Best van for a camper conversion: a comparison

In Europe, these are the most commonly used vans for camper conversion:

Fiat Ducato / Citroën Relay / Peugeot Boxer — by far the most popular. Good value for money, lots of second-hand options, large ecosystem of parts and knowledge. Available in L2H2, L3H2, L3H3 and L4H3.

Mercedes Sprinter — premium quality, stable handling, excellent build quality. More expensive to buy and maintain. Available in various sizes.

Volkswagen Crafter / MAN TGE — comparable to the Sprinter but with VW dealer network. Good quality.

Ford Transit — popular in the US and UK, increasingly in Europe. Good engine, modern interior.

Renault Master / Vauxhall Movano / Nissan NV400 — cheaper alternative, less popular with converters but a solid base.

The size of your van depends on how you plan to use the camper:

L2H2 (approx. 5.4m long, 1.90m standing height): compact enough for the city, but tight for two people. Suitable for solo travelers or weekend use.

L3H2 (approx. 6.0m long, 1.90m standing height): the most popular size. Enough room for a fixed bed, kitchen and seating area. Still manageable in the city.

L3H3 / L4H3 (6.0-6.4m long, 2.10m standing height): maximum interior space. You can build a raised bed with storage underneath. Note: may not fit in all parking garages.

Tip: always measure the interior dimensions yourself. Factory specs are exterior measurements. After insulation you lose 5-10 cm on each side.

Many converters forget to check the payload until it's too late. A fully built camper van easily weighs 500-800 kg more than the empty base vehicle.

Keep this in mind:

• Insulation + cladding: 100-200 kg
• Electrical (batteries, panels, cables): 50-100 kg
• Kitchen + water system: 50-80 kg
• Furniture: 100-200 kg
• Water (full): 80-120 kg
• Personal belongings: 50-100 kg

A Fiat Ducato L3H2 typically has a payload of 1,200-1,500 kg. After conversion, often only 200-400 kg remains for passengers and luggage. Choose a van with a high GVW (3,500 kg or more) to avoid problems.

New: you get a warranty, choose exactly the specs you want and start with a clean slate. Downside: expensive (€25,000-€45,000 for a bare van) and it hurts to drill the first holes.

Young used (3-5 years, 50-100,000 km): the sweet spot for many converters. Significantly cheaper than new, still modern and reliable. Check service history and rust.

Old (10+ years): budget option, but expect higher maintenance costs and potential rust issues. Check chassis, brakes and turbo carefully. A good old Ducato is fine, but a bad one is a money pit.

This is the measurement that usually only starts to matter once the van is already on the driveway. Sleeping crossways saves you almost two metres of length, but it only works if the van is wide enough.

The interior width between the wheel arches varies:

• Fiat Ducato, Peugeot Boxer and Citroën Jumper: 1.87 m
• VW Crafter and MAN TGE: 1.83 m
• Mercedes Sprinter and Ford Transit: 1.78 m
• Renault Master and Vauxhall Movano: 1.77 m

Your build-up comes off that figure. Insulation plus panelling easily takes 4 to 5 cm per side, so a Ducato leaves you around 1.77 m and a Sprinter around 1.68 m. If you are taller than that, a Ducato still just about takes you crossways and a Sprinter no longer does.

There are ways around it: a recess in the wall at foot height, or a bed that sits short by day and slides out at night. Both cost build time. A bed along the length costs no width but does take two metres of floor, and that comes off your kitchen and seating area.

The height in the brochure is the cargo bay of the bare van. An H2 usually sits between 1.89 and 1.96 m, an H3 between 2.03 and 2.20 m.

Here too your build-up comes off. A floor with insulation and a board on top costs 4 to 6 cm, and the ceiling takes another 3 to 4 cm. So an H2 of 1.93 m ends up around 1.84 m of clear standing height.

For most people that is enough to stand upright and cook. If you are taller than 1.85 m you will be stooping every day in an H2, and an H3 earns its keep.

What an H3 costs you: more wind and therefore more fuel, and you no longer fit under the barrier of a car park. Those usually sit at 2.00 or 2.10 m, while an H3 van with a roof vent and panels goes over that. Ferries and some toll roads will also put you in a different price bracket.

A panel van has usually had a working life behind it. That need not be a problem, but a few things can sour your conversion.

Rust matters most. Look underneath, in the wheel arches, along the bottom edge of the sliding door and around the rear doors. Rust under a window seal or in a seam is more expensive than it looks, because clearing it means tearing out what you have just built in.

Beyond that, check:

• Service history, with receipts rather than only a stamped book
• The timing drive: with a chain you want to hear it start from cold, with a belt you want to know when it was replaced
• The particulate filter, because a van that only did short city runs has rarely been kind to it
• Play in the front suspension and the state of the brake discs

Ask about anything already fitted, too. A towbar, roof rack or double passenger seat are not in the empty weight on the registration document, but they will weigh on the weighbridge later.

Most people pick a van first and then try to fit their plan into it. The other way round works better, and it costs you nothing but an afternoon of arithmetic.

Write down what has to go in: how you want to sleep, whether you want a fixed shower, how much you cook, whether you want to work inside. Work out the floor length each part takes. A crossways bed is about 1.40 m, a lengthways bed 2.00 m, a kitchen unit 1.20 m, a seating area where two people can sit at a table 1.30 m, and a shower cubicle 0.80 m.

Add those up and you know which length class you need. Only then do you look at what is for sale, and half your hesitation usually disappears.

Do the same with weight before you buy. Put your expected build into the weight calculator and run the result through the payload check. A van that is marginally too tight is better discovered now than after you have filled it.