Our Van life Story

We were sat inside the tent listening to the rain bouncing onto the tent it had rained most of the night that night in the Lake District and this was the morning we were having to leave, which of course meant packing the tent away we were hoping for a break in the rain but this didnt happen so reluctantly we put the jackets on and packed it all away. I am sure most of us have been in this situation before its not a nice one. ! Once it was all away and packed in the car we sat inside the car with the rain still pouring and it was at this moment I said to Katie “If I had a van we could just sit inside and with a cup of tea nice and warm then throw the tent in the back and be off” “Infact if we had a van we could sleep in the back of it and not even use the tent” and from that morning sat in a rover estate with condensation on the windows and the heaters on full drying us off is where vanlife started for us. As soon as we were home I started looking at vans !

Fast forward a month and I pulled into the driveway in a little VW caddy van MK6 which are a pretty small van but the budget was tight and I had plans for this little van. When I told Katie this is our new camper and I’m going to put a bed in the back so we can go on weekends away without the tent she didnt seem convinced. I cant remember the reply exactly but I’m sure she thought I was crazy and that it wasn’t possible …well that just made it more of a challenge 🙂 This was a budget vehicle and cost me next to nothing to make. The bench seat/slide out bed was made from old pallets the futon was gifted to us and the cupboard was from the house and modified to fit the caddy. This was 8 years ago and campervans / micro campers were not as popular as they are nowadays and it was quite a niche thing. So within weeks there we were travelling around the Lake District, moors and dales in the little caddy and having a great time. We had many great weekends away in this Caddy and enjoyed it thoroughly this was the start of our vanlife and my van obsession.

We upgraded to the newer model the next year and this had the added bonus of a side sliding door which made it so much better as a micro camper. I installed a folding bed and a cupboard unit inside also and a folding table on the back door again this work cost nothing. We toured the Isle Of Skye for 10 days in that van plus many other trips around the UK and VW shows as well as many mountain biking trips with the lads in Scotland and Wales over the few years of ownership. Eventually I started looking at larger vans and then the opportunity arose to grab a bargain and trade this caddy in we were sad to see it go but adventures get bigger dont they ………………

From the VW caddy we upgraded to a Transit which was already a camper but I changed the layout around to suit us and again had many great trips in this but it also needed some love and attention on the rusty parts as all transits do at some point so after fixing the bad parts well my very good friend who happens to be a welder did the work for me and saved me a fortune but once the work was done and it was in good condition I decided to sell it on and lookout for another van. However Covid had hit and during Covid Campervans and Van life had become very popular due to staycations and a lot of people looking for alternatives to there usual holidays abroad so finding a van became hard work as prices had risen at least double 🙁

Eventually I found a van at a good price and very local also and after a inspection of it I came away with it the same day. Yes its another Transit after the last one and the rust issues you would have thought I would have avoided and my welder friend had threatened to knee cap me if I bought another however upon viewing this van and seeing that it was immaculate underneath he allowed me to buy this one ! It was a Ex Hydraulic hose company van complete with tool racking, hazard lights and hi vis decals oh and not forgetting about a litre of hydraulic fluid under the flooring. Many long evenings were had in the van stripping out and prepping then insulating before deciding on a plan and making the furniture. During the build process we used the van for trips all we needed were some camp beds, sleeping bags and a camping stove. The build took place on the street outside our house as we dont have a drive way nor a garage so it took longer than it should but eventually it resembled something like a camper which I am quite proud of as I have no real experience in the skills involved making a campervan but you tube is great as are many of the facebook groups out there for advice and ideas. HERE you will find a detailed post on the van build which I hope you will enjoy