DIY camping boxes under 100€ and make your own 270º awning
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This month we’ll not focus specifically on a type of car, but on DIY – easy ways to turn your car into a microcamper. First two videos will show you how to make a camping bed cheaply, third video is for those who want to sit in front (or at the side) of the car during rain or hide away from the sun. A good DIY challenge this month – send us your pics if you make any of these…
DIY Camping boxes under 100€*
*price can change with different type of plywood quality you select for your build
GVM-Corner‘s not just one, but two instructional videos are a great place to start. These campingboxes are very cheap, but you do need a good set of tools and carpentry skills. On the other hand – it’s never too late to learn now, maybe the first version will be a bit wonky… but the more so yours.
These should fit nicely into most cars with folding rear seats, like a VW Sharan, VW Caddy (for the Maxi, you should make it longer), Citroen Berlingo, Renault Kangoo, Roomster, Peugeot Partner etc.
🏆Best cars for camping 🏆
- Fiat Doblò camper XL, High Roof 🇪🇺 4.0/5
- Honda Odyssey 🇺🇸 4.0/5
- Volkswagen Sharan 🇪🇺 3.9/5
- Caddy Maxi Camper (Life) 🇪🇺 3.8/5
See all cars in our database, their boot dimensions and more ➡️
- The box is 112 cm wide, 74 cm deep and 41 cm high when folded.
- When unfolded, the bed is 200 cm long.
- Total weight approx. 40 kg.
You can buy the plans for this camping box directly from the author here.
Shopping list:
- 12 Spruce edge-glued panels 18 mm 76,58€
- 4 piano hinges 11,80€
- 1 m chain 1,99€
- 1 Magnet snapper 0,95€
- Screws and some glue 5,00€
- TOTAL 96,32€
If you fancy a different quality of wood, here’s the same design made from 18 mm multiplex birch. (The author suggests that a 15 mm would be better, but it wasn’t in stock at that time). The drawer is made of 12 mm poplar and birch plywood.
Some more DIY Camper conversion plans from my collection:
I’ve picked DIY conversions in various price ranges, sorted from the cheapest – showing you that you can do a lot with this car no matter what your budget is.
This Renault Kangoo + Skoda Yeti DIY car camping conversion comes with detailed drawings and diagrams that you can easily adjust to fit your Berlingo: (Kangoo is very similar to a Berlingo)
+ as a bonus, you’ll find a manual on how to create mozzie nets out of an old tent or thermal window screens
Skoda Roomster DIY car camping conversion – very minimal, therefore easy to adjust for a Berlingo:
This one’s for a Caddy, but it’s pretty simple and can also be easily adjusted to a Berlingo:
And another Caddy DIY Camping box – this one is more complex, but comes with great diagrams and detailed measurements:
Enough of the interior, let’s go outside! Hmm, raining? Sun too strong? Need a shade?
Patrick Remington to the rescue!
Make yourself a 270º Awning – No Welding:
If you like this one, do check out Patrick’s YouTube channel for more DIY camping solutions like rooftop tents or chairs.
Or, get your palms really sweaty like I did watching his crazy helicopter climb/jump…
Post author:
Lukas
Founder of NimbleCamper.com, avid traveler and outdoor enthusiast. Car camping and microcamping allows me to keep traveling and exploring with a much greater level of freedom & privacy – to go anywhere and sleep anywhere. I didn’t have 30K to buy a VW Multivan, so found my way to the world of everyday car camping conversions. Here I share my experiences and what I learn.
