Wee Man: Jon's Journey to the Perfect Camper Conversion

Hi my names Jon and I’m the happy owner of a medium wheelbase Man TGE called Wee Man.

I’d wanted a camper for a long time, I’d had enough of making do in cars and small vans. My plan was a T5, but having stayed in a friends I’d realised the space just wouldn’t suit us and the 2 dogs, so I started looking at something with more space I could convert myself.

I was looking and came across the MAN, which had been purchased new by someone else, with plans to convert it to a camper (they already had a crafter but had decided to it properly with a MAN)

It had been part converted already, which I thought was perfect to start. I then started looking for companies that sold the interior kits and started trying to research as much as I could on electrics and making plans.

I went to the overland show and saw Jamie on his stand and as there were a few MAN campers on there, thought I’d have a look and get some inspiration. What really drew me in was the thermal blankets he’d produced. Being empty in the back with no bulkhead it was like driving a bucket of bolts around and super cold in winter. I thought I’d get a set ordered and then I could take my time on the conversion.

Having spent time talking to Jamie and him showing me the vans he had on display, I quickly realised I was going to end up with something very amateur if I went ahead and converted it myself and the van deserved better.

He just happened to have a slot coming up, so I went ahead and jumped in, to get him to design and build me the van I’d been imagining.

I wont go too much into the process, but will say just how painless Jamie made it for me, from planning stages through to end van. He took lots of time to understand what I wanted and helped me understand what was possible for my needs and we ended up with exactly what I wanted, in fact excelling what I thought I’d end up with. I have to add here that it wasn’t an easy process for him, as the partial conversion I’d dropped off hadn’t been done to a very good standard, so he had to chase it all back and pretty much start from scratch, plus needing to have some paintwork done as the prior window fit had been done so badly and damaged the body work. Again he discussed this with me and suggested options and we then moved forward with the decision I made.

On collection I was blown away by the quality of work and the level of fit and finish. (my first words were that it was like a gentleman’s club on wheels). I remember driving it home to the midlands and being amazed that there were no squeaks or rattles. I’ve driven it across the highlands over some shocking roads and still everything is tight and right.

I have a BMW GS and wanted to be able to take it with me on occasion. So have sourced a trailer and now have an amazing tow vehicle that once I arrive at my destination becomes a hotel on wheels. I’ve just returned from the ABR festival and it was incredible. Not only did I have everything I needed with me and space to store it all. I also had luxury accommodation with a solar set up that kept all my cameras and devices powered up and the beer and food nice and cold in the fridge. I also love the fact that there’s no gas needed with the induction hob for cooking. I also used an air fryer and had the fan going a fair bit of the time. At no point over the weekend did I need to plug in or run the engine, just went off riding the trails for the day and when I got back the batteries were back to 100% (I would also add, that when you’re driving on to your next destination if you haven’t got great sun in winter, the engine soon has the batteries back up to max).

I go over to Wales motorbiking and where before I had to ride over with all my gear, normally in the rain (it is Wales!) now I just have a comfortable drive over and no more need to spend ages sourcing a hotel or spending a load more money for the trip. Just pull up wherever, drop the Murphy bed and in 10 minutes I’m chilling in the back with a beer and a film. Although I’ve got front seats that all turn, when I’m by myself I tend to just leave the thermal blind down and lounge out on the sofa area and once I’m cocooned inside feel safe, warm and incredibly private. I’ve parked it on streets in towns and no one would even know there’s anyone in there from the outside.

I’m about to head over to Europe for a few weeks and love the fact that once the ferries booked, I’m done; knowing my luxury accommodation with all my stuff is coming with me and I’ll stop wherever I feel like checking out.

If you want to have a look at  the van and some of my adventures, head over to my instagram account @bm65jon

Also if anyone has any questions that I might be able to answer, just drop me a message and I’ll be happy to get answer if I can.

Last thing to add; I took it for MOT the other day and the guy at the van garage said it was the best camper he’d seen all year! He’s not wrong!