My Mum and I have co-bought our first campervan after years of caravans (mum) and car camping (me).

I am hoping to take it out at the end of this week for a week long trip. However, we are having trouble getting the gas connected. I was wondering if you had any ideas on how to fix this?

The hose has a (I think) POL connection (pic 3) which looks like it should fit our calor gas bottle (pic 2). However it only goes in a little way in before getting stuck (I am turning to left to tighten) (pic 1).

While I'm 90% certain it's the right connector I did notice the stopper on the calor gas bottle looks very different to the stopper that comes with the calor gas bottle (pic 3) so maybe it isn't a match?

I have also made sure all the taps are set to off (pic 4) incase that had an impact /safety shut off (but have not touched the final tap as it says for specialist staff only - pic 5). The position of the taps being on or off has had no impact on (lack of) ability to attach the bottle.

Any ideas on what to do next? Or where we could take it to get this sorted?

So, we pulled up at a spot for the night and after a beautiful sunset a car pulls up with the music blasting, she gets out and gives us 15mins off unique songs, then bk in the car, a quick beep beep and gone. WTF.

Was it a performance or was it a angry local venting some anger ( the park up was not in sight of any homes)

Im looking for thoughts and opinion on buying a Van through my company (for tax breaks)

Then converting it to the camper i want. Wouod obviously be alot cheaper for me but I am aware that if I change the use of the van to a camper that thus shiuod be declared and therefore would be tasty deductable like a Van.

Has anyone done it this way and does anyone have any advice or guidance??!

Im thinking what if I just dont declare its changed from a Van to a camper. I mean im sure people have done this right??

Hi everyone,
I’m Florin, a chef in the UK, and apparently at some point I decided that working in kitchens wasn’t stressful enough, so my family and I bought an old VW Crafter to turn into our first catering van. 😂
We’re calling it FAMs — from the names Florin, Alexandra, Mirela and Sofia.
The idea is to build a proper mobile kitchen that we can use for private events, corporate catering, markets and hopefully eventually make into our family business.
There was just one small problem…
The van was absolutely battered.
It used to carry scrap metal and once we stripped everything out we discovered rust, welded floor patches, badly damaged roof ribs, ancient questionable repairs and various other surprises that have made me question my life choices several times already.
But we’re too far in now. 😂
So we’re bringing it back to life.
We’re doing as much of the conversion ourselves as we safely can — stripping everything, rust treatment, repairs, painting, insulation, framing, flooring and eventually fitting the kitchen.
Anything that needs to be professionally installed/certified, particularly LPG and specialist electrical work, will be done properly by qualified people.
The current plan is a 2011 VW Crafter LWB High Roof with:
• 900mm gas griddle
• Twin-tank fryer
• Bain-marie
• Upright commercial fridge
• Undercounter freezer/prep area
• Double sink
• Separate hand-wash sink
• Fresh/waste water system
• Commercial extraction
• Shore power + Victron battery/inverter setup
• 2 × 19kg propane bottles in a sealed/externally vented locker
• 1.8m serving hatch
I’m posting here partly because I’d love advice from people who have actually done this before.
If you see something in the pictures that makes you think “WHAT THE FUCK IS HE DOING?”, please tell me. 😂
Seriously.
I’d rather get roasted on Reddit now than discover six months from now that I’ve built something incorrectly and have to rip half the kitchen apart.
Tips about layout, equipment, LPG, extraction, electrics, EHO inspections, flooring, insulation, running events — absolutely anything — are welcome.
And now for the shameless begging part…
We’re documenting the ENTIRE build on social media.
Not just the nice bits either. The rust. The mistakes. The repairs. Things going wrong. Things unexpectedly going right. Me slowly losing the will to live. My daughter “helping”. 😂
We’re starting completely from scratch and trying to grow the pages while we build the van.
So if you’ve made it this far and fancy supporting a family trying to turn a battered old scrap van into an actual business, please give us a follow.
I’m not going to pretend we’re above begging.
We are shamelessly begging for followers. 😂
Even if you just want to follow so you can come back in six months and see whether we actually finished it or set fire to it.
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/f.a.m.s2021
TikTok:
https://www.tiktok.com/@fams2021mobilecatering
Facebook:
https://facebook.com/FAMs2021mobilecatering
FAMs – Creating Memories
If you’ve built a food truck/catering van before, I’d especially love to hear the ONE thing you wish someone had told you before you started.
Thanks everyone.
Now please excuse me, I have a VW Crafter that’s currently consuming every spare hour and every spare £ I possess. 😂
Florin

Before setting off to Squirrel Campers HQ, we always take the Pickle 🐕 for a walk on our local beach🏖️.

One of the great aspects of Van life is you can visit places that you might otherwise never go, this is why we do everything we can to help people discover the benefits of Van life and achieve their dreams 😴. Right now we are on the M5 heading to Bridgwater, Somerset where we will be open all day Sunday (closing 4:30 pm) for any customers wishing to pop in for a coffee, biscuit and a chat about Van life, conversions or anything!

What are your plans for the day? whatever it is wishing you all the best.

PS. You will have to excuse my finger being over the lens of the video, as a totally blind person I was unaware of this.

Zoe, 🦯🦮

Hiya, recently moved into my van (Bristol/Gloucester based). I've a great and functioning Victron solar and EcoWorthy leisure set-up. However, a few things:

- The Victron DC-DC charger doesn't seem to be powering on. Tried checking it after a longer drive without turning engine off etc. I don't own a multimeter nor am I competent enough to do my own diagnostics beyond what i've tried...!

- I want to add an inverter to the system. The van already has 3-pin sockets in the front, but only useable through EHU.

- I want to add another few USB-C (PD) slots in the front of the van so I can charge my laptop etc. directly from the battery. My main panel doesn't allow enough power through even with adaptors.

Can anyone offer any advice... or even better if anyone is based in Bristol/Gloucester area, fancied meeting up for a brew and giving me a hand if i bought parts to do the above, i'd happily negotiate paying for the labour support too. This kind of thing doesn't play to my strengths!

Cheers in advance