We Rebuilt Our Camper Van 6 Times

Recorded: 27 August 2026

Location: Scottish Highlands

Duration: 42 minutes

Featuring: David Stanley & Alison

Topics: Van life · Mercedes Sprinter · Camper conversion · Van rebuilds · Off-grid power · Lithium batteries · Swivel seats · Camper beds · Cooking · Hot water · Separating toilet · Solar · Travelling with children

Listen on Spotify

About this episode

We've rebuilt the inside of our Mercedes Sprinter camper van so many times that we're no longer entirely sure how many versions there have actually been.

It started very simply.

An empty van and a gigantic beanbag that cost about £700 and practically filled the back of the Sprinter.

It was incredibly comfortable. Unfortunately, once you sat in it, getting back out was approximately as easy as escaping quicksand.

From there came pallet beds, a picnic bench, camping stoves, IKEA Kallax units, extra passenger seats, a pop-top, diesel heating, side pods, swivel seats, solar, lithium batteries and eventually something resembling an actual kitchen.

Somewhere in the middle we also bought a pink horsebox, had a baby while living in the van and bought a hearse.

Normal camper conversion stuff.

Around the table

The £700 beanbag that filled the back of the van
Our first pallet bed conversion
Living on beans and a single camping stove
Why we bought a pink horsebox instead of converting the Sprinter
The horsebox MOT that killed that particular plan
Insulating and lining the Sprinter
Alison's controversial wallpaper choices
Adding enough proper seats for a family of six
The partition wall that needed modifying during pregnancy
Why our van briefly had a maternity ward
Baby number four arriving before the planned hospital birth
IKEA Kallax units and drawers flying around corners
The diesel heater incident
Cooking outside in rain, sleet and everything else
Why eighteen months of outdoor cooking was enough
Breaking my ribs in Portugal
Why I ended up sleeping in a hearse
Adding side pods so we could sleep across the van
Swivel front seats and the difference they made
Replacing IKEA furniture with homemade plywood storage
Moving from lead-acid to lithium power
Replacing pallet bed supports with metal beams
Our Joolca hot water system and why it didn't suit everyday travel
The dashboard garden and Alison's collection of plants
The cactus that attacked everybody
Why a DVD player still makes sense in a camper van
Starlink versus a Scottish winter
The £28 charging cable argument
All-terrain tyres after getting stuck on our mountain
The separating toilet that genuinely changed van life
What we would put into the next version

Six versions of one van

1. The giant beanbag

The first time we camped in the Sprinter there was barely anything inside it.

What we did have was an enormous custom-made beanbag. It cost around £700 and almost completely filled the back of the van.

It was brilliant until you wanted to stand up.

2. Pallets, a picnic bench and beans

Next came pallets with a bed on top, a picnic bench and one of those little gas-canister camping stoves.

We could boil a kettle and heat some beans. Consequently, we ate quite a lot of beans.

3. The first proper conversion

In 2023 we finally started turning the Sprinter into something resembling a proper camper.

We insulated it, boarded it, added extra seats, built a large bed and fitted storage.

Alison chose the wallpaper. I wanted rustic wood. Alison won.

4. More beds, more storage and a growing family

Travelling with four children means every centimetre matters.

We added and changed beds, moved storage around and discovered that IKEA Kallax units aren't necessarily designed to have children repeatedly jumping onto beds supported by them.

We also discovered that the little fabric storage boxes inside them become surprisingly effective projectiles when you go around corners.

5. Pods, swivel seats and proper power

Side pods allowed us to turn the main bed around and sleep across the width of the van.

Swivel front seats then transformed otherwise wasted cab space into part of the living area.

We also moved away from lead-acid batteries and fitted a large lithium battery, Victron charging equipment and solar.

6. Finally, an indoor kitchen

After roughly eighteen months of cooking outside, including in Scottish rain, wind and cold, I finally admitted that an indoor cooker might be useful.

