Building your own campervan

Turning an empty van into a camper is a big project, and a rewarding one. Most of the hard decisions come before the first panel goes in. These notes are for people in the UK planning and building a conversion themselves.

Plan around four things

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) describes the inside of a motor caravan in four parts. There are seats and a table, and somewhere to sleep, which can be made from the seats. There are cooking facilities and storage.

These must be fixed firmly to the living space, although the table can be easy to remove. A van can be used as a camper with these features even if its recorded body type never changes.

Keep a weight budget

Payload is the gross vehicle weight minus the unladen weight. Everything you fit adds to the unladen weight and leaves less payload. DVLA says a converted van should still be able to carry a passenger in every seat, plus luggage and full water tanks, without being overloaded.

The National Caravan Council (NCC) explains that European rules count 75kg for each passenger seat. Each litre of water adds 1kg. Heavy items are best kept low, near an axle. Weighing the finished van at a weighbridge, loaded as if for a trip, shows how much room is left.

Batteries and power

The NCC keeps a list of verified leisure batteries, sorted into three classes. Class A is for vans often used without an electric hook-up. It needs at least 90 amp hours and 350 cycles at half discharge. Class C suits low power use on a hook-up, with at least 60 amp hours. The NCC says the class is a starting point, not a substitute for expert advice.

Who can do the gas

The NCC says not all gas work on leisure vehicles needs a Gas Safe registered engineer. On privately owned motorcaravans, the person doing it must be "skilled", which means passing the STGW gas course. That also applies to converters installing a new gas system.

If the van will be hired out, the gas work must be done by someone who is Gas Safe registered. Appliances not designed to run on the move, such as a space heater, need the gas turned off while you travel.

Fresh air

Cooking, showering and breathing all put moisture into the air. In a small space it settles on cold surfaces as condensation. The NCC's advice is to give moist air a way out. A window or roof vent opened slightly while cooking helps. Cupboards and the space under beds need air moving through them too.

When the van is finished

National speed limits for a motor caravan depend on its unladen weight. Up to 3,050kg, the limits are 60mph on single carriageways and 70mph on dual carriageways and motorways. Above 3,050kg, they are 50mph and 60mph, with 70mph on motorways. A camper used for carrying goods for sale, or as a workshop, counts as a goods vehicle and takes goods vehicle limits.

For a business, HMRC treats fitting rear seats or side windows to a van as converting it into a car for VAT. If you reclaimed VAT on the van, VAT is then due on its value when the conversion is complete.