Peugeot Boxer XLWB (L4H2)
I bought this van from the original owner in August 2020. It is an absolute gem of a van and starts first time, every time. It was the first vehicle I ever owned and so I was nervous about breakdowns etc. but it has never given me any problems at all. I bought it at 50,000 miles and have only done 9,000 in it. It’s great for short trips, and equally comfortable on long ones (I drove it to Spain and back last year). It has six gears plus reverse. The engine is in excellent condition and has not once given any cause for concern.
I have the full service history (and all expected paperwork) and have taken the greatest care of the van whilst being its custodian.
Since I bought it, it has never failed an MOT (other than for a headlamp that needed swapping). The last time it was MOT’d, the guy was so impressed with its condition underneath that he invited me to come have a look (ask if you want to see the photos/video). Feel free to look up its history: WL61 FLK
It had a full new brake set last year, costing £700; new shoes, pads and drums.
I have intentionally left the van largely untouched on the outside so that, to the layperson, it doesn’t obviously look like a camper. This was always the idea: humble on the outside, luxury inside! You will see the classic Boxer/Relay/Ducato small bits of paint missing around the bottom/front of the van. I bought the paint to spray these but decided to leave them as they are for the reasons stated above. You could, of course, respray the van if you wanted a swanky look on the outside. Personally, I like that I can park up anywhere without drawing attention to myself.
The underside of the van is coated with Hammerite Under Body Seal with Waxoyl to prevent rust.
The van also has a reversing camera installed (essential, in my opinion, for a van of this length). It also comes with a forward-facing recording camera for collision recording (not yet installed).
I installed a 7-inch touch-screen “head unit” (radio replacement). This connects to your phone (either Android Auto, Apple CarPlay or just good old Bluetooth) to give you all your favourite apps right next to your dashboard. Google Maps and Spotify have been the most useful for me. It’s equipped with a microphone so you can use it like a smart speaker (e.g. you can tell the van “take me home” and the screen will use Google Maps to navigate you home). It also has a traditional radio tuner.
The front cabin has a fully bespoke carpet fitted to give it a luxury feeling in the front. This is finished with a lovely silver/light grey rope trim. It’s super soft if you’re ever in there barefoot!
The van has a spare wheel undermounted (I replace the mechanism in the first year with a brand new one).
The van also has a tow bar on the rear, and the rear doors can each open 180°.
This is a 2011 Peugeot Boxer XLWB (L4 H2) with only 59,000 miles on the clock that has been professionally converted into my dream adventure campervan. I am sadly selling it as I am moving abroad.
The conversion was designed by me and, after the preliminary stages (up to insulation), was finished by a professional conversion company, Paramount Campers. Please be sure to watch the video that is included with the photos.
—Design
The van was designed so that, once inside, it doesn’t feel or look like a campervan. You won’t find any vinyl or furniture board here, only the same high-quality parts that you’d see in a home, such as the glass hob, the ceramic Butler sink, or the real walnut countertops and flooring.
It also has the rare benefit of being designed by someone who actually intended to live in it, whilst being converted by a professional conversion company. Most designs you’ll see from professional converters look good until you try and spend two days in them (e.g. the other professionally-converted 2011 Boxer on eBay, that has a solar panel 13% the size of mine and a battery with only 24% the capacity). Specs like that will leave you cold and miserable when you try to turn the heating on after one day of partial clouds.
The level of craftsmanship is generally extremely high. There are plenty of areas where real thought was put in to provide a more pleasurable experience when using the van. That said, a van will always need upkeep, and there will no doubt be parts you want to improve yourself, which you’ll easily be able to do.
To give you an idea of how “off-grid” or “self-sustaining” this van is, one person living in it full-time during any season would be able to go roughly seven or eight days before running low on water for a shower every day. Gas (for cooking, the fridge and hot water) and diesel (for heating) last months, whilst the enormous solar panels will keep the battery full in any season. When I use this van with my partner, we normally go four days before finding somewhere to fill up water and replenish the fridge.
—Features: Utilities
King-size memory foam bed (the brand is Emma). Slept on fewer than 100 nights. Largely hidden in the photos are two shelves next to each bed, tucked down the side of each side of the mattress, perfect for a book and some water.
The bed has an innovative fold-away step for easy access. When not in use, you won’t see it’s there. When you need it, just drop it down and it looks just like the walnut floor!
90L fresh water tank, mounted under the van for extra storage space
60L grey water tank, also undermounted
15L portable drinking water tank. You can drink from the main tank (I clean it regularly), but it would deplete the tank more quickly, and the portable tank can be filled up from any tap.
25L LPG tank, also undermounted. Having a fixed, undermounted tank (as opposed to a Calor bottle that you swap out/refill) gives you the advantage of being able to fill up your gas from the pump of any petrol station that sells LPG. I will also include the adaptor for petrol stations in Europe. Non-fixed tanks (e.g. Calor bottles) are not allowed to fill up in petrol stations, creating a lot more faff than necessary!
