Story from Jam Press (Van Turned Home)
Pictured: A video grab of the van before and after being transformed into a home.
Travel-loving couple spends £30,000 transforming van into home-on-wheels
A couple who spent £30,000 transforming their van into a home-on-wheels has shared the reality of life on the road.
When Niamh Hasner and her boyfriend, Ciarán O Mahony decided they wanted to ditch traditional living and travel the world, they knew they had some work on their hands.
But the couple, now aged 28 and 29, soon found themselves “inseparable” and say it is like “living in a small apartment with your best friend.”
Now, advising other couples to do the same, they say it has made their relationship stronger.
“We had tried the lifestyle before in an old work van, barely insulated and used it for weekends so we could travel,” Niamh, from Ireland, told What's The Jam.
“But we knew we wanted to invest in something that we could use full-time, in the working week, too.”
Ciarán, who owns an energy retrofits company, and Niamh, who works for him, decided they wanted to convert their van into the perfect abode.
But it wasn’t easy.
Niamh said: “In Ireland, it is hard to do a van conversion — the materials we wanted were only available in the UK, and most wouldn't ship to Ireland, so we had to adapt some designs.
“But overall, we had done so much research that we knew what layout and electrical system we wanted.
“We also wanted to try and finish the van within seven weeks.
“But that was while also working full-time, meaning we had to be out in the van every night and weekend, working at it.”
They also realised the van they were originally converting wasn’t big enough and had to buy a 2019 Mercedes Sprinter MWB for £20,000.
Renovating it cost about £9,000.
Niamh said: “We did the whole renovation by ourselves.
“We also installed solar and a good electrical system, as well as a slide-out table so the space felt more ope
