"Snow Leopard" - high-stealth, high-spec, off-grid new conversion.

Introducing “Snow Leopard”, my beautiful stealth camper!

The design goal behind Snow Leopard was to create a high stealth van but without compromising on luxury. The chief feature achieving this is the custom aluminium roof-rack, which disguises the 325W solar panel and two roof vents. There are no windows but the Autovox camera provides a better view behind than a normal rear-view mirror. The removable blackout curtain behind the cab seats prevents even the slightest bit of light escaping from inside, so even at night a passer-by could not tell that the van is occupied. Of course, upon close inspection the trained eye could tell that Snow Leopard is a camper van, as there are water, gas, and truma vents on the right-hand side. But at a glance it looks just like a normal panel van.

Snow Leopard is also designed to operate completely off-grid for extended periods. If you want to stay at a camp site, the leisure batteries can be charged by the mains hook-up (via the Victron charge controller). However, you’ll probably never need it! The batteries are also charged by the 325W solar panel when the sun’s out. And even if it’s cloudy and miserable it doesn’t matter, because the batteries are also charged by the engine via the split charge relay. So as long as there’s diesel in the tank you won’t run out of electricity.

The van is equipped to a very high standard. Heating and hot water is provided by the Truma 4E gas-fired combi boiler, probably the best heating solution available. There is a large 325W solar panel hidden on the roof. The solar controller and mains battery charger are both by Victron. There is a MaxxFan roof vent at the front, which can operate in the rain, and a Dometic Mini Heki roof light at the rear above the bed, which can also open in the rain.

I did everything on the van myself except the electrics, which were professionally installed by Tom at Live Slow campers. The electrics and gas have both been signed off and have safety certificates.

Snow Leopard is ridiculously well insulated, with up to 100mm of Kingspan insulation in places. All internal metal areas have been carefully covered with light grey autocarpet, reducing condensation and increasing insulation.

When at camp, both cab seats swivel round, creating a living area that utilises the full internal space in the van. The extended worktop provides the driver seat with a permanent fixed table area large enough to fit on a laptop. Dining and laptop space for the passenger seat is provided by a flip-up table.

I was not initially planning to sell Snow Leopard, but I enjoyed building her so much that I want to do a second van. I have taken great care with the fit and finish, and the result is a truly exceptional camper van.

Autovox rear-view camera and dashcam
Driver and passenger swivel seats
Cab air conditioning
MaxxFan roof vent
Dometic Mini Heki roof light
325W solar panel
Custom aluminium roof-rack to disguise solar panel and roof vents
4G WiFi
Sia gas hob
Vitrifrigo fridge with freezer compartment
Strumpet & Trollop Floozy composting toilet
25L underslung gas tank
100L internal water tank
35L underslung grey water tank
Fiamma 13L/min water pump
Aquafilter three-stage water filter
Truma 4E combi boiler for heating and hot water
Rear internal shower point with removable shower hose
255Ah battery
Victron Blue Smart mains battery charger
Victron SmartSolar 100/20 charge controller
Edecoa 2000W inverter
Durite split charge relay