Nelson

About the area: Nelson lives on the edge of Cheltenham, a beautiful spa town and the Western gateway to the Cotswolds. Renowned for its Regency architecture, parks and gardens, top end restaurants, shops and cafes, it is surrounded by beautiful countryside. Cheltenham is famous for its many festivals from jazz, science and literature through to cheese-rolling down Cooper’s Hill. Further afield the Cotswolds are an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty boasting chocolate box villages, cosy pubs and undulating green hills crying out to be explored on foot. The Forest of Dean and the River Wye offer endless opportunities for adventure by bike, foot or paddle. You don’t need to head much further West to reach the high peaks of the Black Mountains and Brecon Beacons in Wales. If urban exploring is more your thing, check out the stunning architecture of Gloucester cathedral, the mediaeval richness of Tewkesbury or the Roman history of Cirencester. Bath and Bristol are also only an hour or so down the M5, so you won’t be short on options for places to visit. Description of Beds: Nelson is perfect for couples, families and friends. There is a travel cot available for babies which fits perfectly once the table has been stowed away. The fixed bed system cuts out the faff of having to make your bed every night, but does have the option to store away the top bunk when not in use. The bottom bed is a decadent 16 cm thick double-layer memory foam mattress. At 135 cm wide it is a full double. A headboard recess and a cleverly positioned window means even those over 6ft can stretch out (bed length 195 cm on the kitchen side and 186 cm at the rear-door side). The top bunk is 120 cm wide and 168 cm long. This has been designed mainly for kids and is accessed via our funky and fun climbing wall. If a 3rd adult wanted to sleep here it can accommodate heights of up to 190 cm diagonally. The top bunk can also be stored away via a clever manual winch system and hooked out of the way. This transforms the bottom bunk into a daybed and increases the communal space. The duvet and pillows can stay on the bed and come night-time with a few turns of the winch pole the bunk can be lowered onto some sturdy fold-down brackets. These can take up to 500 kg in weight- although they have not been tested to that extreme yet! Description of Seating: Nelson has four belted seats. Safety is a priority and the rear bench seat has a strong steel frame and isofix attachments for two car seats. All are three-point belts and suitable for adults as well with comfortable headrests and thick foam. Both front seats are very comfortable and fully adjustable. They have been put on a low-profile swivel base to capitalise on the extra cab space for meal times around our stow-away dining table. Description of Electrical Setup: Nelson is an adventure van and loves being truly off-grid, but we did not want to sacrifice on the luxuries of life. He therefore needed a top-end electrical system. In front of the beautiful red cedar sundeck he has 400 Watts of solar panels which feeds into his control system in a partitioned-off section of his garage. A 12V 320 Ah lithium Roamer battery stores the energy and can last a good 5 days under normal use or indefinitely with enough sunshine. If you are running low then the Orion DC-DC charger will top up the leisure battery whilst you drive. You also have the option to link up to hook-up which will charge the battery and allow high wattage devices like hair dryers to run. Otherwise, the Victron Multiplus Inverter will allow off-grid 230V power of up to 500 watts. We have found this ample for whatever we want to power and there are four 3-pin sockets as well as the option to charge phones from the four separate reading lights. The Cerbo GX and GX Touch provide a touch screen to monitor everything both for yourself and for us- if there are any issues we can log-in remotely. Parking: Nelson lives in a pretty little village on the edge of Cheltenham. If you come by vehicle there is parking on a small private lane which you can use on your arrival when unloading, then you are welcome to park on our driveway behind a secure electric gate. If coming by train it is a short taxi ride from the station to Nelson’s home. Cooking Equipment: Nelson has a fully stocked kitchen and did us proud on his inaugural 3-month Eurotrip. 3 gas hobs and a gas oven means you can cook pretty much anything and the automatic shut-off lid provides another level of safety. He is fully stocked with stackable pots and pans, a stove kettle, collapsible colander and washing up bowl, chopping boards, utensils, grater, oven trays and a stove-top cafetière. He has enough plates, bowls and cutlery, mugs and glasses for 4 adults. He also has a popular alfresco option with a 2-burner gas Cadac BBQ which comes with hot plates and pot stands. If you are having extra friends, let us know and we can provide some extra cutlery and crockery. Water and Sanitation: Nelson has a generous 91 litre water tank if needed, although you may choose to take less to save on weight. This can provide water for the hot indoor shower and unique kitchen sink. There is also a hot outdoor shower for cleaning muddy boots, sandy feet and salty pooches after a day of adventure. A second tap at the sink comes from a 12-litre portable container under the sink useful for fresh drinking water or shorter trips which doesn’t require the big tank. Shower and sink water drains into an ample 50-litre odour-free waste tank which can be easily emptied by an outside drainage tap. These levels can be monitored using the indoor GX Touchscreen. If you don’t travel light we recommend you don’t have your tanks filled to the max so you have more weight for gear! If you do need to refill the underslung freshwater tank a 15 metre hose is supplied with adaptors. The shower and toilet is in the separate bathroom with a shower curtain as the door. The compostable toilet is a fantastic invention called a Simploo which claims to be virtually odour free. We tend to keep the small internal fan running continuously as back up. Inside the loo is a 6 litre urine container which you should empty every day or two and there is a pee-alarm if you forget! If you get caught short and need to use the solids container the biodegradable bags can be taken out to compost or into household waste. A nifty little feature is the ability to unplug the simploo and remove it from the bathroom so you have lots of space to shower. Audio Equipment: The van is the Enterprise upgrade with a 5 inch touch screen and audio connections. Music can be played off your phone via an Aux/USB cable or via Bluetooth. The speaker system will do your holiday road trip playlist proud! Type of Heating: The Truma Combi 4E is an efficient space heater and water heater in one appliance, cleverly stored away under the bench seat. When off-grid it runs off the 25 litre underslung LPG tank with the additional option to run off electric when the van is hooked up to mains. A simple control panel and thermostat easily controls the temperature for those cold winter nights with heat ducts situated throughout the van including the bathroom which can double as a drying room. The gas work was done professionally and has been signed off and certified for peace of mind. Pet Information: We made Nelson with our cocker spaniel in mind. She often likes to have a little chill zone in the garage under the bed (accessed from the inside) or sometimes in her bed in the bathroom. A baby gate by the sliding door was a thoughtful extra that works just as well for dogs as it does for toddlers. If you want to bring pets please make sure you protect any soft furnishings and use doggy towels or the outside shower to prevent muddy pawprints. Extra Information: Our unique red cedar roof-deck is an aspiration for those quiet sunsets in nature once the kids have gone to bed. We love giving objects a second life like the stained-glass window and the beautifully knotted slab of wood used for the window sill and kitchen counter which has come from an Edinburgh Elm tree. The elevating top bed is a unique feature adapted from a garage storage winch and is a simple way of creating that extra space for rainy days inside. Conversion Story: Nelson and our paths collided in the Welsh valleys where he began life as a builder’s panel van. Being extra-high but under six metres in length he offered the perfect framework for our conversion. With a new baby in tow and both working full-time jobs we worked weekends long into the night to make our dream conversion come to life. Our key features had to include strong isofix seats, inside shower/toilet, separate sleeping/eating areas, elevating double fixed beds and loads of storage. In less than a year he has already been our trusty steed through Europe from mid-summer in Greece to mid-winter in Scotland. Along with modern mods and cons we wanted him to be something of quirky beauty. A home from home we never want to leave. And somewhere others will get to enjoy and love.