How I Bought My DREAM Van! Micro Camper Conversion Ep 1 

Alex, you have something really special about your channel. It is really relatable, as these things you are doing are something many of us want to but cant, at lease not right now. You are giving us both many useful tips along the way about many things but also we can wee what would actually take to do all these things. Really exciting content! Looking forward to see how the adventure unfolds 👍😁

Can tell you're not a car/van guy in the slightest, however that's what's unique about your channel...you don't seem to care, which I think a lot of people like. You're also honest unlike the vast majority of RU-vid these days and leaving your comfort zone. Keep up the great work!

It surprises me how much I enjoy your content. I’m 40 and an avid angler and have followed you boy since you started and wasn’t sure how this wasn’t going to pan out for out tbh, but I have to say…… it’s good! Very genuine and still YOU. I hope this journey works out for you mate. A young guy with the worlds at his feet and just figuring it all out. Isn’t that what we’ve all done? Enjoy the process mate and we’ll all enjoy watching it unfold. Ps…… we all knew you needed to get van ffs 😂😂😂

The progress you’ve made up to now is inspiring, the things you can do by using a bit of imagination is endless, the stuff you can buy now , from fridges, night heaters , shower facilities it’s endless, you could live open and free for as long as you like , attach the kayak, and your away multi function and options, but the main thing is Alex , is to keep up the spirit that’s driving this ambition like I said inspirational ❤️❤️

Sir, I was out fishing yesterday, and just now saw this video. While we didn't land the species we were targeting, Striped Bass, and had to deal with a chilly wind out of the North, seeing this video made a lousy day on the water much more bearable. Congrats on the new purchase!!! Can't wait to see what transpires!

Hi Alex I have just stumbled onto your channel and can't wait to see how this turns out for you. I have converted a few vans now and love the way these turn out. A few bits of advice for you. Be aware of budget as these can run away so easily. Remember you are going on a tour and not living in your van forever so make it fit your needs and not what everyone else says you need. Put a damp course under your floor or you will feel it on the cold mornings. Insulate the walls and roof but again make sure it's the right choice for your needs. Think about weight too. The more you put on the more bit costs to lug around. A lot of people are putting wood, pallet wood on the back and it's adding quite the weight. Four way stretch carpet is a cheap alternative that is easy to fit with spray glue (remembering to get high temp spray glue to stop it coming unstuck the first time you cook in the van) and can go right over the paneling you have there. I wish you well and can't wait to see how this goes for you.

Alex, absolutely fabulous move. I’m a T5 owner myself and luckily enough I bought it 5 years ago. They were pricey then but are ridiculous now. However, considering you’re travelling alone a Caddy is the best van you could’ve bought! Happy adventures mate

Man with a van -a slightly longer version than postman pat oh lol love your channel and the sharing of your thought processes! I’m getting a converted camper too! So exciting!

Ohh.. adventures await Alex! I'm currently working on my own camper conversion, so I share your excitement! 🙃

Congratulations!!!! How awesome!!! You deserve this!!! I'm so happy for you and so excited for this new adventure!!!

Well done Alex, really chuffed for you mate. Can’t wait to own one myself one day. Awesome channel too, loving it, I genuinely look forward to each vid you post. It was clearly well worth taking the plunge!

You are going to make so many memories in that van and you will be taking us along aswell you channel is so diverse it has something for everyone keep up the good work 👍

The way you take so much joy and happiness from such simple things in life and it makes me happier to see. Well done on the van! Looks like a great shell for you’re future.

Wills Whereabouts and yourself Alex are bringing back the original van conversion feel to the past time.

Alex I'm soooooo happy you decided to branch out and do your own thing!! It's absolutely a joy to watch your journey through this!

Your enthousiasm is great Alex! Major congrats on the purchase, can’t wait for the conversionserie on the channel. Enjoy the yourney before the big yourney 😅👌🏻

Great following along on your adventures. First things I can think of are, soundproofing, vent in the roof ( it can get hot in there during summer ) and solar panel on the roof connecting to a mains bored in the van ( available on Amazon) possibly carpet the back too for comfort Good luck and can’t wait to see the result 👍🏻

Look at you go brother! Good on you, You came up on my suggested and now I just can’t wait for you to upload! Love what you do buddy! Keep working hard!