So the latest version has proper storage, cooking space, better beds and a much more usable layout.

It still needs a sink.

Apparently Alison would also like a shower.

The ideas graveyard

Not everything we've bought or built has survived.

Some things were brilliant ideas for occasional camping but considerably less brilliant when six people were actually living and travelling in the van.

The Joolca hot water system

The Joolca Nomad system is a clever piece of kit. It can pump and filter water and provide genuinely hot water in places where there isn't a conventional supply.

For a camping trip where you set it up and leave it, it's excellent.

For the way we travel, constantly packing everything away and moving again, setting it up every time we wanted hot water or a shower became tedious.

So it isn't necessarily a bad product. It simply wasn't the right solution for the way we use the van.

IKEA Kallax

Kallax units gave us cheap and useful storage, but eventually the weight of beds, children and life on the road started crushing them.

I eventually built plywood replacements based on the same idea, but with a lip at the front so the storage boxes couldn't launch themselves across the van.

The dashboard garden

Alison decided the dashboard should contain plants.

Some survived. Some didn't.

One cactus had almost invisible needles that embedded themselves in your skin every time you went anywhere near it.

That one eventually found another home.

The things we'd definitely keep

Swivel seats

Being able to turn the front seats around gave us a huge amount of usable space without making the van any bigger.

It also meant we could finally sit together when eating rather than adults in the front and children in the back.

Lithium battery

Moving to a large lithium leisure battery has made off-grid power much easier.

Our current setup uses an Eco-Worthy lithium battery with Victron charging equipment and solar.

All-terrain tyres

After getting the Sprinter and caravan stuck on a freshly bulldozed mountain track in Portugal, we fitted all-terrain tyres.

So far, touch wood, we haven't been stuck again.

The separating toilet

Alison mentions the toilet enough in this episode that it probably deserves its own podcast.

But the separating toilet genuinely has been one of the most useful additions we've made.

Compared with our old chemical toilet, dealing with it while travelling is much easier.

The pink horsebox detour

Before properly converting the Sprinter, Alison had been trying to persuade me to kit it out.

I didn't want to because I used the van for too many other things.

Our solution was obviously to buy an enormous horsebox.

Why that particular horsebox?

Because it was pink.

We started converting it using reclaimed timber and materials from our old pub.

The inside started looking great. Mechanically, however, things weren't quite so rosy.

It failed its MOT and one of the problems involved parts that were becoming extremely difficult to find.

The thought of breaking down halfway to Portugal in an enormous elderly horsebox eventually killed the idea.

Back to the Sprinter we went.

A baby, broken ribs and a hearse

Somewhere among all these conversions, our fourth baby also arrived while we were living in the van.

There was supposed to be a planned hospital water birth. We even booked a hotel beforehand.

The hotel was accidentally booked for the wrong date, we returned to the campsite, and events rather overtook the original plan.

That's probably an episode of its own.

Later in Portugal I broke my ribs while working around the olive trees and couldn't climb into the pop-top or move properly.

Fortunately, we'd bought a hearse.

So for about a month I slept in that.

Again: normal van-life stuff.

What would we change next?

Surprisingly, not that much.

After six versions we've finally reached the point where the basic layout works well for us.

The next jobs are mostly about finishing things properly.

Fit a proper sink
Improve the permanent hot-water setup
Work out a better shower arrangement
Keep improving storage
Make the existing layout easier rather than completely rebuilding it again

Although once we're back in Portugal and I have access to the workshop, there's every chance I'll start changing things again.

Notes from Dave

This isn't a guide to building a camper van. It's simply what we've tried, what has worked for our family and what has spectacularly failed along the way.

Electrical systems, gas appliances, passenger seats, seat belts, heaters and structural modifications all have safety and legal considerations. If you're modifying your own vehicle, check the requirements that apply to your vehicle and location and use appropriately qualified people where necessary.

