and glued clamped it
in place. I then used filler to fill any gaps.

To finish the cupboard, I added painted ply to

the ends, added knobs to the cupbaord doors
and screwed in a couple magnetic draw catches
(below).

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Lean-on bed-side cupboards
In my first van I created these cupboards and
they worked remarkably well in-terms of given
an additional comfortable place to sit. The lean-
to design makes the whole side of the bed a
nice place to sit.

This means you can have your phone or other

device charging at a place you can easily reach
it to kill that alarm..

They rise above the bed (about 3 inches on the

bed-side edge) and include the full height of
the mattress. It is easily enough for two peo-
ple’s clothes (assuming they know how to pack)
and more.

This photos shows the end piece.

This adds to the structural support of the metal
brackets I fixed inside the cupboards. Another
USB point is fitted here.

I have actually had four people sitting comfort-

ably along this to watch a film. I used mahoga-
ny – just because I had it – it presented some
added challenges. I think using 22mm (7/8 inch)
birch-faced ply (or similar) would have been
easier – and you could get a nice effect.
The cupboard also has my main light switch-
es. This is nice as you do not have to leave bed
to turn them on. I tend to just use my toes to
do so! The switch layout is designed to avoid
needing labels.

The Van Conversion Guide Building Furniture 127

Above-cab & bathroom cabinet Above-cab cupboard

I had this idea of finding a bathroom cabinet

and just screwing it in to the space above the
cab. I have done the same on a previous van
and it is a quick way to create a little cupboard For this cabinet I screwed into two uprights
with a mirror on it. (each side of the unit) and once attached to the
cabinet unit I put it in place and screwed these
into the wooden stud-work.

For my first van I found this stainless steep cab-

inet. This is it on Amazon.

I added two pieces of wood to the bottom of

the cupboard areas. This is because the doors
need to be a little higher than the shelf to stop
them getting blocked by stuff on the shelf.
Wood under the doors giving clearance for the
shelf.

I think the metal cabinet was the better buy as

it was easier to install and functioned better.

Using cladding and spare wood I made the

doors to fit – cutting out the hinge profile to
keep them tidy.
Cut out hinge profile. The wood the hinges are

The Van Conversion Guide Building Furniture 128

screwed into was offset to the right of the edge Fold-down cupboard
of the cladding.
Cupboard door construction – basically using
left over wood!
Although you can find all sorts of fancy
push-button cupboard door handles I just went
for a couple of locking slider bolts.
I think the brass looks good on the pine and I
aligned them to the push button on the bath-
room cabinet.
The over-head cab storage on my latest van
was not so tall. I opted for a single fold down
cupboard where I could store the table and
other things.

The door is basically a square of wood with

cladding to fit the shape of the van roof. The
wood which ‘stops’ the door going further is
bent in place and held with screws – I put a
piece of cladding behind this, drew a line which
matched the shape of the curve and used this
as my top piece.

The Van Conversion Guide Building Furniture 129

 Compact kitchen unit
Kitchen
The above shows a sketch-up model with de-
tailed designs. You can get the dimensioned full
model here. You can play with it using Sketch-
up which is a relatively easy to use free online
CAD package.
Kitchen Unit
The videos in this section give examples on my
latest van and probably give a pretty reasonable
idea for how it was constructed. The text below
gives information on my first kitchen system.
Building stud-work for the kitchen:
The finished kitchen unit. The cooker’s lid has
been closed.

Cutting and installing a kitchen top: It features a reclaimed mahogany kitchen top,
redwood pine front, four draws with limited oak
flooring fronts.
My kitchen unit over hangs the step a little,
people criticized this as being a bit strange but
I am really glad I did it. It has given me a couple
of inches extra width in my cupboards and, im-
portantly, on my work top. Without this cooking
would be that little bit harder. It also means that
the big recliner chair is, well big and you do not
feel squeezed against the kitchen unit.
The space it takes is essentially dead space.. but
you cannot have it too close to the door else
you cannot reach the handle to open it!

