The mistakes I made when building my first motorhome
When I finished building my first motorhome, I had the feeling that everything had turned out exactly as I had imagined.
The type approval was a success, the motorhome was ready to travel and, shortly afterwards, it began generating income through rental.
But very soon I understood something important.
The most valuable lessons arrived after finishing the construction.
I didn't learn them on YouTube.
Not even in the forums.
I learned them by using the motorhome and watching how my own clients used it.
Some decisions turned out to be very successful.
I had to amend some of the others.
And I changed many of them completely when I built my second motorhome.
That is why the second project took me roughly two months, whereas the first one required eight.
Not because it was easier.
But because I already had templates, measurements, a well-defined workflow and experience that no YouTube video can teach.
I hope this experience can help anyone thinking of building their first campervan.
The biggest mistake: I designed a motorhome to live in it, not to rent it out
When I started building my first campervan, I was convinced that the more storage spaces I had, the better it would be.
Virtually all the videos I watched on YouTube were made by people who lived permanently in their motorhomes.
Everyone kept repeating the same idea:
«Make more cupboards.»
«Make the most of every available centimetre.»
«You can never have too much storage space.»
I took your advice.
And I built a large number of small drawers and compartments.
Under the bed.
In the kitchen.
Under the table.
Practically in any corner where there was some spare space.
At that time, it seemed to me that a well-designed motorhome should be like that.
But after the first few bookings I started to realise something.
Whenever I prepared the motorhome for the next customer, it was easy to see which compartments had been used and which had not.
Some of the small cupboards looked as though they hadn’t been opened once during the whole journey.
It was then that I realised my biggest mistake.
He had designed a camper van with people who live in it for months in mind.
But my clients would travel for a few days or, at most, a week or two.
They are two completely different ways of use.
Anyone who lives in a motorhome needs lots of small compartments to organise their entire life.
Anyone who rents it for a holiday just wants to drop their suitcase somewhere comfortable and start enjoying their trip.
In my second motorhome I completely changed this philosophy.
I significantly reduced the number of small cupboards and, instead, designed spacious, easily accessible compartments.
Sometimes a storage space exists… but nobody uses it
I made the same mistake a second time.
Underneath the dining room table I also built several drawers.
In my mind, it seemed like an excellent idea.
I didn't want to waste any space.
But the reality was very different.
To open those drawers, you first had to take the table apart, because the leg was right in front of them.
If a person lives permanently in a motorhome, it can still make sense to keep tinned food, tools or things that they use very rarely in there.
But for a hire motorhome, it was a very impractical solution.
No customer is going to take a table apart just to open a small drawer.
On the second motorhome, I didn't repeat that mistake anymore.
If a storage space cannot be used in a few seconds, it is probably not well designed.
A technical error that I could have avoided from the beginning
One of the first technical mistakes I made was with the gas installation.
When starting the build I bought a normal gas hose from Leroy Merlin and ran it through the interior of the living area, from the kitchen to the back of the motorhome, where I intended to install the gas cylinder under the bed.
I was convinced that it was a perfectly valid solution.
Later, during the technical inspection, the engineer explained to me that the problem wasn't the gas, but the way I had carried out the installation.
In a motorhome, the gas piping must be carried out using copper pipe.
Furthermore, that pipe must go underneath the van's chassis, never passing through the habitable zone.
He also explained to me that the gas cylinder had to be installed in a sealed compartment, with direct ventilation to the outside.
I had to take out all the hose I'd already installed.
Relocate the gas cylinder.
And adapt some of the kitchen units.
It was a waste of time that I could have avoided if I had researched earlier how to correctly install a gas system in a motorhome.
That experience taught me an important lesson.
There are decisions you can adapt to your needs.
However, there are installations, such as the gas supply, that must be carried out following specific regulations from day one.
Saving money also has its limits
During construction I learnt several times the same lesson.
Not everything that works perfectly in someone else's project will work for yours.
