On the second of January 2020 I got a completely standard Opel Vivaro with no insulation, no nothing, just a typical work van.

I have a few plans that I outline in the following video:

If you don’t feel like watching, here they are in text form:

Must-haves(by order of importance):

• 1. Insulation
• 2. Bed(200x90cm) with foam mattress
• 3. Leisure battery
• 4. Heating(requires a battery and I don’t want to use the starter battery)

Nice-to-haves:

• 5. Micro kitchen/refrigerator
• 6. Passenger swivel seat with computer table

I plan to do this as cheap as possible and build it in a way that I can take it apart in less than an hour or so for the days I need the space to haul stuff.

I think that with just 1) and 2) I’m able to do some short trips and my bodyheat will warm up the inside marginally, but enough to be more comfortable. I’ll post an update when I do.

This is the space I have to play around:

It’s not a lot, which means I have to be very clever with space if I wish to fit a bike in there as well. The insulation will make it even smaller, so finding something thin is imperative.

In total there are about 5 square metres. I used to live in a 7 square metre room and managed to fit a double bed, a dismantled single bed(under the double bed), a desk, desk chair, large wardrobe, and my bike. A childhood of tetris pays dividends.

Fuel economy

It’s not bad at all. But did you know that US mpg is completely different from UK mpg? Thought I was going insane.

In the next post I will outline more detailed research and prices about the bed and insulation.

I have started a youtube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRglk9sqGxMk9SdT4GEC_TQ

and an instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hjulhytte/

Follow if you want to keep up-to-date without necessarily reading my boring posts :)