The "Snap Wagon" a DIY camper van conversion
24th August 2011
In: News / Blog
I have finally bitten the bullet, sold my car and bought a van to convert into a camper so trips to take landscape pictures in Britain can be done in more comfort than camping provides. I have never been an ardent camper; when I was young it was tolerable but now I find the warmest months only are acceptable for camping and that is the least suitable time to find the best light and mood in the countryside.
I neither need nor want a Winnebago, nor anything like it. A small van, cheap and easy to run and convert but on relatively modern underpinnings is ideal for me. I know many people rely on a proper camper van but for £10 to £15k or thereabouts you can choose between a range of 10 to 30 year old campers and small motor-homes. Either way you get an old chassis and suspension, wheezy, often underpowered engines and a potential nightmare from the work of the tinworm. Not for me.
My preferred route is a three year old Mercedes Vito van, converted to my own specification to exactly fit what I want from it. Bought and converted for a total spend around the bottom end of the figures quoted above it is a thoroughly modern vehicle which drives like a car, is reasonably economical and nippy.
Here it is on a quick trial run to South Wales
The interior space isn't huge but that will help to make it more cosy when it's cold. How much space does one person need for sleeping anyway?
I neither need nor want a Winnebago, nor anything like it. A small van, cheap and easy to run and convert but on relatively modern underpinnings is ideal for me. I know many people rely on a proper camper van but for £10 to £15k or thereabouts you can choose between a range of 10 to 30 year old campers and small motor-homes. Either way you get an old chassis and suspension, wheezy, often underpowered engines and a potential nightmare from the work of the tinworm. Not for me.
My preferred route is a three year old Mercedes Vito van, converted to my own specification to exactly fit what I want from it. Bought and converted for a total spend around the bottom end of the figures quoted above it is a thoroughly modern vehicle which drives like a car, is reasonably economical and nippy.
Here it is on a quick trial run to South Wales
The interior space isn't huge but that will help to make it more cosy when it's cold. How much space does one person need for sleeping anyway?
