Builds

Lanps held a camping event for kei truck owners in Takayama, Gifu Prefecture, where several converted vehicles were displayed. One owner fitted a projector inside the cargo box of a 2014 Daihatsu Hijet Jumbo and uses it as a sleeping area and workbench. The Lanps cargo box starts at 390,500 yen and can be installed as a DIY kit. It fits Daihatsu Hijet Truck and Hijet Truck Jumbo, Suzuki Carry and Super Carry (except Lanps 1960), Honda Acty and other kei trucks.

The Citroën CX Tissier Penthouse was shown at the 1980 Paris Motor Show: a six-wheeled motorhome based on the CX GTi, with a kitchen, shower and bidet. Citroën called it the fastest motorhome in the world.

Monark Builds has presented its first officially completed conversion of a 2024 Ram ProMaster 2500 into a camper van. The high-roof van with a 4.04-metre wheelbase features an open-plan layout without a partition between the cab and living area. The interior includes a convertible bench seat, a kitchen with an induction hob and a Bodega fridge, and a fixed rear bed with a 137 by 190 centimetre mattress. The electrical system comprises two 320 Ah batteries, a 3,000 W inverter, two 300 W solar panels and a 50 A MPPT controller. Water capacity includes a 106-litre fresh tank, a 26-litre grey tank and a 15-litre water heater.

In the early 1970s a California company built the Super Bugger motorhome on the chassis of the first-generation VW Beetle. Most of the Beetle body was removed, leaving the platform chassis and the classic front look. The model was offered as completed vehicles, kits and construction plans. A later plan for a similar Beetle camper, the VW Minihome, is often confused with the Super Bugger, including by classic-car experts.

A 38-year-old man in Istanbul, Ümit Karagöz, converted a panel van into a camper van in six months without prior experience. In 2021 he bought the van for 114,000 lira and spent about 60,000 lira on the conversion. He said he learned the work from Turkish and foreign videos online and continued building after his day job. Karagöz said he stays at free locations, showers at a gym and collects water from park taps. He heats the camper van with a Webasto diesel heater in winter and gets electricity from a solar panel.

Guillaume Bionier, 48, from Vaas in Sarthe, has founded GB Aménagement in a relay workshop at the Loirécopark site in Aubigné-Racan, owned by the Sud Sarthe community of communes. The business converts commercial and leisure vehicles, from ludospaces to vans, 4x4s and campervans. Bionier carries out bespoke work including panelling walls and floors, building and installing storage for tools and professional equipment, and full interior fit-outs with windows, pop-top roofs, insulation, water tanks and photovoltaic systems with standalone batteries. For private customers, three trim levels are offered: base, intermediate and luxury. The project received €8,000 in support from Initiative Sarthe and the Sud Sarthe community of communes. A basic conversion takes around ten days, and Bionier advises ordering now for projects planned for April 2027.

A modified camper based on the Toyota HiAce Super Long by Nuts RV has been shown. The vehicle features Fabless air suspension and Ohlins shock absorbers, which significantly lower the body. It runs 19×10.5J front and 19×11.5J rear wheels with a minus 3 offset and 30 mm rear spacers. Braking is upgraded with a 415 Cobra kit and yellow calipers. The interior includes a Nardi steering wheel, Recaro seats and an Alpine audio system.

At the 10th Niort motorhome show in France, running until 8 November 2026, Pierrick Clément is the only converter among vehicle dealers. He founded Atelier du fourgon four years ago in Le Vanneau-Irleau after leaving his IT job. Clément has travelled by camper van for 30 years. He builds bespoke interiors after a consultation of at least one hour, taking into account the number of travellers, the season and the destination.

Benchmark Vehicles of Portland, Oregon, has built the 143, a camper based on a four-wheel-drive Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 3500 XD. The 2026 model-year vehicle has a 4.32-metre wheelbase and is fitted with Owl Vans Talon wheels and BFGoodrich KO3 all-terrain tyres, an Agile Offroad suspension upgrade with Fox dampers and Bilstein struts, and a 151-litre S&B fuel tank. The rear holds a king-size bed above a garage with a heavy-duty pull-out tray. Electrical equipment includes a 3,000 W inverter and a battery bank of almost 1,000 Ah, while an Espar diesel heater warms air, water and the floor. Fresh water is stored in a 132-litre tank with heating mats, and two waste tanks are also heated.

Mario John (39) and Emanuel Rusu (52) from Weinstadt advise owners of caravans and motorhomes on DIY conversions. They warn that unchecked information from YouTube can be dangerous. Before a trip, they recommend checking the vehicle's technical condition. The consultations take place at the motorhome stopover near the Cabrio site.

Ukrainian-German company Lemki Robotix, working with iScale3D, has developed a prototype caravan called the Tiny Camper that is produced using large-scale 3D printing. The shell is made from recycled polypropylene reinforced with fibreglass and incorporates more than 7,000 recycled plastic bottles. Its 9 mm thick walls give a shell weight of 250 kg. The interior includes a sleeping nook, kitchenette and storage, plus sensors monitoring water levels, battery charge and temperature. The printing process, Fused Granulate Fabrication (FGF), uses plastic granules and a robotic system from KUKA. No production date or price has been announced.

