We thought it was about time to catch up with the man behind that van
Broadcast systems engineer Jack Richens, 37, is no newcomer to van living. He says, “I’d spent a long time living in a van and really enjoyed it. It was a money saving exercise initially. The old van was parked up on an industrial estate in West London, I’d roll out of the van into to the local swimming pool and then I’d stroll into work.”
A cleverly designed bedroom area allows 4 to sleep comfortably in the 2012 Mercedes Sprinter
Nevertheless, he admits that on this project his partner Lucy Hedges, 38, was the brains behind the operation. On setting out to convert their van, the couple, who are based in Oxford, had only one question in mind.
“Can you spend a whole week in this van with 2 kids and not want to kill each other?”
The answer it seems is a resounding yes. This is largely due to the space saving design devised by Lucy which made room for 2 bunk beds, a double bed and an ample kitchen and dining area.
Though the finished van certainly looks beautifully simple, the build process was far from easy. According to Jack, “The build process goes a bit like this: get a van, swear, shout, scream, sweat, sob and drink tea until it’s finished.”
The van’s interior is characterised by smooth lines and homely touches
Jack adds that though they wanted the van’s interior to look beautiful, “It’s got to work first. We’ve got a fistful of designs for the most incredible camper vans but I’m not entirely sure that they would be useful for a family of 4. So when Lucy came up with the bunk idea and the designs started to come to life it was clear to us how to make it look nice.”
This was the fun part. Being able to customise the interior of a space in which they intend to spend so much time was clearly very important to both Jack and Lucy. Personality in traditional motorhomes or campervans can seem lacking. As Jack said, the companies that produce these “are still building live in vehicles that look like their Nan’s house.”
However, the redesign hasn’t been met with complete support. In particular, the couple have received a lot of criticism over their decision to leave out any bathroom facilities.
Jack says, “The lack of a toilet seems to really wind people up which is an endless source of amusement. I’ve received an endless torrent of abuse for the omission of a toilet and shower. People are really offended. So much so they go to all the trouble of telling me in a long winded email.”
This hasn’t put him off though. Of this backlash he says, “It’s absolutely hilarious.”
Good reviews have certainly outweighed the bad and have now inspired Jack to put his new found expertise in conversion to good use.
He says, “Once our prototype van was finished we were driving all over the county surfing, going to festivals, exploring the forests and mountains. Everywhere we went people would ask to buy the van from us. So, as an experiment, I set out to build and sell the conversions and see what happened. It turns out the van conversions have melted the internet. Which is nice.”
Now the couple are planning to take their prized van all the way to Senegal and there is no doubt that many more adventures will follow. However, there are a few van conversions to finish off first!
Jack and Lucy completed most of the work on their first van
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