It costs nearly 10x more than mine did, so you’d think there is no comparison. Well, we tend to become quite protective of our “houses on wheels” because we often put so much blood, sweat and tears on them (not to mention money).
As I was watching I kept thinking, “my van has that too…”. Of course, it is nowhere near that build standard, but the functionality is there. My van has a kitchenette with a 3-burner hob and a reasonably sized sink with enough surface for food prep. It also has a separate toilet + shower with a cassette toilet. It is very tight space for me as I am nearly 6ft (1.82m) but I am able to have a good full body shower and come out feeling clean and refreshed. The bed is also nearly as big. It’s bigger than a double, nearly a queen size. My feet and head are right at the edge, but still on the bed. The only problem with my bed is that, because the bikes are stored upright and fully assembled in the garage underneath (unlike this expensive van), there is little headroom left (there is enough of a story on this to write about it in the future, maybe… see picture below).
OK, OK… mine doesn’t have leather swivel seats, and that would be nice, but it does sleep 4 as well, although it can only carry 3 because of the number of seat belts.
Oh… my van has 2 fresh water tanks. The internal 80L tank is the one that serves the habitation (kitchen, shower/tap), but there is a 100L underslung water tank at the back of the van that served the purpose of washing the racing vehicles this van was originally built for. I purchased a battery powered cordless pressure washer spray gun in eBay for less than £30 quid in 2022 (you can get them even cheaper now) and it works a treat. I have also the means to move water on the outside from the underslung tank to the internal tank with a 12V water pump, so on that front I feel I am covered for nearly a week when both tanks are full.
Would I buy a van like this if I had 150K I didn’t need to live on? Absolutely! But the best is the worst enemy of the good and one must be content with what one manages to achieve.
My van is of a very common design, but I will eventually record a little tour as I am sure other vanlifers love to watch as much as I do.
