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After a year on the road in a vintage caravan, we decided it was time to upgrade our tiny home. We had saved every penny towards our dream of building ourselves a van so in December of 2021 we sold Stan the Caravan and bought ourselves an empty panel van. We looked at many different panel vans, some were too small or big, too old, too rusty or the engine was not sounding good. We must have already seen close to 10-panel vans when we saw Ivy in a Facebook Marketplace advertisement.
At the time, we were living in Johannesburg at a campsite called Nkwe, we had just sold Stan the caravan but still had our car and we were temporarily renting a caravan to sleep in. We drove out to see Ivy, the dealership opened especially for us as it was still closed for the festive season. I think we knew immediately that Ivy was the one. She was huge and in such good condition. She had had one owner before us and had been used as a flower delivery truck for weddings. She had a full-service history with Iveco and had been in no accidents. Ivy had 260 000km on the clock and ran beautifully when we test-drove her.
A couple of days later we revisited the dealership with a mechanic who plugged Ivy into a machine that checked her engine. When we had the green light from the mechanic we made an offer of R116 000 for her and they accepted! It was a surreal feeling driving Ivy out of the dealership and into the Johannesburg traffic. She felt really big and awkward and we were both quiet in deliberation over the huge task before us.
It’s also important to mention that the same day, on our way to buy Ivy, our trusted car which had taken us and Stan the caravan around the country problem-free for a year, broke down and had to be towed! The total cost to repair that car was R18 000 which we had not prepared for… It was a big shock because that car was due to be sold the next day and suddenly we had an emergency that dipped into our savings. Fortunately, the car was fixed within a few days and we managed to still sell it.
We left Johannesburg a week later driving our new van, Ivy. At the time, Ivy was still an empty panel van with everything that we owned loaded in the back. We drove down to Kwa-Zulu Natal where we planned to do the renovations. I remember feeling so excited as we departed Johannesburg, excited to embrace this new challenge, and excited to be returning to our home province after a year on the road.
Ivy was serviced and cleaned then parked at Ruthie’s grandpa’s house to await her rebirth into what we hoped would be our new home on wheels. We had already planned the interior build, as we had had the dream of our van for so long and we had lived in a caravan for a year so we knew what we needed.
First up was building the subfloor. We used hardwood branding, wood primer, plywood, Isotherm, screws, clear wood varnish and Pine T&G. We spent approximately R2388 to complete the flooring.
Josh installed the wiring and electrics with some help from his Dad (An Electrical engineer). The electrical system was dual voltage, 240Vac for socket outlets and 12V for lights. The internal cables were 3 core 1.5mm flexibles which would handle both the power requirements and the variable temperatures. The socket outlets were standard domestic type and were fitted to the wooden panelling.
The lights and water pump systems were 12V and were wired in the same 1,5mm 3-core flexible cable. All the circuits were protected from overload and short circuits by MCB (Miniature Circuit Breakers) housed in a DB (Distribution Board). The DB was split into 2 sections, 1 for the 240Vac and 1 for the 12V DC.
The electrical system had a duel feed, 1, direct from the mains via a connecting cable and 2, via a 1,5KVa Inverter supplied by 2 x 100Am/Hr batteries. These batteries can also be charged directly from the engine by way of an automatic charging circuit. (It would be possible to add solar panels to this same controller as needed). The total for the electrical setup was R3880 not including the inverter and batteries. The price for the inverter and batter setup came to R6000.
Next, we cut and placed the windows and roof vent. We used a jigsaw with a metal blade to cut the holes into the van. We used anti-rust primer, Sikaflex-11FC Polyurethane Sealant, a Fiamma roof vent, and two windows (one that opened and one that didn’t). We spent approximately R4900 to buy and place the windows and roof vent.
We built the skeleton framing and completed the cladding on the walls, doors and ceiling. We used hardwood branding, wood primer, Isotherm, screws and Pine T&G. We spent approximately R6460 building and insulating the walls, doors and ceiling.
Once we had the windows, walls, ceiling, doors and floors in it was time to start with the main structure build. We began with the basic structure for the benches, bed, cupboards and kitchen unit. We used hardwood, wood glue, and screws. We spent approximately R850 building the framing. We used a mix of Pine T&G and plywood to complete the structures which cost approximately R1000 as we used leftover pieces as much as possible. We also completed the drawers and cupboards which cost approximately R800.
We used Saligna for our kitchen countertops and painted them with three coats of clear wood varnish. We spent approximately R3500 completing the countertops including the hinges and screws.
Once our structure was built and painted we started loading in the appliances and decor which mostly came from our caravan but we did buy a few things. I sewed some blackout curtains and we bought a small spice shelf and mirror from the charity shop. We bought a Kexin gas oven which I adore! After a year of using one pan induction in the caravan, we splurged on a little gas oven for Ivy. The price for the oven was R4500 and we bought a new gas bottle to go with it for R699.
We were fortunate enough to partner with some amazing brands such as SnoMaster South Africa and The Mattress Warehouse who sponsored our awesome 75L dual-voltage fridge/freezer and our super comfortable mattress.
The total cost of buying and renovating Ivy came to approximately R170 017.
We absolutely adore our tiny home! It's the perfect build for us and has everything we need for life on the road. If you'd like access to our fully comprehensive campsite guide detailing all the campsites we have visited in South Africa - click here.
