The Beginning...

I've been obsessed with campervans for what seems like an age. I can't even remember why or how it started, except that I always felt a pang of envy when I went (tent) camping and saw how the other half lives...and this is long before the word 'glamping' was even thought of...

Now I don't mean those flash luxurious motorhomes - the ones with more square footage than my house, pristine white bodywork, ensuite bedrooms, jacuzzis and helipads ;-)

I mean the cute, small, scruffy (battered in some cases) campers, with their pop-top rooves, dinky curtains, 'bijou' interiors, patches of rust and of course the fun people that reside in them, at least temporarily during the summer...I'm talking Bedford Bambis, Suzukis, and of course the ubiquitous VWs.

OUR FIRST CAMPERVAN

My husband Steve and I took our first steps into the campervan world a few years ago, with a converted 1994 Renault Traffic ex-minibus, non-power steering, 2 berth beauty, bought from eBay, and after a few personal touches (most notably covering all of the interior cushions in leopard print!), we were good to go...

We had a few trips away, including 2 Glastonbury Festivals, Swanage (where, incidentally, we stumbled across a major folk festival!), and various stays in the gorgeous New Forest, and I fell in love with non-tented camping, especially once we'd invested in a porta-potti and toilet tent...

ALL GOOD THINGS...

After many fun times, and about two years later, the cost of running two cars and a campervan was getting too much, and so we put her in storage and shortly after, sold her to a lovely young lady who fell in love with her, and who was planning on having some adventures in the van with her dog Zelda. We've since heard that she's been to Scotland and the South of France (so far), so we know she's still going strong and being taken care of.

Two different cars and a couple of summers later, I realised I was missing the freedom of being able to jump in a campervan on a whim and head off for the weekend, so again I started scouring the internet, looking for another campervan (with no real money to spend!). The one thing I did know was that I wanted a campervan that I could also use as an everyday vehicle, so a big and bulky van would be out of the question.

VWs were out of the question - I'm rubbish at fixing anything and I couldn't afford the heavy garage bills that I knew I would incur if I bought a 'project' vehicle. On my travels I did stumble across this bad boy, but being £43k short of £44k was probably the clincher:

In any case, what's the fun in buying something brand new that's ready to rock? That's just cheating ;-)

So, after just a couple of weeks research, I decided I wanted a smallish van and that I would convert it myself. My budget would be the value of my car plus a few hundred quid...at most!

Apparently there's a new breed of compact vans, which are almost like a car to drive. They're small enough to drive as an everyday vehicle, yet large enough to fit a standard camper side conversion. BINGO!

(text plagiarised from http://www.convertyourvan.co.uk/citroendispatchcamperconversion.html), who supply/fit some cracking conversion kits -which I would jump to buy if I had the readies).

UMMMM, I'VE WON A VAN

Having decided on a compact van, I found a Dispatch on eBay, on a classified ad with best offer - so I put a cheeky offer in, thinking no more of it. The next morning (Saturday 14th), I was checking my email on my phone whilst having my first cup of tea and ciggy, when lo and behold, I received an invoice from eBay, asking me to pay for my purchase of the Citroen Dispatch. Holy moly, the seller only went and accepted my offer, without so much as a by-your-leave!

When hubby got up, I broke the news...."Umm.......you know eBay? Well I've won a van". Much amazement/bemusement/chuckles ensued, and when it sunk in I called the seller there and then, and made arrangements to collect said vehicle. Hubby naturally thinks I'm mad, but all the same he knows that when I put my mind to something, I usually achieve it.

One small stumbling block - I still had a car, and the whole point of a small campervan was to do away with running two vehicles...hmmmm...

So the very same day, I chucked my car on Gumtree, Preloved, and Adtrader, and lo and behold, 1.5 hours later I had a call from a dealer, offering to buy it! So that afternoon (yesterday in fact), the guy came to see it and bought it on the spot. And what's more, I got the same for the car as I paid for the van. Result! So within 24 hours I'd bought a van, collected it, and sold my car. I like to think it's fate, or at least jolly good luck.

THE VAN IN ITS RAW STATE

So here she is, in all her unconverted glory:

She's a 1.9 turbo diesel Citroen Dispatch, with 3 front seats and twin side loading doors. There are only 59k miles on the clock, and she has nice tidy bodywork and is ply lined. Best of all, she has power steering, and happily does 70mph on the motorway (our old van got to about 60 before grumbling).

THE PLAN FOR ME AND MY VAN

In her current state, it would be easy to sling in our airbed and camping stove and head off...but owing to the atrocious summer we're having, I will most likely be able to get a few bits done before christening her properly :-)

The plan is:

• install u-shaped units with foam cushions (covered in leopard print of course)
• create a dismountable table that converts into the middle of the bed
• some sort of unit with stove and sink
• space underneath for porta-potti
• put windows in rear doors (I'm a girl, I need more vision for parking!)
• sort out interior roof to cover metal
• have floor covering put in

I have a brother-in-law who's a builder, and although he doesn't know it yet, he's going to have the pleasure of helping me with this conversion! In my naive mind, I figure a load of wood and brackets, and we're practically there...although I know that nothing is ever as simple as it looks.

I have a brother who works for a builders' merchants, and although he doesn't know it yet, he's going to help me source my raw materials...

I also have a nephew who's a carpet fitter, and although he doesn't know it yet either, I'm going to put him in charge of floor/wall coverings.

In light of these revelations, I'd best be getting off, as I have a bit of schmoozing to do to in order to achieve aforementioned plan.

I will be updating this blog with my progress over the next few weeks/months, along with pictures, and if I'm feeling techy enough, videos too. I hope you've enjoyed reading thus far...

Until the next time

Naomi

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