As I menetioned in teh Day 1 post, the first month of owning the van was somewhat uneventful. The van was mostly parked up as I was entirely out of funds from savings and a loan taken to buy teh van. I had enough after purchase to get the van insured and that was about it.
I went with private commercial insurance through what was Liberty Insurance at the time. Said insurance came in at a hefty €1,385 for a year. It was a big chunk of money. After sorting insurance, with my hands tied for what I could do, I decided to assess and star planning. I also handed in my work notice or was planning on doing so a few weeks later. From January 2025, I would move back home with my family as my primary residence and do van life.
The idea of converting a van had always been just that. An idea. I was not and am still not one of those epoeple who watch conversion videos. They just didn’t satisfy the itch I had to do it myself. Even with the active search for a van I did very little research on what kind of build I would have. I wanted to get the right van first, whatever it would be and go from there. I didn’t want to get attached ot any ideas or married to a design. Am I glad I did it this way? Yes! Did it stress me out and also make things that little more difficult? Also yes! Would I advise it? Let’s see.
Pros of going in essesntially blind:
I get spooked easy so not knowing really what I was getting into was actually kind of nice. Now this is said as someone with a good bit of DIY experience working in a field where I deal with electrical equipment daily, and having some mechanical experience from working on my own motorbike and very basic car works. If you are not in a technically inclined mindse, I would not recommend.
Problem solving on the fly: I love problem solving. because I wasn’t trying to get an idea to fit into my space, I was able to work with what was in front of me. A characteristic of he build that I continue to love even now as it allows me to be creative in ways I cannot even imagine.
cONS:
Time pressure: because
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