1998 Mercedes Vario 614D Motorhome – Self-Built Ex-Library Conversion

# 1998 Mercedes Vario 614D Motorhome – Self-Built Ex-Library Conversion – £12,000

After 13 years and a lot of happy miles, I’m reluctantly selling my Mercedes Vario 614D motorhome. I’ve moved to Texas permanently, so it needs a new home with someone who’ll use it.

I built this myself from a mobile library starting in 2013. It’s a proper one-off, and my dad has recently given the whole interior a complete revamp, so it’s in better shape inside than it’s ever been. It’s well sorted and ready to use, with only a couple of finishing jobs left, and I’m including the brand new parts for those (see below).

## The basics

– 1998 Mercedes Vario 614D base vehicle
– 288,333 km (around 178,600 miles)
– MOT until October 2026
– Private plate LIB 1260 included (it suits a library conversion)
– Aluminium box body
– Double-glazed boat windows, each with a lift-out centre section for ventilation
– Interior recently fully refreshed by my father

A note for buyers: the 614D is a 6-tonne vehicle, so you’ll need C1 on your licence to drive it. Anyone who passed their car test before 1997 generally already has it. Anyone newer will need the C1 category.

## The build and bodywork

I converted this from a mobile library and it’s been a genuine labour of love. A couple of years ago I rebuilt the front end to deal with rust in the steel section, so that area is sorted. The rear garage doors and the side passenger door are bespoke aluminium doors I made myself, built with security in mind and fitted with multi-point locks. I have lots of photos of that work, plus the original 2013 to 2016 conversion album, which I’m happy to share with serious buyers.

## Power, solar and electrics

The roof is entirely solar panels. This van used to provide power at the Green Gathering festival, so the electrical system is properly specced and built around quality components:

– Full roof of solar panels
– Morningstar TriStar MPPT charge controller, with a TriStar Remote Meter-2 display panel inside so you can see charge, loads and battery state at a glance
– Studer AJ 2400-24-S pure sine wave inverter (around 2kW, 24V), a premium Swiss unit, with a Studer AJ JT8 remote control panel
– 2 x Eco-Worthy 12V 280Ah LiFePO4 lithium batteries, with Bluetooth monitoring, built-in BMS and low-temp protection, mounted under the rear garage area. These replaced the old AGM bank
– Charged by the solar, and also by a mains LiFePO4 smart charger that’s permanently wired in for hook-up charging
– 100A battery equaliser, so the system runs both 12V and 24V circuits cleanly
– CBE 12V power management system (PC control panel and DS-300 distribution), handling fused 12V distribution and automatic switching between solar, mains and the engine alternator
– SmartGauge battery monitor for accurate state-of-charge readout that can’t drift out of sync

Lighting is all LED and fully dimmable, run through a CBE DLS-200 8-channel dimmer module (push for on/off, hold to dim). The only exception is the halogen lighting above the kitchen.

The exterior lighting has been upgraded to LED too: front marker lights (BMAC 360PACK24), front side indicators, and the rear light modules (BMAC 363 Rectangular Series, 363VD2S11). A few rear modules still run bulbs, but the brake lights are LED.

## Water and plumbing

– Main fresh water tank: a custom CAK Tanks tank of roughly 140 litres, with a level sender
– Separate drinking water tank: a 40 litre 304 stainless steel tank that I used for spring water, fed through a Doulton Biotect Ultra ceramic under-sink filter, which reduces microplastics, chlorine, bacteria and heavy metals
– Waste tank: a custom CAK Tanks tank of roughly 75 litres, also with a level sender
– 30 litre Surecal calorifier plumbed into the engine coolant circuit for hot water

## Kitchen and appliances

– Thetford N109 three-way fridge, so it runs on gas, mains electric or 12V
– Belling built-in LPG gas oven with gas grill

## Heating, gas and bathroom

– Gas is a fixed 70 litre refillable LPG vapour tank with its own filling point, so you refill at any Autogas/LPG pump rather than swapping bottles
– Bathroom plumbing is already in place
– Brand new, never used Thetford C250 cassette toilet included
– Brand new Alde Compact 3010 boiler and controls included. Much of the plumbing for it is already in, and I always intended to link it to the Surecal calorifier as well

## Awning

– Fiamma F45 awning (450, 4.5m), with the Fiamma Zip 450 Large Privacy Room, the full zip-on enclosure that turns the awning into an extra room

## Mechanical condition (honest)

– Front discs and all pads recently replaced
– A spare set of rear discs is included in the sale (I replaced the fronts but hadn’t got round to the rears)
– The rear discs and a couple of rear tyres are on the MOT advisories. I replaced two of the rear tyres. The advisory is really down to it sitting unused rather than anything serious
– Sold as a used, much-loved vehicle, not a showroom build

## Price

**£12,000.** I know that’s well below what these are fetching now. I’ve set it deliberately low because I’ve emigrated and want a quick, clean sale to someone who’ll appreciate it, rather than leaving it sitting in storage.

## Location and viewing

It’s currently at my parents’ place near Easingwold, just north of York.

I’m in the UK from 10th to 22nd August. As it’s at my parent’s house, we can arrange a viewing when I’m not in the UK. Get in touch and we can sort a time.

Happy to answer any questions and send over more photos, including the interior and the build history.