Well done Alex and may it bring you joy and happiness and home safely you'll be coming to Ireland soon I presume ....

I knew you'd buy one. Well done Alex and I wish you many miles of peaceful camping and many absolutely fabulous new views. Looking forwards to watching the transformation as you convert her into a camper. Good luck with the road trip.

You are doing exactly what I plan to do later this year. The van looks perfect. I've been looking at the large lithium batteries you can now buy that will power everything inside the van, lights, cooking and heating. I like the idea of no gas bottles. I look forward to how you go about your conversion.

Congratulations! A perfect van for you. I remember the day I picked up my VW campervan 21 years ago (like the yellow one in your video) I've still got it. It will transform your life, Alex. All the best. Joe. UK.

I’ve just stumbled across your channel a few days ago and I’ve been following the car camping series. It’s super interesting to see your ideas and I can’t wait to see what you come up with for the van. I know a lot of people like putting their beds raised a foot or 2 off the floor that way they can fit shelves or drawers underneath it to conserve a little space. I’ve also seen ones where the bed can like fold up out of the way when you aren’t sleeping on it to give you a little more room inside during the day.

Excited to see the outcome of the conversion. I'm rooting on your journey.

This is awesome mate, I’m well jealous. Would love to do what your doing. It’s pretty brave of you to branch out by yourself after you already had success with the Carl and Alex channel. I’m a fisherman myself but I love the more wide ranging stuff your doing, especially the foraging and the camper conversion. After watching your stuff the other day I was off walking my dog picking wild garlic, happy days. Going to get myself a book on mushrooms now. Exciting times ahead for u my friend and I can’t wait for the next video. Keep it up mate

Congrats 👏 I come from your Instagram I used Van for 11 year. No fancy camper inside because I don't want stuck with it. My Van had nice soft carpet and curtain that's it. I usually use inflate for bed, good pillows that important.... Many times I bring my bikes inside etc Fishing yeah. Yeah big comfy room definitely 👍👍 I missed my Van 😭 I'm happy for you happy adventures 💖😊👍

Looking forward to the build and the adventures to come congrats Alex

Excellent news. Look forward to the build!

Hi Alex, just wanted to say your channel is very interesting as you are open and honest about learning new things. I would love to see you continue with this where you just chart the learning process as you try different things throughout your life. Your attitude is very refreshing and you obviously seem to have a talent for video editing, keep it up bud wishing you success cos I enjoy watching the vids you make.

You seemed so genuine. Glad I stumbled onto your channel! Sending love from Singapore

"And finally came across something that was within my budget... and then I found out why" that cracked me up! Looking forwards to following this van build series Also you seem to of found your voice alot more, your presenting style is alot more confident so massive well done buddy!

Brilliant idea and channel mate really hope vw or someone checks this out and kits your van out looking forward to seeing your adventure unravel. Good luck pal

Alex, I had a REALLY terrible day. But seeing you video and hearing your good news about your new van made me so happy!! Congrats mate!! Cannot wait to see all your travels🍄❤🍄

Come to Romania we have a lot of nice looking places like mountains and rivers.Brasov is a very nice city too. Nice video and be happy with that montser van! But be careful,we drive on the right side of the road :)

Alex I didn’t particularly watch your fishing channel but I watch your new one always. You are doing something that deep down everyone me included wants to do but due to being married, grand kids and work it’s only a dream at the moment. All the best in your adventures and well done for following up your dreams.

looking really good Alex. love the fact you want to embrace the help from your subscribers. Top man Alex. Keep it up..

Great stuff Alex! I look forward to watching the van's progress. It's a great idea to collaborate with others on a project, but just pick one or two and work with them. With all these sorts of builds everyone has got their own ideas about the best way to do it. Trying to include more than a couple of peoples (possibly opposing) ideas will have you just going round in circles. If you can persuade your mate Rollo to do the woodwork, even if you have to pay him, he looks like he's got the skills to make most things happen. You'll need a solar panel of at least 100 watts but don't be persuaded to put enough solar on the roof to power a small village, you're only really going to be charging your leisure battery. I'd avoid running things from the inverter unless you really have no choice. Probably the best way to charge your leisure battery from the alternator is with a Victron Cyrix battery combiner, but you'll need to double check this, as modern car's electronics sometimes don't perform in the same way as the older stuff that we all knew and loved. Good luck with all of it. Great channel. One of my favourites on RU-vid (with Camper Vibe and Fish with Carl/Fishing Tutorials)

I feel the hype through the screen! Good luck Alex, can't wait for the Europe trip.

