The Campervan.Win blog
Plain-English buying guides, honest reviews and news, for anyone choosing, owning or dreaming about a campervan or motorhome.
Design, Layout & Living Space
Felix17 min readIf your van is too narrow to sleep across, flares are the clever fix: moulded panels that widen the body just enough for a crossways bed, freeing up your whole floor. The real question isn't whether to fit them, it's which ones, how deep, and on which side. Here's the honest guide.
Van Life How-Tos
Jasper15 min readHiring a campervan is the smartest, lowest-risk way into van life, whether it's a one-off holiday or a try-before-you-buy. Here's the honest guide to how UK hire works, what it really costs, where to book, and the things to check before you hand over a deposit.
Campervan Buying Guides
Felix15 min readThe word campervan covers everything from a fold-out bed in a small car to a six-berth coachbuilt with a fixed bathroom. Before you spend a penny, this is the honest tour of the main types of conversion, what each is genuinely like to live with, and how to choose the right one for you.
UK Road Trips & Travel Guides
Iris15 min readFrom the wild North Coast 500 to the quiet lanes of Wales and the gentle Cotswolds, the UK is made for campervan road trips. Here are the best routes, the honest truth about the famous ones, and how to drive them well, including the wild-camping rules everyone gets wrong.
Van Life & Everyday Touring
Oliver15 min readNo vehicle on earth says freedom quite like a Volkswagen camper. But it started life as a humble factory delivery van sketched on a notepad. This is the story of how the VW bus became the universal symbol of the open road, and an honest word on what that dream costs today.
New & Noteworthy
Iris16 min readFrom the big NEC halls to a field full of VWs with the kettle on, the UK show season is one of the best days out for anyone who loves a campervan. Here's what's coming up, when, and how to make the most of each one.
Van Life & Everyday Touring
Rowan16 min readThere are dozens of campervan and motorhome shows in the UK, and you don't need to do them all. Here are the ones genuinely worth your time, sorted by what you actually want from a day out: to buy, to gather ideas, to find your people, or to lose a weekend to a field full of VWs.
Campervan Tech & Electrics
Leo17 min readA silent, emission-free campervan you charge at home sounds like the future. In 2026 it's real, but narrow. Here's the honest state of electric campers: the vans you can actually buy, the range truth, the charging reality, and the big myth about running everything off the battery.
Competition Updates
Oliver16 min readBritain has been entering competitions for a century, from spot-the-ball to the dream-car draw. Here's the real history of how prize competitions work, the law that keeps them legal, the scandals that shaped them, and where the campervan draw fits in.
Mistakes, Myths & Misconceptions
Rowan17 min readWhat are your actual chances of winning a campervan in a UK prize competition? The honest answer depends almost entirely on one number most competitions don't tell you. Here's the real maths, the perspective, and the myths to ignore.
Design, Layout & Living Space
Martha25 min readSprayed cork like Corkon is having a moment in van builds, and for good reason. But it's not the insulation a lot of people think it is. Here's the honest guide to what cork does brilliantly, what it doesn't, and how to use it well.
Design, Layout & Living Space
Martha15 min readCarpet, felt or wood? Your campervan's lining shapes how it looks, sounds and copes with damp, and the best choice isn't the one most people assume. An honest, practical comparison.
Campervan Buying Guides
Arthur29 min readThe Kia PV5 has everything an electric campervan base needs, except the range to make it work fully loaded. Here's the one big problem, and the UK converters building EV campers right now.
New & Noteworthy
Rowan25 min readVW's desert-styled Grand California Dune is now on sale in Britain, from £85,408 on Volkswagen UK's 30 September 2026 price list. We look at what it is, what it costs, and the case we made for bringing it here before VW UK said yes.
Campervan Buying Guides
Arthur25 min readOPUS or PenPod? One's a spacious inflatable folding camper for families, the other a hard, rugged off-road pod for couples. We compare them head to head to help you choose.
Van Life & Everyday Touring
Oliver25 min readWho invented surfing, and what did the first surfboards look like? The honest answer runs from ancient Peru and West Africa to the chiefs of Hawaii, and it's a far better story than the myth.
Motorhome Tech, Heating & Systems
Leo29 min readHydraulic self-levelling promises a perfectly level pitch at the push of a button. But it costs thousands and adds real weight. An honest look at the costs, the kilos, the UK options and whether it's worth it.
Campervan Buying Guides
Leo30 min readA used van or campervan can be the smart way into van life, or an expensive mistake. Here's the full checklist of what to check, the faults by base vehicle, and how to get it professionally inspected.
New & Noteworthy
Felix29 min readThe new VW California is lovely but it's a car-platform school-run shape. So will VW ever build a rugged, taller, off-grid Transporter-based one? We untangle the badges, and find it almost already exists.
Sustainability & Responsible Travel
Arthur25 min readEvery surfboard is plastic, so 'eco' really means less-bad. An honest guide to the alternatives, EPS, bio-resin, recycled foam, cork, wood and more, with the real pros, cons and greenwashing.
New & Noteworthy
Felix19 min readWestfalia has revealed two new Fiat Ducato campervans for 2027: the Nansen 600 L and 640 LS. Every confirmed detail, the clever bits, and the honest caveats for UK buyers.
Campervan Reviews
Felix25 min readThe PenPod is a handmade, hard-sided off-road camping pod from Lancashire, the rugged, lockable opposite of a folding canvas camper. We review what it is, what it costs, and who it's really for.
Campervan Kit & Gear
Felix25 min readBikeStow isn't a towbar or roof rack. It's a beautifully made British rack that carries your bikes upright inside the van, secure and out of the weather. We review what it is, and who it's for.
Van Life & Everyday Touring
Rowan25 min readTwo bare feet, a mountain and a wave, a single lightning bolt. A nostalgic tour through the original surf brands and the iconic logos that built modern surf and van-life culture.
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