#van conversions

Lately, if we could sum up our emotions in one word, it would be thankful.⁣

Usually upon returning to the UK after many months of stimulating, enriching travel, with more experiences under our belts than we could put into words, it would be with heavy hearts a deep sense of melancholy.⁣

This time however, we’e feeling relieved to be back on British soil. We’re grateful not to be trapped abroad with no means of supporting ourselves. We’re grateful we have a safe place to stay. And we’re grateful to have found work in these trying times doing something positive for the community.⁣

Our hasty return to the UK was a long and epic tale of border crossings and breakdowns, but that’s a story we will tell in due course.⁣

For now we’re safely tucked away in our little cosy home, living on the bare minimum as always, patching up the rust holes and mending broken parts after another incredible adventure.⁣

Stay safe out there, you guys.⁣

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[We will continue to post photos and stories from our travels until our feed is up to date as we still have a huge backlog 📸]⁣

When we converted our van, one part we were always disappointed in was the back doors. We’d tried to cover them up with curtains and tapestries, hide them from view, but we were at a loss for how to make them look like a part of our van. They were just this big ugly expanse of metal and paint that leaked in cold air and made us shiver at night.⁣

Finally, last summer, we decided to do something about it. We drew up a plan, a vision for how we wanted them to look, then spent months trying to bring that vision to life. We have almost no carpentry skills, very basic DIY knowledge, and tended to cover up any unsightly areas in our van rather than address them. This was going to be a big challenge.⁣

But bit by bit we worked it out, pieced things together like one great puzzle, and gradually the final unfinished piece of our van fell into place. First the door cards, insulated and made of out plywood, then the cladding, cut into shape and fitted together like dozens of misshapen puzzle pieces. We charred the wood, added in windows made of Perspex, gave them a lick of blue paint and some adorable curtains to match our van, and finally we could stand back and admire our work.⁣

Our van felt warm and homely, but most importantly it felt finished. After four years of living in it, making constant changes and improvements, finally we were happy to call our tiny home on wheels complete.⁣

We knew nothing about converting a van when we started, not a single thing.⁣

There was no guide, no manual for what we wanted to do; just an idea between us of travelling around the world in a camper van.⁣⠀

We couldn’t afford one outright, certainly not the dreamy classic VW camper everyone imagines themselves driving off into the sunset in, so we built our own.⁣

We bought a cheap van halfway up the country and drove it home through the night; we didn’t care that it was rusty and covered in tie-dye spray paint, we were just excited to see this tin can sitting in the driveway and the whispers of freedom she promised.⁣

It was a long, arduous 10 months converting it over the winter, with many trials and errors and the bad weather against us. We faced many setbacks; leaks, holes in the metal floor, a saggy roof, but we had so much still to learn back then.⁣

Summer came around and with it our first break for freedom; we thought it would last forever. But all too soon it was over, we returned home to save some more pennies and set about rebuilding our van with newfound confidence. This happened once more before we ended up with the van we have today and we do love it.⁣⠀

It’s got character and charm, a few dents and scrapes but a lot of stories to tell. But most of all it’s the product of skills learned and perseverance, and the tenacity to follow our dreams even in the face of challenges.⁣

If you want to learn more about how we built our van then pop over to our YouTube channel to watch our van tour 🙌

We’ve been full-time living in our self-converted home on wheels for four years and thought it was time for an update to show everyone how our van has evolved since our previous van tour with The Indie Projects.

In this van tour we talk about why we enjoy life on the road, what the purpose of our adventures are and how we built the van. We show you where we sleep, how we eat, and where we shower as well as every other nook and cranny there is to explore in our tiny home.

Don’t forget to like, share and subscribe to our channel!

Welcome to our van!⁣

Our van has changed a lot over the past four years, since its rebirth from a rusty old minibus into a cosy home on wheels, and each time we return from travelling there’s always improvements to be made and new things to add in.⁣

That’s why we’ve created a video tour of our van, to give you a detailed insight into every part of the conversion, and show you everything that’s changed in the two years since our first van tour with @theindieprojects (and not just Ben’s crazy hair!).⁣

In this video we talk through every detail of our home and the decisions and stories behind each element in it, as well as delving into the details of our first ever conversion we undertook four years ago, featuring some previously unreleased footage as we turned our rusty tie-dye painted tin can of an LDV into our home.⁣

Finally, we speak a little about our travels, our goals and plans, and what we love so much about living on the road that keeps us coming back for more.⁣

We hope you’ll join us on YouTube NOW for this special one-off video- click the link below!

Why We LEFT the UK - Van Tour | From Rust To Roadtrip via Youtube

#Throwback to… Well, throwback to nothing, really. This is our every day vanlife in all its glory. All the glitz and glamour of our daily grooming routine.

So what if we wash our hair, our clothes and our plates all in the same bowl? So what if we hang our pants to dry in a tree? This is our normal. It may be a little unpredictable and a touch eccentric, but we love it. We’ve adapted our routines and found new ways to survive and thrive. And you know what, we’d rather be washing our hair with cold water in a washing up bowl by the sea than sat behind a desk for 40 hours a week.

It may not be the most likeable, shareable, Instagrammable of moments but it’s real, it’s raw, and it’s just that little bit different and alternative to the chains and shackles of a normal working routine.

So yeah, #Throwback to Greece, to just another day on the road, another thread woven into the patchwork blanket of colours and landscapes and memories that is our vanlife normal.

I have a feeling that if we wrote a book, this photo would be on the front cover.⁣⁣

And what a book it would be, all the adventures we've had, all the challenges, all the views, and we've barely scratched the surface of this planet.⁣⁣

So many of those adventures and challenges were thrown at us during our time in Greece, where this photo was taken at the roadside before descending a sheer mountain back to sea level.⁣⁣

Our six weeks in Greece were a particularly challenging time because we were living on a strict budget, trying to save enough money to head over to Portugal at the end of our trip. Here we faced gale force coastal winds, van-threatening snow storms, ludicrous routes planned by our Satnav to avoid expensive toll roads and several breakdowns.⁣⁣

But we also got to witness Mount Olympus at sunrise, and hike its snowy climbs too. We got to spend the night at a beach accompanied by 16 stray cats, and another parked on the water's edge with a luxurious cold shower each. We explored acres of olive groves, twisty ancient roads, beautiful hot springs, and met an awesome group of travellers, the only other vanlifers we would meet this side of Italy.⁣⁣

And yet there are so many islands to explore, so many more thermal baths to bathe in, so many delicious Greek foods to try and so many more sunrises to watch.⁣⁣

#Throwback to Greece and our time spent in this incredibly diverse country, with its ancient ruins and its hospitable people. We'll be seeing you again soon.⁣

It's amazing how you can fit an entire house into a 2m x 3m space. Our van is an office, a kitchen, a bedroom, a lounge, a garage. It's a beachfront apartment, a cosy mountain cabin, a lakeside retreat. It's whatever we want it to be, wherever we choose to be. The world is our garden, and this rusty tin can is our home.