Campervan Conversion Update / 06

We’re almost finished!

Yep, we’re almost finished with the conversion, so I thought it was about time for a little campervan conversion update, since the last one was back in March. Back then, we’d just got the kitchen framework installed and the cooker and sink fitted, but not connected. Well, ready for our europe roadtrip back in May/June, all of that finally got properly connected up and now we have a partially working kitchen area (it’s not all fully fitted yet).

We’ve changed our minds on the layout and design SO many times throughout the whole conversion, to the point where yesterday, Shane and his dad actually spent the day ripping out the area that we’d sectioned off for our bathroom. So now we’ve got extra kitchen room, and a really messy floor which is going to have to be ripped up and new flooring installed.

More Holes in the Van

We didn’t realise just how many holes we’d be making in the van when we decided to go ahead with the conversion. And one of the biggest was for the vents for the fridge. We had to cut two huge holes out through all the layers of van, insulation, wood and carpet to install the vents. This took SO long and almost ended up setting the van on fire, but we got there in the end and the fridge is in, hooked up to the gas and fully working.

We also installed a huge 60L fresh water tank underneath the van. We just fill it up before we go on a trip, or at campsites while we’re away and we’ve got fresh water on tap ready to clean up with. It’s so much easier than carrying smaller tanks/bottles inside the van. We bought the waste water tank last week, so that will also be getting fitted soon too, so we won’t be driving around with a stinky 10L tank inside the van anymore haha!

Heating, Gas and Electrics

It is SO nice to finally have heating in the van. Shane wasn’t too bothered about getting a van heater, but I said right from the beginning that that was a huge factor for me – I’m such a cold person, so I couldn’t live without one. We didn’t use it much in Europe except the night we spent at the top of the mountain in the Dolomites, but we just went away to Dorset the other week and it came in so handy.

We also got the gas hooked up so that we can use the heater, the cooker and the fridge. It was so nice to be able to cook each night while on our trip in Europe to keep the costs down. I’m so glad we chose a cooker with an oven too, because pizza! We also got all the electrics hooked up, so we’ve got light switches and gages to see the battery level and water level now.

Decoration and Final Touches

Ok, so the van might not be that close to being finished, but I’ve enjoyed being able to choose the colour scheme, plates and glasses and finishing touches. We’re a bit limited with the colour of the carpet on the walls, but we decided to go for an earthy toned colour scheme, so olive green, dusky pinks, black, white and grey. It’ll be so much brighter hopefully once all the units are painted white. We’re planning on going for a white/wood/black hardware colour scheme.

I had to make some quick curtains for the rear windows and the cab, and oh my gosh what a horrible experience that was. I’m not the best at sewing and got so stressed. I got there in the end, even if they are all a bit too short on the width. We also bought an awning, which has come in so handy on those rainy conversion days haha!

We just ordered the tiles last weekend which should be here next week, which I’m super excited about. We’ve gone for a mexican tile mix, with a range of tile patterns and a few block colours of green, white and pink too, to bring it in with the colour scheme too. I can’t wait to get those up and get the kitchen area looking more finished.

Don’t forget, you can follow our campervan conversion on instagram here, and check out the campervan blog here.

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