One of the most frequently asked questions I get is how much did it cost to build by camper van, and where did you source the parts from? Well in this blog post I’m going to break it all down for you and provide you with the links to where I got the parts from!
Right from the start of the build, I wanted to do the conversion as cheaply as possible. I had some money left over from the sale of my previous van, and this was going to fund the build of the Movano.
This is how the van looked when I bought it. A bare empty shell, with ply lining on the walls.
Vauxhall Movano – Self Build Camper Van Costs
- FREE – Pallet wood – Asking around at local industrial estate!
- £73 – Celotex Insulation – Jewsons
- £18 – Loft Insulation – Jewsons
- £64 – Vinyl Flooring – Carpet Warehouse
- £187 – Pine Cladding (Tongue and groove) – Jewsons
- £50 – Fiamma Roof Vent – Amazon
- £90 – Foam mattress – Putnams in Plymouth
- £70 – Pine Worktop – Homebase
- £280 – Sink/hob/water tanks and fittings – South Devon Campervans on eBay
- £70 – Aluminium Sheet – Metals South West
- £49 – Swing out Table Leg – Kiravans on eBay
- £95 – Single Passenger Seat – Searched on eBay
- £150 – Gnome Wood Burner – Glastonbury Burners
- £43 – Flue sections – Planet Stoves on eBay
- £160 – Solar panel kit – Alpha Batteries on eBay
- £79 – Split charge kit – Simply Split Charge on eBay
- £70 – Leisure battery – Go Outdoors, online or in store
- £14 – USB Ports – Search on eBay
- £25 – 12v LPG Alarm – Gadget Power on eBay
- £72 – Brass Lights – Acorn Chandlery on eBay
Sub total: £1659
This is the cost to turn the van into a campervan that is ready to be lived in.
Additional costs – added when I could afford them
- £280 – Seitz Side window (750×400) – Grasshopper Leisure on eBay
- £270 – Seitz rear window (500×450) – Grasshopper Leisure on eBay
- £256 – Seitz rear window (500×450) – Grasshopper Leisure on eBay
- £380 – Dometic 12v Fridge – Dometic Fridge search on eBay
Grand Total: £2845
As you can see from the breakdown of costs above, a large chunk of the build cost was in the 3 windows which come in at £806 alone! Another big expense was the fridge at £380. These major expenses came up to a year after the initial build phase of the van.
So if you take these major expenses out, and concentrate on the necessary cost to bring the van to a stage where it can be lived in, it came to £1559 – which I don’t think is that bad really – and makes me feel a whole lot better ;)
I haven’t included things like screws or wiring, as I had these available in my dads garage for free. If you included the cost of these, the total cost wouldn’t be that much higher – probably less than £100.
Cost of the van
I originally paid £3800 for my 2008 Vauxhall Movano van. I bought it from a local private seller, who had it advertised on Gumtree. It had 93,000 miles on the clock, and full service history. It took me 2 months of searching to find the right van.
So by adding the cost of the build to the cost of the van, the total outlay for my campervan comes in at £6645. I’m quite pleased with that. I could have spent a whole lot more on a van that was already built – but by doing it this way I know everything about the build, and how its put together – so if there is ever a problem I know exactly where to look – coz I built it! haha
So hopefully that’s answered a lot of questions – but if you do have any other queries, then leave them in the comments section below. Alternatively you can leave a comment or question on the YouTube video
