
Important factors to consider when converting a campervan or motorhome.
Camptoo Australia sat down with Phil Howell who runs the popular Facebook group Motorhomes and Campervans Australia to chat about the important decisions that need to be made when it comes to converting a campervan or motorhome.
Not all of us have the money to buy the latest campervan or motorhome off the lot and have to do a bit of DIY to enjoy the freedom of roaming this beautiful country of ours.
Below are some of Phil’s suggestions on how to approach this somewhat mammoth task.
Firstly Phil, where did your passion for motorhomes and campervans come from?
I had hired motorhomes on NZ vacations before many times and I liked the idea, but to make it work for my wife and I, it would also have to be my daily drive as we both still work full-time even though we are in our sixties.
I bought an old Toyota Hiace that had been professionally converted but very unloved, only paying $2400 for it and started doing it up. We quickly discovered that it was just to small to sleep comfortably for people of our age but it was enough to show us we wanted a motorhome, so after six months I sold it for $5500.

We then started the search for our ‘forever’ motorhome. I sold my car and started looking for a suitable vehicle. The biggest I could still park at work and in our suburban driveway.
What are the key things to take into account when converting motorhomes?
You need to work out what makes your preferred base vehicle. For us the deal breaker was we had to be able to stand up in it and have a full height doorway. For us the coaster has too much rear overhang to park at work, the Fiat has a stepped floor going into the cab area, the Iveco was too tall to park at home.
So it was the LWB highroof Mercedes Sprinter for us.

You have to decide what suits you and what is your end game IE: are you building it looking to resell later or is this the one you are going to keep until it finally dies…
We don’t intend to freedom camp so I don’t need solar panels or a shower, but I do have the capacity to overnight in a freecamp if I want to. I have a house battery and all my lighting is 12 volts, I have a small grey as well as clean water tank under my sink area. I did include a full size toilet with a thetford electric flush. We didn’t want to cook indoors so I didn’t need gas certification as we have a portable BBQ and gas bottle we use outside.
What are the biggest problems you most commonly hear when talking to people about converting their vehicles?
I think the most common problems people have is two fold, lack of confidence and planning when building a campervan or motorhome.
Research, research and more research is the key and there is so much info out there on the Internet, Facebook and Youtube. Secondly failing to set yourself a standard of what you want to achieve.
In my case I didn’t want visible screws in my construction but in the end mainly because I was building by myself I ended having to build cupboards in sections I could hold in place and put together. I had to bite the bullet and accept a few visible screws.
You do see some campervans that seem to be thrown together in the airport carpark and that’s all they want for three months until they leave. We tend to all be lumped in with the backpacker crowd if we have a sliding door.
What are some of the most interesting conversions you have seen?
The most interesting motorhome conversions I have seen are not here but in NZ where wood-burning stoves are common place. I have seen coasters with the back cut out to make a verandah (Awnings are not common over there).

They also have quite a few of the old gypsy type house trucks on the road.

Tips for travelling and driving in Australia?
Don’t try and drive too far too fast, take your time, get off the highways and check out all the towns that are bypassed these days. Make sure you let the shop keepers know that you are travelling and called in to buy something from them.
We need more RV friendly towns, we could really do with somebody having a look at how welcoming NZ is to campervans and motorhomes. Some towns have lakeside parking allocated to us and if you buy something the shop keepers will give you a free wifi voucher to use while parked there overnight.
Cheers Phil
Thank you for all your answer Phil. If you want to get more knowledge like this then join Phil’s amazing Motorhomes and Campervan group on Facebook to stay up to date
