Van conversion... how much ££’s

[Langtoftlad]

These costs for materials
Don't include your labour.

So you can't directly compare to commercially produced vans.

If you have the time & the skills, then I suppose... or you want a layout not otherwise available...

...but to say £10k van and £15k fit out isn't the real cost.

 

[Wissel]

A lwb Renault master or sprinter, how much roughly would a full diy conversion cost with full shower and toilet, not bothered about an oven. Rear semi fixed bed for storage under.
Solar and possibly lithium batteries
Swivel cab seats and some form of bench seating.. biggest water tank as possible, hot water system refillable gas bottles and probably a Chinese diesel heater.

electric’s, how hard is that...? Can you get kits..?

cabinets need to be of a fair quality and van insulation.

not bothered about too many windows and what’s the advantage/disadvantage of V5 saying motorhome or van. Or other variations

for cost purposes van costs around 10k

anyone done it..?

Was going to reply to this thread a few days ago, but been sooooo busy (have a week to finish off 2 conversions).

Anyway, my tuppence worth

I would say a lot of the cost depends on what you want to use the van for. You could easily buy the parts to build a nice conversion for 8-10k. This includes pretty much all you see in most "off the shelf" conversions. I've built a few like this over the last year. Here's one of them:

But if your looking for a fulltime van with every home comfort and bags of everything on tap, £20k can easily be spent.

I'll give you a few of the costs of my own van, which was built for fulltiming:

Elecs - biggest expense for me. 400Ah LiFePO4, 90a Votronic B2B, Victron everything else including always on inverter. Also as much solar that fits on the roof - about £4.5-£5k

Plumbing - iMass water heater, Propex space heater and diesel backup, plus all high quality domestic fittings, underslung gas, twin underslung waste tanks, large internal fresh tank - about £2.5-£3k

Furniture & Kitchen - Lightweight Poplar ply board, solid surfaces (like Corian), lift up beds, integrated fridge, Tassimo - £2k ish

PC and other bits - Low power built in PC with 27" monitor, active speakers, always on internet - £2k ish

Exterior - Dometic electric awning, custom solar roof rack, lightbars and floods, CCTV, rear air assist, CrossClimates on new wheels with flared arches, motorbike rack, elec step - £4k ish

Odd other bits - whole van is automated via phone or voice, MaxxFan, single seat, lowered base, swivels, list goes on and on...

So the biggest question IMO is what do you want to use the van for?

As others have said, the V5 isn't really an issue. Most insurers are happy with pics and a letter from the DVLA saying it's a van with windows. Hardly any vans are getting re-classified as Motor Caravan atm.

Dinners ready so that will do for now

PS - Can't wait to get back to Cornwall. Lived there until 3 years ago. Roll on June

 

[Just smiffy]

So..... what’s the issue with converting a van similar to wissel’s above but no windows, but two or three skylights.
what then would be the situation with insurance/mot/V5 and breakdown cover..?

anyone...

 

[mitzimad]

my build blog is in my signature below if you want a look the pictures one doesnt work as my drop box is full and suspended

 

[34127]

So..... what’s the issue with converting a van similar to wissel’s above but no windows, but two or three skylights.
what then would be the situation with insurance/mot/V5 and breakdown cover..?

anyone...

Probably not an issue at all. This is an extract from the DVLA guidelines (https://www.gov.uk/government/publi...van/converting-a-vehicle-into-a-motor-caravan)


DVLA is required to record vehicle details for road safety and law enforcement. The body type information held on the vehicle record must describe what a vehicle looks like in traffic. This description, as well as other distinguishing features, allows the police and other enforcement agencies to easily identify vehicles.

The body type does not affect the insurance category of the vehicle, or have any effect on speed limits or other legislative requirements. It is only used for establishing vehicle appearance and identification.

It is important to remember that even if the vehicle’s body type is not changed to ‘motor caravan’, the vehicle can still be used for this purpose as long as the keeper is satisfied the converted vehicle meets the required internal features for motor caravans.

DVLA is responsible for making sure the vehicle record is accurate. To change the body type of a vehicle, DVLA has to be satisfied that the vehicle meets their policy for body types. Requests for a body type change to ‘motor caravan’ require that your vehicle has external features that can be recognised as those of a motor caravan. It is the responsibility of the converter or vehicle keeper to make sure that any alterations made to the vehicle do not compromise its safety.

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[Just smiffy]

Probably not an issue at all. This is an extract from the DVLA guidelines (https://www.gov.uk/government/publi...van/converting-a-vehicle-into-a-motor-caravan)


DVLA is required to record vehicle details for road safety and law enforcement. The body type information held on the vehicle record must describe what a vehicle looks like in traffic. This description, as well as other distinguishing features, allows the police and other enforcement agencies to easily identify vehicles.

The body type does not affect the insurance category of the vehicle, or have any effect on speed limits or other legislative requirements. It is only used for establishing vehicle appearance and identification.

It is important to remember that even if the vehicle’s body type is not changed to ‘motor caravan’, the vehicle can still be used for this purpose as long as the keeper is satisfied the converted vehicle meets the required internal features for motor caravans.

DVLA is responsible for making sure the vehicle record is accurate. To change the body type of a vehicle, DVLA has to be satisfied that the vehicle meets their policy for body types. Requests for a body type change to ‘motor caravan’ require that your vehicle has external features that can be recognised as those of a motor caravan. It is the responsibility of the converter or vehicle keeper to make sure that any alterations made to the vehicle do not compromise its safety.

So going by that and what I’ve read it only describes changing a van into a motorhome, but I don’t want it to look like a motorhome, I may put a couple of small windows in but I don’t want any graphics....
So will I just be insuring a “panel Van” ...?

 

[34127]

So going by that and what I’ve read it only describes changing a van into a motorhome, but I don’t want it to look like a motorhome, I may put a couple of small windows in but I don’t want any graphics....
So will I just be insuring a “panel Van” ...?

If your van meets the internal requirements the you can apply for reclassification without fitting any graphics which is what others are starting to do. Even with graphics you would probably get a 'van with windows' in any case so just apply as it is. The benefit of following the application route is to get a confirmation letter from the DVLA to say it can be used as a motor caravan. It is basically just playing the system. The reclassification application is for changing V5 to Motor Caravan, there is no option to ask for it to be reclassified as a van with windows but the DVLA have created this by changing their stance on appearance of the vehicle.
The way I read the guidelines you don't need to apply to the DVLA for a change to the V5 but most insurance companies will want to know that you have the covering letter from the DVLA about change of use and it is also evidence for permitted speed limits which are different to a commercial van with same body type.
Under the current rules, even Ralph n Bev's van would almost certainly be classified as a van with windows.