The question of how long it takes to build one of our campervans is an often asked topic by our customers. How long will it take from order to delivery?

It’s a good question. So, we gave this some thought over a coffee one weekday morning with one of our customers who had just placed a deposit on a Toyota Alphard, which had just arrived fresh from Japan.

Our client had popped in that morning to browse our range of pre-built Toyota Alphard’s with a view to making a purchase. Having looked at the range we had on offer she was drawn to one of our new arrivals which was awaiting its campervan conversion. Two questions arose.

“How long will it take to build this one” and “Can I have that same interior layout fitted into this one, but with a different colour”.

Above: An example of our conversions, this vehicle shows its cabinetry in Hacienda White

Yes! you can have a different colour configuration. We offer a selection of colours to choose from. This suited our clients needs and having perused though a selection of interior wood colours in our office, a decision was made and from that point that Toyota Alphard had found its new owner.

Below: An example of wood cabinetry colours available.

All that remained was to answer the question of time frame.  This was set at 5 weeks.

In essence, our usual time frame for build through to handover is usually 4 to 6 weeks with waiting times for a physical build slot varying from two weeks to two months during busy periods. This is from the point of placing a deposit on the vehicle.

While this answers the question of how long it takes, we also know there is so much more to the build of a quality campervan. So we thought we would drill down into the process and talk a little more about how the magic happens.

First Base

In our opinion, a quality campervan must start with an excellent base vehicle which is worthy of transformation into a campervan.

This mindset is at the core of our process. There is no shortage of vehicles out there to choose from. However, the car pool shrinks significantly when you focus only on quality first.

We only source the best base vehicles available. This means quality low mileage vehicles with provenance to support their history.

For some of our vehicles our reach goes as far as Japan. We have been operating within the Japanese used car network since 2002.  Our range of Toyota Alphard’s are a prime example of a perfect platform in which to convert into a high end campervan.

Above: One of our Toyota’s awaiting export from Japan.

Below: A typical Japanese grading certificate. This document proves mileage, condition and authenticity at the point of purchase in Japan. This one is representative of a high quality vehicle with genuine low mileage. It proves the vehicle is the genuine article.

Vehicles arriving direct from Japan. Ready for campervan conversion.

When converted to a high standard, the Alphard is unrivalled by other competitors in the compact campervan marketplace. Both in terms of value for money and for its driving experience. All of our Japanese sourced campervans come with their grading certificates which supports both their mileage and authenticity. So, you can be confident that when you purchase from us, you are dealing with a professional long established company and investing into the genuine article.

With regards to our UK sourced vehicles, we have trusted professional partners and source directly from the biggest names in the industry to find quality low mileage examples with service history and clean title.

The build

There is much to consider when embarking into the build of a campervan. Layout is important and fundamental to how the vehicle ultimately works and feels. Even the smallest change during the build can have a significant impact on the whole process, which is why we stick to a tried and tested layout for each of our conversions.

Below: A Toyota Alphard in build, showing the elevating roof and cabinetry partly installed.

The build process always starts with the existing interior of the vehicle being stripped and prepared.

We then lay the flooring. Our conversions have dedicated ply flooring with hard wearing and easy clean vinyl floor coverings. The floor installation forms the start of the fit out process.

From there work starts on the elevating roof installation. Probably the most intricate processes of the whole build, fitting the roof requires a team of professionals to undertake the installation and then retrim around the inside roof area to create a seamless finish which blends the new with existing.

A quality roof forms the heart of this operation and unlike some campervan builders our roofs all come colour coded to the vehicle body colour, further enhancing the visual appeal and value to the end product.

Below: An example of a completed elevated roof, colour coded to the vehicle.

After roof installation any interior panel trimming is finalised including the vinyl floor trim ready for the next process.

Below: Part way through the build. Flooring fitted with cabinetry being installed.

From this point the interior cabinetry work commences construction and is built to a predetermined level before being installed into the vehicle and finalised.  Our conversions are always purpose built with permanent installations.

Electrics

First fix electrics are installed into the vehicle at this stage. The leisure battery location is determined and wirings are fitted.  Our campervans come with comprehensive electrics. A dedicated 12volt leisure battery, mains hook up connection, battery charger, USB charger points for tech, LED low power lighting plus a split charging system which allows for battery charging via the vehicles engine when either off grid or during driving. Our campervans also come with fully fitted modern fridges, integrated hob and sink units and in some instances solar panels.

Above: Led lighting and electrical panel, 12 volt charger points and mains plugs installed.

Above: A typical fridge installation onboard one of our vehicles.

Above: Leisure battery and associated wiring loom with split charger and fuses being installed into one of our micro campervans.

Once the first fix electrics have been fitted its time to install the cabinetry into position and fit the rock and roll bed system.

At this stage things get busy onboard with connections made for mains hook up, plumbing and pipework. All seating is re installed and the gas installation for the hob is fitted.

Above: A typical gas locker installation with floor vents, gas bottle regulator and securing straps.

Above: An example of newly installed pipework for the sink, showing associated plumbing in the background for the fresh water system.

Completion

At this point the vehicle now looks like a completed campervan. But a final stage of testing and checking our work for consistency and quality is undertaken before we are happy to say the vehicle is finished.

During this final process the vehicles Gas systems are checked by a qualified professional to ensure safety and peace of mind.

The vehicle is then valeted and cleaned before completing a final PDI ( Pre Delivery Inspection) in readiness for handover to our customer.

This is just a brief overview into the process of creating our campervans. The build process is actually a far more technical process than this article describes.

The finished article. One of our campervans ready for handover.

Over one hundred and fifty man hours go into the build of every campervan we create, but the actual process starts long before a customer even decides to award us with their business.

For us the process starts at the point we purchase each vehicle. When we consider our Toyota Alphard’s, the transformation into a fully-fledged campervan starts the moment we agree the purchase in Japan.

With export and shipping times from Japan to the UK taking up to three months or more, its not uncommon for the journey from purchase to completed campervan status taking up to 6 months or longer before our customers view the vehicle onsite, completed and ready for sale.  It’s a significant and fascinating process.

A happy customer sent us this image of a recent holiday away with their new campervan. For us this is the perfect reflection of why we do what we do.

The end result. Always well worth the effort. We are proud of our campervans and for us it’s a way of life.  There’s nothing better than passing one of our vehicles out on the road and knowing that was one we built !