Camper van layout: tips for a well-planned floor plan

Before you start drawing, make a list of what you truly need. Do you always sleep as a couple? Do you need a permanent workspace? Do you cook elaborately or mostly eat outside?

Most camper vans have room for three of these five functions at full size: bed, kitchen, seating area, storage and bathroom (shower/toilet). The rest must be compact or multifunctional. Decide upfront what matters most to you.

The bathroom is often the biggest dilemma: a fixed shower and toilet take up a lot of space (at least 70 by 80 cm), but offer real comfort. Many builders opt for a portable toilet and shower outside or at campsites.

The bed is the largest fixed surface in your camper and the only piece of furniture whose size is not negotiable. That is why a floor plan starts there and not at the kitchen.

A crosswise bed requires the van to be wide enough inside, usually around 1.80 metres after insulation. If it fits, the bed costs roughly 1.40 metres of van length and you keep the rest. If it does not, the bed runs lengthwise and you immediately lose 2 metres along one side of the van.

The third answer is a lift bed or a convertible bench. A lift bed hands the full space back during the day but needs height, so in a low van it drops out. A convertible bench costs no space but does cost five minutes every evening, and that is exactly the kind of thing that grates after three months.

Decide this first, mark it out full size, and fit the rest around it. A kitchen can shift once more, a bed cannot.

There are a few tried-and-tested layouts that work well in most van sizes:

Lengthwise bed at the rear: the bed runs along the length at the back. Leaves room for a longer kitchen and storage underneath. Suitable for solo travellers or couples who don't need a large bed.

Crosswise bed at the rear: the bed spans the full width at the back. Important: the van's interior width determines whether this is feasible. In a Fiat Ducato or Peugeot Boxer (the widest vans, about 187 cm inside) this works well. In a Mercedes Sprinter or VW Crafter the interior is narrower, and without side flares you cannot sleep crosswise comfortably if you are taller than 175 cm.

L-shaped kitchen: the kitchen runs along the side wall and turns the corner. Provides plenty of worktop but takes more floor space. Note: an L-shaped kitchen often blocks the passageway to the cab, preventing you from using swivel seats as a seating area.

Dinette bed: the seating area converts to a bed at night. Saves space but takes time to set up and take down each day.

About van sizes: L2 means the second-shortest version (about 5.40 m cargo length), L3 is longer (about 6.00 m) and L4 the longest (about 6.90 m). L stands for length, H for height.

Keep at least 45 cm of walkway space between furniture. In a narrower van (such as a VW T5/T6) this is tricky; consider a layout where you walk on one side with furniture on the other.

Worktop at 85-90 cm height is comfortable for most people. The bed should be high enough for storage underneath (at least 40 cm), but low enough to get in and out comfortably.

Also think about headroom: if you want to stand inside the van, you need at least 180 cm. With a low roof, a high-top conversion or pop-top is an option.

Storage is always scarce in a camper van. Use the space under the bed, above the cab and in the wheel arches. Think vertically: tall narrow cabinets use space better than low wide ones.

Distinguish between daily storage (easily accessible: clothing, cookware, toiletries) and long-term storage (tools, spare parts, seasonal clothing).

Tip: plan your storage before building furniture. It is easier to design a cabinet around specific items than to discover later that your pots don't fit.

Think about weight distribution: if you place the water tank (up to 100 kg when full), batteries (20-40 kg) and kitchen all on the same side, your camper van will lean. This causes uneven tyre wear and poor handling. Try to place heavy components between the axles and distribute weight evenly left and right. Use our Weight Distribution tool to check this.

A floor plan divides not only space but kilos. The heaviest parts of your camper are the water tank, the batteries and the kitchen, and where you put them decides how the van drives and whether you stay within the axle limits.

The rule of thumb: heavy things as low as possible and as close to the rear axle as possible, but not behind it. Anything hanging behind the rear axle acts as a lever: it loads the rear axle further and unloads the front axle at the same time, which makes the steering go light.

A 100 litre water tank right at the back is therefore a poor idea, even though it is the easiest place to mount it. Under the floor between the axles is better, and if that is impossible, then under the bed ahead of the rear axle.

Total weight and axle distribution are two separate checks that both have to pass. You can sit comfortably under your maximum and still overload the rear axle. Work it out before you start screwing things down; moving them later costs a day.

A camper with too little light feels smaller than it is, and you notice that only when it is too late. Windows and roof hatches are therefore part of the floor plan, not the finishing.

Three places that count. Above the kitchen, because that is where you work and want to see what you are doing. At the seating area, because that is where you spend half a day in bad weather. And a roof hatch above the bed, which brings ventilation against condensation as well as light.

At the same time, think about what is outside. Every window is a hole in your insulation and a place where heat leaks, and a window facing south turns your van into an oven on a summer day. On the side where you usually open the door and roll out the awning you want a window; on the side facing the road, less so.

The sliding door is your largest opening and your natural entrance. Do not put anything in front of it that is often in the way, and remember that a kitchen by the sliding door means cooking with the door open, which is pleasant in summer and not in winter.

Use our Floor Plan tool to draw your layout digitally with the exact dimensions of your van. Drag furniture around and see if everything fits.

Even better: build a mock-up from cardboard or styrofoam in your van. Take it for a weekend trip and discover the pain points before you start building. Many van builders only discover after construction that the fridge is in an awkward spot or that the bathroom door hits the bed.