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I screwed the studwork in to the floor or the I used two layers of these and after sanding
bulkhead behind the unit. This was also at- them down, glued them together using lots of
tached to the seat unit studwork (under which G-clamps and a few screws for good measure.
would contain the heater).
Glueing!

Clamping

Using the gas canister and the two 20ltr con-

tainers I was able to precisely workout how
much space I could get away with using for my
drawers.
Once done, I added panels to the back and
sides to give it structural support.

Once done I cut the sides down to-size and

cut the hole for the sink unit.. and then spent a
long-time sanding.
I also used a scraper (cabinet makers use it for
furniture) to get out some of the deep scratch-
es that unruly school children had left in the
surface.
I saved some of the wood dust from sanding,
mixed it in to some wood glue, and used it as
filler for any holes in the wood.
Door
I made the door using 9mm (3/8 inch) ply and Treating the kitchen top
some old hinges I had from a previous project. I used Danish Oil, the same oil I used for the
These were easy to adjust to make sure that the rest of the van to treat the kitchen top. A bit of
door swung correctly. online research suggested it is safe enough for
food. Do check yourself based on whatever you
The door was just painted with some grey paint buy!
I got from Ikea, it turned out I should have
primed it, and it took about 8 coats to look
good. It did the job, it looks good, and I was not
in the mind to loose time to go shopping for
primer.
Reclaimed wood kitchen-top
For my first van I was able to find some re-
claimed mahogany which used to be part of
some school book shelves.

The Van Conversion Guide Building Furniture 131

 Method 1 – vertical blocks
Drawers The photo below shows the basic drawer struc-
I found making the drawers really boring, if I ture. Back, sides and a base. These are glued
were to have a weakspot it would be doing and screwed to four blocks in the corners. The
repetitive boring things well. That said, I do like front is screwed on and is made from wooden
the effect they have when finished. flooring.

I would definitely consider buying draws & run-

ners from Ikea or other places so that that you
can build-around them and have less work to
do.
You can simply buy a kitchen unit with draws
and cupboards and it works really well howev-
er the advantage of self-build is you can really
build things around your kit and be very effi-
cient with space.

Lastly the handle is an IKEA-bought handle I

simply screwed on.

I got 45cm drawer runners and attached them

to the bottom edges.
The drawer-side runner sits about 5mm from
the front of the on the draw.

The Van Conversion Guide Building Furniture 132

Inside the kitchen unit I added another upright
to allow me to attach the drawer runners and
just spent some time attaching and adjusting
them, so they ran nicely.

Method 2 – Glued Blocks Under-frame

I think this is a better and easier method of

making a drawer – even if it is less space effi-
cient. It looks nicer too. I am a convert! Sides; 9mm - 3/8 inch - Hardwood Ply
Base; 5mm - 3/16 inch Hardwood Ply
Front; two bits of wood screwed together edge
to edge and sanded down
For these draws I just put in simple runners
(blocks of wood) which the draw slides along.
Tip: They key is to make sure that the draw Nothing fancy but it works.
sides are properly square as you glue it. A big
wood-working square is a good investment for
your van conversion project.

The Van Conversion Guide Building Furniture 133

Finishing
touches
Tiles, slat-wall, fabric-panels,
upholstery, flooring & curtains
Kitchen tile back-splash
I wanted to add a row of kitchen tiles behind my
counter-top. This is partially to stop the clad-
ding from getting stained but also to add a nice
splash of color.

The problem:
• This part of the van curves a little
• The cladding is not solid – it can easily flex
Curving and flexing is bad news for tiles – I did
not want to tile directly to the cladding as it
would probably not last very long.
The solution: I tiled onto 9mm (3/8 inch) hard-
wood plywood and then glued that to the clad-
ding. This gave more structural support – I used
some pine edging above the tiles to hid the ply
and make it look tidy.
•Step 1. Glue tiles to ply using plenty of polyu-
rethane wood glue – use tile spacers and push
down the tiles ever so often as the glue foams
and can displace the,
•Step 2. Use silicone as grout – its messy and
a bit tricky but now they silicone flexes not the
tile reducing the chances of breakage
•Step 3. I used some corner pine trim to cover
the edges of the tiles and ply.

