From rust to roadtrip:

Minibus to home in 17 steps

From rust to roadtrip: how to convert a minibus into a home in 17 steps.

Step 1: Buy a van. An LDV Convoy will do. Preferably a rusty one with a dodgy tie-dye paint job and that has also been sticker-bombed. The crack in the roof is an optional extra.

Step 2: Strip van until it no longer resembles a minibus. Seats, plastic trim, carpet- the lot.

Step 3: Make a plan (this step can be omitted).

Step 4: Fix leaks and rust holes (repeat as often as necessary).

Step 5: Lay down new floor (a waterproof one is essential in an LDV).

Step 6: Soundproof the van so you don’t have to shout at each other over the noise of the engine.

Step 7: Build a bed. A small double bed big enough for two with room for storage underneath.

Step 8: Build the kitchen- cabinets, shelves and a cutlery drawer (Note: straight edges and measurements are optional at this stage).

Step 9: Add plumbing: everything but the kitchen sink and then that too. If you can’t find the right sized water tank build your own.

Step 10: Let there be light! Coloured LED strobe lights that is. Aswell as two leisure batteries and an inverter to power them. Throw in a cheeky battery isolator switch to charge the whole lot too.

Step 11: Heating, for the winter months. Take an Eberspacher diesel heater, cut a hole in the side of the van for the exhaust then wire it to an old heater matrix- warm air and hot showers don’t need to be a luxury.

Step 12: Some sleek wooden cladding plus a bonus hidden cupboard. Pro tip: if it doesn’t fit, a hammer will make sure it does. Stuff some insulation behind there too, you can never have enough insulation.

Step 13: Make some storage: fill every available space with shelves and cupboards from the biggest ones...

… To the smallest ones.

Step 14: Find a load of driftwood. Build a wicked spice rack out of it.

Step 15: Time for a coat of paint. Goodbye tie-dye and rust white, hello liquid sky.

Step 16: Install a soundsystem. 1800 watts of pure eargasm.

Step 17: Sprinkle around some finishing touches, make the place a home.

Finished! It’s that simple. A minibus to a home in just 17 steps.

This was our first ever van conversion, so after our first trip there were a few improvements we wanted to make. You can read all the details about the build and the rebuild over on our Build Page.

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Any questions? Comment below!