#3 - The simplest campervan

Welcome back!

My last post explored pros and cons of owning a (camper) van instead of owning a car and a motorhome, and before that I wrote about pros and cons of owning a full size motorhome. If you haven't already, don't miss reading them. Today, however, I will share my thoughts and experiences on making and using the simplest campervan possible. So let's continue with my story of camping...

Sleeping in a van (Tyler Lillico - Unsplash)

When I replaced my full-size hotorhome with a van I already had a plan how to adapt it to use it as a campervan in the most efficient and comfortable way - as one can with a space available in a van. The plan was to design and manufacture a full camping kit for the van - cabinets, bed, water system etc. And that would take some (or a lot) of my free time to do. As I was eager to try my van on a camping duty as soon as possible I had to resort to a more simple solution.

How-to

My van is a passenger variant Renault Trafic, and if I remove both rear bench seats I'm left with a huge flat surface that usually serves as a luggage space. Useful for transporting big things around - or for camping. So I removed the seats and put some camping mats on the floor of the van and a mattress topper on top. With some pillows, blankets and bedding I made quite a big sleeping arrangement (around 200x160 cm / 73x68 in). There was enough room left between the bed and front seats for some camping gear - cooler box, camping chairs and table and even a small suitcase. So me and my wife could go away for a day or two and spend a night somewhere - on a quiet parking lot behind a restaurant where we just had dinner, or on a meadow just off some rural road, for example. ;)

Basic van camping setup for two

Pros

Camping with a van doesn't get simpler than this. It doesn't require any tools or craftsmanship. All you need is a van (obviously :)), a mattress (or a mattress topper, an inflatable mattress or something similar) and you can spend a night in your van. This kind of camping setup is very cheap (or even free), especially if you already own some camping gear items that you can use (like chairs, table, cooler box...). You can also use an empty cargo van for camping like this (if it's clean enough of course :)). Because the van looks from the outside like a regular (passenger or cargo) van, this opens up the possibility of wild camping, as it is not obvious that someone is sleeping inside the van.

Comfotable enough bed for a couple :)

Cons

Though this setup doesn't work as a family camping solution. There are only 2 (or 3 - depending on the type of the van) seats to carry pessengers, and the same restriction apllies for the sleeping capacity. The luggage space is also scarse - so less camping and sports gear that should be wisely organised and stuffed away. When sleeping in a small space like this one should not forget to get some fresh air in. We opened front windows a bit on our van to do this, but in a cargo van with a full bulkhead this may be a problem.

So this is a good option for a quick camping trip for a couple or a single person already owning a van. If you want to go on a longer trip, haul some sports gear on your vacation or if you have a family with some kids (like me) you will have to look into some other solution for your needs.

Well, I went through this kind of decisions a while back. Do you want to know what are the options for camping in a van without the cons mentioned above? This will be the topic of my next post. ;)

Visiting a castle in Celje (Slovenia) and a stop on a way home

Do you have some thoughts and / or experiences of camping in a van? Do you have your own solution to share? Let me know in the comments below...


Until next time: God bless you all and take care!