Services
This is not a direction on how to install Services. Electricity and gas installation work should be undertaken and tested by fully qualified persons only.
What you have installed in your van at this stage will very much depend on how you intend to use your ‘van’. Will you need a mains electricity hook up system? If you intend to spend all your time in the van wild camping and not visiting official campsites, then you might decide that you have no need to have the facility to ‘hook up’ at all.
If you only intend to have weekends away then you might opt for a simple single leisure battery setup to operate 12v appliances. Whereas, if you intend to wild camp for long periods, you would be likely to need a robust 12v system with greater capacity.
This will also depend on what type of appliances you intend to fit in your van. If you have a hot water heater, does it run on gas or mains electricity? Many will run on either so you can use it on mains hook up on sites and on bottled gas when wild camping.
The same options apply to some space heating systems. If you have a fridge, many of these are’3 way’ they can run on 12v when the vehicle engine is running, gas when camping without hook up and mains electricity when on hook up. You may even wish to include 240v lighting for when you’re on hook up to save your leisure battery.
You should also consider a leisure battery charger; these can work by charging from the engine battery whilst the engine is running and from mains power whilst on hook up.
Water
A camper van water system can be as complex or as simple as you wish to make it. A very simple system might be to have a 25 litre water bottle stored under the sink or in a nearby cupboard with a ‘drop in’ submersible water pump to bring the water up to the sink tap when switched. Taps with built in micro-switches are relatively inexpensive and are ideal for this type of system.
A more complex system would of course be needed if you intend to have hot and cold water and more than one sink or even a shower. Food grade water tanks of all shapes and sizes as well as food grade flexible pipe are available from many suppliers and many of the tanks can be hung underneath the van or installed inside it. In-line pressure operated pumps are often used in this type of system. Waste water (grey waste) tanks can also be installed or a portable tank or even a bucket can be used to catch waste water drained to the underneath of the van.
Will you have an on board W/C? Again look at suppliers catalogues for all types and sizes of toilets, from a simple Porta-Potti to an electric flush toilet.
DVLA requirements for a van to be classified as a ‘Motor caravan’