Where we mention products, we're talking about things we've actually used. Some links on DavidStanley.me may earn us money and some don't. We say which is which.

Episode notes & transcript

00:00 — Microphones, mugs and spelling
We start Episode 6 by testing the new microphones, deciding we sound slightly tinny and immediately becoming distracted by the spelling and apostrophe on Alison's new witch's brew mug.

00:45 — The new studio lights
We've spent approximately £3.70 improving the lighting so we no longer look quite as much like Crimewatch victims from 1932. Apparently there are even more lights coming.

01:13 — Van life
Tonight's actual subject finally begins: the many different versions of our Mercedes Sprinter camper van.

01:40 — The £700 beanbag
Our first camper setup consisted largely of an enormous beanbag that filled the back of the empty van. It was extremely comfortable but almost impossible to escape from.

02:39 — Pallet conversion
Version two involved pallets, a mattress, a picnic bench and a little gas-canister camping stove. This allowed us to boil a kettle and eat beans for several days.

03:21 — The pink horsebox
Alison had been asking me to properly convert the Sprinter, but I still needed it for other things. So instead we bought a large horsebox. Mainly because it was pink.

We began converting it with reclaimed timber from the pub, but an MOT failure and difficulty finding mechanical parts made us rethink driving it all the way to Portugal.

04:30 — Back to the Sprinter
In 2023 we started insulating and lining the van properly. We used reflective insulation and Kingspan, boarded everything and then entered negotiations over what the interior should actually look like.

I wanted rustic wood. Alison wanted wallpaper. The van has wallpaper.

06:12 — Six seats for six people
With three children and another on the way, we needed six proper travelling seats. Our first attempt wasn't practical, so those seats were replaced with a better arrangement.

07:31 — The maternity ward
The conversation takes the first major detour when we remember that baby number four arrived while we were living in the van.

A planned hospital water birth and hotel stay didn't quite happen according to plan. That story deserves an episode of its own.

09:03 — Kallax storage
IKEA Kallax units became part of the van storage system, along with a wooden cabinet containing lots of tiny drawers. The drawers had a habit of flying out whenever we went around corners.

09:39 — Beds everywhere
The van gained a pop-top and multiple sleeping arrangements as we tried to fit six people into one Sprinter.

09:53 — The diesel heater incident
During an early trip the children lost the diesel-heater remote. I couldn't work out how to turn it off.

Alison was downstairs getting roasted while I was asleep in the pop-top and couldn't hear her.

10:48 — Portugal and outdoor cooking
We travelled through France, Spain and Portugal cooking outside with a gas stove.

Rain, sleet, cold and wind didn't matter. The children still needed feeding.

After around eighteen months of this, an indoor kitchen suddenly started looking like an excellent idea.

12:21 — Broken ribs and the hearse
In Portugal I broke my ribs while working around the olive trees and couldn't climb into the pop-top.

Fortunately we'd bought a hearse, so I slept in that for around a month.

13:41 — Side pods and swivel seats
Side pods gave us enough width to turn the main bed around and sleep across the van.

Swivel front seats later transformed the cab into useful living space.

15:36 — Enough outdoor cooking
We finally decide that cooking outside in every possible weather isn't something we need to continue proving we can do.

16:18 — Rebuilding the Kallax storage
The IKEA units had started failing, partly because the children's bed rested on them and children occasionally behave like children.

I built plywood replacements with a raised lip to stop the storage boxes escaping around corners.

18:18 — Kitchen and lithium power
We added a cooking area, storage and lithium power. The original pallet bed supports were also replaced with metal beams, creating much more usable storage underneath.

19:07 — The Joolca
One purchase we probably wouldn't make again for our particular style of travel is the Joolca hot-water system.

It's capable equipment and works well when set up, but repeatedly unpacking and connecting it when constantly moving became tedious.

20:36 — Plug sockets and wallpaper
We discuss the modern pop-up electrical sockets sitting among Alison's rather less conventional camper-van wallpaper.

