WHACKY WHEELS

They used to tow a caravan, but Piet and Dina van der Walt from Rustenburg needed the convenience of a camper to best enjoy their golden years.

We own a beach house in Scottburgh on the south-coast of KwaZulu-Natal and enjoy going on vacation down there. But whenever we’d get a bit bored with staying in one place for too long, we’d just hitch our caravan to explore another part of the region.

Now that I’m 75 years old, the hassle of a caravan doesn’t appeal to me anymore and that’s when I decided to shop around and found this used 2014 Mercedes-Benz Vito crew van and decided to convert it into a camper. With a sliding door on both sides, I knew the Vito would be perfect for the ideas I had about the conversion.

First, while the rear of the cabin would double up as our sleeping quarters, it would still have to retain its ability to seat three fully grown adults in comfort as a Mercedes-Benz should. Now, when the seatbacks are folded forward, the 2 x 1,3 m bed can be made.

Next, what’s a camping experience without an awning to sit under and enjoy beautiful sunrises and sunsets? For this job I fitted an Eezi-Awn 270 that opens up around the left side of the vehicle and around the rear which is also our kitchen. On the right side I used a slide-out awning (also from Eezi-Awn) that extends by 2 m, which is ample space for our washroom. I used the side panels of a gazebo to ensure privacy, and because of their light weight.

Inside, I’ve added a geyser and water pump under the rear seats that can operate on gas or from a 220 V power source, a 40 ℓ water tank, gas cylinder, and a drawer for storing miscellaneous items. Between the front seats we have an air-con that also runs off 220 V.

The Vito is powered by a 2,2 turbodiesel engine and it uses a manual gearbox to send power to the rear wheels. So far, our fuel consumption has averaged a respectable 10 ℓ/100 km.

We’ve only owned this camper for six months and haven’t really started touring with it yet, but we are planning to head further south and experience the splendour of the Eastern Cape’s Wild Coast for ourselves.

All told, I spent around R250 000, including the R170 000 that I spent on the Vito. The extras are worth R80 000 and because I did virtually all the work myself, there were no labour costs. As you can see, only the 220 V plug on the left and the awnings reveal that this vehicle is a bonafide camper. It also fits in a standard garage because we chose to keep the conversion simple.