£50K PROFESSIONALLY BUILT vs £10K DIY BUILT CAMPER VAN

In this video I take out a professionally manufactured and converted Weinsberg Camper Van that cost £50,000 and compare it to my own self built and DIY camper van that cost £12,000. In this video we look at the pros and cons between both vehicles to see if a £36,000 price difference is worth it!

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[viv-i-vangoesforth]

If I had 43K to spend on a van Will, you know what Id do? I'd spend 20K on buying a van and converting it to my own taste and the 23K left I'd have a bloody good time touring everywhere in it without fear of not being able to afford to use it. Nuff said 😊 BTW, I prefer yours to the soul-less clone you stayed in. Much respect- Kenny

[Seanjones]

we converted ours in a month but i did all the planning and purchasing for my dad. we ended up with mostly 100mm wool insulation mixed with some of that foil foam board stuff. bubble foil for vapour barrier and then cladding the walls, ceiling. has a shower in it too as well as permemnant single bed with under stoage, chest fridge. stove top and running water - ford h3 l4 van we put the diesel heater under the sink counter and raised it up put windows in the back doors and the sliding door. took the bulk head out and replaced that area with curtains (shower toilet behind the drivers seat) and a maxxvan for ventilation cost around £4000 for the interior - between the bed and a shower theres a kitchen pantry cabinet with a microwave on it and a weird ottoman type thing with arms on the sides but no back on it, but has storage in it (this sits over the wheel well) - good thing about the ford transit l4 we have a full width single between back door and wheel wells then sofa and kitchen cabinets are built around them i am terrible at diy but i'll upload the video i took near completion

[GTwistingTale]

Self build every time for me. Though I confess mine is more basic than Mary & was bought already done. Spending a year working out what I really need for mine & how I want it to look before a little renovation. Already love her.

Channels like yours are so helpful. Thank you!

[KevinJones-btib]

I've never owned either of these type vans, but for cost, personal touch and satisfaction, I would have to go with the DIY option 👍

[linz_in_NZ]

I've just watched most of your 24 hour videos - great to see an honest view about the pros and cons of each one. We had considered a few of the options featured - Nissan Elgrande/Toyota Alphard, Mazda Bongo, T4 with a pop top etc, and your reviews confirm we made the right choice to buy a bigger van and convert it ourselves. Our LWB Hi-roof Sprinter is 20 years old in a few weeks, has done over Half a Million KMs (313, 750 miles) and runs like a treat, nice to drive and enough room for 2 of us - plus we can fit the ebikes in the rear if we want to take them along too. Far too many of the bought vans have very little 'lounge area', when you self build you can prioritise what matters to you most. We've made the most of the slider by building the kitchen half across it, with a sofa/dinette opposite, a washroom/WC and then 2 big 2m long sofa/beds in the back - no bed to make up each night, unless you want one giant bed - but plenty of room. If you can find a ready built van second hand that ticks all the boxes its great, but most have some form of compromise or are far beyond most peoples reach cost wise. Keep the content coming - I suggest you invest in a USB rechargeable bug zapper - they work really well!

[debh-h]

The main reason we did self build was after looking at a lot of off the shelf vans, nothing had everything we wanted and where we wanted it. The layouts didn't work for us. So after months working on our self build in 202/201 we are very happy with Glo or being in Wales and fans of Gavin & Stacey known as Glo'lar. We did our first long haul trip to Scandinavian this year which was awesome.

[SherryAnnOfTheWest]

I've always said, yours if one of the most beautiful, functional, and practical van builds I've ever seen. And the fact you did it all for 12 GBP? Insane!!! I'll take Mary for the win.

[alienscientist]

If your in the UK, you want the sliding door on the passenger side, , that's the side you also wanna sleep on, , unless you fancy a 32 tone truck hitting you in the night. Sliding door because when you're driving the park ups are on the left so you don't wanna get in the back from the road side of the van. It doesn't take a year, I did mine in 4 weeks full time. Most of that was planning. Is a toilot worth 30 grand.. I never use a shower as it's a waste of water, can use a flannel and sourspan. Same with washing up sink, , don't bother, park and dump that water. So no grey water.. Most self builds I've seen are far to heavy, , ie too much wood.. Use 5mm ply. Been full time 6 years.

[simoncummins]

The down side of the offside sliding door is that if you get out of it and your parked on the road correctly you are getting out into the traffic. It built like that because the interior furniture is designed for left hand drive.

[On_the_vanwagon]

Not too keen on the Fire but generally prefer a professional build. Got an Adria Twin and love the shower and design

[elelegidosf]

Sliding door on the curb side of the van is better so you can get in and out from the curb and, when you have the door open, it's not open to traffic driving past the van. So for right hand drive vans, that's the passenger side, i.e. win for your van, not the professionally-built one.

[cirrusvfr]

Self build every time for have a Renault Trafic which I spent 6 months converting in since then have had over 330 nights in it and has many changes and upgrades over the years.

[LeisureBit]

I have the manufactured and then added my own things but would love to do my own van as imagine there is something magical for the effort you put into it that it gives you back - so Mary gets the vote from me 👍
Great video as always, have a great week, David 👍

[frenchboy-mpui]

First time on your channel.
Mary is a very nice short van, unique, with the best kitchen unit.
Still though, if money was no object, I'd buy from a local professional converter and go as bespoke as possible with them. Then I'd rely on their expertise and warranty to fix what goes wrong during ownership.
Hold on... Maybe I would be better off converting a van myself, so that I could fix anything that goes wrong myself.
Yeah, diy is probably best.

[stellaswancounselling]

We’ve got a self build and we love the manufactured ones way too cramped and specs aren’t that high for the money self build all the way ❤. Great video love the cooking segments ❤

[hikaru__]

Most of us love your Camper van Mary more than the professionaly built Camper van 💝

And we all appreciate you and your friends effort for building Camper van Mary and giving it a personal and special touch 🤍

Thank you Will 💙

Viewer from Nepal 🇳🇵

[zacksrc]

Great build ! I did my own t6 and its been great. Away everyweek .
Looking to do bigger van now possibly a crafter. But i dont think i would sacrifice my own time to self build again.
Its cheaper, but i think about how much fun i could be having getting one already done and not spending probably a good 4 weeks or more to get my own built.
You forget just how long it takes to get it done and its still an on-going project!
Always new bits to add!

[palmermccall]

Self-build for sure. But with a bath/shower compartment. Ace video, thanks!

[elchinator]

Money and time IS the deciding factor! If you have no money, but enough time, build your own. If you have enough money, but no time, buy one. If you have both money and time, buy one and improve it. If you have neither money nor time, what do you want an camper for?!?

[rtshort]

I'd have to go the "professional" route, ONLY for the bathroom. That's something that could have been added to yours though. Just a personal preference for me.

Love Mary too.