Czech company Obytnaq has presented a sleeping conversion for the Skoda Forman estate built after 1993. The package includes a folding mattress measuring 125 by 190 cm, thermal window covers and a storage space for two folding chairs, a folding table, a stove, water supplies and a portable battery. The mattress for modern Skoda models starts at 11,970 korunas, while the thermal covers cost between 6,300 and 7,900 korunas; the Forman conversion is estimated at around 20,000 korunas. The car is rented out at 800 korunas per day, with dates available from April to September next year.

Australian company Summit Vans from Wollongong has unveiled the King Tide, a converted Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 2026 model year with four-wheel drive. The vehicle features an upgraded suspension that raises the permissible gross weight from 4,100 kg to 4,430 kg, along with adjustable Falcon shock absorbers and a 200-watt solar panel. The rear section houses a convertible Beach Mode area: a U-shaped lounge with a removable table by day and a 1.7-metre-wide bed by night, with a garage accessible from outside. Onboard systems include an 820 Ah battery bank, a 3,000-watt inverter and a 180-litre fresh water tank.

The Xingguang 730 PHEV is described as the only seven-seat plug-in hybrid MPV in the 100,000 yuan class whose factory seats fold into a near-flat sleeping surface. The 2026 model is priced at 73,000 to 91,800 yuan, with a body length of 4,910 mm, a wheelbase of 2,910 mm and a 2+2+3 layout. Tests found a person 1.8 m tall can lie down without removing seats. Three conversion options are listed: a light version from 1,600 yuan (mattress and blinds), a mid-level version at about 12,000 yuan (folding frame, storage, basic water and power) and a full version at about 30,000 yuan (parking air conditioning, lithium battery, kitchen module). Removing seats is classified as illegal modification.

Kazu Creation has released a partition curtain kit under the Atrash brand for sleeping in cars. ABS mounts fit into the gap in the trim at the top of the B-pillar without drilling. The manufacturer says fitting the mounts takes about 5 minutes. The kit covers the Toyota HiAce 200 Series from 2004, Nissan Caravan E26 from 2012, Toyota Noah/Voxy 80 and 90 Series, Nissan Serena C26/C27, Toyota Alphard 30 Series and Suzuki Every DA17. The curtain uses 99% light-blocking fabric to screen the cabin from outside view.

A Chinese outlet reviews converting the Lingzhi minivan into a camper van for overnight stays. The Lingzhi EV comes with three range options: 203 km, 333 km and 410 km, with batteries of 17.3 kWh, 31.9 kWh and 37.9 kWh. The 203 km version has a 30 kW motor, the others 50 kW. A used Lingzhi M5 costs about 40,000 yuan, a basic conversion starts at 2,000 yuan and a full build with soundproofing costs around 10,000 yuan. The outlet warns that seat count and mounting must not be changed and electrical work should be done by a specialist.

The owner of a Retreat Anniversary camper van based on a narrow-body, standard-roof Toyota HiAce has drawn up an interior refit plan with the help of AI. The aim is to keep the wooden finish and solve two problems: no walk-through from the cab to the living area, and a passage and bed blocked by a portable toilet and gear. The plan includes a walk-through aisle, a new kitchen unit 34 cm high, 90 cm wide and 40 cm deep with a built-in sink and microwave, and upgraded electrics: power from a portable station, a solar panel and a fan. The AI-generated images needed repeated corrections, and the owner spent about a week refining the layout.

A couple converted a Ram ProMaster camper van themselves after receiving a $20,000 quote for insulation and wiring alone. Steve, a retiree, planned the interior by watching YouTube videos and taking notes. The van has 600 watts of rooftop solar, a 12-volt refrigerator, a separate small freezer and a two-burner propane stove. The total cost of the conversion was not disclosed, so the exact savings remain unknown. Steve said the couple had not paid for camping in the year before filming.

SüdBadenVan, based in Umkirch near Freiburg, has presented the Schauinsland 540 camper van for model year 2027, built on the shortest Fiat Ducato. The open layout without a partition behind the cab combines a kitchen, a U-shaped seating area and two longitudinal single beds measuring around 180 × 70 and 200 × 70 cm, which can be joined into a 200 × 180 cm bed. The kitchen has a 1,800 W induction hob, a 70-litre compressor fridge and two removable 20-litre water tanks. Equipment includes a 2 kW Autoterm diesel heater, an EcoFlow PowerHub with 3,600 W AC output and an optional pop-top roof with a fourth berth. The base version with a 142 hp engine and manual gearbox starts at €89,000.

MDF Equipment builds the D:POP on the new Mitsubishi Delica D:5. The pop-up roof tent gives a 1800×1160 mm bed, and a height of 1990 mm lets the van enter most multi-storey car parks.