Campervan Conversion: Choosing our Van [Toyota Hiace]

On Christmas Eve 2020, we bought a van. 

We've been hoping to convert our own campervan for a number of a years now, and ever since starting work full-time following finishing uni (Summer 2019), this was the focus of my saving up. 

We did loads of research to find the type of van that was right for us. 

At first we thought we wanted a large van, a Transit/Sprinter/Ducato, thinking we'd want to have a fixed bed across the back and ability to stand up inside. We loved the look of all these vanlife conversions we'd watched hours of on youtube. 

Slowly we figured out that we didn't really need all that space, we differentiated ourselves from those intending to live in their van conversions, and in doing so realised what we needed for our weekend excursions was a lot less. And, because we'd be using the van as our only car, wanted something easy to commute, visit family and friends, take to the shops and, crucially, park! 

We knew, however, that the micro camper wasnt for us either, we didnt want a Berlingo/Caddy where we would be limited for storage space and not able to have enough of a bed for two (reasonably tall) people. 

What we landed on, was the mid-size van range - the VW Transporters/Mazda Bongos/...and Toyota Hiaces.

Toyota Hiaces are much less common in UK vanlife and self-build campervan communities than elsewhere in the world. We went to New Zealand in the Christmas holidays of 2019/2020 and the Hiace campervans were everywhere! 

Hiaces we found were notably cheaper than the other comparable mid-size vans, and knowing for our budget we would certainly be looking at an old van... it was a real bonus that they are known for their long-lasting engines, meaning older and higher mileage wouldn't be as much of a concern as it would be for other vans.

The stars aligned and my dad called me to say there was a Hiace parked outside their house, and our neighbour and esteemed car salesman, David [Ilkley Motor Company], was selling it! It was in good condition for its age, not all rusty and battered like many other vans we'd considered around our budget. Its MOT history online didn't give us much to worry about either, so we gave it a test drive and thought, yep.

TOYOTA HIACE 2005

SWB, Diesel, 165,000 miles, £3,000

Since then, its been 6 months... and been bloody great. We've converted her into a campervan and she's taken us across the country many times - blog posts to follow!