Thomas v Petal
A small home.
A lot of
decisions.
This is Petal, my self-built Peugeot Boxer. She carries my bed, kitchen, work, training gear and a number of things I’m still being asked to justify.
I built her to travel in. Then I kept changing things as I worked out what living in her actually involves.
The van
Peugeot Boxer
The format
L2H2 · self-built
Length
5.8 metres
Height, with roof gear
2.9 metres
Inside Petal ↓ The revamp ↓ Power & equipment ↓ Her other jobs ↓
Petal has an opinion
“I prefer ‘residence’, darling.”
01 / Inside Petal
Lived in, not staged.
The bed gets slept in. The kitchen gets used. There’s usually something charging. This is what she looks like while we’re actually travelling.
The bedroom, sitting room and part of the kitchen. All within reach.
A small kitchen. Normal meals.
Induction, an air fryer, a fridge and just enough worktop to start cooking before I have to move something.
The sitting room. Also the office.
A bench, a table and the laptop. The commute is short. Finding somewhere for everything else takes longer.
Small shelves. Very specific jobs.
Mugs, lights, plants and the things I want within reach. The bigger bags above the bed do the less decorative work.
The view is a separate booking.
The inside comes with me. What’s outside depends on where I park.
Before the revamp
02 / An ongoing project
She’s had a few revisions.
The basic layout stayed. I changed colours, added storage and kept adjusting the bits I use every day.
The current version has more orange, more blue and more places to put things. Somehow, there are still things without a place.
Charlotte’s
Locks
Pea Flower
Tea
Brassica
Pointing
“By all means, darling.
Petal, on the latest decision
Explain your reasoning.”
03 / Power & equipment
What keeps her running.
Power, storage and the stuff that makes everyday life work. Here’s the setup I use.
Electricity, with options.
Batteries, solar and charging while I drive. For the fridge, laptop, induction and air fryer. The portable panel gets its own patch of sun.
See the power setup
- Bluetti APEX 300, AC180P and an expansion battery
- Bluetti Charger 1 for charging while driving
- Wattstunde 210 Wp roof panel
- Bluetti 200 W portable panel
Finding room for the rest.
Soft overhead bags inside. A rear carrier and roof rack outside. Everything needs a home, preferably one I can still reach after packing.
Storage, air & shade
- Soft overhead bags and under-bed storage boxes
- Roof rack and rear carrier
- MaxxFan and roof hatch
- Awning for shade outside
Same home.
Different
parking space.
Some days there’s a sea view. Some days there’s a supermarket. The bed is the same.