r/VanLifeUK

Hi All. I'm looking at buying a used VW T5 2005. On the advert it says 109k mileage but when I check the MOT history it says 177k mileage. I queried this with the seller and he said the mileage is in kilometres so 177k kilometres = 109k miles. Does this sound legit? Would the MOT history on the Gov website not state kilometres instead of miles of the odometer is displaying kilometres?

Thanks all.

I came out of a 10-year marriage early last year, ended up in serious debt, lost work, had to sell my house and came very close to becoming homeless.

I’ve partly recovered now, but my current contract is ending soon and I’m terrified of ending up in that position again.

While I’ve still got money coming in, I want to put around £5k–£7k into a small van and basic build. Not for luxury, but as a safety net if things go wrong again.

I work remotely, and it would also let me stay closer to my kids so I can help with school mornings, as I currently live over an hour away.

I know nothing about vans. Driven some rentals before. I am looking at a Vauxhall Vivaro and am good with DIY having done lots of stuff to my house before selling it. A Vivaro is quite small and I know but it would only be for me to sleep over night in and a pull away couch/bed to work in on my laptop. In the future, if I like it. I will probably build a bigger van to house my kids too but the requirement now is just for me and can have 2 of them up front when driving.

My main questions are...

1 - Can I do this on my budget?
2 - When buying a van what should I look out for?

I have found some vans online between 2k-3k but they are 100k miles and in cars that's quite high. Not sure if normal for a van?

So I've lived in a van for about 2 years but I've done so in my hometown where I have quite a healthy support network so I can just use other people's bins. How do people go about getting rid their rubbish? Are you driving down to the tip every other week?

Hi, any recommendations (for or against!) for either wheel or steering wheel locks for keeping van on non-gated driveway? Thanks!

Just picked up a 2017 Crafter and want to start on the camper conversion. Bit torn between having a go at the furniture myself or just buying prebuilt.

Anyone done a self-build, is it worth the hassle? How did you learn it, any youtubers or courses worth following?

If I went prebuilt, what’s the best company? Looked at Camper Lux but felt a bit basic for me. Seen CJ Leisure and Evo knocking about but honestly a bit lost with it all.

Any pointers appreciated, cheers.

I’ve lived in my van for years and had Starlink since 2022. I have a standard size dish, which I got before the mini dish existed. I always used the Roam plans as I move around a lot.

My actuated gen 2 dish started playing up, so Starlink are sending me the latest V4X dish.

I started investigating the difference, and found out it uses significantly more power, so I also started looking at the mini, which is much lower power. Starlink don’t let use a residential plan on the mini, only roam plans. Starlink only let you select residential or roam plans on a standard size dish.

The thing I found out because of all this is that you can easily and freely move your residential plan location to wherever you are in the UK (not abroad, need roam for this) as often as you like. The cheapest residential unlimited data plan is £40/month. The unlimited data roam plan is £100/month. So if you don’t mind changing your location in the app, or having a more power hungry standard dish, you can save £60/month by using a residential plan instead of roam.

Hi all, im in the planning stage of my build and looking at the electric system. I am planning on having an induction hob (800w + 800w). My power plans so far are 465w solar with a 300ah lithium battery + dc-dc charging. Is this likely to be sufficient for 3-4 days off grid, including the bobil 12v water heater, a 12v fridge and the usual fans leds ect? Or would i need to up the battery ah or solar input? Any input from offgrid induction hob users on what specs you use would also be great. Thanks in advance!

Due to the break up of a really long term relationship, I had to use my panel van for shelter. I had no savings, no back up plan and no family I could go to for a room.

I’ve wanted to do van life for a number of years and being single has now opened up the possibility.

Obviously i’m not going to keep the set up this way but I’m currently working with:

- an uninsulated panel van

- a sleeping bag (underneath has Halfords garage floor mats, 3 gym mats and a spare roll of brand new carpet I had from the flat)

- a campinggaz stove

- a Jackery 240 (the older model)

- heated blanket from Amazon

So far this has worked because I’ve used service stops and gyms for my showers. Plus I’m still working full time so I charge my gear at work or buy a coffee and charge in the coffee shops. I also charge the Jackery while I drive too.