Diesel air heater with 10L diesel tank. Provides warm air to the main living space, the bathroom (great for drying wet clothes) and garage (it’s too big to call it a boot). The tank contains enough fuel for a few months of night-time use (it doesn’t need much, the van is extremely well insulated).
Instant hot water heater (literally 7/8 seconds to heat up). Unlike most vans which have a hot water tank that requires 20 minutes to heat up then runs out after 10 litres, this one is instant and keeps going as long as you have water in the 90L tank.
740W solar panels (2 x 370W)
combined with…
290AH battery – I have never dipped below 60% capacity whilst using the van. This set up (particularly the panels) is massively over-spec’d as I thought I’d be living and working in the van through winter and have ensured that there is always enough power. The van does not have an electric hook up as it does not need it, you simply won’t run out of power. From March until November, you can even power the fridge off these panels (as opposed to gas) on a medium-overcast day. I can provide a schematic so that you know which wire is where.
Intelligent switch relay system so that the starter battery can charge the leisure battery, and vice versa
Victron SmartSolar 50A 100V MPPT Solar Charge Controller – This has Bluetooth so you can monitor your battery and panels from your phone, and easily see historic trends as well as which appliances as using the most battery
60L Dometic fridge, which can be run off gas or the 12v system. It’s also possible to connect this to mains if you installed an EHU, but I doubt you’ll want/need to! This is a really roomy fridge.
Thetford Duplex oven and grill with three oven-rack heights. Perfect for baking, evening meals, pizzas, or toast in the morning.
2 Burner Gas Hob, black – made with a glass base and cast-iron supports. Like the sink, as the hob is highly visible I went for a home-spec item rather than a cheap campervan piece you see in most vans.
Armitage Shanks Belfast Sink – genuine ceramic. I initially had a smaller sink in place but you need one this size and with good depth to easily wash up without splashing everywhere.
The kitchen tap was a real challenge to hunt down. Apart from the temperature mixer, it has two modes (spray or normal), the head can be pulled out and moved around up to 1m from the tap itself (to easily wash dishes or one’s face) plus there is a handy button on the head that stops the flow of water, meaning you don’t need to keep reaching for the mixer whilst washing up.
The bathroom has a stunning marble-effect finish. Inside you’ll find the shower and toilet. I tend to move the toilet into the living area to enjoy the full-size shower (83cm x 70cm), but you could leave it in/turn it if you prefer. When the toilet is in, there is a duck board to stand on to ensure your feet stay dry when using the loo, even if the shower tray is wet.
Simploo Original – Waterless Composting Toilet. This is a urine-diverting toilet, equipped with a 12v fan leading to an air filter in the garage. When it’s switched on (I leave it on permanently), there is literally zero smell, and the loo is much quieter (e.g. when you use it!) than a conventional toilet. On top of that, the toilet seat and general appearance is much like a regular toilet than the cheaper cassette loos which need emptying at specific campervan stations/campsites.
1500W inverter, for powering 240V (mains) devices, with a dual outlet in the main area and optional outlet in the garage too.
Quick charging USB plugs in living area and bed area. There are also standard 12v car ports in the living area.
Quick-release bike stand, as pictured. I have a spare in case you want to easily transport two bicycles.
I also have all the original manuals for the utilities listed above, as well as being able to advise you on them myself.
—Campervan Features
Insulated to the brim. Every wall, ceiling, floor and door has between 4 and 10cm of insulation, using Knauf Drytherm Earthwool and Celotex boards. I stayed in the van in Andorra during the ski season for 10 days and was toasty with the heater only occasionally being required. I went to great lengths to ensure there are no spots where hot air could escape too easily, and will inform you of which vents you’ll want to cover on a cold/windy night.
Sound proofing – the walls, ceiling and doors of the van (including in the front cabin) have sound-deadening mats applied to them. When you’re in the back of the van, in particular, it’s really quite quiet.
Leak-proof. Before any insulation was installed, I took off all the bumper panels and filled the plug holes with silicone to future-proof against possible leaks.
80% tint windows. I bought the best I could find. People can only see in if it’s dark outside and you have your lights are turned up to full with no blinds. The tint when looking outwards is only about 20% The window next to the seating area can be opened.
Massive Skylight! Above the pillow-end of the bed is a skylight that is over 1m wide and 70cm the other way. This took a long time to craft and weatherproof but was well worth it. Falling asleep to the stars and waking up with a blue sky, so clear overhead, is something almost no other vans have. Many vans will have a 40cm squared plastic skylight but this is more like a vent than a giant window. The skylight opens up almost 90° to allow you access to the sun deck.
Sun Deck – Yes, the van has real timber decking on the roof. It measures approx. 2m long by 1.7m wide. I built this myself and have frequently had myself and my partner up there for a sunset drink or a spot of private sunbathing 10ft off the ground! It’s easily accessibly via the skylight.
