VW LT35
John Strong is a 2004 VW LT35 van converted 10 years ago and registered as a motorhome. (this can be helpful with lower rates of insurance etc). He has a very well built and strong VW engine which will go on forever, and which has been throughly maintained and has a full service history and 12 months MOT. We only drove a few thousand miles a year for the 10 years I have had him, and in his old life pre-conversion, he was used for trade exhibition events.
John Strong is a home from home conversion. He is a definitely a tardis, and is not really like being in a van to be honest, much more like a small, wooden cabin. He has been my love for almost 10 years and I never thought I would ever sell him, but life has me tied up in London and he is just not being used enough to merit keeping him. He was designed and built with much care and vision as the initial idea was to live in him with my daughter, although that chapter only lasted a year or so! He was also a Quirky campers rental for a couple of years under the name of Laurie Lee, though John Strong is his real name, even if to you he might well have another name and those that rented him always loved him. He is a VW which is unusual for a Luton style van and has been throughly taken care of for the time I have had him.
He is somewhat of a stealth camper, being high off the ground with the windows and skylight too high to see into from outside, most people think he is a horse box. He also has a back roller shutter which can pull down over the wooden back and doors when not being used. He has a very spacious interior with enough room to do yoga, or host 6 or 7 people for a sit round the fire. He is fully insulated and the wood burner (made by snail stoves in Somerset) is a main feature and makes things beautifully warm and can be adjusted to burn high or low, you could have it burning all night on low with a little practice. The stove also has a window for fire watching (from sofa or bed) and the top of the stove also serves as an extra hob once the fire is hot, perfect for slow cooked stews or endless cups of tea. There is also storage space for a good stack of logs underneath.
The table is made from Siberian cedar wood (prized all through history for its beneficial properties). There are cushioned seats either side of the table with the second seat doubling up as a sofa which also faces the fire. The clothes storage runs floor to ceiling on either side of the beds and one side doubles as a ladder to climb up to the upstairs level. There is room to hang coats and bags within this storage. There is also extra storage under the sofa and above the main back door and several shelves around the van too. The kitchen has a sink, tap and antique pine counter top with cupboards underneath and metal pull out shelves for kitchen use. It has a 2 burner hob and grill (which could be replaced with a small oven if desired since there is space). The sink has a water pump, which takes water from jerry cans kept under the sink. The waste water is channelled to an outside pipe that unclips from under the van and goes into an outside bucket. There is kitchen window, a window above the sofa, a skylight and an upper bedroom porthole, all of which open. The skylight also has a mosquito net which is great to pull across on nights when you want the window open for the fresh air, but not the bugs. There is a wooden door entrance door which can also be thrown open to appreciate the view out the back of the van. There are also bespoke wooden steps which latch onto the back of the van once parked up and also make a great place to sit, which are stored between the entrance door and the shutter, keeping them out of the living space.
Behind the back shutter, outside the back door, there is a vented box for the gas bottles (one is a spare) which supply the hob. The lights are LED and there are both bedside and table lights (brass boat lights) and ceiling lights split into 3 sections all of which run on the 12v system that connects to the leisure battery. There is a split relay charger that connects to the engine so you won’t ever run the engine battery flat using the lights etc. Also on the 12v system are usb plugs and a socket for a plug in cool box which also comes with the van. There is also an electrical hook up socket and cable for mains electricity if you want to plug in. There is one 240v double socket for mains electric under the seat by the back door.
The van was never designed with a toilet or shower because it was always intended to be used as a living space at places where there were toilets and showers! However there is a portable toilet barely used which can be included and used with a small pop up tent and its easy to get a portable solar shower which is cheap and fun. The van also could be adapted possibly to squeeze a shower or toilet in but that would have to be the vision of the next person. There is also the wiring ready to connect solar panels onto the roof, if you wanted to be more off-grid, something I never got round to or needed as the split relay system met all my needs.
Please don’t hesitate to get in touch should you have other questions.
The beds are fixed one above the other and don’t need to be put away, they form an important part of the living space. The bottom bed is a small double, the top bed is a single. The mattresses have been made to measure and have had very little use as they have recently been replaced. The top bunk has its own shelving, curtain rail for privacy and a porthole window. It also has a very beautiful sturdy wooden flap that folds up to secure the sleeping space at night, and folds down to serve as a ledge to sit or play on at other times. Because the van is such a good height, there is room to sit up comfortably in the downstairs bed and a the upstairs bed is also very spacious. Both floors form a beautiful space of its own that can be made to feel quite separate from the rest of the living space if desired.
The contact details for this vehicle are no longer available because it has either sold or the listing has expired.
Finance options are available through our partner, Pegasus Finance. The UK’s leading specialist broker in the leisure finance industry.
Insurance options are available through our partner, Ripe Insurance.