Just thought I’d share my story because I had nowhere to go and no choice but to just crack on. And if anyone is waiting to get in their van when it’s perfect and done, I’m proof that you can get by without needing it completely finished before you do.

I’m also open to suggestions of gear to buy because I’ll be sound deadening and insulating the van when I’ve next got some money together 🙂 thanks!

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So I was just watching a video on YouTube and how a guy uses 75mm insulation around his van and even though he says it's over kill he would rather be safe than sorry. He has a gaming set up and says the cold exposure will fry his electrical system and it'll cost money to get it repair so the warmth not only helps with that but also keeping him warm. He also can't have his bed the usual horizontal way at the back.

I'm yet to get a van and want your guys opinions on this topic. Is that much insulation nessisary. What are your experinces about UK winters and insulation? How do you get around insulating but having enough space to set your matress up horizontally?

I just saw the news that from June 1st, the government is finally ditching the HGV-style red tape for 4.25t electric vans. It looks like they’ll be treated more like standard 3.5t diesels, so no more tachographs or heavy-vehicle MOTs to worry about. With diesel sitting at nearly £1.90 this week, I'm seriously tempted to look at an electric base for my next build, but I'm curious if the off-grid charging is still too much of a headache for proper UK touring?

Hey guys, I know it's probably been asked a million times before but I can't find what I'm looking for.

I'm currently converting a Fiat ducato gen 2 and I'm looking at how many batteries/ah I need for my set up we will be using it for weekends and fortnights in the summer

On the dc side we have phones charging, WiFi router, mini projector, fridge, led lighting and water pump with a small amount of inverter use for the water heater only the fridge will be in constant use

I've put a 120w panel on the roof, a split charge relay in and currently I've one 120ah lead acid battery and I was thinking off making it 3 in total would this be enough?

I have a shore hook up and a victron smart charger as well chances of us stopping somewhere off grid for more than a day are low

Thanks 🙂

So my husband and I are Americans. We have lived in the UK for about 6 years. We just paid for a 3 year visa to be here. Husband has just graduate with a PhD in philosophy and struggling to find work. He is applying for everything and academic posts take a while to get back to you. I am employed full time remote and just about to switch to a new company in June.

We are struggling to pay rent and really brainstorming how we can give ourselves more runway until he finds something. One idea we had was to downsize and to trade in our car for part exchange for a camper van.

We both love the idea of being more nomadic but I have some reservations about it. First, since I’m starting a new job where I’m not established yet, will this be something they frown upon? We have already thought of starlink and even doing week passes to coworking spaces when necessary. But it seems like a lot to worry about when I need to be more focused specially at a new place.

Second, what if in 6 months we decide we are done? How easy is it to trade in a camper van? I’m worried we are going to be stuck with a lot more debt than we want.

I’d love to hear other people’s experiences and any advice.

Hi all

We’re very new to this and although we’ve hired campervans before, this is the first time we’re purchasing our own van to convert but we’re really struggling to find a van!

We may need a dose of reality but ideally we wanna spend below £10,000 and we’ve landed on a Vauxhall Vivaro as it was recommended for our budget. We also had a few people thoroughly put us off the Ford Transit Custom due to the wet belt.

We’ve been trying to find something around 2016-2019 and under 80k miles, ideally under 70k but it seems impossible unless the seller has awful reviews!!

Are we being too picky?? Reputable places have vans but often mileage is above 90k or even 100k and that makes us really nervous. We’re wondering if our inexperience with vans means we’re overthinking high mileage and age etc

Has anyone previously bought a van, even a Vauxhall with high mileage and it’s been okay? Alternatively, we’d be open to other van suggestions! It just still feels like a lot of money to spend on something with such high mileage and we want it to last us a good 10 years!!

Any advice / opinions would be very welcome!