The Van Conversion Guide Finishing touches 135

 This also means that the light is all reflected
Fabric & side panels off the yellow fabric which makes for a great
As I do not want my van to look like a sauna, lighting effect.
and I want to create a separation between the
Making the panels
kitchen and sleeping area, I decided to make
They are easy to make – just using 5mm ply,
these fabric-covered panels.
5mm foam and fabric. You need spray glue and
a staple gun. One tube of spray glue was (just)
enough for the four panels.

I did this on my first and second van. I think

the fabric & side light combo is a winner – both
aesthetically and also in terms of use.
The panels were covered with 5mm foam, and Below shows the panels in place (as I checked
then fabric, so they are nice to touch – which is them for size). I just screwed them up -
nice in the sleeping area. I also think that it gives temporarily - to do this. It is always good to
the van better acoustics. double check things!
To hold the panels first I attached some upright
batons to the van. These were screwed in
directly to the metal work.

The panels are pretty simple to make;

• Spray glue on to the wood
Upright studs • Lay down the foam
I then screwed on a narrow strip of wood for • Turn the panel over and staple the foam edges
the LEDs to sit on and created a way to attach to the back
the panels to the wall. • Note: use lots of staples evenly spaced on the
edges to make the shape of the edge to look
The length of the overlap of the top panel over uniform
the bottom panel was based on the eye-line • Cut off excess foam with a sharp blade
angle. I did not want you to be able to directly • Spray glue on to the foam
see the LEDs without really going to some • Apply the upholstery fabric, turn it over and
effort. staple the fabric, as above staple evenly to keep

The Van Conversion Guide Finishing touches 136

 the edge looking straight
• Cut off excess fabric!
Plastic pipe clips & electrical pipe
The pipe is screwed in through the
ply into the dowel inside the pipe. I
actually sanded down the corners of
some wooden block as I did not have
dowel to hand - I tapped them in
with a hammer.
The pipe can now just ‘pop’ on to the
clip without any visible fixings on the
outside of the fabric.

The Van Conversion Guide Finishing touches 137

 Counter top, organic Waste Bin
Trash
This was cut into the kitchen top to fit a glass
As with a house you different types of waste
Ikea food-storage container. The container has
and they are best treated differently. We are
a good seal and I bought two just in case I break
unlikely to want several different types of bin,
one and Ikea decide to discontinue the product!
but it is recommended to separate organic
waste from other trash. I cut the section out of the kitchen work top
making a convenient place for the container.
By doing this we have organic waste, which
The fact that it is not too big is a good thing,
can be buried if necessary, and we can just sort
you do not really want things decomposing in
the rest of the trash - which is not gross due to
there for too long - a small container forces
rotting food - at a recycling location.
regular disposal!
Trash
I got this bin from Ikea.

Bin in situ and, right, the blocks that wedge the

bin in to place.
Simply I made this slot for it in the corner. I
screwed a couple of blocks of wood in – tight
to the bin. Now the bin push-fits in and does
not move.
I do not tend to put big bits of rubbish in this
bin – just finding a bin for them during the day.
It is most used during cooking for food waste or
other bits and pieces.

The Van Conversion Guide Finishing touches 138

 I simply stapled the fabric to the base parts.
Upholstery
I am not a fan of sewing work, so I tend to
either cheat, or very nicely ask my mum to help!
This section gives a couple of ways to make
simple cushions.
Terrible (but functional) upholstery
Some relatives were throwing out an old futon
so I used it to make the recliner chair.

Not my best work.. but it is effective!

