Our aim was to get a van in the �1000's rather than the �10,000's and pretty much we succeeded. I worked out some rough numbers and checked prices where I could. I knew that we would save quite a bit by re-usung bits for our caravan and indeed we did so.
Most things came outr on or around the expectation. the key differences were:
- The van purchase was cheaper than we expected. I had looked at a number of vans and thought we would be doing OK if we could find one, after VAT, for �5000, but in the event we found what we wanted on EBay, at some risk, cheaper.
- Fixing the van mechanically, on the other hand, was more expensive that I had guessed, so it balanced out a bit.
- The fitting of the windows was more problematic ans more expensive that expected. We did however fit 3 windows whereas the plan was for one.
- We dropped the idea of fitting solar panels, so this saved a bit.
- The biggest overspend surprise was really the miscellaneous stuff. I had chucked a planning amount of �500 into the pot and we well overspent this. Timber for plywood cladding seemed to be an endless expense. The cost of glue was a nasty surprise, we fitted a step which was not planned and the pretty bits were an expense higher than any thought.
- Lastly I sold the spare copper pipe and aliminium sheet from the caravan, which was a nice surprise
To get a vehicle designed as we liked for under �6,000 was nice to achieve. But a heck of a lot of unpaid labour and if you add this in, the cost is more like �11,500 to �55,000 depending on how much you want to price an hour's work.
| Actual | plan | ||
| van purchase | �2,750.00 | �5,000.00 | |
| work on van engine, bodywork etc to get it running OK | �859.72 | �500.00 | |
| solar panel | 0 | �500.00 | |
| battery | 0 | �100.00 | |
| gas bottles | 0 | �100.00 | |
| side window | �293.75 | �200.00 | |
| roof window | �34.99 | �100.00 | |
| fridge | �4.00 | �500.00 | |
| swivel seats | �170.00 | �200.00 | |
| new front seats | �52.29 | �200.00 | |
| awning tent | �130.00 | �200.00 | |
| blinds | �100.00 | �100.00 | |
| electric fittings | 0 | �200.00 | |
| folding door | �12.99 | �50.00 | |
| reversing camera | �96.09 | �200.00 | |
| water pump | 0 | �50.00 | |
| sink | 0 | �100.00 | |
| mattress | �159.01 | �150.00 | |
| cooker | �31.43 | �300.00 | |
| loo | �52.78 | �100.00 | |
| bike rack | �10.71 | �100.00 | |
| battery charger | 0 | �150.00 | |
| Miscellaneous: | |||
| timber | �219.07 | ||
| insulation | �144.84 | ||
| glue | �143.33 | ||
| step | �80.94 | ||
| vinyl, carpet, wallpaper | �160.44 | ||
| misc | �100.59 | ||
| �849.21 | �500.00 | ||
| gas/elecs check | 0 | �200.00 | |
| Sales of caravan bits | -�45.00 | ||
|
|||
| Total | �5,561.97 | �9,800.00 |