One of the most expensive mistakes was related to the passenger seat.
On YouTube I found a video where they explained that it wasn't necessary to look for an original passenger seat.
According to the author, it was enough to buy a driver's seat, move the seatbelt anchorage to the other side and the result would be exactly the same.
In the video it looked very simple.
I thought it made no sense to pay more if I could do the same.
I found a driver's seat.
I bought it.
I waited for him to arrive.
But when I had it in front of me I discovered that, in my case, that modification was impossible.
That seat did not have the necessary fixing points to install the seatbelt anchor on the opposite side.
The video was not fake.
It simply worked for another version of the vehicle.
In the end, I had to put that seat back on the market, take a loss and buy the original passenger seat that actually fitted my van.
Since then I stopped considering any YouTube video as a universal guide.
Now I first check that a solution is compatible with my vehicle model and only afterwards do I buy the parts.
Saving money also has its limits
Another error cost me approximately 120 euros.
When it came to buying the diesel parking heater, I decided to save a bit of money.
A lot of Chinese heaters were sold on Amazon that, on the outside, looked practically identical to the better-known European models.
I bought one of them.
When it arrived, I discovered that it did not have the necessary European type approval.
He was not permitted to stay in the motorhome legally whilst the type-approval process was underway.
In the end, that heater was put away and was never actually used.
Later I had to buy one anyway Autoterm, which cost around 600 euros.
That is the one I eventually installed.
To this day it still works perfectly and has never given me any trouble.
Sometimes trying to save a little bit ends up costing a lot more.
Sometimes the error lies in the smallest detail
It might seem that gluing fabric is completely straightforward.
I used to think that too.
To upholster one of the pieces located next to the front door, I used regular fabric glue.
It seemed enough to me.
If it worked for sticking fabric, why wouldn't it work inside a motorhome either?
Some time later, whilst buying more material in another shop, the assistant asked me what glue I was using.
It was then that I learnt something important.
In a motorhome it is advisable to use a high-temperature resistant adhesive.
In summer, the inside of a closed vehicle can reach very high temperatures.
Conventional glue simply isn’t up to the job.
And that was exactly what happened.
After a few months, the fabric started to come away.
I had no choice but to take that part apart and start the whole job all over again.
Since then, I’ve only used adhesives specifically designed for high temperatures, and I’ve never had that problem again.
Some faults only become apparent once you start using the motorhome
Some decisions seemed completely right to me while I was building the campervan.
But once it was finished, and after the first few trips, small details began to emerge that I simply hadn’t thought of whilst building it.
None of them was a serious problem.
However, it is precisely those small details which, over time, make the difference between a comfortable motorhome and one that still has room for improvement.
A socket that practically nobody used
When I was designing the dining area, I thought it would be a very good idea to fit a 220 V socket next to the table.
I imagined someone working on their laptop, charging their phone or simply using a computer whilst sitting down.
The idea seemed logical.
I fitted the socket.
But later on, I fitted the second row of seats.
It was only then that I realised the socket had been almost completely hidden behind the seat.
It was difficult to get to.
For the entire time the motorhome was on hire, practically no-one used that socket.
With the second motorhome, I didn’t just think about where to place each socket, but also whether it would still be properly accessible once the entire interior layout had been fitted out.
More does not always mean better
It was exactly the same with the lighting.
I decided to install a long LED strip on the ceiling to illuminate the whole interior.
But I felt that perhaps it wouldn’t be enough.
That’s why I also fitted several recessed spotlights.
When I finished the campervan, I discovered that the LED strip illuminated the entire living space perfectly.
The spotlights were hardly ever used.
They only added more wiring, more working hours and more installation time.
If I were to build this motorhome again today, I would only fit the LED strip.
It does the job perfectly.
Not all prefabricated components are suitable for every project
Another problem concerned the shower tray.
I thought most of these plates had practically standard dimensions.
I bought one, convinced that all I’d have to do was put it in place.
