Arfur's World

Hillman's Project
Status: In progress - body reworked

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in 2012 I decided that "one day" I would like to follow the Tour de France. Then I realised that 2013 is the 100th year of the race and I figured if I am ever going to do it, it should be in 2013. And so it began ...

Initially, I was going to buy a cheap motorhome for 2013, see if I liked the campervan lifestyle, with a view to upgrading or building something later on. My requirements were simple, basics for living and to be able to put my new motorbike on the back. And that is where everything changed. Most "off the shelf" campers are built to such tight limits on their vehicle weights, that they can only put a moped on the rear, 100KG at most. My bike weighs much more than that, so I was going to need a bigger base vehicle.

I don't have A-class money, so I was going to have to build something myself. And then, while searching on Autotrader, I saw Arfur. Commissioned as an exhibition unit, he was being sold with only 31,000kms and at 9 years old, barely run in. He is based on a Mercedes Vario chassis, so is practically bullet-proof (UPS and hundreds of bus companies can't be wrong!).

So then it became a search for an interior. Do I self build? Do I go to a conversion specialist? Do I go to Ikea or a camper furniture supplier? Eventually I decided to buy a cheap caravan which would supply everything ... and then I decided to buy a not so cheap caravan and do it all properly! So here we are, March 2013, van stripped, caravan being stripped, ferry tickets booked and just over 3 months to complete my project! Wish me luck!!

More details are on facebook, search for Arfursworld

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