Palermo from avantura.campers

We present another competition camper , made by our readers.

We are creating the competition together with the organizers of the Caravans Salon fair, which will take place from September 24 to 26, 2021 in Poznań.

There, in a special zone, owners of selected vehicles will be able to present them to fair participants. Therefore, a very interesting event is being prepared for the upcoming edition of the fair.

Detailed information about the competition itself and entries can be found here: Did you build a camper yourself? – we are waiting for you .

We are also creating a series of posts on our Facebook fan page that will introduce readers to the competition vehicles and their creators. We invite you to like our Facebook profile to stay up to date with all the news.

In today's episode, we present to you Amanda and Hubert's "child" - a camper with the charming nickname "Palermo".

Interview with Amanda and Hubert - creators of the "Palermo" camper

Is your car the beginning of your adventure with caravanning/camping and what prompted you to build your own camper?

As for the beginnings, it started very early for us, we were both scouts and we participated together in rallies, camps, summer camps... of course, we had a tent with us then, and it served us for a very long time. As children, we first discovered these charms separately, and once we got to know each other, we started traveling together. We went on many trips - from our beloved Garda through many other places and finally, in 2018, we flew to Georgia, where we rented an off-road vehicle in which we slept wild throughout the trip. Every evening we moved our backpacks to the front and spread the mattress in the back. We swam under a Decathlon tent. Then a light bulb went on and the idea emerged that it would be great to have an autonomous, self-sufficient car.

From that moment everything changed. I started analyzing all the arguments for and against and counting the costs it would generate, because we didn't want to do it half-heartedly. The pandemic and excess free time helped us make the final decision. In 2020, we bought a car and the fun began with building a van .

We like to make dreams come true, we love contact with nature and we don't like to limit ourselves when traveling. Thanks to Palermo, we can go wherever we want and stay there as long as we like.

Tell us more about the history and parameters of the base car - how did you find it and what did you do?

As for the base car, we were guided primarily by dimensions, load capacity and availability of spare parts. What was most important to us was the technical condition of the car. Nowadays, when buying an older car, you can't rely solely on the year and mileage.

We were looking for a car for several months, until Amanda finally found an advertisement - it was a VW LT from 2003, with a 2.5 TDi 80KW engine. Its previous owner ran a small furniture store. Unfortunately, the pandemic forced the business to close. The car was in good technical condition, which was later confirmed by our mechanic. The car was repainted a year earlier, so we didn't have to worry about the paint. Moreover, it was well-kept and in constant use.

After the purchase, the first step was to take the car to a mechanic - we replaced all gaskets in the engine and transmission as a preventive measure, we installed brakes with better parameters, taking into account the weight of the body, and, of course, we replaced all operating fluids . The LT-400 thus prepared came to our workshop and the construction began.

How and from what materials did you make the supporting structures, insulation and furniture?

As for the materials - I paid a lot of attention to their weight and the highest possible water resistance. After removing all the elements on the truck, we started by removing rust and protecting the paint inside the car.

The next stages included the following works:

Electrics - mainly the distribution of cables, with selected cross-sections, strips/conduits were used as appropriate protection.

Insulation - a very important stage for us - for thermal insulation we used the well-known Alufox foil, Styrodur from 2 to even 8 cm thick, and of course PUR foam for sealing. All walls, doors, floor and ceiling were insulated. We had the opportunity to sleep at -2 degrees at night without the heating on and there was no problem with the temperature inside.

Furniture construction - the load-bearing elements and furniture are made of 4-12 mm waterproof plywood, we used 18 mm plywood to construct the bed, and the tops are made of wooden oak.

What was the biggest challenge for you in the construction process? What did you manage on your own and in what aspects did you use the services of external specialists or companies?

Before starting the project, the biggest challenge was probably electrical. Maybe not the execution itself (I deal with electrical systems at work every day), but the selection of appropriate components so that we don't have to worry about a lack of power. Insulating the car was also a difficult job. Because we wanted to get it right, it took us a lot of time.

We did most of the project ourselves, we used the services of a mechanic, we hired a company to wrap the camper and we converted a conventional fridge into a 12V compressor fridge at a refrigeration company.

You've probably been on more than one escapade by car. Looking back, what would you have done differently/changed?

Difficult question, it's hard for us to name anything at the moment. We finished the car relatively recently, sometimes we lack a fourth space, e.g. for friends. The car is registered for 3 people and that is how many people can sleep in it.

But you can't have everything, instead of friends, we can take a scooter with us and explore small towns with narrow streets without worrying about prohibitions and the dimensions of the camper.

There are often comments, especially from Internet users, that it is not worth investing in dedicated, often more expensive equipment for campers and that you can always find substitutes. Is this approach correct? What compromises can and should we not make?

We approach such comments very carefully, because often components dedicated to campers are really well made, undergo a number of tests and, above all, are checked by users.

Of course, some component prices are very high, probably due to their countries of origin and transport duties/taxes. In the current situation on the caravanning market, we are also constantly observing rising prices. I cannot answer this question unequivocally, because on the other hand, in several places we have adapted home solutions (e.g. sink, faucet, air conditioning or gas stove) for use in a camper and so far they have worked very well. I think common sense is needed here.

What I have definitely noticed on the market is the lack of a coherent, comprehensive Polish brand producing components for campers . Unfortunately, the vast majority of the market is in the hands of foreign companies, which probably also partially affects prices.

PALERMO in a nutshell:

• self-sufficient electrical installation (370W photovoltaic panel, 12V 180Ah battery, two electrical circuits for 12V and 230V with a 1500W converter
• parking air conditioning 230V
• water installation with hot and cold water
• 2 beds (double 200x120cm and a single fold-out bed)
• compressor refrigerator 12V 95l + freezer 13l,
• tank for clean water 80 l, for gray water 120 l
• tourist toilet
• external shower with a faucet and a handset mounted on the side of the car
• two-burner gas stove
• kitchen sink with tap
• two-zone LED lighting with the ability to change light intensity,
• a large, roomy garage with space for Palermo Bambino, i.e. a Junak Vintage 124 cm scooter , gas grill, bicycles, etc.

More about Amanda and Hubert's vehicle and journeys on FB, Insta and TikTok avantura.campers

We also invite you to read previous interviews with the creators of the competition campers:

• Vandalvan
• Vantek
• A camper based on a bus
• Yenncamp