Premium Day van/Remote camper - Professional Bespoke Conversion - 2024 Ford Transit H2 L3, mileage 15,738

This is an exceptional day van for (genuinely) remote working, or an extended stay off-grid, depending on access to facilities. Alternatively, it is a very comfortable premium day van for simply working away from the office.

Great power set up from Victron (details below) with a Savvyvan 5″ digital touch control panel. I had an onboard telecoms solution but Starlink is better and fits neatly in the cabinetry.

To explain the design, based on past experiences, I wanted a private mobile office and sleep space that was very pleasant to work in, and to relax in, with flexibility to work remotely nearer to nature, or when travelling. I do not like to sleep next to a loo, nor sleep with the smells of yesterday’s meals, and I don’t want to spend time scrubbing bathrooms. So, I designed a van that just feels very pleasant and comfortable and quiet and (relatively) spacious to sit in – in any weather – to get some work done, after a cycle/morning hike/swim etc. And downtime, to be able to lie back on the sofa with the back doors open and read a book by a river, or to have a zoom call with family.

There is no corporate grey here. There’s priority given to bookshelves and a place to mount your guitar. There’s a small telly but I’ve never used it. There’s a place to file your papers and hide your shoes. There’s a small fridge (Alpicool K18 18L Compressor Fridge Freezer) you don’t need to crouch down to access, and if useful, you can pick it up and place it outside.

The “kitchen” is a pull-out drawer, built by Siraxbuild Carpentry in Norfolk, that you pull out the van’s sliding door, for cooking outside the van (there’s a Fiamma awning). The top shelf of this kitchen drawer fits the fold out heat-resistant table, next shelf the gas stove, and the bottom shelf fits a crate that holds everything for cooking.

Most of the van’s cabinets, and the desk/table, are custom-made by Siraxbuild, designed for ease of use and to be easy on the eye.

The laminated sofa/sliding bed is from Van Furniture (Total bed size 1600mm/1800mm x 1100mm) and has under seat storage. The seat simply slides out for sleeping, doubling in size.

Bespoke specialists CamperVinn in Rugby handled the conversion, including the electrics and Victron system (Victron details below), four layers of insulation (sound deadening, thermal, vapor barrier and a finishing layer), 12mm thickness panel boards, floor insulation with Kingspan, practical but attractive Karndean Spring Oak vinyl tiles on the floor and stretch carpeting for the rest.

There are two roof windows (Dometic Midi Heki, with flyscreen and blackout, without ventilation, 700 x 500mm) and a Rhino roof rack.

Privacy

I did not want to open the drivers cabin to the living space, nor have side windows, to be more discreet, and that has been wonderful. It has given me a lot of privacy, and has meant I have been able to stay occasionally overnight in places where an obvious conversion would perhaps not be welcome. It’s not “stealth”. If you stand back and look closely, you’ll see the roof windows behind the roof rack but it’s a high van, so if you’re just walking by, it looks like a trade van. As a solo woman, it has also felt safer. And as the weather cooled, it felt really cosy.

Seasons

The roof windows are well designed, with screens, and I have used them in all weathers. The insulation is excellent. It deadens road noise and it makes the van comfortable to sit in in hot and cool weather, and, as the temperature drops, the Eberspacher diesel heater has proven very effective. I did not use the van though in the middle of winter so I have not tested it to this extent.

When the weather’s pleasant, I have very much enjoyed parking up somewhere green and working with the back doors open, and with a roof window open there is plenty of circulating air. I could also open the sliding door. When needed I have used an insect repellent device and never had a problem. There are two discreet vents in the floor for circulation.

Driving comfort

I did not expect a Ford Transit to be so comfortable to sit in as the driver, but I guess it makes sense, as people who drive a lot for work need a comfortable seat! The driving seat is excellent. It is so comfortable that when you sit behind the wheel and start the very reliable engine you immediately feel ‘ready to hit the road’, or at least it had that effect on me!

I liked this recent model (2024) as unlike older models, it has excellent vision. The side windows are large (and fold in automatically at the press of a button by the steering wheel) and the rear view mirror is actually a very clear rear view from a rear mounted camera. The large screen in the console gives you very good sat nav mapping and all the usual audio options (it was simple to connect my apple smart phone) and excellent guidance when reversing. It is so relaxing to have great vision on a large vehicle.

Things to know

I chose a height so I could stand up inside the van post-conversion, so the overall external height (with the roof rack etc) is 2.72m. (I’m just shy of 5ft 7)

There is the option to buy a barely used Thule bike rack that fits this vehicle. It is not currently mounted on the van (it’s in storage in Cambridge).

Total CO2 Emission:182g/km

Exterior Colour: Grey

Date of Reg: 28/06/2024
First service due: 28/06/2026
(Service requirements 2years or 25000miles whatever is soonest)

The Ford Warranty is 3year 100,000 miles from 28/06/2024

There’s a remote controlled Adventurer door step for the van’s side door access.

Victron details:

The van is equipped with a high-quality 12V electrical system built around a LiFePO4 lithium battery, providing reliable off-grid power for extended trips.

A Victron SmartSolar MPPT 100/30 charge controller manages the solar input, keeping the battery charged efficiently from the roof-mounted panels. For mains-style power, a Victron MultiPlus-II 12/3000 inverter/charger supplies 230V sockets and allows easy hook-up to shore power when needed.

All key components are linked through a Victron Cerbo GX, giving clear system monitoring so you can check battery level, solar input, and power usage at a glance. Power is safely distributed via a Victron Lynx Distributor with built-in fusing.

Overall, it’s a dependable, easy-to-use setup that supports off-grid living while still offering the convenience of mains power when required.

First MOT date due June 28, 2027.