The interior is painted with Dulux Brilliant White Satinwood Paint
The van has one simple lighting panel. The switches have a green LED when turned on. You can separately control the main living area, the kitchen, the kitchen LED strip (under the overhead cupboards), the bathroom + extractor fan, and the main bedroom lights.
Next to the lighting panel is the water level gauge. This is a beautiful instrument with a really nice backlight, designed for boats. Again, most vans all go for the same cheap plastic gauge, so this really stands out.
The van has two gorgeous reading lights by the bed. These are on flexible stems and can be rotated 360° and individually controlled so you don’t have to get out of bed to turn them off/on.
The van has real walnut flooring and worktops. The kitchen and table are 27mm thick genuine walnut – just gorgeous. I initially gave it three layers of Osmo Oil to really bring the colour out. It’s probably due another layer soon.
The table can be slid forwards and backwards. It can also be removed entirely, or dropped down to perfectly slot in at the same level as the bench seats. One can then cover this with cushions to create a super snug sofa area for watching movies etc.
With the table in this dropped position, it is also possible to create the third berth by simply adding one piece of wood from the garage, which connects to the side door. I don’t have a photo of this in action but can happily demonstrate in person.
The floor is real walnut on top, thanks to what they call “engineered wood”. This means that the top 3mm are genuine walnut whist the 11mm below are a lighter wood. The walnut appears to be treated with something as it’s incredibly easy to wipe down.
All the cupboards are from one of IKEA’s nicer ranges, supporting that feeling that you’re in a room in a house, not a van. There are a total of six wide overhead cupboards, some of which are really deep. These are all easily opened and supported thanks to hydraulic struts. Most of the cupboards have various types of shelves within them.
There are also four deep drawers in the main living area, from the same IKEA range. The top drawer has a hidden extra drawer where I keep utensils and cutlery. There is also a further very deep drawer under one of the bench seats, for pots and pans.
The van comes with five bespoke thermal blinds, which achieve an almost black-out level of darkness if required. These are filled with Earthwool or Celotex insulation (for the skylight blind), meaning they keep the heat in, as well as keeping light out in the mornings. The blinds all have reflective silver “bubble wrap-style” foil on their outsides. These did a great job of keeping the heat out whilst in Spain for two months. Apart from the skylight blind, they are all soft, meaning you can have them half shut, as well as use them as cushions.
More storage! The van really has an incredible amount of storage, I’ve never managed to fill it. On top of what’s already been mentioned, there is a very large storage area above the cabin area, accessed from the living area. This has been carefully carpeted on all sides. The van can also come with two storage boxes that perfectly slide in and out of this area (with a 2mm margin). Additionally, the van can come with six storage boxes for the garage which, when stacked three on top of each other, come within 3mm of the underside of the bed, further maximising storage. These took a long time to source such a perfect fit!
There is also a large storage space under the front beach. This contains the battery so would need a simple wooden rack over the top of the battery, to stop items interfering with the electronics. I never got round to making this as I’ve never filled up the other storage spots!
Even with all of the above mentioned, the largest storage space is of course the garage/boot which, even with the six custom boxes I can supply you with, two bicycles, the levelling ramps and a giant toolbox (not included), there is still more space left than the boot of a typical car. There is also lots more storage under and behind the seats in the cabin.
There is a porthole that can be opened to connect the living area to the front cabin of the van. This is great for letting more light in, or for passing items through before or after a journey.
The ceiling is stained pine. The elongated strips give a great sense of depth and space, and they match the walnut countertops and floor.
—Accessories
Levelling ramps – the brand is Milenco and the model is Quattro. These are epic, they give the most lift out of any levelling ramp on the market, whilst also giving you the lower options if required. With these in the back, you can really park anywhere.
Carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and smoke alarms/detectors.
I’ll also supply a good amount of the grey auto-carpet that I used, in case you want to carpet any part that hasn’t been done.
Snow chains (new and unopened, required to be present in vehicle in order to drive in Alps/Pyrenees in winter)
Hi-viz vests and a triangle (required for driving in certain EU countries)
Steering wheel lock with alarm
There is currently a finger board (a bit like a pull-up bar) above the side-door. If you aren’t a climber and don’t want this, I’ll remove it as doing so won’t leave any trace.
—Summary
This van has huge rental potential too, as I frequently get asked by friends and strangers on the road if they can rent it. Having looked into it briefly, it would command around £100/day (with most people wanting to book for one week) from spring through to late autumn.
As the designer of this van, I’d be more than happy to agree to provide, for the right buyer, three or six months of “after-sales” support over the phone for any questions you have or to help with any issues that arrive. I know it like the back of my hand and would love to ensure its new owners get the most out of it.
Thanks for reading 🙂
“Emma” brand king-size memory foam fixed bed.
It is also possible to set up a third birth of 190cm length.
The contact details for this vehicle are no longer available because it has either sold or the listing has expired.
Insurance options are available through our partner, Ripe Insurance.
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