Our next project…

Until now we were always on the road with backpack and public transport.
Our next big project will be to build a camper by ourselves and then explore South and Central America with a mobile home.

First of all we have to decide what kind of vehicle we want to buy and then we will continue with the conversion. At the moment it’s still a big dream but in a few months we plan to start with the realization of it and of course we’ll keep you up to date through our blog.

 

Have you ever converted a camper yourself?
Maybe you have some great tips or do’s and don’ts for us? Write us a comment with your camper conversion story!

 

*** UPDATE SEPTEMBER 2022 ***

We have started! Read our blog post Start into #Vanlife to see how we got started!

Or check out the posts linked below to see how we found and built our van.

VC #1: Vehicle selection

VC #1: Vehicle selection

Our latest challenge is set: we want to convert a van into a camper for our next trips! Why? Again and again the idea came to us during our trip to Asia in 2017. As great as we found the 11 months in Asia, two points that annoyed us the longer the more were on the one...

VC #2: Mercedes Sprinter it is!

VC #2: Mercedes Sprinter it is!

And the Winner is....Mercedes-Benz Sprinter! Well, after looking at a few (hundreds) of vehicles online and test driving a few of them, we decide on a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 314 CDI. Read here how we selected the perfect vehicle for us with our requirements. The...

VC #3: Mercedes Sprinter layout planning

VC #3: Mercedes Sprinter layout planning

There are 1000 and 1 variants on how to plan and design the layout of a camper. We have looked at many variants on Pinterest and Instagram and picked individual ideas from everywhere that we liked, and which seemed useful to us. Fortunately, Mimi really enjoys this...

VC #4: Dismantling & Cleaning

VC #4: Dismantling & Cleaning

All beginnings are hard, or in our case dirty. The bus is basically in good condition, but it was used as a delivery van, and this is clearly visible. So, before we get to the actual camper construction, we first have to disassemble everything unnecessary and clean...

VC #5: Heavy insulation foil

VC #5: Heavy insulation foil

Heavy insulation foil for a van conversion, yes or no? Some swear by it, others think it's just extra weight that can be used for other things during the conversion.We decided in favor of it. Now in retrospect, we are already a few weeks on the road with the bus, we...

VC #6: Window and fan installation

VC #6: Window and fan installation

As we already wrote in the post Vanconversion #3: Mercedes Sprinter Layout Planning, the topic of stealth camping is a big deal for us. Therefore, we deliberately chose a van without side windows and also without rear windows. But to have daylight in our camper, we...

VC #7: Supporting construction

VC #7: Supporting construction

The question we have to ask ourselves at the beginning of our van conversion is the following: How can we attach our new interior to the car? Respectively how must our supporting construction (SC) look like?Choice of material We have approached the implementation from...

VC #8: Insulation

VC #8: Insulation

With the insulation we continue our conversion of the van. We decided to use a rubber foam mat specially developed for the vehicle interior. This material has very good heat-insulating properties and is also self-adhesive on the back, so that the processing is easier...

VC #9: Floor construction

VC #9: Floor construction

On our Mercedes Sprinter, the floor of the loading area is corrugated. Accordingly, we already have a profile that we can use to accommodate the insulation. At the same time, however, installing the insulation makes the surface almost impassable, because the...

VC #10: Partition wall

VC #10: Partition wall

After the interior floor is finished, the right time has come to develop and install our own partition walls to the driver's cab as well as an additional shelf above the driver's cab.Partition walls to the driver's cabin For our van we want to leave the driver's cabin...

VC #11: Wall cladding with wood paneling

VC #11: Wall cladding with wood paneling

For our cozy interior atmosphere, we decide to fix light wood paneling on the side walls as well as the ceiling of our living room. In order to be able to install the paneling in one big sitting on a Saturday, a little preparatory work is necessary. When we cover all...

VC #12: Bed construction

VC #12: Bed construction

For comfortable nights we need a comfortable bed. This post on our van conversion is all about the bedroom in the van. Even before the construction, we have to decide if we want to make an otherwise usable bed area or not. Here, our test runs with other campervans...

VC #13: Partition wall and cabinets

VC #13: Partition wall and cabinets

We want to figuratively convert our van into a 2-bedroom apartment. For us, that means we want to separate the bed a bit from the front of the van with partitions. So, on one side of the passageway to the bed, we're building in a partition to what will later become...

VC #14: Bench and dining table

VC #14: Bench and dining table

Now that the first couple of fixed furniture like the bed structure, partition and cabinet are finished, the next elements for installation are coming. For this blogpost, these are the bench seat with the height-adjustable dining table.The bench In order to achieve a...

VC #15: Kitchen installation

VC #15: Kitchen installation

After some big installations are already done, the next step is the construction and installation of the kitchen. On one hand we build a wall unit and on the other hand we build the kitchen unit with stove, sink, storage space as well as waste disposal. In the next...

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About us

We are Paddy and Mimi, a travel-hungry couple from tiny Switzerland in the middle of Europe. We call ourselves slow travelers, because we like to spend enough time in one place or country. Therefore we don’t only visit the typical sights but also get to know the culture of the respective country.

Our current location:

NP Siete Tazas, Chile

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