What it cost us to get our caravan on the road

Before we converted and lived in our van, Ivy, we lived and traveled South Africa for one full year in a vintage caravan named Stan. This was our first taste of 'van life' and we absolutely loved it! Stan the caravan was a very budget-friendly way to live and travel. There were no luxuries in this little caravan but it really showed us how little we needed to live and be happy. Living so budget-friendly also allowed us space to save towards our own van build and still pursue our dream of full-time travel. We traveled a large portion of South Africa in this caravan and grew our online audience from 0 to 30 000 followers too! It was an incredible year but it wasn't easy. We had to adapt to living in a tiny space, facing huge storms and major damage to our tiny home, being far away from everything we knew and loved, and pretty much always living outside our comfort zones! This year on the road helped us grow in so many ways and I wouldn't change a thing. I wanted to share all the expenses we faced when we first bought this little caravan and how much it actually costs to get a vintage caravan on the road.

When we bought Stan the caravan we had NO idea what we were getting into. We had never even slept in a caravan before and our camping skills were near nonexistent! We really jumped both feet in and figured everything out during the free fall. Fortunately for you, we can offer some advice and knowledge so your free fall is a little less risky.

Stan the caravan was considered a vintage caravan because it was built in 1988. This means it was more affordable to purchase but it also means it lacks the modern build and its parts weren’t easy to find. We had no idea about this when we bought it. Stan the caravan was the FIRST and ONLY caravan we looked at and we bought it immediately. Not something we would recommend to others... fortunately for us we had Joshie's dad with us and he grew up holidaying in caravans so he was able to give us the thumbs up.

We found Stan the caravan on Facebook Marketplace

The first time we saw Stan the Caravan

We found Stan the caravan on Facebook Marketplace and we viewed it the same day that it was posted. We had been searching the internet for affordable caravans and had come up empty-handed. Most caravans posted were closer to R60 000 and the more affordable ones looked like a crack den to be polite. Our budget was R30 000 as this is the amount we had saved up intended for travel. Although we had only been looking online for 2 days when we saw the advert for Stan... it just ticked all the boxes - a local caravan, immediately available and within our price range!

Stan was advertised for R20 000 and we bought it for R18 000. Stan had been a family caravan used for the holidays. But, had been standing for 12 months because the pandemic had prevented the family from holidaying. We now know NOT to buy a caravan that has been standing out in the open for 12 months because that often leads to leaks, electrical problems, and wood rot. Something we didn't even consider at the time.

I think we were SO set on the idea of accomplishing van life in a caravan that we would have made anything work. We didn't even have a car when we bought Stan the caravan so the previous owners had to tow Stan to Josh's parent's house where we were staying for the Christmas holidays. We had been backpacking for 12 months prior to coming home for the holidays so all we owned at the time was our technology for work and a suitcase of clothing. I remember watching Stan get towed up the driveway and thinking "And so our adventure begins...".

FIRST PHOTO OF US WITH STAN ON THE NIGHT WE BOUGHT HIM

We spent all our free time sitting in Stan. We had our morning coffee and sketched out our renovation plans. We drank wine in the evenings and dreamed of what was to come. Once we had a general idea of what we wanted to accomplish build-wise we invited my grandpa over - he is a very skilled builder. We explained our vision and we were all set to work. Josh and grandpa completely stripped the interior of the rotten wood, extra storage units, and kitchen cupboards. We wanted to keep the design simple and uncluttered. We knew that we would be living in Stan so we wanted him to feel as homely and spacious as possible.

Sketches of our kitchen plan

The Work Begins

Josh and Grandpa are hard at work replacing living room wood

Sketches of our kitchen plan

The Work Begins

The costs involved in Stan's interior rebuild were minimal.

We did everything DIY and as cheap as we could. We shopped at local charity shops for wooden shelves and storage baskets. We also repurposed some of the wood from the kitchen shelves we had removed. We used the original tabletop and cut a section away to make the counter removable so we could have access to the induction stove without losing valuable counter space. We added wooden 'lips' to all the shelves in Stan using the repurposed kitchen shelves to prevent things from falling off when moving. We also repainted the whole interior white, and added the floating jars to the kitchen for dry food staples, the paper towel holder, and a collapsible countertop.

