It's a city-to-surf mentality

Talking van conversions with my London-based pal

Apr 27, 2025

There’s a common belief that living in the city means saying goodbye to the outdoors. Locked by land that’s as flat as the cafe roofs, the concrete streets don’t always lend themselves to sunrise surfs or mountain trails.

But for the committed, these are just obstacles waiting for solutions.

So when a London-based pal decides that buying and converting a van is the answer to pursuing his love of surfing, naturally, we had to hear all about it.

I joined Ben for an excursion to the West Country in his new camper. He talks us through his first foray into van conversions, city-to-surf mentality, and the emotional rollercoaster that underpinned it all.

Mack: We’re on the M4 driving back from the first night away in your new van. How are you feeling? Was the build worth the graft?

Ben: Absolutely. During the tough bits, you feel like you’re going to be doing the van forever. But it’s done - I can go on trips and go surfing. All that time spent doing the van led to that bacon sandwich we had this morning on the gas stove. I think that might have been the best bacon sandwich I’ve ever had.

Let’s start from the beginning. Where did the idea to convert a van into a camper come from?

I’ve been looking at the van life for some time and I always liked the idea of being able to experience different places. My partner and I went to live in Mexico and when we got back to London, I wanted to do more intentional things with my time. I thought about what I really wanted to do, and I wanted to go surfing.

I looked at driving down to Airbnbs for weekend surf trips but the costs would’ve really added up. And then I thought, ‘my brother did up a van - I could do something quick’.

It sounds like surfing has been key to your interest in van life. Why has surfing become such a passion of yours?

Get ready for the cliches. You’re out in nature and that’s something you crave in modern life. The conditions I go out in are very tame but you’ve still got to look after yourself. There are still risks if you get in the wrong spot, so your body is alert.

One of the things I like is that it’s actually really hard. You can go loads but there will always be something to get better at and you’ve got to enjoy the journey.

Ben (right) eying up a break in Morocco. Photo: Camino Surf

How did this lifestyle influence the type of van you were looking for?

My criteria was sleep, eat and cook. That’s what it started out as but then I realised I needed to be warm and I couldn’t just put a bed in it. I read on forums about condensation and those sorts of things, so I realised I would need a van that I could insulate.

I also wanted to have it in London to maximise the amount of trips I could do. So I had to get a small one, otherwise the insurance would’ve been loads.

Which van ticked these boxes?

The Renault Kangoo Maxi. Winnie [obligatory van name] was in good nick, they’d recently changed the cam belt and I could perfectly fit a double bed in. It’s just high enough so you can have a seating area too.

Because it’s an old commercial van, its speed is capped at 70mph, which is like having cruise control. I wanted something with around 80,000 miles - this was the sweet spot as it was a good price point.

You started from a blank canvas. When it came to fitting Winnie out, did you know what you were doing? How much planning did you do before you started?

I just used YouTube. There’s a lot of things you can get wrong and there’s certain things you can’t, like cutting windows into the van.

I found a design online and I sketched out my own version beforehand. Then I made it all out of cardboard boxes and laid it inside the van to see which setup worked best.

I made a Gantt chart which broke it down into how long I thought it was going to take, and then each job - cutting the window, doing the ceiling, doing the floor - I worked out just before doing them.

In the back, you’ve put in seating that switches to a double bed, a collapsible dining table, and a nifty pull-out stove. What drew you to this particular design?

I knew I needed the double bed and I wanted to be able to access the cooking area while the bed was out.

In terms of simplicity, it would be a lie to say that this was a ‘purist’ philosophy. I just knew that I didn’t want to spend years doing it up. I watched a video about a guy who had a really fancy van and he sold it to buy a really simple one. He thought that the original van life was about a bed in the back, and that’s all that you really needed to go and do what you want to do.

Because I was doing a simple build anyway, it helped me to justify it. Maybe I’ll learn that I do need more.

How long did the build take you, from start to finish?

21 days in total, but spread over weekends. Sometimes, I’d do the van before work and after work. I did that a few times but after a long day, standing in the shed at midnight sanding and varnishing wasn’t very fun. I’m glad I did that though because it helped me to get ahead.

A pretty good turnaround considering this was the first van job you’ve done. Are there any parts of the build that you’re particularly proud of?

I think my answer changes every time I use something. If I’m cooking on the gas stove, it’s the pull out sliding draw. If I’m lying down, it’s the skylight.

I remember vividly being knelt on the van, ready to cut a hole in the roof and feeling very nervous because if it went wrong, it would de-value the van that I just bought. The night I did the skylight it poured with rain, which was pretty good because I could tell if I’d done it right or not.

That going well as my first job - the highest stakes thing - was a big achievement. Everything else I knew I could get wrong and do it again.

I guess if you’re going to write-off the van, it’s better to do it at the beginning. Where did you get all the tools and materials?

I was really lucky that my stepdad had a lot of the tools, so I drove home to Portsmouth every week I was doing the van. For general things - hinges, glue, screws - I’d go to B&Q or Screwfix. But niche things, like the skylight, you can get them on very specific websites.

I’d know in the diary when each big job was coming up, so I’d order all the right parts home beforehand. I actually think that was a huge reason I did it in relatively good time because I didn’t spend much time waiting for stuff.

Even though I could have finished it faster if I’d worked on it straight, it was quite nice doing it flat out from Friday to Sunday, burning myself out, then coming back to London. That would give me time to refresh and plan the next job.

So breaking the project up over weekends actually helped, mentally?

Yeah I’ve heard people say that you need to have breaks. That actually made me feel really reassured because every now and then, you’ll hit a wall and you’ll have to put the tools down for a bit.

I still really underestimated how easy it would be to find the amount of free time needed to do it. 10 weekends doesn’t sound like very many but that’s a fifth of your year.

There were a few periods, especially near the start, where I didn’t really know what I was doing and I was having doubts about the size of the project that I’d taken on. But then when you achieve big tasks, you’re absolutely elated.

Emotions must have been high. Did anything go wrong during the build?

When I first started out, I was making a really big deal out of everything being perfect. And then I quite quickly realised that the van would take twice as long. A lot of people say they like to be perfectionists but, you know what, I’d rather just have my van ready to go. I’m sure, depending on who you speak to, some bits have gone wrong but I just say it’s character.

Also, there’s some things that worked out really well, like the sliding draw. The end piece overhangs and that means I don’t need a handle on it to pull it out. So it’s accidentally a really good design.

You mentioned your brother did a van conversion. Has doing your own van given you a new perspective on the process?

I already had admiration for my brother and his van, but now that I’ve done a very simple build, I honestly can’t believe he took on that project. I had certain moments where I did feel very emotional but knowing how much he managed to do kept me going. He created an amazing van and I just feel admiration for him.

If you knew how much effort it was going to be at the start, you’d never do it. But then once it’s finished, you’re so glad you’ve done it.

What trips have you got planned next?

Next up is two and a half weeks in Spain. My partner and I are getting a ferry to Bilbao, driving along the coast and parking up at beaches. I can’t wait to open up the back doors and wake up looking out at the sea. One day I’d like to do a surf trip to Ireland - that would be a big trip.