VW Crafter • Log Cabin Conversion • High-Spec • Off-Grid

CAMPER COMPARTMENT INTERIOR

Main Features

Cosy wooden ‘Log Cabin’ interior throughout – wooden floor, walls, roof, everything
Dimmable spot- down-lighting which looks refined on the tapered wood
Privacy Glass (80%) Windows in sliding door on left and both rear windows – impossible to see inside in daytime even with the lights on. At night, still very private even with lights on
Three-layer Insulation – rockwool, Celotex and aluminium bubble insulation foil. The only bits that aren’t insulated is the sliding door (as this would compromise the door mechanism inside) and obviously… the windows. Everything else has insulation. The floor is just aluminium foil as obviously heat rises, but if you park up somewhere with hot tarmac, you want it to reflect.
Two seat benches with grey bench cushions.
One bench pulls out to form a Bed (148x169cm) and the cushions form a mattress which is truly very comfortable
Large storage compartment inside right hand bench
3x Overhead storage compartments
2x Kitchen Drawers and Kitchen Storage
Large wardrobe with storage at the top and hanging shelf/pouch storage solutions
5kw Diesel Heater with 5l diesel tank (separate from the vehicle’s own) which heats the van up very quickly and uses very little diesel for the heat it puts out
Cosy seperate Bathroom with 21l Thetford 565P Porta Potti manual flush toilet (removable)
Tiled Kitchen with Belfast style sink and Dometic Tropicool 21 litre fridge
25l Water Supply, 10l Grey Water (easily upgradable as they’re just plastic jerry cans)
2x 200w Solar Panels with 2x 220Ah Xplorer Leisure Batteries with Split Charge Relay
2x 240v Sockets
6x USB Sockets
10-Speed Maxxfan Extractor Fan with Blind
Fold-out Dining Table
Window Insulation Mats
Stretch-out Cinema Screen and Projector Mounts

LIVING AREA

2x Rear Windows
2x Seat Benches with Grey Cushions
One bench pulls out to form a Bed (148x169cm) and the cushions form a mattress
Fold-Out Dining Table (stored folded away in Bathroom)
Heater Controls
6x USB Sockets, 2 of which are fast-charging, 1 of which is USB-C with a voltage display which incidentally is very useful for quick at-a-glance check of leisure battery life
2x Sets of touch-sensitive dimmable spot lights
Overhead storage compartments with stay-open doors
Large Wardrobe with storage at the top and hanging shelf/pouch storage solutions and kickboards so things don’t slide out in transit
Screw mounts underneath each overhead compartment for mounting a projector (projector not included!)
Mounts each side for Fabric Cinema Screen (included 😉 )
1x 240v Socket
Extractor Fan Controls
Surface for drinks etc
Key/Bits Tray
Runner Mat down middle
Electrical System Access Panel underneath left bench
Airflow vent running from back of right bench to the bathroom so when the extractor fan is on it pulls air in this direction
CO Detector and Smoke Alarm

KITCHEN

Wooden Countertop with Grey Brick-effect Tiled Splashback – and no the sealant won’t crack as it’s flexible (and has never cracked!)
Dometic Tropicool 21 litre fridge on slide-out platform – works great on a medium setting and can be left on all the time even with off-grid operation providing you drive every day
Overheard storage with stay-open door
2x Spotlights under overhead storage with cool aeronautical style metal switches
1x 240v Socket
Belfast Style sink with pullout hose tap with sprinkler/shower head function – handy for cleaning shoes/dog outside
General Utensil Storage
Under-counter storage
2 kitchen drawers, one large and pulls out very far with cutlery tray
25l Water Supply Tank
10l Grey Water Tank
Almost silent Whale GP1652 Submersible High Flow 12v Water Pump
Wall-mounted Humidity and Temperature Sensor
Single hob camping stove and camping gas
Spare camping stove
Travel Kettle
Pull-out barbecue platform with 45kg payload – this pulls out when the sliding door is open so you can stand outside facing the kitchen and put a barbecue/stove on here (or drinks, whatever you like)
Camping Crockery and Glassware
Kitchen Utensils including Toaster, Colander, Dish Drainer

RECEPTION

Entry Light
Light Controls – Entry and Exterior Floodlights – aeronautical switches
5kw Diesel Heater and 5l Diesel Tank
Doormat
Shoe / Bits Storage with Bits Boxes
Dustpan & Brush
Insulation Mats
Corkboard mounted on Bathroom Door (we put a map of Europe on ours to put pins in)
Coat Hooks
10-Speed Maxxfan Extractor Fan with In/Out Direction and Blind to block out light

