This week we had another great Smart Bed installation through the workshop. Anna's Volkswagen T5 camper van came in for a crash tested SmartBeds Evolution rock n roll bed - pull tested beds to certification 76/115/EEC/2005, ideal if you're looking to carry passengers and use it as a bed.

These great camper van beds are also really easy to use as they feature a unique, one handed operation to transform them from double rear seat into comfortable bed.

We also fitted a set of Sargent electrics to the van to add some light, power and charging potential. A twin 3-pin socket panel, twin light switches and 12v plug socket were built in to run from a Sargent EC51 control panel.

We don't just do Volkswagen camper conversions you know? This mean, green Transit machine came to us with a wish list of must-have camper features from Sofia.

The challenge was to pack in a fully powered leisure electrical system consisting of fridge, kitchen units with sink and gas hob, diesel heater, lights and power charge points as well as lining out and insulating the van.

"It’s great. Thank you very much to Stuart and his team. We love it, especially the bike storage :-) Van life here we come!" — Sofia

On top of this Sofia wanted a large bed (always a wise decision, in our opinion) as well as plenty of storage and seating in the living space. But most importantly of all (and this is a certainty, not an opinion) was the need for bicycle storage - five of them, no less!  To solve this one we built a double bed high up in the roof space, allowing us to free up the space at the rear of the van to create a bike garage area, capable of housing up to four adult bikes (providing the front wheels are off).

While we're best known for our deft and detailed work on VW Transporters we actually also perform conversions and installations on many other makes and models of van ripe for conversion, be it a Mercedes, Mazda, Ford, Vauxhall, Renault, Nissan or indeed any other brand.

Mercedes Vito Conversion

SJ Campers go international! Our first overseas customer, James and his family from the Isle of Man dropped off their Mercedes Vito on their way up through the lakes last weekend and we had it ready in time for them to get home by adding some new lining and insulation to the luggage area.