Sleep 01 / 14
Full-width pop top
Up goes the roof and you get a full double bed upstairs and full standing room below. Up for the night, down for the drive.
- Full width
- Double bed
- Standing room
The van · VW T6 · 2015
Our travelling home from home.
A 2015 VW T6 panel van I’ve converted into an off-grid camper. Beach days, weekend trips, solo trips with Max and family holidays. Drag the scanner to look inside, or tap a hotspot.
Connected 02 / 14
Starlink Mini + 4G
A Kuma 4G WiFi router with an external puck antenna, and a Starlink Mini for when the signal gives up. It’s what turns the van into an office, and lets me ask Claude why the leisure battery’s flat again.
- Kuma 4G
- Puck antenna
- Starlink Mini
Drive 03 / 14
2.0 TDI + DSG
A 2015 T6 with the 2.0-litre TDI diesel and a 7-speed DSG gearbox. Smooth on the motorway, happy on the back roads.
- 2.0 TDI
- 7-speed DSG
- Diesel
Comfort 04 / 14
Swivel bench seat
A Rusty Lee double sliding swivel base on the cab bench. Spin it round and the cab becomes part of the lounge.
- Rusty Lee
- Double
- Sliding
Power 05 / 14
Leisure battery
A 230Ah Fogstar seatbase battery, tucked out of sight under the driver’s seat. It runs everything on 12V.
- 230Ah
- Fogstar
- Seatbase
Power 06 / 14
12V system
Running lights, the fridge, the water pump, WiFi and monitoring, all on 12V, with a Renogy One keeping an eye on the numbers.
- Lights
- Water pump
- Renogy One
Kitchen 07 / 14
The kitchen
A lightweight ply build with a two-burner gas hob, a sink with a cold water tap, and the water tank tucked in underneath.
- 2-burner hob
- Cold tap + sink
- Ply build
Kitchen 08 / 14
12V fridge freezer
Keeps the food cold and the drinks colder, straight off the leisure battery.
- 12V
- Fridge + freezer
Sleep 09 / 14
Rock and roll bed
Rear-mounted, two-thirds width, with two custom ISO-fix mounting points. Seats by day, bed by night, made properly comfy with a Duvalay Freshtec 5cm cooling topper and 10.5 tog Duvalay sleeping bags.
- ⅔ width
- 2 × ISO-fix
- Duvalay
Comfort 10 / 14
Diesel heater
A 2kW diesel heater for cold nights and frosty mornings. Camping season never really ends.
- 2kW
- Diesel
Power 11 / 14
240V
Shore power when there’s a hook-up, and a 3000W Renogy inverter when there isn’t, so anything with a plug still works off-grid.
- Shore power
- 3000W
- Renogy
Power 12 / 14
Anker SOLIX S2000
A 2kWh LFP power station riding in the boot. Backup for the van, and power away from it.
- 2,010Wh
- LFP
- Portable
Crew 13 / 14
Max
Chief co-pilot, foot warmer and bed hog. Comes on every trip.
- Cavapoo
- Number 1
Drive 14 / 14
Wheels + suspension
Bilstein coilovers, Rogue alloy wheels and BFG KO2 all-terrain tyres. Ready for the grass field at the end of the farm track.
- Bilstein
- Rogue
- BFG KO2
The build, part by part
01
The spec sheet
The numbers behind the build. Hover around, there’s a gearbox to play with.
Mileage
Miles on the clock, and counting
Colour
Acapulco Blue
Van
VW T6
Panel van, self-converted
Year
2015
Sixth-generation Transporter
Engine
2.0 TDI
Diesel
Gearbox
7-speed DSG
Hover to go through the gears
Passengers
5 seats
Plus one cavapoo
02
How long off-grid?
Pick what’s running and see how many nights the batteries last before it’s time to find a hook-up.
– days
Using about – a day
Rough sums with typical figures, keeping 10% in reserve. Not a lab test.
03
Three layouts
Same five metres, three different vans. Here it is from above.
Drive
Five belted seats, everything stowed, roof down. Ready to roll.
5 seats
Lounge
Cab bench swivelled round, table up, sliding door open and the kettle on.
1 brew on the go
Sleep
Bed down and roof up: a double downstairs and another up top.
4 sleepers, plus Max
04
Pack for the weekend
The kit that comes on every trip. Tick it all off and we’re away.
0 / 12 packed. Plenty to do.
05
Deep dives
The how and the why behind each part of the build.
01Electrical setup12V, 240V, the battery and keeping it all topped up.
02Sleeping and interiorThe bed, the pop top, the seats and the bedding.
03Kitchen and cookingThe ply kitchen, the hob and the camp cooking kit.
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Got a question about the build? Ask away.
Kit, wiring, the bed, the roof, what I’d do differently. Happy to help with yours.