BATHROOM

21l Thetford 565P Porta Potti Manual Flush Toilet with 15l Flush-water capacity. This is held in place by a sturdy grip near the floor so it won’t move in transit
Mirror
Bin
Toilet Roll Holder
2x Spotlights
2x Coat hooks
Stowaway for Fold-out Table

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

2x 220AH Xplorer AGM Batteries
2x 200w Solar Panels
Marxon 12v-240v Inverter (2000w, 4000w peak surge)
EPEVER MPPT Solar Charge Controller
Split Charge Relay – enables batteries to be charged by engine
Power Supply Cutoff Switch
Split Charge Relay Cutoff Switch
200A Fuse
Blade Fuse Box for 12v Facilities
Can isolate power from solar panels by pulling fuse
Spares

EXTERIOR

Extractor Fan
2x Solar Panels on Roof
2x Exterior Bright LED Floodlights, one above the left sliding door, one above the rear doors

CAB

Folding Boot Shovel
Plastic Tyre Tracks for getting out of mud
4x Wheel Levellers (5 tonne limit)
13 amp extension lead and C-form adapter for if you were stationary for a while and wanted to plug in to a hook-up
7 stage leisure battery charger
Jerry can for topping up Diesel Heater
Awning for rear doors
Large footwell mat which covers both sides

A LOG CABIN ON WHEELS
You’re looking at our much-loved VW Crafter ‘Log Cabin’, off-grid*, three-layer insulated camper conversion. Shortly after getting together, myself and my partner romanticised about the type of campervan we’d love to have. Soon we had on paper a cosy log-cabin megavan bursting with nifty feature after nifty feature that could be used totally off grid. Soon after that, we had the van, and spent an intensive five months doing the conversion – towards the end working dawn to dusk with what seemed like a never-ending todo list. We pressed on with nothing but the immense end-goal in mind, and once it was finished, we could not believe what we had achieved.

It’s an extremely warm, cosy, inviting place to be, particularly when the weather outside is inclement. The wood-effect throughout feels boat-like, and the down-lighting from the spots either side looks really elegant on the wood. It certainly never feels like you’re slumming it. And of course with it being a hi-top, you can stand upright in it if you’re under 187cm / 6’2”.

OH MY, CAN I TAKE A PICTURE TO SHOW MY DAD?
The van interior is truly spectacular, particularly when lit up at night. It regularly turns heads and people ask if they can take photos. After a lot of attention in Scotland one year, I joked to my partner that we’ll have to start shutting the back doors so people don’t bother us.

*THE VAN IS SO OFF-GRID, IT WAS BUILT OFF ITS OWN SOLAR POWER
This van is designed to be used off-grid – that is, it should never need plugging in. It can be plugged in, and it can be charged, but it doesn’t need to be and hasn’t been designed with this as a priority. It has more solar power than any other van we’ve ever seen on our travels – two huge 200w panels and two 220Ah AGM batteries. The batteries never run out when we use them in winter (that’s with driving every day, which charges them up too). You don’t need to drive much either. In fact, the van was built entirely on its own power – we were building out of a container with no power supply, and all the power for our tools came from the van’s solar and the short drive to and from the container – bearing in mind we were building up until the end of November, so solar wasn’t really a source toward the end. We were able to use a 900w vacuum cleaner and 1600w mitre saw from the van’s 240v supply, simultaneously, as the hoover was taking up the sawdust.

FEELS LIKE DRIVING AN AIRLINER
It’s also a great van to drive – way smoother than a car. With the arm-rests and the cruise control, it just glides along, soaking up any bumps. The windscreen is massive and bus-like – far bigger than any other van I’ve driven, which in combination with the height above the traffic is great for sight-seeing, general road awareness and the feeling of ‘flying’ along the road with little effort. It kinda feels like ‘driving’ an airliner. It’s not too big to drive on smaller roads either – we’ve taken it everywhere from potholed farm tracks in Wales to Applecross in the Scottish Highlands – which is a very narrow track with lots of hairpin turns and steep drops either side. The engine has a refined, tight, tuned sound – not chuggy like a cheaper van. There are the usual two passenger seats, plenty of little storage areas, power supplies, and lots of headroom should you wish to use that for a storage net perhaps. The heating is really good too.

OTHER USES
I work in telly and have also used this van as not just a hotel when none were available, but as a sort of ‘trailer’/green room and production office – much to the rest of the crew’s envy…

During the summer I’ve used it as a summer house at the end of the garden and we’ve also taken it on day trips to nice places, again – just to sit in.

SO WHY ARE WE SELLING IT?
We absolutely adore this van, and after having put so much love and hard work into it, it’s a raw sadness that we are deciding to sell it. It’s really not had much use. This is solely because we just do not have the time to use it, and feel it would be put to better use by somebody else who can more readily enjoy our handiwork.