Hot on the heels of my recent review of Travel Vans, Jackie Paddison of Impart Publishing left a comment on this blog, telling me about Convert A Van To A Motorcaravan, an ebook written and published by her and her husband. I hadn’t heard of it before but Jackie was kind enough to send me a copy to read and review for this site.

The ebook comes on a professionally-produced CDROM in a hard case and takes the form of a 58-page PDF document, divided into a number of logical chapters that cover all aspects of a self-build van conversion. The main part of the ebook deals with the practicalities of the conversion and is very good, with clear explanations and a good number of photos and plans (click here for some examples). It’s divided into logical sections, such as “Fitting Windows and Roof Vents”, each of which would serve as a good reference for anyone planning their own conversion.

The book notes, as should any prospective self-builder, that tasks are not completed in the order of the chapters. Some tasks must be partially completed before others and then finally completed at a later stage. For anyone who has carried out even a simple conversion, this will be obvious – but the book makes this clear and explains why this is necessary.

The book stays away from much technical discussion about base vehicles – the authors, by their own admission, are “not mechanically minded” and as current van models change so regularly and second-hand van choices vary so widely, their decision not to get bogged down in considering the pros and cons of different vehicles was probably a good one.

This book is not a manual which you could follow step-by-step to convert your own van – it does, however, contain most of the information you would need to develop and execute a full conversion. As such, it’s excellent value for money at £10.99 and I would recommend it to anyone planning a conversion or simply interested in understanding how motorhomes can be constructed. The Paddisons take plenty of time to explain the reasoning behind their design decisions and the alternative choices they might have made, leaving you with a good understanding of the whole design.

Convert A Van To A Motorcaravan comes in CDROM format and can be purchased directly from Impart Publishing. Visit www.impartpublishing.co.uk/motorcaravan/ for more details or to order a copy.