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Hi all after only using our tent 3 times this year and tired of putting up and taking down in the rain etc am i'm in the process of trying to persuade the other half to get a tin tent next year.

 I'm particularly interested in buying an old van and doing it up. My OH thinks i've gone bonkers and am having a mid life crisis and says no way am i puting it on our drive !! I have to put up with a garage full of motorbikes but that's another story/rant.

Have seen some lovely old vans on ebay and autotrader and looked at various sites re renovating them etc.

Has anyone else done up an old van and any tips/pics?

lots do it and enjoy it to the full,best tool is a damp meter.

http://www.oldclassiccar.co.uk/classic_caravans.htm

Quote: Originally posted by Mrsgrohl on 12/9/2012

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Thanks for the replies, love the old classic site Michael

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I bought a 1969 Fisher Holivan nearly 2 years ago and promptly named her Holi.

She was a bit plain (and dare I say it, boring!) when I got her, with the original orange foam seats which had been covered by a previous owner in a green dralon fabric. She also had her original gas light!

Looking a bit of a mess and rather uninspiring!

Before her transformation.

I decided to give her a make-over, which started with my OH painting her pink, orange, yellow and green!

Masked up awaiting painting

OH starts painting

The painting continues

The painting is all finished

My very patient and understanding OH also fitted a hand pump tap so I had easy access to cold water and mains electric with 6 sockets were added so I could use hook up.
We swapped the old halogen lights for new multi-directional LED strip lights.

I then added some pretty flower decals, found some funky matching flowery windbreaks and the outside was complete!

I then turned my attention to the interior.
I bought some new foam and made some pink and blue corduroy covers and made new curtains. I also found some funky flower shaped cushions!

I painted the ceiling turquiose and the walls got a lick of lime green paint. The cupboard surrounds were painted orange and the cupboard doors were covered in fablon I bought off eBay.

Finally I added some "peace" stickers to one wall.

I bought a flowery scarf for 99p from a charity shop which makes a superb door fly screen and added some yellow venitian blinds.

Make-over complete, I hitched her up behind my classic Mini and we headed off to enjoy some fantastic caravan holidays!

I know Holi isn't to everyone's taste, but I absolutely LOVE how she looks and she makes a great ice-breaker when I arrive on site!

I would HIGHLY recommend buying an older van and unleashing your artistic talents to turn it into something fun, functional and fab!