The back is an independent cushion with a
shape that works in a reclined position. I have a
sleeping bag I store behind it to keep it in place.
It’s a good place to put the sleeping bag and
serves a purpose.
I took the staples off once a year to wash the
fabric and then simply stapled it back together
again.

The recliner chair, not the best photo!

The base of the chair is in two parts. They can
be removed independently to access various
areas for potential maintenance reasons.
The Van Conversion Guide Finishing touches 139
Better Upholstery
Cushions are a pain to make. A lot of people will just get them made to size via a local company –
this is good but also fairly expensive.
The following method is a simple way to do make some cushion covers. Professionals will make it
with end pieces and extra seams but I want to keep it simple – and if you know how to do it better
– then you don’t need this section anyway!
This is how we made the covers.
Step 1. Wrap fabric snugly around the foam block. I got my foam – high-density upholstery foam
– It is better to go harder for seating because inevitably over time it will soften up.

Step 2. Tack the line using dressmaking pins. This will hold the form neatly in shape.

Step 3. Tack the end.. pull the shape of the fabric tight to the end of the cushion (the end result
should be as square as possible. Try and fold your corners in neatly.

The Van Conversion Guide Finishing touches 140

Step 4.
a. Remove the tack pins you put in during Step 1.
b. Remove the foam cushion carefully
c. Sew along the line at the end of the cushion cover – ideally with a machine – travel backwards
to finish the line.

Step 6. When both ends have been sewn you can turn it inside out and put your cushion in. It will
have slight ‘ears’ which you will need to poke inside the cushion.
If you want to make the cushion cover flatter and more secure you can put on a few bits of Velcro
to the long opening.

The Van Conversion Guide Finishing touches 141

Window sills & blinds
Making a window frame can be a little tricky.
The shapes involved are a bit complicated as
are the angles – but nothing a bit of patience
cannot fix.
Sill
I used a bit of redwood to give a different color
compared to the usual pine. I cut the shape of
the wood to fit inside the panelling and, under
the back edge, sanded it down so it fit with the
curved profile of the metal work.
I cut profile at the bottom of both sides to
allow the blind to run behind it and allow it to
‘lock’ in.

Curtain 1. Black-out blind

Mug on redwood pine sill

Sides
The sides, at each end these are angled – to
work it out was tricky – but when you get it
right and they fit in it looks great.
At the top outside corner I cut a profile to There is no point in making a stealthy van if
match the blind when it is installed. The blind lots of light escapes and clearly shows off your
will run behind the side piece. presence! Plus I like darkness in the mornings if I
want to sleep in.
By sheer coincidence the width I needed
matched an Ikea standard blind width.

The Van Conversion Guide Finishing touches 142

I screwed the blind onto the top of the window This magnetic curtain is fast to put up and,
frame, after I glued the two sides in and the during the day, I roll it up and put it into a small
window was finished! cupboard I created for it. (See below).
The black out blind (not all the way down) it
works well
Curtain 2 – Magnetic PVC Backed Canvas
For bonded windows
I made simple magnet-based black-out cur-
tain using neodymium magnets sewn into PVC
backed canvas. The PVC backing makes the
fabric black-out.
The magnets attach to the window edg-
ing (which has steel forms within it to give it
strength).
The image below shows the rough plan for how
I put it together (using a sewing machine). It is
important to get the size of the curtain right
otherwise the magnets won’t be able to con-
nect with the edging.

The Van Conversion Guide Finishing touches 143

Curtain 3 - Pop-up black-out curtain
I have saved the best until last. This system of
making a curtain gives and excellent result and
requires no sewing machine.
It uses fabric poppers with screws and PVC
backed fabric (does not fray). This means you
can put the female part of the popper on the
fabric, and the male part is screwed into the
wood. (pre-drill this first)
To insert a fabric popper:
1. Punch hole in fabric
2. Insert front part
3. Put back part on to front part
4. Use punch tool (on metal anvil) to hammer it
in place (it deforms the metal sleeve)
5, Screw in corresponding popper (male part)
where you want it to be placed.
You can add a popper part way down the cur-
tain so that you can roll-up and ‘pop’ in place
the blind so it is out the way (see image below).

