My Van Conversion Journey

It’s on the rise, you hear every person that has that inner nomad in them talk about it. All those gorgeous Instagram photos that are accompanied with #Vanlife.

I have become one of those people…

My journey on the road may not have started yet but I wanted to share how my dad and I completed the conversion in what once was his tradie work *pedo* Toyota HiAce Van to a vehicle that suits one person but can form to fit 2 comfortably.

The process simplified:

1. Clear out everything and start with an empty space
2. Set up structural flooring and wall
3. Flooring/insulation
4. Building other components such as bed frame and kitchen with adequate storage
5. Paint… EVERYTHING
6. Install wiring and electronics
7. Quick test on electrics to make sure nothing will go up in flames
8. Kit out space with what you think are the necessities to living life on the road
9. Ensure that it stays looking like a tradie vehicle for safe suburban camping
10. Be Dog approved 😀

Now between Dad and I with Dad doing pretty much majority of the hands on work, it took us about 3-4 months *and several sheets of plywood later* that the structural completion of this project was finished.

To start with, this Van was completely filled to the brim with tools that we all knew that dad only touched about 1/3 of. So with some persuasion, negotiation and a deal I was ecstatic that I could fulfill my current dream of having a campervan and properly travel the country I’ve lived in my whole life.

Pulling out, sorting through and finding a new home for all these tools, took about 2 days, pulling out the old Ply flooring deciding it was too water damaged to reuse it was time to start the official fit out.

For the floor we used 12mm plywood sourced from Bunnings; which would then later be covered with aprox 3 x 1.5m faux wood vinyl. Kept the original ply on the lower half of the side walls since we discovered that some sanding and paint would fix them up just fine, plus! we discovered there was already decent insulation behind them anyway.

I should mention that during this process we wanted to keep the weight of everything combined in our minds since weight = more fuel consumption.

For the upper half of the side walls we used 3 layers of 10mm foam sheeting then opaque white Corflute *again from Bunnings* over the top of that to give a smoother wall finish with little effort. With the basic flooring, insulation and walls done, next came constructing the main larger objects such as the kitchen cabinet and bed frame.

The Bed and the Cabinet

I did a little research to find efficient ways to use space in smaller Vans such as the Hiace but found it that most of the world seemed to avoid this size in the first place and go straight for something bigger. I needed something that could convert into something else that didn’t need to be set up every night.
A woah behold an image of a sliding slat bed appears on my screen. I showed it to the builder man and with more plywood, a mix of 12mm and 15mm Dad and I designed, then he built the infamous double that converts to a single but at the same time acts as a couch
SLIDE OUT SLAT BED!!
Not only does in create freedom to move from front to end of the Van, you’d discover that there’s ample storage for an experienced simple camper.

The kitchen cabinet also was designed with the ability to free-up the tiny space. The vision we took on was a spot for the car fridge, a fold out table and open air storage that didn’t need doors to keep everything in *coz yknow…. that extra weight yo*. So as the final result we got 3 pigeon holes; where we added an aluminium lip so things don’t fall out. Crafted 2 shelves where the door that secures these, then opens out to a table with some support from a pole that was made to hold up a shower curtain *thank you Bunnings

After all of dads hard work and my moral support and great effort of sweeping up all the plywood dust, next came PAINTING. So with a trip to Bunnings…. again…. picked out some sand paper, ZINZER and a mid gloss finish water-based paint in grey *creative I know*. Over the next 4 days I Coated the bed, cabinet and the lower half of the walls. Then later decided to do the MDF panels on the doors because brown wasn’t looking to great.

Electrics Time!

Now while Bunnings had become our second home for this process, JAYCAR electronics became the next. All the components that needed to be connected was: solar panel, solar panel controller, red arc box, 2x 12V batteries, 2x cigarette lighter sockets, 2x strips of LED plus switches and a car fridge.

The simple run down of all these is essentially – the red arc box helps make a connection to the engine ignition and battery while the car engine is on, solar panel helps when the car is stationary for a long period *say a few days*. These are connected to the extra 2 12V batteries which then power the USB ports on the solar panel controller, the cigarette lighter sockets, the car fridge, LED lighting for inside and out and then the amazing mini double fan that plugs in to the sockets.

After all the major fit out, all that was needed was to fill it with stuff. It’s basically the essentials since there’s no space for many items. *will be further detail in later post*

So to all the people that have been following this process with me on my Instagram, I hope this can inspire you to take on any challenge that excites/inspires you in this life and fulfill it to the most of what you’ve dreamt.

Hope you enjoyed this, let me know your thought and talk to me about any more information you want to know about this.

Biggest thank you and sincere gratitude to my Dad for letting me borrow(steal) his original work vehicle and being onboard with the whole transformation.

Cheers.