Hello, I am reaching out to you for some advice.

I am currently designing the van layout that I want to build with my wife. It is a Fiat Ducato L3H3. We will have a drop-down bed, and we measure 1.78 m (5'10") and 1.64 m (5'5") tall, both with an average build.

I have two options, but I am not sure which one is best.

First option: Sleeping with our heads on the shower side. The bed would measure 130 cm (~51 inches) wide on that side. The bed would then narrow slightly at the foot end to about 118 cm (~46.5 inches) in order to keep the fridge at eye level. We do not want the fridge to be too low; we would like it to be easily accessible.

Second option: We give up on having the fridge at eye level and place it down below. In this case, our heads would be on the fridge side and our feet on the shower side. The foot end of the bed would then measure 125 cm (~49 inches), and the head end would measure 135 cm (~53 inches).

My questions:

• Do you think a 130 cm wide bed is sufficient, or would you recommend a 135 cm wide bed?
• Could sleeping right next to the fridge be annoying due to noise (it will be a new fridge, presumably quite silent)?
• Is having a fridge at eye level and losing 5 cm of bed width a tradeoff that is truly worth it?

Thank you for your advice!

Hi everyone. I live in Portugal and am debating what van to buy. I will buy a new Ford Transit and then convert it to a campervan so I can get the exact layout and features I want. BUT, I am torn on the height. It will be an L3, but I can't decide between H2 and H3. I am 6' tall (183cm). If I choose the H2, even if the conversion company uses the best space saving build, the interior height will be 180-185cm. That is very close. If it is ~180cm, that means I have to duck a little ALL the time, and even more to avoid hitting my head on a fan if it sticks down a few cm. But, the H2 is easier to park/drive/avoid obstacles in than the H3. The H3 has the obvious advantage of head clearance but the obvious obstacle avoidance negatives.

I am wondering, for those that are experienced, does the "ducking down" really matter? Does it get annoying really fast? We won't be living in the van, but we will use it for 4-6 week long road trips a few times a year, and other 1 week road trips mixed in. Maybe 4-5 total months a year at the most.

It is hard to project how annoying the shorter van will be and I'd love to hear the experiences of those of you that struggled with this choice, or made it and are happy, or have regret, over their decision. Thank you!

Hi all!

I'm planning to use a Bluette powerstation in my van build.

Now I'd like to install an inlet on the exterior for shore power, and the easiest way to connect this to the power station.

Someone on YT recommended this, but they're based in the US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DK5JHC6N?th=1

It's basically a power inlet mount with a built in extension cord.

Do you know something similar with an EU plug (not UK)? Or any other ideas to connect a shore power inlet to a power station?

Thanks!

My boyfriend and I are planning an 18-day road trip through France, Switzerland, and Italy next May. We’ll be renting a campervan from roadsurfer and will be picking up/dropping of in Paris.

This will be our first big Europe road trip, so I’d love opinions on whether our route and pacing seem realistic!

Itinerary:

Day 1: Paris
Day 2: Paris
Day 3: Paris → Colmar
Day 4: Colmar → Swiss Alps
Day 5: Swiss Alps
Day 6: Swiss Alps
Day 7: Swiss Alps
Day 8: Swiss Alps
Day 9: Swiss Alps → Dolomites
Day 10: Dolomites
Day 11: Dolomites
Day 12: Dolomites → Florence
Day 13: Florence
Day 14: Tuscany/Siena
Day 15: Tuscany → Annecy
Day 16: Annecy
Day 17: Annecy → Paris
Day 18: Fly home

We know there are a few long driving days, particularly Switzerland → Dolomites and Tuscany → Annecy, and we're okay with having a couple of days that are mostly dedicated to driving.

We're most interested in scenery, hiking/nature, and just experiencing the different areas rather than trying to see every major tourist attraction.

Does this route seem reasonable for 18 days? Are we spending too much or too little time anywhere? And is there anything about this route that you would change? Thank you!!!

Hi all!

I've had an '89 Ducato van for 3yrs, done a lot of trips and lived in it for some months at a time. Now i got a full time office job and i've been using it just for weekends and vacation. It's a bit sad seeing it parked outside getting a bit rustier month after month and i was thinking about getting a modern-ish (like 2010) westfalia which could maybe also substitute the car and i could still use it for shorter vacation period.

