This Finely Crafted Camper Van Cleverly Maximizes Room With a Creative Living Space

What we have here is a Volkswagen Crafter with a medium wheelbase. Ben converted it through his conversion company, Dwel Camper Co. This is a bespoke project made for a couple.

The customer had a few important boxes that needed to be ticked: a garage capable of housing bikes, an indoor shower, an oven, and a seating area. Ben created all that and more, packing everything cleanly in an efficient and aesthetically pleasing interior. But before we look at that, let me tell you more about the vehicle's exterior.

This Crafter van has a few exterior upgrades. Ben installed two extra windows with a sliding screen on the sides toward the rear. Moreover, he fitted a Van X awning rail that holds 400 W solar panels. The roof also has a Maxxair vent fan.

On the passenger side, which is the left side of the van, since this is a UK model, you'll find an outlet for a heater. Ben added a small stainless steel stop on the rail for the sliding door to prevent it from going all the way to the rear and cover the outlet.

Step inside, and you’ll discover that the driver's cabin isn’t fully separated from the living space. What I mean is that there's no wall separating the two areas, but the bathroom behind the driver's seat takes up a decent chunk of space, so you're only able to step into the cabin through the left.

To maximize the little available interior space, Ben installed a swivel base for a double-seat bench that serves as a driver's seat.

The bathroom is very compact, even by the standards of camper vans, but it does the job. It features a custom-built door, a Porta Potti toilet, a shower, and a Maxxair fan integrated into the ceiling.

Next, we have the kitchen, which is split into two parts. It features a Thetford oven/three-burner stove combo, a small fridge, and a deep sink. There’s also a decent amount of counterspace that can be increased by using a flip-up table.

There are plenty of storage spots. Ben devised an overhead cabinet, two massive drawers integrated into the counter underneath, and two drawers on the other side.

Walk deeper into the van and you’ll enter the seating/sleeping area. It sits higher up than the rest of the living space to make room for storage underneath it. The three steps that lead into it have three drawers to maximize storage space.

It consists of a swivel table in between two long benches that can comfortably accommodate six people. Turning the space into a bedroom is very straightforward. All you must do is pull out two frame extensions that connect the two benches and rearrange the cushions.

The result is an almost king-size bed. Ben came up with a clever solution by also designign a small vertical/upright panel that slides from one of the benches, which serves as a ladder since it has some cut-outs.

On the passenger side, you’ll notice two large cabinets. Next to them, Ben integrated a control panel for the rig’s utilities. It comprises a battery monitor, light switches, two plugs, a remote for the Maxxair fan, and a heater controller.

Underneath the seating area, you’ll find the largest storage spot in this camper van: a massive garage. It’s accessible only from outside the rig, after opening the two rear doors.

It consists of two large storage compartments: one under the seating area and one underneath the driver’s side bench. The one under the bench on the right has a long slide-out tray perfect for storing bikes. At its end, you’ll also find the electrical system.

Ben made sure to add enough battery power to this camper van. The system’s highlights are a 260 Ah Victron battery, a 1,600 W inverter, and a solar charge controller connected to the 800 W solar panels.

Under the driver’s side bench, Ben fitted the plumbing system consisting of a freshwater tank, a water pump, and a 10-liter (2.6-gallon) electric heater.

As you’ve already noticed, there’s no ladder outside the van. However, you can reach the roof to clean the solar panels (or for any other reason) by climbing through a large skylight above the seating area.

All in all, Ben not only fulfilled all of the client’s requests, but also created a very efficient and well-equipped living space that doesn’t feel cramped. This is an outstanding build with clever use of space. Ben doesn’t have a website, at least not yet. However, you can reach out to him for more info about his designs on his company's Instagram page.