Self-build Camper on the cheap
I bought a citroen berlingo (car) 2 and a 1/2 years ago to make it in to a small camper. The car cost about £3000 and I have probably spent little more than £100 pounds on it to make it into an extremely comfy little van (with back seats completely taken out).
I had help with the bed - my brother has the right equipment and cut the ply for me so that it fits the side of the van exactly (the ply cost me £26 a sheet and one sheet was plenty to do the bed with some left over), apart from a little bit of help with cutting the wood to fit on top of the storage cupboard the rest was done by me.
I carpeted the whole of the back floor from an off cut I had - it's stuck down with velcro - cost - nil (apart from velcro and glue)
I bought 3 lots of fabric from a local antiques place down the road from me when they had a sale. These did all the curtains and the mattress. Cost - £22. My curtains are also lined with polarteck fleece (van is very cosy when the curtains go up). Cost - nil - a friend at archery offered me loads of the stuff for nothing - her husband works for them!! The curtains are attached at night by velcro.
Foam for the mattress was got from 'freecycle' on the internet - somebody was offering a couple of mattress toppers and I took each piece of foam and cut it to fit the side of the van just like the bed. I have to say the bed is very comfy. Cost - nil (apart from the diesel to collect - couple of quid)
I have a cupboard with one shelf for food and one for clothes- there is ample room. This has a wooden top (where the tilly stove goes with room left for eating) and the bottom shelf has been fitted with a piece of wood to make it more suitable as a larder shelf. Cost of cupboard - nil - I bought a camping cupboard thingy with 4 shelves and nylon cover. It was supposed to be one of those put up/take down things for tents, however when it arrived I tried to assemble it - it took 2 hours!!!! and then when I tried to put the cover on there was no way it would fit, I tried each and every way, but to no avail. I then emailed the guy on ebay and he replied within half an hour and told me just to dispose of it correctly and he would refund my money. So of course I disposed of it in my van :cool1:. I removed the top shelf, taped all the joins, asked my brother to cut the wood for the top (which fits exactly into the side of the van) and bottom, I then fitted a plinth at the bottom to stop the food from rolling out (this is tied to the cupboard with string) and everything is covered in some very nice (sort of wipe clean) fabric from ebay (cost £2) with a roll up front secured by velcro! It is very, very firmly secured to the van with just one bungey.
I cook on a lovely cream and red tilly stove which I bought several years ago in a fete. Cost - £5.
I use my dogs large tin water bowl for washing up. Cost - nil - I picked this up on a campsite after someone had left it!
I have a porta potti, purchased off ebay, which sits very well in the rear footwell behind the driver's seat. Cost - £22, incl. postage.
Lighting is provided by 6 small LED lights super glued to the ceiling. Cost - approx. £5/£6? I also have a wind-up LED lantern. Cost - nil (Christmas pressy from a friend)
I have a 25 litre water carrier which fits snuggly under the bed in the rear footwell. Cost - £12
And that's about it, apart from another couple of small bungies which stretch across the van - very handy for keeping my mugs (kept in place with a couple of pegs on either side) and good for hanging up T-towels to dry. Cost - approx. £3 for the pair
Total so far - £100 add to that the large amount of velcro and the super glue that is used for just about everything :raofl:. £105 probably.
I don't worry about the fact that everything is glued on - I will keep my van till it's not worth anything in financial terms - most of my other cars have gone to the great scrap pile in the sky!
Doing a van on a budget really can be done and can be done well. I have a van that is very comfy and cosy, has everything I need and ample room for me and my springer.
Oh yes, forgot the bed extension - Maisy is not that small, shares my bed, or perhaps I should say - I'm allowed to share her bed. Bed extension has been made out of a set of shelves I have had since I was a child. Three shelves have been cut to size and hinged together, my dad (whilst visiting in Kent last year) made 3 brackets which are hinged to the bed supports, the extension bit is placed on these and hooks at each end keep it secure. I have made 3 separate cushions from the mattress material and these are kept in place by a piece of fabric sewn to the edge of the bed which wraps around the cushions and is secured under the extension by...............velcro :raofl:. And boy, do I have a super comfy bed, almost the width of a normal single with plenty of room for me and the dog. Cost - approx. £5 (obviously not including the hinges my dad bought, but that is what dads are for)
Final total - £110 - not bad for a tidy little camper
Sorry, that went on for a bit,but does prove you can do a good job without costing the earth, although it is handy if you know someone who can help with the tricky bits.
Good luck with your's and have fun.