So happy you got a van, a really nice one too, can't wait to see the conversion and all the adventures you'll be going on with it. Loving the channel man!

So happy about you :) , have an amazing trip will wait for it 😊

We are motorhomers here, and to be honest we don't like VW vans the price is so OTT I wish I had time to show you what's what's and the best value you can get for your money, and the extras you get. Still saying all that I'm sure you can make what you want with what you've got. Happy trails

Congrats with your new car:) Rooting for you to reach 165mln subscribers!

My dad has owned an rv dealership all my life and I've been working on them since around 11 years old I can fix anything on any rv/motorhome/travel trailer I've also converted a few box vans into livable spaces and what not I just don't have an Instagram I would love to be involved in ur conversion though man!!!

Yes Alex big ups the caddy van, your journey is about to become ten times what it was 🤙🏻 happy days lad 🙏🤙🏻

I have a Belingo with a lift roof. Makes all the difference to be able to stand up, just to wash. Make sure diesel, I get 50mpg on a run.

Really happy for you pal, you finally got one the smile on your face says it all good luck my g👊

Fantastic, I’m watching the adverts all the way through. Hope that helps fund the conversion and trip. 👍🏼😊 Keep it up, I look forward to seeing you’ve posted a new film. 😊👍🏼

Congratulations, pleased for you. You've made the right choice with the van over car option. Good luck

Hi mate I converted my van a few years back best decision I ever made. I highly recommend getting a Chinese diesel heater they really are the nuts. On the lowest setting it’s so warm even at minus conditions. I spent ages researching ways to keep warm in a van at night and time and time again it kept saying webasto or Chinese diesel heaters the answer and they were right. It can also run either of an external tank or your main diesel tank on the van. Highly recommend them my friend and look forward to more from your channel

Yay! Congrats man! Let the good times commence rolling.

Just found your channel…you’re a very refreshing guy, very humble and likeable. Congratulations on your van purchase…looking forward to seeing this progress.

Brilliant Alex, you can get seats for that van that turn into a folding bed so you’d have so much more room!🏕

Nice Alex good luck in converting your van 👌👌

Nice one glad my advice helped Alex

Brilliant. I so happy for you. That’s a cracking vehicle

@05:39 LOL Enjoying your videos. Looking forward to seeing the conversion and Euro trip.

Only just started watching you but congrats man you're living the dream right now enjoy it bro and keep it up

Great to see you super excited!!!! The European adventure is within sight!!!

Well done Alex I'm buzzing for you mate

Good luck with the van conversion...don't forget the solar panels...:)

Hooray at last! I kept just thinking ‘buy a van, buy a van’ but I guess that was always the plan.

alex let me start by saying you are one of the most down to earth guys i have ever watched and listened to,you are so inspiring in everything you turn your hand to,i look almost everyday for new content and can't wait for the next video,i really hope you get what you want out of this because youve earned it through the years you have entertained us all,let us all make this camper van the best it can be then we all can go on an adventure together,i love the way you grab a project with both hands and go for it 100%,all i can do for now is wish you all the luck in the world and hope everything you do turns to gold,well done alex you should be so proud of yourself,i know for a fact your brother carl and dad are rooting for you and with you all the way.ok i,ll stop writing now because i could go on and on,i did find it funny when the bees started swarming all over the place and when carl turned up you was at the top of the tree like wtf is going on lol,,,best of luck alex we are all on board 100%

Seen as you can stand underneath the tailgate, you could get a camping shower and attach it from there 👍🏻 that's the bathroom sorted, looking forward yo watching the build and the road trip!

Mate I'm soo pleased for you right now!!! Woo viva la vw 😂😂 can't wait for all the content coming from this

That van is perfect, wood pannels already up so you can get insulation behind for warmth and also build off with things like drop down tables on hinges etc. Good pick buddy and look forward to the EU trip.

You finally got a van 😄 nice one Alex. It will be a Dream to live in . Can’t wait to watch your adventures .

