Holly & Mike: Converting a van to live in full time
Holly is nature inspired creative who is passionate about filmmaking, exploring and producing colourful content. Holly and her partner Mike converted their Peugeot Boxer van into a fully off-grid camper to travel Europe in - they have lived in it for over 3 years so far.
Holly & Mike with their van in Sierra Nevada, Spain
01. How did you decide on what van to get?
We first took a small Toyota Hiace campervan to explore New Zealand for six weeks before committing to buying a van. We wanted to make sure we could live in a small space together without treading on each other's toes and generally annoying each other.
We loved being on the road so much we decided to buy a van in the UK, we did have a few ‘must haves’. The first was being able to stand up in it, the second being able to cook inside. We felt very grateful for our inside gas burner when we saw car campers cooking out of the back of their truck when the sand flies are swarming, or the wind and rain sets in. We had to sleep front to back because we are both too tall for sidewards sleeping, so it turned out our only option was a 6 metre long wheelbase. It didn’t really matter if it was a Citroen relay, Peugeot boxer or a Fiat Ducato. We just wanted one with Aircon as we knew we had a big plan in the works…
Vanlife in New Zealand
02. What’s your van called?
Our van is called Brienne. This is because before we left for Europe, we took her on many trips to Scotland and Wales, really testing her power, and power she had. We happened to be watching Game of Thrones after heading up a steep, narrow road in Wales. Settled down with our cheese and biscuits and the name just came to us!
03. How did you find the build process and how long did it take?
I seem to have blanked much of the process out of my brain now, especially since I lost our sheet with the list of everything we bought! Mike and I both have our strong points, I do all the hours of research and find the right items to buy, and he puts them in! It was really helpful having family members with the correct tools to save on the overall cost.
We were both furloughed when we were converting the van so the actual build took about 3 months. But there were months and months of planning before we had actually bought it.
Check out Holly’s blog post on the build here.
Window fitting day!
04. If you were to do one thing differently in your van, what would it be?
I would say to make sure that when doing any metal work, make sure you brush over every last little bit of metal. We missed quite a few and they made the bits of the van rusty. We have sorted it now, but you can avoid this!
05. What’s your favourite feature you built into your van?
I love our touch lights. Oh and having a warm shower! So good!!
Check out Holly’s blog post on more of their favourite features here.
Van kitchen with gas stove, oven and Dometic fridge
06. What’s the most challenging thing about living in a van full time?
Whilst we were travelling around Europe where the weather is better than here in the UK so we didn’t really have any challenges other than working out where we were going to sleep each night. But when we live in our van in the UK, I would say the damp is our biggest challenge in the winter and finding space to dry out wet gear. If you are converting a van to live in, in the UK, it’s a good idea to think of ways to dry things out. We ended up adding in a few extra hooks by the door for wet coats, extra matting on the floor, and two little hooks for an inside washing line.
07. How do you find places to park up?
Usually we find where we want to go for a hike, or climb, then if the car park is quiet then we would just stay there. We also use the Park4Night app which is great especially for finding places in Europe - It’s helped us find some great spots for the night.
Exploring North Macedonia
08. What’s your favourite meal to cook in the van?
It’s not a meal, but I love baking in the van. Banana bread is the go to, or any sort of cake or cookies. But dinner wise, I would say toad in the hole in an easy one with veg, or homemade pizzas. Yum!
09. What advice would you give to anyone thinking about getting a van?
I would say try and design it so everything you own has its own place.
You cannot over-insulate, especially the floor.
Don’t leave any bare metal and make sure you clear up every last shard if you are cutting holes for windows etc.
Make a map of where your electric cables are!
10. What’s the best thing about Vanlife?
The best thing about vanlife is the feeling of waking up and opening the curtain to see a different landscape, or forgetting where you were and waking up to something beautiful. On the other hand, I love getting in after a long walk, having a cup of tea and then when it starts to rain you know you don’t have to go outside, so you can stay cosy and enjoy a good book, or a downloaded Netflix series!
Exploreing Montenegro: Tara Canyon, Durmitor National Park and Bogradska Gora National Park
You can find Holly and Mike below:
Link to their website with more details on their van build along with European travel guides
Instagram: @walkingholly
Instagram @hollyandmike_
