Vanny

The adventures of Vanny the Van...

Early in 2019 I bought an old Citroen Relay van, why an 'old' Citroen van?
Because I like old Citroen's, in the past I've had a 2CV, an Ami and two GS's and two Berlingos and now...
Vanny the Van!
This Relay van wasn't particularly expensive, it has a dent in the bonnet and had been abused by the previous owner, a builder, it did however - for its age - have quite a low mileage but... it did needed a lot of TLC.
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The basic mechanics were checked over by our friend Lee at L D AUTOS in Summerhill and the verdict was good.
The van is a medium wheelbase which is good for maneuverability and parking, a high roof which is essential in this kind of van project especially if you are tall,
as we both are.
The medium wheel base allows about 10 feet by just over 6 feet space in the back, a long wheel base will give you about another 3 to 4 feet length but, this can make it difficult parking especially in supermarket car parks plus, the turning circle can be quite limiting too.
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Vanny was very, very dirty inside, it took over a week just to clean out the back area and strip-out the plywood liner and another couple of days to clean the outside and remove all the stickers.
The front cab was filthy too but a good scrub with hot soapy water and antibacterial cleaner took care of this.
Originally in the front there was a single drivers seat and a double passenger bench seat, we wanted to be able to - eventually - walk through from the cab to the back without going outside, the double seat prevented this.
By removing the double passenger seat and sourcing a second hand single drivers this created enough room to install a door between the two seats. The manufacturers bulkhead dividing the cab from the back was removed and a new bulkhead with a door was installed.
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Double insulation was fitted over the next few weeks, ThermaWrep and DoDoMat (which is made from recycled plastic bottles and does not mould) on the walls, ceiling, side sliding door, back doors plus one inch Selotex under the floor and in the bulkhead.
Two skylights, a 120W rigid solar panel , low energy LED ceiling lights, electrical wiring, regulatory gadgets, fuse boxes and leisure battery were also fitted.
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All the insulation is covered with tongue and groove and varnished. The rear bench seats - which provide storage space underneath - are 10mm ply, painted, floor is 15mm ply which is totally rigid.
All the framework for the bulkhead, kitchen unit, seats and battens for the tongue and groove is recycled timber.
The kitchen unit doors, shelf ends and cooler box cabinet are old wine boxes free from a wine merchants.
The table - when in use - fits into a boss in the floor, when not in use it's stores on the side wall.
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Vanny has a mains electric hook-up so when staying on a campsite there's a choice to hook-up or use the solar power. Over Christmas whilst walking the Wales Coast Path on the Lleyn Peninsula, NW Wales it was cold at night so the hook-up - which powered the heater - was very welcome. Also, in January, again we were walking the Wales Coast Path this time in The Gower, South Wales, the nights were really cold and frosty mornings, again the electric heater was very welcome.
However, last August in Scotland and the Isle of Skye, the weather was really kind to us, no heater required... even good enough for a barbeque on one campsite.
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The seats which double as the bed are topped with from foam bought online from GB Foam Direct, GB can recommend which foam is best for camper van seats / beds. The seat cushions are covered in denim which should wear well, the back doors are finished-off with recycled - curtains to stop any draughts.
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There are no windows in the side and back of the van,
I really wanted it to just look like an old delivery van with a dent in the bonnet... and it does.
This appearance is known as 'stealth', it allows you to park-up in towns when really necessary, and no one knows you are inside the van... unless you draw attention to yourself!
Whilst in Scotland last year we alternated between staying on campsites - using their showers and laundries facilities - and parking-up in quiet locations and laybys, which worked very well.
When guiding walks for the Llangollen Walking Festival and Malvern Walking Festival my walk(s) start early in the morning, I 'stealth' camp which enables me to be close to the walk starting point(s).
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During 2019 some wonderful Vanny adventures were had, however it's not until you use something and test it do you discover what works well and what doesn't.

With this in mind, during the difficult time of 'C-19 lockdown' in 2020 and not travelling anywhere, changes were planned to Vanny's interior.
Redesigning and rebuilding storage shelving inside the kitchen cupboards and on the side walls and building a new cabinet for the cooler box.
Also at this time a new electric powered water tap was fitted on the worktop.
The new curtains look really great and will stop any draughts, the floor was also painted and varnished as it was starting to get scuffed and marked.
Having made these modifications and with the C-19 lockdown continuing I am using the time to research new adventures... to be continued.
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