Best Van for a Camper Conversion

This is by far the most exciting (and daunting) part of your van to camper journey, choosing the best van for a camper conversion. You may have your van already and if so then head onto the rest of the content at The Camper Den. If not then our guide and lists will hopefully help you identify the type of van that suits your needs.

If you haven’t already bought a van then there are some key questions to answer.

• What’s your budget?
• How many will be sleeping in the van and will you need a pop top?
• Will you be using the van a daily driver outside of trips?
• Will height restrictions be an issue where you plan to use your van?
• How much space do you have to park the van when not in use?

Types of Van – Size Codes

When searching for vans, you’ll come across the codes below so to help you we’ve added a brief description but you will have to search for the exact dimension for the particular model you’re interested in.

Length Codes:

• L1: Short length.
• L2: Medium length.
• L3: Long length.
• L4: Extra-long or maximum length. 

Height Codes:

• H1: Standard or low height.
• H2: High height.
• H3: Extra-high height. 

Types of Vans – Sizes

Small Van – These are great for manoeuvrability, they don’t take up much space and can be very fuel efficient. Typically they’ll sleep up to 2 and it will feel more like camping with cooking and bathroom activities needing to be taken care of outside of the van.

Small Van Models

• Volkswagen Caddy
• Citreon Berlingo/Peugeot Partner
• Vauxhall Combo
• Ford Transit Connect
• Fiat Doblo
• Mercedes Citan

Volkswagen Caddy

Medium Van – These are by the far the most popular choice for van conversions and for good reason. With a footprint of only a little bit larger than a family car and able to sleep and feed a family in comfort they’re the perfect choice if you’re going to need it to help with daily life. As they are so popular there are endless accessories available to so you can really out your mark on your conversion.

Medium Van Models

• Volkswagen Transporter
• Ford Transit Custom
• Renault Traffic/Vauxhall Vivaro
• Citreon Dispatch/Peugeot Expert
• Mercedes Vito

Ford Transit Custom

Large Van – If you want more space, a caravan/motorhome feel inside and a good value base then these vans hit the mark. Large vans have been increasing in popularity since Covid with the Mercedes sprinter van conversion becoming the poster child for the vanlife movement. There are compromises, the obvious one being the size and the challenge this provides with parking it outside your house and manoeuvring around those Scottish Highland roads your longing to take it on (just us? thought not!). That said there are a vast array of models, wheelbase lengths and heights to suit your needs and stress levels.

Large Van Models

• Mercedes Sprinter
• Volkswagen Crafter/MAN TGE
• Fiat Ducato
• Renault Master/Vauxhall Movano
• Ford Transit
• Citroen Relay/Peugeot Boxer

Mercedes Sprinter Van

So thats an overview of what we think are the main base vans for your conversion. There are lots of other more niche vans from redundant ambulance to horse boxes and on our travels we’ve seen some amazing examples. This is one of the exciting parts of van converting, being able to take pretty much any safe van and turn it into something that can provide tons of happy memories.

Convert, Equip, Explore. Your van transformation starts here.