But when it came to setting it up inside the motorhome, I realised it had been designed for a completely different layout.
What’s more, I’d decided to recess the toilet a bit further into the wall to create more legroom and make the shower more comfortable.
As a result, I had to almost completely rebuild the shower tray.
I had to cut it, adjust it and adapt it by hand until it fitted into my project.
It turned out well in the end.
But it took me much longer than I had imagined.
Since then I stopped thinking that a prefabricated part will always fit in any campervan.
In many cases it is simpler to design a solution tailored to your own project than to try to modify a piece intended for a completely different layout.
Not everything was a mistake
Despite all the mistakes I made during the construction, there were also decisions that turned out to be completely spot on.
Some of them I repeated without changing absolutely anything in my second motorhome.
There are some things it really isn't worth saving money on
When building a campervan, there is always the temptation to save money.
And, in some cases, it makes sense to do so.
However, there are components where trying to save money only ends up causing more problems.
If I were to build a campervan from scratch again, I'd buy good quality windows straight away.
The same applies to skylights.
These are things you use practically every day.
Ventilation, natural light and much of the comfort inside the motorhome depend on them.
Good windows and skylights open and close smoothly, are draught-free and last for many years.
It’s one of those purchases I’ve never regretted.
The internet you simply stop remembering
I didn't understand the true importance of having a good internet connection during the construction.
I realised this when I decided to go on a trip for a few days in my own motorhome.
I took my laptop with me.
The telephone.
I thought I’d probably have to do a bit of work.
Before that trip, one of the customers had written to me because they had some concerns about the Wi-Fi. We sorted it out quickly, but for some reason I was left with the feeling that the internet might cause problems.
And then, on the third day of the trip, I had a sort of revelation.
«"Hold on… But I've been using the Wi-Fi for three days!"»
Not once had I ever wondered whether there was internet or not.
It just worked.
Just like at home.
When you’ve got a good internet connection at home, you don’t constantly think about it.
You open your laptop.
The telephone.
The television.
And it all works.
That was exactly how I felt inside the motorhome.
At that moment I realised that it was no longer simply a vehicle.
It really was a house on wheels.
Over time, motorhomes from LSR365 they began to include Wi-Fi and, in some models, also Starlink.
Today it is clear to me that, for many travellers, having a stable connection is just as important as having hot water, heating or a good fridge.
The second motorhome completely changed the way I work
The most important realisation came when I started building the second motorhome.
I no longer opened YouTube before each task.
I was no longer looking for instructions on how to fit a window.
Not even how to make the wall units.
Not even how to arrange the furniture.
I already had my own templates.
My own measurements.
My own work order.
If the first campervan took me around eight months, the second was finished in approximately two.
And it wasn't because he had learned to work better with the tools.
It was because the uncertainty disappeared.
Today, building a campervan no longer seems like a complicated thing to me.
It is a sequence of steps that I already know perfectly.
That's why I know that, if I ever wanted to do it, I could set up a small workshop and build several campervans following the same process.
If I look back today, there are many things I would do differently.
Some mistakes cost me money.
Others made me lose several days of work.
And I only discovered some of them when the first people started using the motorhome.
But there is one decision I would never change.
I would build my first motorhome again.
Because neither YouTube, nor books, nor the advice of other people can replace your own experience.
It was precisely thanks to all those mistakes that I acquired the knowledge which, later on, would end up forming the basis of the motorhomes from our fleet.
If you have arrived directly at this page, I recommend starting with the complete history of how LSR365 was born, where you will find all the stages of this diary in chronological order.
If you want to see how the motorhomes finally turned out after all this process, you can visit the LSR365 home page.
And in the next chapter I shall probably relate the most exciting moment of this whole story: how my first motorhome got type approval, passed the MOT, and received all the necessary documentation and, just a few days later, he got his first booking.
It was then that I realised that that dream of building a campervan with my own hands could become a real project called LSR365.