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In early 2016, we were sick of feeling trapped in a flat in downtown Aberdeen and decided it was time to make our dreams of living on the road a reality. We bought a 1996 SWB sprinter van and converted her into our home on wheels.
Using reclaimed wood, we found on the side of the road, old glass jars for our spices and dry food storage, and our old flat décor as new van décor, we made a true home…. all for less than 2,000 USD!
After 2.5 years living in the van, we still hadn’t done a proper van tour for all our memories. This is a super last minute vantour of our sprinter van we made just moments before passing her over to her new owners.
By clicking on the individual times below, you will be taken directly to that moment in the video. The links to the left of each product we talk about in the video are direct links for you to purchase the gear. Most of our things we purchased second hand in Scotland, however, we’ve linked to Amazon — if you can buy them second hand, do it!
If you have any questions or want more details about a specific part of our van build, please don’t hesitate to leave a comment on the video or here below.
Vantrails Vantour
1:05 | Front seating area of the van
1:27 | Where to store bedding in van | bedding + bungies
1:45 | Middle seat storage | center console storage
2:22 | Solar lights | string lights + Luci solar light
3:11 | Luci solar light explanation | Luci light
3:44 | Where to store flexible solar panel | flexible solar panel
4:20 | Glove compartment and extra charging bits
4:46 | Vanlife books for the road | both glovebox atlas + European driver’s handbook came in our safety car kit
5:34 | Driver’s side of the van and battery life
7:11 | Quirks of Izzy
7:58 | Solar power in the van | control panel + solar panel
8:58 | Vanlife garage
9:13 | Inside our home on wheels
9:25 | Showering while living in a van | camp shower + biodegradable soap + baby wipes
10:10 | Kitchen in a SWB Sprinter Van | stove + magnetic silverware strip + spice racks
10:32 | Recycled van storage
10:59 | Repurposed van buildout, everything’s built from recycled wood
11:25 | Where to store food in a van
11:38 | Sink and water storage | sink build + water containers
11:54 | Vanlife refrigerator | van fridge
12:22 | Gas (propane) storage in the van
13:00 | Bedroom setup in a van
13:19 | Vanlife portable fan | USB fan
13:35 | Heating a van | van candle heater
13:44 | Van storage for clothing and extra bits
14:22 | Van build closet and fold down table/workspace
15:33 | Vanlife couch/bed/living area
15:37 | Where to use the bathroom in the van | vanlife toilet
16:23 | How we make our van bed and lounge work
18:09 | All the extra storage | small storage container + van mirror
For more adventures of life in a van, head over to our Youtube channel and take a peek at some of the places we visited!
Interested in how we started travel, and travel advice from a couple of budget-friendly, outside of the box travelers??
Our travel advice page is the place for you!