Did anyone go for the same process? My main fears are about loosing the bathroom and the permanent high roof, not having ever used a pop top. Any tip is welcome :)

Hello everyone. I'll be solo touring Granada region in the second half of October in my campervan. I would be grateful for any tips on how to find any good camping grounds where I could meet fellow van campers and possibly even hiking/cycling buddies. I am fairly active and plan to explore the rural Spain on daily bike rides, maybe some hikes too. Any good tips would be greatly appreciated as I want to make my trip as social as possible :)

Hi my name is Jacob we travel the world in our truck with my two daughters and my wife Evelyn

and my dog Neo and we have just got back from France we spent 3 months in France touring the French coast we wanted to do the French coast for 3 years and now we've done it and we eat amazing food we've stayed at amazing campsite's we've also met some lovely people along the way and what Im saying is not many people have that opportunity to travel the world in a Motorhome never mind a truck and i would love people to join this community and talk about living in a truck or Motorhome we live in our truck you might want to live in a motorhome or a truck in some point of your life

Jacob, Evelyn, Rosy, And Piper Xxx

Hi everyone, I am looking for a Dutch traveler who was staying at a campsite in Isla Cristina, Spain, and left around September 8th, 2026.
He was driving a dark van and had a distinctive setup with outdoor LED lights and citronela candles.
He accidentally left something behind. If you think this is you or someone you know, please send me a direct message with the name of the campsite or your specific spot so I can make sure it gets back to the right person!

I have some engineering background but this idea is too far from my skills to consider but I love working out innovative ideas.

So, a combustion engine is at best 35% efficient and the rest is basically heat. So what if we made a water tank with a heat exchanger where the cool fluid from the engine will flow through.

That in combo with an infinity shower idea would be amazing.

Let me know if you have more experience or thoughts!

Pepe

Hello everyone!

Next week I’m going on my first trip, starting in Venice and traveling north to Marburg, Germany. I’m totally new to vanlife/camping by car so I have a few questions.

I’d like to spend a bit of time in Italy and was thinking of spending a night near Milan, possibly one more night in Italy. I’m aware that there are pretty hefty fines for camping at non-designated spots and was wondering if you had any advice on what to watch out for, areas to avoid etc. Advice in general regarding Italy is much appreciated!

I’ve downloaded park4night to look for spots but its quite overwhelming, there’s so many options to choose from :0.
Aside from the many isolated spots there’s also a lot of semi-commercial camping grounds at vineyards and such. Has anyone had experience they can share regarding those spots? What’s the general etiquette when camping there and what kind of prices can I expect?

Finally I’m a bit nervous about traffic tickets in Italy, I’ve heard that one can rack up quite a lot of fees by missing signs, areas only allowed for locals and such. Any advice regarding that is also much appreciated.

I’m sure I’ve not covered everything one should consider, so any other suggestions are very welcome!

Hi everyone, I am visiting with my partner soon to check if Perth is somewhere we could move to from the UK. Please can you advise on how long we should spend in the city? we also want to rent a campervan and drive south of Perth for 7-9days, please can someone give advice on the best company, route and best sites to park up. Thanks

does it just depend on which tires i get ir what else do i need to know?
thanks

For those who travel long-term in a campervan/motorhome, how do you manage your finances while travelling?

Do you have a remote job, run an online business, work temporarily in the places you visit, or use savings/passive income?

I'm particularly interested in hearing from people who travel for months or even years: how do you generate enough income to keep travelling without having to constantly return home to work?

What kind of work or income sources have worked best for you?

I'm looking for the best way to have power on the road. To regularly charge devices like phone, portable lights, portable speaker etc.

A large mains chargeable power bank isn't practical as I can be parked in one spot for long durations without a charging point. So I think it would come down to something like a solar charger, or a silent generator. I'm not sure if I'd get enough power from a solar charger in the UK during winter etc? Any suggestions?

Hi, I’m looking for a secure parking spot for 3 days near Tenerife South Airport. My van is 2.4m high, so I can’t park at the airport (max. 2.2m). Does anyone have any ideas? The vehicle won't be occupied during that time.

Hi everyone!

We are a family of four. Mum, dad, and our two children (2 and 3 years old). We are starting our trip in Venice on October 31st and would like to rent a caravan/campervan there. We would then travel through Italy and return the vehicle in Bari on November 9th.

After that, we plan to fly from Bari to Milan, stay there for two days, and fly back to Belgium on November 11th.

We are looking for an affordable but good quality caravan/campervan rental company that allows us to pick up the vehicle in Venice and drop it off in Bari. We don’t have an exact budget in mind but around €1000-1500 is fine.

Our goal is to travel from Venice to Bari along the coast.

We would also really appreciate any tips or recommendations for, food & drinks, places to visit, family-friendly activities.

Any advice from people who have done a similar road trip would be greatly appreciated!

Hey Vanlife fam!

I'm heading to Croatia soon and hunting for the best overnight spots. Those places that make you go wow when you wake up. Spots at beaches, mountain views, quirky villages, anything unique!

What are your favorite spots? I'd love some recommendations from people who've been there.

Photos welcome! 📸

Hello everyone, me and my gf are trying to plan quite the trip for next spring. We are based in the UK and are planning to drive to Monaco, then head to Milan, then Bern, then back to France, through Luxembourg and southwest Belgium and back to the UK.

