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Why we’re sharing this
Cookie and I are pretty smart people. We’re engineers, we get on with things. We honestly thought “if that guy can do it, we can too”. Especially with Youtube out there.
Well, sure, we can do it. But fuck me, has it been a slog. Here’s a few things we’ve realised along the way. We’re not even done yet, so no doubt there are many more lessons to come. Anyway, here they are:
TL;DR
- Plan, plan, plan… and probably still get it wrong. No matter how much you prepare, expect surprises
- Vans aren’t straight, neither is our build. Crooked walls and uneven floors complicate everything
- Where you build matters more than you think. Tight spaces and bad weather make a tough job tougher
- Building together? Brace yourselves. Big projects test your patience—and your relationship
- The tool you don’t buy will haunt you. Save yourself the trouble and buy the right tools upfront
#1 Plan, plan, plan… and probably still get it wrong
I guess everyone says this – you know, that whole “measure twice, cut once”. Well for us it’s been more like “measure 20 times, cut 30”. Or “try to measure it, mess it up, jam it in, swear a bit, measure again, cut again” (repeat until it works) 🤦
What people don’t tell you is that unless you’re a pro, you’re going to miss 10% of the plan – and that’s being generous. Case in point: planning out our layout meticulously, only to realise the the bed needed an extra wall frame. Or putting sockets too low to fit large plugs. At least we caught that in our test run. If it had been final, it could’ve been a big boo boo.
To be fair, we’ve done pretty well! Cookie helps me say “fuck it, we’ll figure it out as we go” when I get paralysed by over-planning. And I help him work through the trickier bits of the build. In the end, we’ve managed to get everything working, even if it’s meant redoing a lot. Sure, we’ve missed deadlines and blown budgets, but that’s just the nature of the game, is it not?
#2 Vans aren’t straight, neither is our build
The shape of our van is the gift that just keeps giving. We’ve got a Ford Transit L4H3 – very long, very tall – because we wanted as much height and width as possible. That’s why we built our walls as close to the chassis as we could. But while we knew the walls and ceilings weren’t straight, we didn’t realise until last week (over a year in) that the floor isn’t straight either.
As you can imagine, trying to get furniture, window frames, the skylight – anything, really – to look straight and flush has been SO difficult. It affects every part of the build. Today, it’s the bench lids. The walls are wider where they sit, so when we lift them, they scrape and get stuck on the wall 🙃 fun. Another job for tomorrow.
We’ve said many times that if we ever build another van (assuming we can face it) we’d make it a straight box and use in-lain frames, shelves, and skylights. The extra inch here or there just doesn’t seem worth all this hassle.
#3 Where you build matters more than you think
We built our van on the road outside our little terraced house in London.
This meant
- doing woodwork in the back garden and hauling materials through the house (which, if you know London rentals, is no small feat). And if it rained (hello England), it was that much more painful
- Working on a terraced street we were super aware of disturbing our neighbours, which gave us a bit of anxiety whenever we did anything noisy. On the plus side we made loads of friends – people loved to pop their heads in!
- Our spare room doubled as tool storage—until it had to transform back into a guest bedroom. Cue chaos as tools and materials ended up crammed in our living room. Organisation? Not our strong suit. We lost tools, broke tools, and even bought duplicates because we couldn’t find what we needed.
We fantasise about having a big old warehouse where we could park the van, invest in proper storage – like this tool cabinet 😍 – and space to cut wood without having to tidy everything away at night. Oh, and without worry about people breaking into the van. Definitely a must for the next build.
#4 Building together? Brace yourselves
Cookie and I think we’re pretty good at communicating & telling each other how it is. Still. Building a van – or any massive DIY project – is exhausting, stressful and expensive.. (sure there are some positive words in there somewhere 😛) The person you’re closest to is always the easiest to blame. Especially when you’re both stubborn Aries and think you’re right 🙈
The best thing we’ve done – and I have to credit Cookie for this – is to never get angry when someone messes up. Because they will. And so will you. And when it’s you, you’ll really wish you hadn’t been an arsehole about it when they did.
Like the time I switched the black and red cables on our batteries and blew the whole system. (I know. I know.) Cookie just said, “That’s what fuses are for” and helped me choose some treats for me in Tesco 🥲
There’s a reason why all the couples on “Grand Designs” are on the brink of divorce.
#5 The tool you don’t buy will haunt you
We didn’t realise how many tools we’d need for a project like this. You quickly learn why your grandad ended up needing three sheds for all his stuff.
At first we tried to avoid buying “unnecessary” things. But that just meant we bought crap, did a crap job, then bought whatever it was we avoided buying in the first place.
For example, our beloved circular saw. It’s become a thing we say now when we need a tool and aren’t sure whether to buy it or not.
For months we used a jigsaw to make “straight” cuts. Every time, we’d complain about how hard it was and say “We should really get a a circular saw”, followed by “Ah, well, we’re almost done now”. We weren’t almost done. One year and many, many “straight” cuts later, we finally bought this circular saw and guide. What a difference. Cutting straight lines is no longer an issue.
Now, whenever we debate buying a tool, we ask ourselves: ‘Is this another circular saw moment?’ Spoiler: it usually is.
Final thoughts
Building a van has been one of the most challenging projects we’ve ever taken on—physically, mentally, and emotionally. We’ve laughed, we’ve cried, we’ve broken tools (and occasionally ourselves), but we’ve learnt so much along the way.
Looking back, we can’t say we’d change much—well, except maybe buying the right tools earlier, or magically conjuring up a warehouse to work in. But we’re hoping it’s all going to be worth it in the end.
Will our next build be easier? Probably not. But if there’s one thing this process has taught us, it’s get rich so someone else will build the van for you. And if nothing else, we’ll have plenty to laugh (and blog) about later.
Surely we’re not alone…
Please tell us it isn’t just us! Make us feel better 🙏 How have your projects gone? Share your successes—but even better, your disasters! Leave a comment below or share your stories on Instagram @ClemTheCookieJar.
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