This naturally turns into an argument about who actually wallpapered the van.

22:31 — Brilliant ideas
Alison nominates having a garden on the dashboard. I point out that some of the garden is dead.

We remember the tiny cactus with almost invisible needles that attacked anybody unfortunate enough to touch it.

23:37 — Swivel seats
My nomination for one of our best changes is the swivel front seats. They create extra living space and let all six of us sit together when eating.

23:49 — DVD television
A DVD-capable television remains surprisingly useful when travelling somewhere without reliable internet.

24:03 — Starlink and Scottish solar
Starlink itself works brilliantly, but it consumes a significant amount of power.

That's less of a problem in sunny Portugal and considerably more entertaining in Scotland, where our solar panels have spent much of the year staring hopefully at clouds.

25:02 — Our enormous audience
We discuss when a podcast with approximately five listeners becomes successful enough to justify a PO box.

We're deliberately building up episodes before promoting the podcast. The aim is to get into the habit of making it first, rather than launching loudly and disappearing after two episodes.

26:32 — Ideas graveyard
We return to things we've bought or planned that haven't exactly transformed our lives.

The Joolca returns to the list, along with Alison's still-unfinished plans to dye T-shirts using flowers.

27:17 — The £28 charging cable
A discussion about constantly replacing charging cables becomes an argument about whether buying one expensive cable is cheaper than buying lots of cheap ones.

28:08 — Cheese
We are now definitely talking about camper conversions.

Somehow the conversation becomes an investigation into why there is cheese on Alison's mug.

29:05 — The one thing we really worry about
The engine is the part of the van that has survived every rebuild.

When your vehicle is also your house, a major mechanical failure isn't simply a breakdown. It's potentially losing your accommodation as well.

31:20 — Beyla's Beasts
With Beyla sitting beside us, we briefly talk about the animal and wildlife videos she's started making.

32:06 — All-terrain tyres
After getting stuck on our mountain in Portugal, we fitted all-terrain tyres to the Sprinter.

The track had recently been scraped by a bulldozer and heavy rain turned the surface into sludge.

So far the new tyres have worked. Touch wood.

33:31 — The separating toilet
The separating toilet might be one of the least glamorous but most genuinely useful improvements we've made.

For us it made dealing with toilet waste while travelling considerably easier than the chemical toilet we used before.

34:48 — Would we build another van?
Yes.

Although next time I'd be tempted by something larger, possibly a truck conversion.

35:31 — What next?
The current van doesn't need another complete rebuild.

A proper sink and a better permanent shower arrangement are the main things we'd still like to add.

36:14 — Alison is a hooker
Alison corrects me when I say she's knitting. She's crocheting.

Crocheters apparently sometimes call themselves hookers. Alison is currently making a twisted witch's hat and is trying to make more crochet content of her own.

37:38 — What survived all the rebuilds?
We recap the major changes: pallets became metal bed supports, lead-acid became lithium, solar and Victron charging were added, and the van slowly became something that actually works for six people.

38:03 — Our gear list
The equipment and companies we've actually used are listed on DavidStanley.me.

Some links may earn us money and some don't. There's no subscription required to see the information.

39:46 — Pods, windows and another rebuild
Fitting the side pods and windows involved dismantling much more of the van than we'd originally expected.

40:03 — Toilet again
Alison notices she has mentioned the toilet repeatedly.

We mention it again.

40:40 — In defence of the Joolca
We finish by pointing out that the Joolca genuinely is capable equipment. It can draw and filter water from a suitable source and provide hot water remotely.

It simply doesn't fit our constantly-moving style of travel particularly well.

41:08 — Scotland
We remember attempting to toast marshmallows beside Loch Ness before deciding it was too wet and retreating inside.

Midges are currently making outdoor life in Scotland even more entertaining.

41:53 — End of Episode 6
That's the end of Episode 6.

One of the children is waking up, which seems as good a reason as any to stop recording.