What's the damage? (to the purse like)

I made a note of the cost of the conversion and have chucked in a couple of links from where the materials came from:

• 9mm Plywood 3 x 117cm x 58.3cm (Arnold Laver) £25.44
• 2x piano hinges (Shaws Ironmongers Sheffield) £10.80
• 4 x Samla Ikea under bed boxes (Ikea) £26
• 2" Reflex Foam 175cm x 117cm (Foam Shop) £53
• 2 x Decathlon camping sleeping mat (Decathlon) £33.98
• Radiator reflective foil (B&Q) £13.98
• 20mm Round button suction cups (Amazon) £2.67
• Andes Bayo Driveaway Awning (Andes) £109.95

Total cost of conversion £275.82


I think I saved myself about £1700 there... how did you get on?

Morning Awning

I wanted an awning that would fix to the side of the Berlingo - as we have two doors at the rear some of the tailgate designs wouldn't work.

Went with Andes Bayo Driveaway Awning - (small size 2m x 2m) which was just fantastic space-wise for the week!

As with putting up a tent for the first time and having lost the instructions in the first 5 mins our first go took a bit longer, but we traveled to two other sites and in took 10 mins to put up those times.

First couple of nights we didn't realise the additional  metal pole/bar was for keeping the roof of the awning join taut across the van - but when we found the sleeve it slipped into it made total sense (we lost the instructions don't forget ;-)

Bed and bedding

 Now ready for sleeping here's how we slept...

 Platform down and four boxes in position

 x2 decathlon self-inflating mattresses

175cm x 117cm cut of 2" Reflex foam - fitting into single duvet cover

Double duvet then another double duvet to sleep under

On the move - in the boot

So we decided to test out the Berlingo conversion in the Lakes. The bed frame fitted well in the boot with the back seats up - I had to turn the top two Ikea bed boxes 90° because of the incline of the back seats - the boxes allowed for loads of storage room.

Keeping toasty

Now for a bit of insulation, blackout and privacy. God that sounds dull!

I looked around for pre-cut blackout blinds for the Berlingo's windows for when we are in camping mode - I either had to pay a ridiculous amount for some polypropylene ones - or make me own! I am a tight arse so the latter won through. Thought about wet suit material but then some bubblewrap foil type jobby seemed achievable - a roll of double foil bubble insulation (used for behind radiators) was £13.50 from B&Q so I got my magic marker and scissors and made the screens for each of the windows - bar the front two and windscreen (as I borrowed a silver screen from a VW for this which fitted perfectly to the Bertha Berlingo).

To get them to stick to the window I bought some little suction cups, piercing a hole through the screen to attach them.

Building a bed

My platform for sleeping on needed to be 175cm by 117cm and fold into three. It made sense that it be made of wood - light enough to fold and carry out but strong enough to carry two biscuit loving peoples.

Went for some 9mm plywood from and timber/DIY place - and got three 58.3 x 117cm pieces cut. To attach these I decided on piano hinges - used on opposite sides, so when folded it would make a 'Z'' shape - fitting into the boot.

Then to fit the platform - it folded out fine in the Berlingo but there was a gap between the front seats and the folded back seats (the foot well basically). This needed support and had originally decided on some kind of attachable legs to prop this up - but with a spare bit of wood lurking, decided to use the front doors as support*.

*Was worried that opening the front doors in the middle of the night would collapse the whole bed - but it stays in place until you prop it back up onto the door handles.

At the hinge point there was a slight bit of flexibility - so to make that a bit sturdier, I added a spare bit of wood and a duvet. Our feet would be down this end so it was fine for this purpose - the top 2/3 of our body was supported by the sturdy Ikea boxes.

If in doubt - look under your bed

So I needed something that would prop up the rest of the sleeping platform, offer storage and be 36cm high. B&Q, Go Outdoors... I tried loads of shops trying to find a box 36cm high. Then looking for my thermal knicknacks under my bed I realised that my under the bed boxes from ikea were 18cm high each - stack two of them and I had my 36cm - woohoo!! and storage too!!

Small van for camping

Not sure at what point I decided I wanted a van to go camping with...but started looking at Vauxhall Combos - cheap and cheerful. Kept dithering too about whether I should get a worker van with no seats or with seats. However, t'other-halfs desire for a french brand brought me back round to looking at Berlingos - didn't have a choice, Pope Mobile it was to be!!

So sat down and had a sketch, having looked at some other random small van conversions on the interweb, I knew it had to be something that packed down well into the boot ( like a Amdro or a Ququq ) but a fraction of the cost.

I had to consider the seats, how they folded down - Berthas back seats folded twice but I wanted to use the height at the first fold to form the platform that would be slept on.

• Moving front seats as forward as possible would allow 175cm of platform with the back door shut
• The narrowest part would be 117cm wide (area where the back seats clip into upright position)
• Height of the back seats folded would be about 36cm high
• Needed something 36cm high to prop up the rest of platform
• Platform needed to be folded into 3 to transport it in the boot when driving