The Easter weekend is when the UK prays collectively for some sun to mark the start of the bank holiday and a chance to get away in out vans. It also heralds in the start of the Van life festival and event season. With that in down here’s a list of the Vanlife events for 2025. If you know of one that’s not listed here please let me know.
Read moreAuthor: Orange Van Guy (page 2 of 6)
Fair to say it’s been a bit of a weekend in the UK with Storm Darragh making its presence known and it’s a time where I’m grateful to have a battery power bank in the form of the AllPowers R600, and yes one day I’ll have that video edited.
Read moreIn this video I’m attempting the “simple” task of taking out the bulkhead. Thwarted yet again by the battery guard 3000.
Getting down and dirty in this video with the Mercedes sprinter van build, although it’s more of a van destruction as I take on the nemesis, the battery guard 3000.
Every van build has to start somewhere. Without a clue, tools, guidance or a care in the world, I start my first ever solo van build with my Ex British Gas Cadent Mercedes Sprinter 313.
Alright, let’s get into it. This is the beginning of my journey converting a Mercedes Transporter into a fully functional home on wheels. For those with an ex-British Gas van, you’ll appreciate the rugged base these vehicles provide for a conversion. Here’s a look at what the first day entails.
Here we go then, I’ve gone out and got myself a van, but I have doubts. Did I get the wrong van despite spending hours researching the Mercedes Sprinter 313? A chain-driven van for life, or a perpetual rust bucket of misery?
🚐 One Week, One Van, One Mounting Crisis
Happy one-week anniversary to me and my new van — a 2016 ex-British Gas Mercedes Sprinter, or as I’m now calling it: Regret on Four Wheels.
I thought I’d scored a deal. A clean 65,000-mile Sprinter with decent bones. But just seven days in, I’ve got buyer’s remorse, a turbo that might be howling at me in distress, and a van that randomly beeps like it’s trying to contact alien life.
Read moreSick of relying on dodgy campsites and dwindling phone batteries? The Allpowers r600 might be your new best friend… for a while. This thing packs a decent 299Wh punch and can pump out 600W, enough to keep your laptop humming and the mini-fridge chugging along for a few hours. It’s got all the usual suspects – AC outlets, USB ports, the works – so you can charge whatever gadgets you’ve dragged along on your escape from civilization. Just don’t expect to run your fridge all night on this thing. You’ll be living off trail mix pretty quick.
Read moreIt’s been a long while since I’ve done a winter stealth camp let along a winter road trip. The last time I did this was in winter during the time of covid when working in the welsh vallies and yet somehow I didn’t get the dreaded pox.
And now in the winter of 2023 I’m getting to realise a dream, the uk version of Benidorm because I’m off up north to hit Blackpool, but before I get there I’ve a few stops to make.
Read more: The Next UK van Life Road Trip PT1First up it’s going to be Swansea for work purposes. The intent is to leave around 9am as there’s no blinking point in leaving earlier. This was demonstrated to me jsut the other day that leaving the house 45 minutes earlier resulted in getting onsite a whole 15 minutes earlier than leaving later.
Trip time to Swansea 1hr 40
After Swansea it’s then a trip up to Wrexham to meet a bloody good friend of mine who the universe has allowed me to connect with for a second time.
Trip time: 3hr 4
Miles: 143
It’s always amusing when friends say bring a sleeping bag and a pillow and you can crash here. Then when I go I’m all good sleeping in my van they find it weird. A few months ago I crashed on a friends driveway in Enfield (before that stupid charge), went out for the day, had good, a few good beers, found my way back and remember watching AEW collision, having a few beers, warm, comfortable and it felt like my happy place.
After Wrexham it’s a trip to Southport for work, standing a very good chance of being sober as the Wrexham trip will NOT involve any Ale.. ok thats a lie as no way am I not going into the boozer featured in Welcome To Wrexham.
Wrexham to SouthPort
Trip time: 1hr 11mins
Miles: 60
Liverpool.
Next up is Liverpoooooolll. A city that I have yet to go to. According to old internet whipsers and legends a city to rival Newcastle on a night out, with the 2nd sexiest accent in the uk following geordgie. There’s a slight problem with this as I’ve not been ot on a proper staff party in almost 10 years, least one with the average age being half my / zambuca drinking age. At least a hotel is being provided to offer a slight relief from washing with a wet wipe. Plus a lay in without fear of being moved on will be nice
Southport to Liverpool
Trip time: 50mins
Miles: 40
Illuminations
Don’t ask me why but there’s always been a curious fascination with the Blackpool illuminations. I was there in 2023 for the airshow where I’d never seen so many bodies crammed so close together for so many hours to watch all manner of aircraft flying over head. I’d also spent 5 days in the same parking spot, having an Alan Partridge style meltdown tho those £1 burgers were bloody tidy.
The Blackpool Stealth Park is inspired by a van that I walked past right on the sea front, outside of a disbanded hotel. Aparently that couple had been coming there for years, at least Covid had one upside for someone. I’ll be happy to pay for a nights parking there… but then as it’s the Christmas period, what is my rush to get home? Now if the dart’s is still on at the Blackpool gardens I can do that as well, failing that I’ll be in the best boozer in Blackpool.
Liverpool to Blackpool
Trip time: 1hr 10mins
Miles: 57
Where to next?
Do I go home? Do I go to a client site for work? Do I go to the office? What way should I go home? Should I try and do a night in Cardiff. For now let’s go with I take the hit on a Sunday and start to drive “home” with no reason to go home.
Blackpool to Aberwyswyth
Trip time: 3hr 30mins
Miles: 177
I REALLY dont like this route. if I go down the coastal route I’d get to see some really nice views, from behind someone who can’t drive more than 30 miles per hour
Of I can go the longer route down half of it but then there’s no rest stops or anywhere to stop and park for a brew let alone getting a bacon butte.
Or I can go even more miles but then it’s motorway miles which is dull as anything. If I really wanted to go “home”
Trip time: 5hr 30mins
Miles: 240
In my latest van life adventure, I hit a new level of “oops” when a flat tire strikes on a quiet Saturday night, in the most remote spot possible, with no garage for miles. Talk about bad timing – this happens right before my first day at a new job, and I’m supposed to be there by midday. Then, as if on cue, the weather turns sour, adding a stormy twist to my already chaotic situation. It’s one of those moments where you have to laugh to keep from crying, a true test of my van life resilience and a reminder that sometimes, you just have to roll with the punches (or flat tires, in this case).
