Campervan Conversion (Cammie the Camper) My Approach (Updated April 2025) These are my basic thoughts from the outset, which will no doubt evolve further, along the way...... I'd been gathering useful information for many months prior to buying a vehicle. I spent a good while looking at what other people have done, in the many build projects on YouTube. There was also my own experience, gained while owning a motorhome. My outline thinking for the van, is keep it simple and keep it light weight. Simple does not mean basic though, we will have all the creature comforts, including hot water, a Loo and a shower. There are some ingenious contraptions that people have come up with, folding thingies and clip together what knots, but that's not for us. Having to construct your bed or eating area, every time you use it, then put it away afterwards, is not for us. Ease of use is a major consideration. Some designs have fundamental flaws as far as we are concerned, but realize individuals requirements and priorities can be different to ours, so please don't take offense if you have done things differently. So many builders leave the bulk head in and fit units across the back of it. This maximizes the use of available space, but means if you want to drive off, you have to exit the vehicle to get up front. If there are undesirables around your van at night, it means you might have to confront them before driving away, not something I would want to do as a pensioner. There's a common layout theme, of a double bed across the back, with storage underneath. This works fine for many people, where they are a couple, but what if I want to do a festival or fishing trip with a mate? Two singles is far more versatile, if harder to accommodate, while bunk beds are not an option for us oldies. Safety concerns me, I see some LPG gas installations without any ventilation what so ever. You should have, at the very least, vents in the bottle storage area and in theory, at every mechanical coupling and appliance connection in your layout. You should also have a vent at the lowest point, which is usually at the steps into the van, as LPG is heavier than air and will accumulate at this point if there's a leak. It's no wonder many camp sites don't allow self builds, their insurance companies only want certified vehicles. Personally I couldn't sleep at night in such a death trap. The same goes for Carbon Monoxide (CO) gas, given off by gas hobs and other LPG burners. This gas is lighter than air, so adequate high level ventilation is required to let any that forms, out of the vehicle. These vents must be permanent, something that cannot be closed off. Lithium Iron Leisure Batteries are something I initially dismissed as to much of a fire hazard. Their benefits, in terms of space/weight saving, higher life expectancy and ability to operate with deeper discharge, without ill effect, was never in question. After reading up on the subject, it appears not all Lithium batteries are equal. The type you should use as Leisure batteries is LIP (Lithium Iron Phosphate AKA LiFePO4). These are not the same as car or bike batteries and don't burn as easily. They have many protections built in and are probably less of a risk than Petrol/Diesel fuel tanks or LPG systems. So I am much more comfortable with the idea now. I'm considering a composting toilet, I'm not a card carrying Greenie but like to do my bit. It's actually got more to do with the fact, that in the UK, chemical waste disposal points are few and far between, basically just on established camp sites. I found with two people, I was emptying a Thetford cassette approximately every 3 to 4 days. A separating or composting toilet would extend this period into weeks and have a greater number of disposal options. Storage! Somewhere to store muddy boots, water hose, hook up leads, tools and spares, preferably away from the living space altogether, so in other words, a separate garage area. And lastly maintenance! Presume everything will fail at some point, so maintenance access is also high on the list of design parameters. Don't wall things up, so I'll have to rip half the van apart to get at something. Use trunking for cables and even run some spare lengths, for the items I haven't thought of yet and may need to add later. I've only had the van a week but this is the way things are shaping up: The hatched area at the back is a vertical, full height storage space. The beds have tunnels that go into this space, to allow a full 6' mattress, with about 6'4" total room. The electrics go into the space at the back, so any switches, displays or indicator lights, can be mounted through the dividing wall. Open the back doors and you have easy access to the gas locker, water filling point and electrical cupboard. Plus all the bits you tend to carry, like a folding table and chairs, for sitting outside, wind brakes, leveling ramps etc. The table in the plan, is part of the dinette style seating arrangement and is hinged off the dividing wall, so it can be swung up when not needed. The water heater will be under the wardrobe space. A 100L water tank under one bed and the leisure battery/s under the other. I've not got walls and struts in there yet, this is just a first bite. Windows either side in the dinning area and in the sliding door, a skylight and smaller skylight/vent over the shower tray. Two decent size solar panels on the roof, the cables entering the rear space, through the roof, on the passenger side rear corner. There will be a mains hook up socket on one rear corner and an external LPG outlet for a BBQ on the opposite rear corner. It's a rough layout that I'll firm up as I go. A good bit of advice I picked up from another builder on-line, is buy your appliances first and build spaces for them and their fixing requirements. Don't build your van, then look for appliances that are the right size to fit what you have allowed. You may have little or no choices available. Another tip, if your kitchen sink is located near the sliding door, you can fit a shower type mixer tap. This allows you to pull the hose/nozzle, outside the van, to wash off muddy boots, dogs etc. I liked that idea and included it in my layout. Onward to the conversion.