Iris

Description of Beds: Iris can sleep up to five people and her beds are one of her most ingenious and versatile features. By day, the main bed (130cm wide x 190 long) hides up in the ceiling above the front seating area. And at night, with the press of a button, the bed is effortlessly lowered down onto the folded rear seats. The backrests from the front seats become the headboard, perfect for sitting up in bed with that first cup of tea in the morning. The rear sleeping area consists of two height-adjustable, and removable, bunk beds, each with an optional safety net. The top one (75cm x 170cm) has a weight limit of 65kg and is reached via a fun copper ladder. The lower bunk (75cm x 183cm) can become a double bed (120cm x 183cm) allowing the van to comfortably sleep five. Description of Seating: Up to five people can travel in Iris. There are two captain’s seats in the front and, depending on the number of passengers, there can be three, two, or no seats in the back, allowing space and weight savings if the seats are not needed. There is also a wheelchair track for passengers that travel in a wheelchair. Check out Accessible Iris for more details. All seats have three-point seat belts, and headrests, are reclinable, and two of the rear seats have Isofix car seat anchor points. The front seats easily swivel around and, with the addition of two swivelling tables, quickly create a seating area surrounded by windows. At the rear of the van, there is a second seating area which can easily accommodate up to five children, creating a separate kids’ space. Description of Electrical Setup: Iris has a huge electrical system. With 400Ah of lithium batteries and 700W of solar panels, you can parked-up off-grid for as long as desired, with no need to pay for a campsite’s electric hook-up! A 2000W inverter will comfortably power almost every mains device including recharging electronic devices and even power-hungry appliances like hairdryers and blenders. And there are more 230V and USB sockets in Iris than in some houses! About the area: Finding Iris is easy. She lives less than two minutes away from the M32 in Bristol, so very straightforward if you arrive by car. Temple Meads train station and the Central Bus Station are a 10-15 minute drive away and collection can be arranged. Stapleton Road train station is a 5-minute walk. Bristol Airport has extensive international connections and a regular bus service to both Temple Mead and the Bus Station. Bristol is a fun and vibrant city for an overnight stop off and is the gateway to some of the most stunning scenery in the UK. A short drive takes you into Wales, with the Bannau Brycheiniog/Brecon Beacons, Gower, and Pembrokeshire. Nearer by, the Wye Valley, the Forrest of Dean, the Cotswolds and the Mendips are all great places to explore in a campervan. Or else you can head south into beautiful Devon and Cornwall. There are also a host of festivals within easy reach of Bristol including Glastonbury, Shambala, Green Man, Womad, and The Hay Festival. Parking: Iris lives in the Bristol residential neighbourhood of St Werberghs. Street parking is free and, during the day, fairly easy to find. Cooking Equipment: Iris’ galley style kitchen gives you plenty of prep surface and is well kitted out for cooking. There is a two-burner gas hob with a safety shut-off and an unusually large (90-litre) fridge with a good-sized freezer compartment. There is a comprehensive selection of pots, pans, frying pans, utensils, openers, graters, squeezers and tweezers. She even has a “messy drawer” as you have at home where you can find those things you didn’t know you needed but suddenly do! She has big and little plates, bowls and cutlery for five. Look out for the rainbow glasses and kettle! Water and Sanitation: A 65-litre fresh water tank provides water for drinking, cooking and washing. There is a 50-litre waste water tank. Both tanks have a level display so you know when it’s time to fill and empty them. Hot water is provided by a fabulous Whale immersion heater that can quickly heat 8 litres of water to a high temperature, using either gas when off-grid or mains electricity when plugged in at a campsite. This gets mixed with cold water providing plenty of warm water for washing up and even a decent shower. Iris has an external hot shower and a folding bath/paddling pool. A simple to use portable chemical toilet is neatly housed behind the rear seats. Audio Equipment: The van’s head unit has a DAB radio and can connect to mobile devices to play music through the cab speakers. It also has a TomTom satnav. A portable Minirig Bluetooth speaker is available as an add-on and works well for listening to audiobooks when on the road. Type of Heating: Even when it is freezing outside, the 5kW Whale space heater will silently and efficiently get Iris toasty in no time. Thanks to its thermostat it can then maintain a steady temperature. The heater can run on gas when off-grid, or mains electricity when on a hook-up. Extra Information: Iris’s versatile seating and sleeping design means that whilst she was initially conceived as a family campervan, she is also very well suited for a couple who need space for equipment. With the rear beds removed the space at the back becomes a huge storage area with capacity for bikes, surf and paddle boards, inflatable kayaks, you name it. And if that space wasn't enough, you can always remove the rear seats too and have even more storage space! With her two double beds and space between them, she is also great for two couples, though they might fight over who gets the drop-down bed! Conversion Story: Iris has a unique, and in a way, miraculous conversion story. Owners Cody and Jemima have two daughters, the eldest of which has complex medical needs and is a wheelchair user. Frustrated with not being able to visit friends and family, and with limited accessible holiday options, when covid struck and Cody stopped working, they decided to build a campervan which would allow their family to travel to new and wonderful locations, spend time in the great outdoors, get muddy at festivals, and have the kinds of adventures together that had not been possible before. The idea rapidly snowballed when they realised that they had a unique opportunity to design a van that would also be suitable for other disabled children and adults. So they took out a loan, bought a brand new van and Cody started converting it. However, the cost of an electrical system that could power their daughter’s medical equipment was such that they had to rethink the finances. This led to an incredibly successful crowdfunding campaign and donations and discounts from a number of companies. The support was at times overwhelming! Due to the time restraints of being the parent of a complex child, Cody’s perfectionism, and the complexities of the build, progress on the van was slow. Jokes about the gestation period of an elephant have abounded. But we got there in the end! And the end result is almost exactly what Cody had in mind. Far too often accessible and medical spaces are sterile and unattractive, but Cody and Jemima worked hard to make Iris the opposite; they wanted a space that would be open and full of light in the summer and cosy and snug in the winter. Bright, fun, and most importantly, would appeal to kids. They also wanted a space that could become two spaces; a separate “bedroom” at the back of the van where the children can spend time playing and sitting around the table, allowing the parents to relax in the front area. The rainbow theme symbolises Iris being born out of lockdown, and her owners’ deep feeling of gratitude to the NHS and everyone involved in their daughter’s care. Warning: The payload of this vehicle is 420kg. This is below the Quirky Campers recommended payload of 550kg for a vehicle with 5 belted seats. Drivers need to be aware that the total weight of driver, passengers and baggage must be below 420kg to keep the vehicle within its legal Max Allowed Mass (MAM) of 3500kg.