This van build has been the love and toil of my life for the last 2.5 months. I've worked my butt off to ensure that van life this winter is less icicle, more comfort. This one-of-a-kind-no-expense-spared van really is the best way to escape during this crazy, (potentially) crappy year and see your own country in comfort and style.
The van is a Citroen Relay L4H4 (length4 height4) With jacked up heavy suspension and has 170000 miles on the clock. It has a tank that lasts forever and a brand new turbo charger to give it some extra grunt on the hills. New brake calipers and disks give it plenty of stopping power too.
After previously renovating a L3H3 ex-ambulance and living and renting it through the summer, one thing I really wanted to change was the height element. Even for a short-arse like me, having the roof only a few inches above my head made the space feel claustrophobic at times. For my best mate (6ft.4) he was only able to stand up straight with his head in the skylight holes. With the extra height of the new build, he can safely stand up without risk of cricking his neck, with a few inches spare. To capitalize on the extra height I built a winch up king size bed that sits above the 6/7 person seating area (that also acts as a secondary kingsize bed) underneath. Needless to say my brain was well and truly kaput after the days of trial and error it took to get this installed.
This van build has been the love and toil of my life for the last 2.5 months. I've worked my butt off to ensure that van life this winter is less icicle, more comfort. This one-of-a-kind-no-expense-spared van really is the best way to escape during this crazy, (potentially) crappy year and see your own country in comfort and style.
The van is a Citroen Relay L4H4 (length4 height4) With jacked up heavy suspension and has 170000 miles on the clock. It has a tank that lasts forever and a brand new turbo charger to give it some extra grunt on the hills. New brake calipers and disks give it plenty of stopping power too.
After previously renovating a L3H3 ex-ambulance and living and renting it through the summer, one thing I really wanted to change was the height element. Even for a short-arse like me, having the roof only a few inches above my head made the space feel claustrophobic at times. For my best mate (6ft.4) he was only able to stand up straight with his head in the skylight holes. With the extra height of the new build, he can safely stand up without risk of cricking his neck, with a few inches spare. To capitalize on the extra height I built a winch up king size bed that sits above the 6/7 person seating area (that also acts as a secondary kingsize bed) underneath. Needless to say my brain was well and truly kaput after the days of trial and error it took to get this installed.
At times the previous van got very cold! Because the van was mainly all window, any scrap of heat was instantly sucked from the van. Not only that but it felt like you were the prize animal in a zoo, performing for passers-by. I limited the number of windows, built a partitioning wall with a crawl-through space and fully insulated the van from top to bottom with 22mm kingspan and 10mm pine board cladding over the top. I find the level of insulation more than adequate at retaining the heat pumped out from the remote control diesel heater that's installed under the seats. The heater pumps heat out into the main living space as well as into the shower/toilet room where you can hang your wet clothes to dry. This was an essential feature after living under a canopy of wet clothing for days at a time in the previous build. For sure, the way forwards! The diesel heater is v efficient and from a fivers worth of diesel you can warm the van for 3-4 days without drawing fuel from the main tank.
For longer trips/spending your life in a van cooking from two gas hobs was OK, sure. But your imagination and creativity with cooking begin to wain and the craving for unobtainable foods begins to set in. Variety being the spice of life, Roasted vegetables, pizzas, baked taters etc. etc. are all back on the menu thanks to the gas oven. It was one of the very first things I bought, and thank God I did! Home made pizza whilst in the Glen Coe valley really is a next level luxury when you're warn out from a day in the snow and rain!
On those days where you have been unfortunate enough to get positively soaked through, warm your bones in the gas powered shower. The shower runs from a 70L tank so 20 minute showers are definitely off the menu, but a quick 5 minute warm up can be all you need to bring some blood flow back to those blue lips! Hot water on demand really is a game changer when it comes to cleaning yourself AND your dishes. Say goodbye to dishes soaking on the side with manky bits of left over scran floating around!
Wash up quickly, and grab a cold bevvy from the 45L fridge and crash on the couch in the back. Chill out and enjoy a movie on the projector with surround sound from the sound bar and thaw those toes out.
Power for the van comes from the 300 watts of solar power on the roof, and a split relay charger that charges both the 110AmpHour batteries from the alternator as you drive. Having the split relay charger is another awesome addition. If the batteries are low (which has been known to happen in sun deprived areas like the UK) you can simply turn the van on and leave it turning over, or you can take it for a quick razz around the block to top up the voltage.
Everything you need to explore the world in your own time, in comfort, is contained in this one super-dulux, log cabin on wheels/adventure wagon.
From here the upgrades will more than likely keep coming and money will keep disappearing as I'm sure you're aware, a van is NEVER truly complete! I'm hoping to get my butt down through Portugal, through Morocco and into Egypt as soon as the borders are open. If anyone wants to join the trip, you're more than welcome! Shoot me a message and lets dooo it!!
By Callum Lawrence