Been a bit of a wait since the earlier article, but hey it's the summer so you won't have needed the burner? Well perhaps this summer it would have been nice to have it, it's been a shocker hasn't it?

The van build is coming along. Most of the good swells start to kick in during the Autumn months when the temperature starts to drop. Living in a van for a couple of days without heat is a bit uncomfortable, it gets cold and damp. Using a gas cooker produces condensation which soon forms as droplets on the van ceiling and this can lead to the unpleasant experience of having to scrape ice off windows on the inside! You can usually manage if you have top to toe thermals (not very sexy...) and lots of tea - but if you plan on going for any longer periods, say a couple of weeks to a couple of months then you need to be a bit cosier and stay dry.

Well, most of the internal structure is in place. The only thing that we've added since the last article is the 'boxseat' beside the bed. A front and a lid was added to the box frame that we fitted earlier to make the 'boxseat'. The box provides an easy access storage area for bits and pieces, and a comfy seat. As you can just see in the photo, we also made some curtains for a bit of privacy and to help with security. You might think they are a bit short, but once you add the mattress and bedding they're the right length and don't get caught up in everything.

The kitchen area of the van was loosely planned around a few essential items: the water carrier, the gas bottle and the chilly bin. As I've mentioned in previous articles we tried to keep the build as simple as possible, that means no sink and no fridge. Instead we are using a 20 ltr plastic water carrier which we decant into smaller bottles. We then use the water from the bottles to fill the kettle, drink and wash dishes etc. A chilly bin works well to keep perishable foods and a good quality 2-ring gas camping stove is all you need.

Now the main frame for the bed is in place the rest of the structure can be added. The bulk of the storage is below the bed to make the most of the space. Wet stuff like wetsuits, boots and jackets are going to go in the back with quick easy access from outside and dry stuff such as clothes in the front.

Okay, now for the fun part where we started chopping and banging.

The first stage was to measure out the back of the van and draw it roughly on a piece of squared paper. I'm not going to go into details with exact lengths of the wood as every van has different dimensions and more than likely people will take ideas from these articles and not use them as a blue print.

Why get a van? - There are loads of reasons for getting a van if you're into surfing. Number one is probably comfort, say when you've hauled ass for 3 hours to get to the beach at 5ish mid-November to scramble for an evening surf. Getting out of the water in the dark with numb hands and feet to set up the tent is not much fun. Much better to climb into the van and put the kettle on!