Yesssss! Happy for you mate

Your videos are wonderful, Alex!!!

A man with a plan! You look so happy mate! The world is out there, go and see it. You won’t regret it!

Congrats on the new van

living in your "dream" van down by the river...CONGRATS Alex

Have a look at some conversions online and take inspiration but definitely look into a fold down seat bed for the back so you can still use it to drive others around with you and get a sink and two gas burner hob in there and your be away can get a a shower in a box it doubles ups as a sink that uses a power pack to heat the water from a stream or river can’t think of the name of it but I see a advert for it the other day and a portable toilet good luck on your adventure

Wayyy 🥳 good luck with the van Alex 👍 looking forward to see what you will be getting up to in it now

Put the carp gear in the back then go show your brother how its done everyones happy conversion done 😁

Congrats on getting the van/caddy. Many more camping trips. I am looking forward to see how you can convert this . All the best in future adventures Alex 👍🏻🙏

Looking forward to seeing progress on the van. I bought an ex-wheelchair access Caddy Maxi van with a ramp and 5 seats. It's great for camping (tent) and we can get the whole family, tent, bikes and inflatable canoe in it. With privacy glass we can change in the back, too. Yours looks in better condition, but they're so practical.

Fairplay Alex, you take these potentially mundane situations, and make them interesting! Your content is golden!

Dude is living his best life. Respect to you sir 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿✊🏻

Yes Alex fair play to you all hard work is paying off I can't wait to see what you do to the van...keep videos coming 💪💪

Well done Alex follow your dreams

Belter been waiting for the inevitable congrats mate . U might now even start tagging a little wagler rod

Nice one Alex Big man has now got a Big Van, shall be watching as you fit it out keep up the great video's 👍

I'd like to make a suggestion. For such a small space I don't know if I'd fix anything permanently to the interior just yet, but rather do what you've already done and use things you have like that camping bed. With a combination of netting bags that you can hang on the sides for all your bits and pieces, and "convertible" items that you can move around and use for multiple purposes you might find that's all you need (apart from a power supply). Like other commenters insulation and carpet would be nice and fairly cheap to do. Think low cost / high value. Load up on S hooks, small crates and tie-downs and get out there.

Super happy for ya man.

Hi Alex, i also own a van (a Renault Trafic L1H2) and Made it into a campervan. If I can give you one advice then to take time to build the van I did mine because of some circumstances in 3 months (with electricity, water system, Solar etc) and it made the whole process so more unenjoyable… so take your time! And my next advice is to Not be Perfectionist about the Build. On RU-vid there are so many absolutely perfect builds that me for example wanted to have a perfect build, too. But I realized quite fast that I have not the skills to build overly complicated stuff. So take it easy on the build. I think most of the people would build their own van completely different after they first finished it. Nevertheless I absolutely love my van and I love working on it. I would highly Regiment you do a heavy-Duty pull-out at the rear and next to it the electricity Ps i would love working with you on your van, but I am from germany. Greetings!

Congrats mate! Very excited about future videos with the van

Congratulation Alex on happy for you

Congratulations Alex ... Time to make your dreams a reality, now ... 👍

That's a nice van Alex and much needed for your adventures. Looking forward to your more comfortable vlogs all the best mate

About time mate , can take your Chanel seriously now and follow you on this epic journey 👍👍

Hey Alex! Congrats on the perfect vehicle. 😊 Just want to give you a small tip, do you remember those trips in the Polo, when you woke up after sleeping? The whole car was full of condensation. Try to make some ventilation in the "living area", to avoid moisture in all the gear. 🙂 Hope this makes sense, english is not my first language. 🙂

Happy for you! Enjoy the new van looks mint 👌🏼

Congrats Alex! Looking forward to watch every second of you spending time with/in it! Enjoy!

Buzzing for this 🤩

Alex is Always full of life.. ❤

I LOVE my caddy camper. In Greece right now

Good luck with the van. This might give you some ideas mate , watch Adz Ventures on a Caddy maxi camper refurb 👍

congrats buddy! cant wait to see what you do with it

thank christ!! good on you, now i watch the video! I am a truckdriver from the states, the original van lifers!

Good luck on your new venture Alex , looking forward to see the future videos 😀