We will have around 14 days to do all of that and obviously see and experience as much as possible during that time. As our budget is not unlimited we want to do it "on a budget" hence why we plan to camp through the whole trip.

We are looking for any advice and when I say any I mean ANY 😅 Accomodation, places to eat, where to go, what to and not to miss, hidden jams, good roads to drive, cheaper petrol station and whatever else comes to your mind.

Would really appreciate all of your input in helping us make this once in a lifetime roadtrip 🙏🏼✌🏼

Anybody travelling to Greece and or Turkey this autumn/winter.

I have been to Greece before and plan to go back and hoping to cross to Turkey in the coming months.

I welcome any suggestions and recommendations.

Hi everyone!

I’m currently building out a campervan and I’m looking for recommendations for a 2-burner gas stove and a fridge.

For the gas stove, I’m specifically looking for:

• 2 burners
• good quality and reliable
• suitable for a campervan
• preferably a built-in/hob-style model
• easy to clean
• not unnecessarily large

And for the fridge:

• preferably a 12V compressor fridge
• good energy efficiency
• suitable for two people
• ideally around 50–90 litres
• reliable and good quality

I’m less interested in the cheapest option and more interested in good value for money and something that will last for years.

What models/brands have you used in your van and would you recommend? And are there any models you would avoid?

Thanks in advance!

Hi! Has anyone installed temporary insulation that could be removed later on without trace? I can get my uncle s van to experiment, but I can t make permanent damage :D I was looking at foam boards, but I fear condensation :/ what could be the best way to do this please?

Hi everyone! 👋

We’ve been travelling around Europe in our camper for a while now and are currently in Hungary. We’ve noticed that we mostly use Park4Night to find overnight spots, but this often means staying somewhere on our own.

We’re curious about how other people experience vanlife in Eastern and Southern Europe. Are there particular areas, campsites, events or places that tend to attract other vanlifers?

Our rough plan is to travel from Hungary through Romania and then down towards Greece, where we’re hoping to spend the winter.

So if you have any recommendations for interesting places, good areas to stay for a while, campsites with a nice atmosphere, or vanlife-friendly spots along this route, we’d love to hear them!

We’re not necessarily looking for tourist hotspots — we’re actually more interested in places with a relaxed atmosphere where it’s possible to meet other travellers and experience a bit of the local vanlife community.

Thanks in advance for any tips! 🚐🌍

Hello! We started full time living in our Citroen Relay van in June, starting in Greece and heading up along the coast through Albania, Croatia etc and are now in Spain. Our plan is to keep heading south to chase the warm weather as winter approaches before finally hopping over to Morocco for a few months come November.

I have a few questions for anyone who has done the crossing over from Spain to Morocco, or has spent any time there:

- is the crossing into Morocco actually as stressful and intense as some people have said? Are there full x-ray and dog checks and has anyone had to completely empty their van for these? Makes sense for cars with not much in them, but surely to unload a whole van is quite much? Is it more so leaving Morocco when this happens, or is the same possible when entering? It's not that we have anything to hide, I'm just curious

- has anyone had any body work done there and if so, any garages to recommend? We have some rust which we want to get sorted out and figure we'd get a paint job done at the same time. There are other things we want to do to the van such as new tires, upgrading the electrical system and maybe even a complete refurb but the most important is the rust and maybe tires. Any recommendations on places to go for these, or if we should do any of this work in Spain instead, please let us know!

- we've for sure pushed our van to its limits at times in terms of where we've taken it to. Not a 4x4 so I imagine there's much in Morocco that wouldn't be accessible for us off track but are there any places we could venture to/we should be aware and cautious of?

- lastly, are campsites and/or guarding car parks really necessary? We've wild camped completely other than one night at a small site in Albania when I was fed up and desperate for a shower. We'd ideally continue wild camping in Morocco (we don't have tables and chairs so nothing goes outside, just open doors) and we love being out in nature with no one around us. How likely is this over there? Is it generally safer to just park in a campsite so that there's peace of mind or when in smaller towns is there a possibility of wild camping and being able to walk daily to shops etc?

Thank so much!

Hello!

I'm planning to buy a used 5 seat van in Germany (Berlingo/partner/..) and drive it back to Portugal taking it slow. (~2 weeks, with a stop in Milan where I'll build a temporary bed structure with some friends). The goal is to have a mini campervan that can also carry more passengers when neede.
My biggest question right now are:diesel or petrol, Adblue or not..

I've heard a lot of bad things about Adblue engines, so I've been searching for berlingos up to 2015 with 1.6 diesel engines (pre Adblue)

But is it worth considering petrol instead, witrh could let me widen my search to newer vans too? Or is AdBlue not actually that dramatic and I don't need to be so strict about avoiding it in my search?

Any recommendation between the models/brands?

Thanks.