The prices for everything we bought for the interior rebuild are as follows:

Nuts n bolts = R40

Wood, hinges, screws, and glue from MICA = R738

SPCA shelves and baskets = R280

Caravan Canvas Repair Kit = R 2 x 195= R390

Paint = R630

Silicone = R50

Hooks = R30

5 x Jars = R100

SPCA shelves for kitchen

Josh installing the jars in the kitchen

We had to work on some things on the exterior as well. Stan needed a new tail lamp on the left hand side. Referring back to vintage caravan parts being near impossible to find... we fell prey to a scammer on Facebook offering us the part we needed and us paying R500 upfront and never receiving the part - lesson learned! We eventually learned that we could use an Isuzu tail lamp replacement as it matched Stan's correctly. We also had to replace the 7-pin plug that connects Stan's road lights to the car.

Broken tail lamp

The prices for everything we bought for the exterior rebuild are as follows;

Scammed tail lamp = R500

Isuzu tail lamp = R140

7 pin plug = R250

After the rebuild was done, the paint had eventually dried- FIVE days of painting and THREE coats of paint. It was finally time to start filling our new home with needed appliances, houseware, and decor.

Once again, we wanted to keep things as simple and affordable as possible. We bought what we could second-hand off Facebook marketplace. Fortunately for us - Josh's parents were selling up their South African home so we got to inherit some major and minor things for our tiny home. I learned how to sew and made some curtains for Stan as I couldn't find affordable curtains to fit our many tiny windows. We also had to buy some shelves for the fridge as there were none.

The prices for everything we bought houseware, decor, and appliances:

Material for curtains = R350

Slow-cooker (second hand) = R300

Macrame hanging fruit holder = R250

Induction stove = R899

Toaster = R299

Safe = R1599

Kettle = R219

Fabric laundry bag = R100

Glass cutting board = R70

Adhesive table cover = R35

Plastic cutlery holders = R70

2 x white non-slip placemats = R20

Large plastic tub for dishes = R50

Fake mother of pearls plant = R107

Collapsible colander = R60

2 x plastic plates and bowls = R110

2 x plastic cups = R50

2 x mugs = R40

Portable fan = R350

Custom fridge shelves = R300

3 x living room pillow cases = R75

1 decorative throw pillow = R100

Super proud of the first completed curtain

DIY adhesive table cover (before)

(after)

Delivery day of new kitchen appliances

The prices for everything we bought for the exterior rebuild are as follows;

Scammed tail lamp = R500

Isuzu tail lamp = R140

7 pin plug = R250

After the rebuild was done, the paint had eventually dried- FIVE days of painting and THREE coats of paint. It was finally time to start filling our new home with needed appliances, houseware, and decor.

Everything we inherited houseware, decor, and appliances:

All cutlery and kitchen utensils

A 2kVa UPS with a 2-hour uptime

Bedding (used to be ours when we had a house)

Camp chairs (also used to be ours)

WiFi router (also used to be ours)

Bath & beach towels (also used to be ours)

Surround sound speaker

20m ethernet cable

Fairy lights

Extension cables

Pillows

2 x fluffy blankets

1 x decorative throw

Picnic blanket

1 x large pan

Cutting board

Coffee plunger

Braai tongs

Braai grid

Skottle and gas

Camping table

Board games

Logic portable heater

Plastic storage container for winter clothes

Toolbox

Yoga mat

A few random things that we also had to get:

Fire extinguisher refill = R50

Alarm = R125

COR & license = R400

Side mirror extenders for our car (SPCA) = R100

The entire process, from buying Stan to hitting the road took us 9 weeks from start to finish. Why so quick? Well, Josh's parents sold the house and we had to be out of there by mid-March 2021. It was a crazy few weeks! We were constantly busy and were trying to balance our day jobs with the van build and mapping out a route to travel.  Everything we got in those first few weeks has done us well over the past 8 months of living full-time on the road.

So.... what did it cost us to get Stan on the road? 

The total of all the expenses adds up to R27 276.00. We made it under budget which was great!

 I hope this has been informative for you. We have shared a blog detailing what we spent on our van build - click here. 

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