The Van Conversion Guide Finishing touches 144

Flooring
The usable flooring space is generally pretty
small in most vans. I bought some Oak laminate
flooring and used polyurethane wood glue to
glue it down.
This stuff is really easy to lay, you just measure
the length, cut it, lay it down and use the off-
cut as the start of the next section.
The depth of the oak flooring acts as a stop for
my food drawers.
Notice the wear on the laminate flooring, this
was because the edges of the bottom of the
crates were quite rough – I have now rounded
them off and they do not seem to mark the
laminate too much. Either way I am careful
when sliding the, in and out.
When I did this a second time I got engineered
oak wood flooring where there is 4mm of real
wood so wear is not so much of an issue (it
could be sanded down a bit and re-varnished.

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 Redwood details
Finishing touches The head end of the bed has this redwood
piece I cut to make a nice shape.. perfect for
lounging over while looking at a the view!

The other end has a red-wood plank too – as

The picture frame has part of an angle brack- does the shelf, the window sill and the front of
et (same as used for the stud-work build) cut the kitchen unit. It is a nice touch that accentu-
short and glued on to the frame with polyure- ates key parts of the build away from the stand-
thane glue. The hooks are from Ikea. ard pine color.

Aluminium edging
I used this aluminium edging and cutting it to
size created a protective edging. I glued and
screwed this down to the flooring (it is screwed
into the original stud work I put down when I
The Van Conversion Guide Finishing touches 146
insulated the floor). Edging
It is hard to make everything match up precisely
on all edges with the shape of the van.. so you
can use this edging material to tidy up or cover
up screws. You can use panel pins (small nails)
or it is much easier to use a brad-nailer (nail
gun) if you have access to one.
The aesthetic difference is subtle but it adds up
to improve the over-all effect.

The edging. I also put some wood at the back of

the step – it just hides some of the white metal
work.
I had a spare bit of this edging, putting it at the
back protects the wood from sliding things in
and out
Door matt
I got a simple design door matt from Ikea and
cut it down to size. This I glued down with am-
ple amounts of Sikaflex to the metal step.
The doormat (one cut in to strips) looks great
and fits nicely with the colours and design of
the van.

Fake plants
I got some fake plants from Ikea.. they look nice
(people are often fooled) but at the same time
they do not increase the humidity of the van.

The Van Conversion Guide Finishing touches 147

Thank you!
When I converted my first van and shared how I
built it on YouTube I would never have imagined
that over 11 million people would have seen the
video. The questions were overwhelming, so I
wrote this book which has grown to be a broad-
er guide about how to convert a van rather than
‘how I converted my van’.
I kept updating the guide to match the new
products and additional questions people had
and it is people like you who help make that
worthwhile. At nearly 150 pages with many
diagrams, photos, videos, and links it takes a lot
of time to update and to be frank selling a few
guidebooks makes that worthwhile. On that
basis, I want to say thank you for supporting
what we do – your support goes directly back
into more content, sharing of more ideas and Follow me here:
improving information for you and other people Insta: nate_murphy1
like you. YouTube: Nate Murphy
Even after converting three vans and seeing,
filming and editing a hundred or so van tours Get in touch: nm@alloyfish.com
I still find van conversions, the ingenuity of
self-builders and the idea that a home-on- The course: https://diyhero.me/
wheels can set you free endlessly fascinating. I
hope this eBook and my YouTube channel can, Other books:
at least in a small way, help people live their https://thevanconversionguide.com/shop
dreams on their own terms.
Resources:
Thank you again, and good luck with your build! https://thevanconversionguide.com/resources
All the best,
Nate

The Van Conversion Guide Finishing touches 148