DIY Van Conversion w/ Indoor Shower & Guest Bed
Reading Time: 3 minutes
Disclosure: At no additional cost to you, you can support FLORB by using the affiliate links below
Julia and Toby are from Germany and are currently traveling with their van "Fino" in Greece. Fino is a Volkswagen Crafter from 2014. Both passionate van travelers, they already had a Mercedes Sprinter until they decided they wanted a bigger van. Their secondhand VW cost them 12K euros, the conversion took them around seven months and in total they spent around 25K. Even though it was a lot of work, they also had a lot of fun and learned many new things throughout the conversion.
The couple's van came already with a roof reck on it, which Toby says makes life easier for them. They put 300W solar panels on there and will maybe also turn it into a terrace. At the back of the van, opening the back door and underneath their bed is their "garage". It is a compact storage space with many boxes that, quoting Toby, "don't look sexy but are very useful". Beside the boxes is a rather big space where they store their lithium iron phosphate battery, a 125 liters water tank, their boiler and diesel heater. The boiler can be heater either through electricity or diesel.
Inside, one of Toby's favorite pieces is a special patterned plywood they incorporated in the table, the kitchen countertop and the bathroom. Right beside the sink on the wall they installed different kind of electricity plugs – one pair that's connected to their 1500W inverter and another pair for electricity from outside. Toby also installed a panel with eight switches on it: for light, water, boiler and more.
Julia shows us the rest of the van, starting with the dining area that consists of a table, two seats plus the driving seats that can be rotated. The table can be folded down in case a guest is sleeping over. Right above the dining area is some more storage area for kitchen appliances, medical supplies and different electric devices. The window has a very handy mosquito net that can simply be pulled down.
In the van kitchen, Toby and Julia installed a small 12V fridge that even includes a tiny freezer. This time they decided to install a bigger sink than in their previous van in order to make dish washing more enjoyable. Underneath the counter top are more drawers for kitchen supplies, including a portable stove to take out, and some food. Above it is a shelve with many spices and other things the couple uses daily. In the small space between the kitchen and the bedroom is Toby's closet, with a mirror inside that Julia often uses to make some videos of the vintage clothes she sells online. In front of the closet is the bathroom, which consists of a composting toilet they made themselves and a shower. The bedroom is the last and most beautiful part of the van. All around the bed are more closets, bookshelves and small lights which give the whole space a nice and cozy living-room vibe.
When you want to get a van, Toby says that it is very important to first think about what you want to do with it. If it is only for weekends or holidays, it is totally fine for the van to be smaller. Julia adds that designing the interior a little bit beforehand won't harm neither: "We changed the inside of our previous van three times and it was no fun", she says laughing.
"When you build a van it's important that you are patient with yourself. At the beginning it takes some time to learn what works best – give yourself the time to go into this learning process.".
