Three of us travel for extended periods in a DIY HiAce Commuter Campervan. With its own special pleasures and advantages, campervanning is not less than motorhoming; just a bit different. Campervanning is definitely not like home, and we like that about it. I am an enthusiastic supporter of the Leave No Trace pledge – some would say obsessed – and with minimum resources we genuinely and comfortably leave no trace wherever we go.

Our friends think we are a little odd spending months travelling together in an eight-square-metre box. We would like to convince them but we can’t. They just don’t see what we see. We can explain how we manage, but you must want to do it. We just find it relaxing, enjoyable and satisfying.

Most campervanners use external space as much as possible. This is not a limitation of campervanning, but a treasured activity which duplicates the patio picnics and barbecues we enjoy so much at home.

I would think that most would also spend a night or two in a caravan park occasionally for a ‘good’ shower; to catch up with the laundry; and replenish water and empty waste, too.

Three in a HiAce obviously creates extra space restrictions. Our main bed behind the front seats is folded for meals and travelling. The main bedding is rolled into a bolster for quick and easy laying out, and with the bed extended, forms a comfortable back for a couch, to sit and watch TV; to read; or to catch up with family on the internet.

With the main bed folded, a table can be mounted on the wall for dining or meal preparation inside. There is storage under every seat, and every tiny space is utilised.

We have a walkway through the back, with storage on one side, and a work area on the other. But our son’s bed has inherited the floor space. Rather than moving his bed each day, we usually move the sink and portable cooking facilities outside when camping.

For city-based, or self-contained areas where this might be a problem, we either use public tables and barbecues or more likely make that a take-away or an eat-out night.

Without facilities, most of our earlier trips meant staying in camp-parks almost every night. Apart from our budget, we found two major problems with this arrangement.

Parks took the relaxation out of our tripping. They were often fully-booked in some areas, and we had no fall-back options. We were advised to book well ahead or get there early, and in that way, pass the problem onto someone else.

Our son’s bed has inherited the rear walk space

With school and local holidays to work around as well, it all created a prison of prior arrangements; destroying the freedom of our motorhoming. We found ourselves bypassing interesting places to get to distant bookings, and often regretted it.

Secondly, our travelling companion son has Down syndrome. He has considerable trouble balancing on one foot on a wet camp-park shower floor while he dries his feet and tries to get his pants on without dragging them over the wet floor (don’t we all?). Caravan parks often did not have disabled facilities and when they did, they were often not well designed or over utilised by able-bodied campers. These issues took away our freedom and increased the stress of our travels.

The main bedding rolled into a bolster, makes the back of a comfortable couch for relaxing. To make the bed, just roll it out

To overcome these problems and others, we have added a small lightweight pop-up ensuite trailer to our rig. This makes us more independent of camp-parks and bookings; it holds our sites when we go sightseeing; and provides better ablutions facilities for our son when park facilities are inadequate.

The trailer gives us full LNT status. It carries a portable toilet; private, dry ablutions and dressing space – important when there are three – and fresh water and waste storage. It also carries solar panels and our main house battery. This powers the trailer directly, and the HiAce through a 12-volt ‘umbilical’. With a small chest fridge, small TV, and LED lighting the HiAce uses very little power.

Fitting solar and batteries to the trailer had two big advantages. It avoided the problem of getting solar wiring inside the roof-lining of the HiAce; and the campervan can be parked in the shade for comfort, while the trailer is parked in the sun for power.

Every nook and cranny has found a purpose

The trailer has a sealed tub floor and drain for grey water collection. We carry a small pump shower, but rarely use it. But with shower curtains, dry floor mats, dry seating and shelves, the option is reassuring where CP facilities are inadequate for our son. Its four-litre reservoir gives only a one minute shower. But a quick pre-rinse; then a thorough soap-up with the shower off; allows for a refreshing and functional final rinse.Normally we conserve water though, by  using disposable wet-towels and sponge baths for hygiene when freedom camping. Large 300 x 600mm wet-towels are available cheaply for this purpose.

A recent addition – a rack with a folding kayak for fun – completes the trailer for travel.

Setting up our ensuite trailer is as easy as one…

Fresh water and waste drums have been fixed onto racks outside the trailer so they don’t have to be unloaded to use the ensuite. Not quite as pretty as inside, but much more functional.

Our waste drums give flexibility too. After rinsing, one of our several grey water drums carries enough clean water for a porta-pot freshwater recharge. This removes the need to draw on the drinking water supply and effectively increases our fresh water capacity. By the time the drum is needed for grey water, the portapot will likely need to be refilled, and the grey water drum can then be used for its main purpose.

House battery and meters for solar

We also carry three wide-mouth, O-ring sealed ‘canoe’ drums. One is used to keep spare toilet rolls and washers, etc. dry in the trailer. It doubles as a dressing seat, and triples as a plunger washing machine if needed. The other two wide-mouthed drums have 90mm screw caps fitted into the lids. This allows them to be flexibly used as rubbish bins, or grey water or black water totes as needed.

We have had many LNT free camp stays of three days, and never used anywhere near our capacity, so we are considering replacing some of the hard containers with collapsible containers.

A folding kayak for fun, fishing and exercise completes the outfit

These will give the same storage capacity if needed, without taking the space if not used.

For a stay of this duration without showers, we typically use only about 40 litres of fresh water between the three of us. We produce less than 10 litres of grey water, and about 30 litres of black water in that time. Three days is a good measure for campervanning, because we generally use caravan parks occasionally. Extravagant use of water by humans only began when it was piped into our taps.

Everything tends to grow with the size of a motorhome: bigger, better showers; high-flush toilets; bigger fridge-freezers; better stoves/ovens; bigger sinks; maybe even washing machines. Add highpressure pumps and hot-water systems. All the comforts of home lead to longer showers, more cooking, more dishes to wash, etc. and higher water consumption. It’s just so easy to turn on the tap.

90mm screw caps mounted onto O-ring sealed ‘canoe’ drums allows them to be flexibly used for rubbish, or grey water or black water ‘totes’

Everything tends to grow with the size of a motorhome: bigger, better showers; high-flush toilets; bigger fridge-freezers; better stoves/ovens; bigger sinks; maybe even washing machines. Add high pressure pumps and hot-water systems. All the comforts of home lead to longer showers, more cooking, more dishes to wash, etc. and higher water consumption. It’s just so easy to turn on the tap.

DIY sink makes maximum use of limited water

Campervanners don’t usually have these luxuries, but conserving water does not mean compromising on hygiene, comfort, or enjoyment. Our set-up is designed for conservation. The DIY stainless sink is bowl shaped, rather than rectangular with a flat bottom. One litre of  water puts about 50mm in the bottom – enough for a full wash-up of a few plates, bowls, cups and utensils. But we rarely use the sink when freedom camping. We carry melamine plates and metal utensils, but carry disposable plates, bowls and utensils for use when off-supply. Stainless mugs and polycarbonate wine glasses just need a quick rinse in a small amount of water. By using disposable plates and utensils, and using wet-towels and sponge-baths for hygiene, we can reduce our fresh water consumption to four or five litres each per day. The porta-pot  uses minimum water for a flush and with a couple of teaspoons of generic, nonchlorine nappy soaker in the top-tank is quite hygienic. 

For two people I think that LNT status could be achieved without the trailer, and to ensure the continuation of our chosen lifestyle, I would urge every campervanner to take and follow the LNT pledge.

New drying rack

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Written: Fri 01 Aug 2014
Printed: August, 2014
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