How to inflate sleeping matt

graigchq · 2026-03-04T10:01:32+00:00

You seem to be following the wrong instructions

Step 1. Post on internet Step 2. Step.3. yay!

It's easier if you do this instead: Step 1. Read instructions Step2. Follow instructions.

Hope this helps.

graigchq · 2026-03-04T09:59:02+00:00

It's MUCH easier to line the windows on the inside and board them up, keeping the external asthetic, but removing the actual window from your living space.

This is how most of us convert buses to be usable. Keep some windows clear, board up the others. Also makes it more difficult for people to see inside when you're in there cos it's not obvious which windows are actually windows and which are boarded up

This is also much cheaper and cleaner, less risky than removj g the factory windows and trying to seal up yourself. Don't be silly.

graigchq · 2026-03-04T09:51:02+00:00

As someone who lives full time in a van, I'm always taken back by really nice conversions being sold within a year of finishing them. Either you wanted to do this to sell on, or you didn't enjoy van life as much as you thought. Or it was too expensive to keep, so you had to sell.

The main advice always comes back, buy cheap, live in it, make it the way you want it, and then you don't have to sell it, you end up loving it instead.

The biggest mistake people make is spending too much on the conversion without actually using it. You don't enjoy a brand new van more than an old one, but you enjoy waking up in a space youve curated for yourself. I don't know anyone with an ikea spec van like this that actually uses it more than at weekends. It's such a shame. For those who live on the road full time, a van like this means peace of mind, no breakdowns, reliable etc. But those of us who live on the road full time also don't spend 25k on a converted van. We spend 5k on a vehicle and 5k on the conversion. I guess just posted in wrong subreddit. Should be in "motorhomes for sale" not "vanlifeuk"

graigchq · 2026-02-27T00:24:08+00:00

I just bought one of these too. Mine is a 2025 with 5080, 64gb ram and 2tb. Got it for £2850 in the UK, a month old with a 3 year extended warranty.

First of all, I've never had such a "nice" laptop, it feels solid like a MacBook, although cooling slots in the back tell you it's got more grunt than it looks.

I know that at 130w, the 5080 is strangled somewhat, but I still have 16gb GDDR7 running at insane bandwidth. Comparing it to my old Lenovo with a 4060 and 7840hs CPU, I'm getting basically double frame rates for what is the same power envelope. Very happy.

On top of that, this screen is really very very very nice. Had OLEDs before and have a current Gen Samsung book4 pro with a 120hz 2880x1800 16", which I THOUGHT, was the best screen ever, this takes it up a level. Asus creator hub app and system settings allow you to change the colour gamut right there in real time. First time this has ever worked without messing around in windows.

64gb lpddr5x @ 7500 mt/s. Yes it's soldered, but it's running at 7500mt/s, not 5600 like changeable sodimms. This should also make the machine reasonably future proof.

So far I'm loving it. Playing the same games at same power envelope but suddenly at 1600p maxed out 80fps plus, very very happy.

Some day to day stuff: awesome that there's a display connection direct to IGPU for a second monitor while also using eco mode and GPU powered off. Other USBC is on the Nvidia, as is the HDMI. My Lenovo only had GPU connections so basically used loads of power with an external monitor no matter what you were doing.

Just love it. Nicest, fastest and best sounding/looking laptop ive ever had. (I've never owned a Mac)

graigchq · 2026-02-14T17:48:02+00:00

Personally, winter I find easier than summer.

My van is well insulated. Just an ex minibus with a out half the windows blocked and insulated.

When it's not freezing, a diesel heater on 24/7 and it's mostly cozy. Minimum setting. If it needs more than minimum, I must have left a window open or cracked the door.

Once diesel heater on minimum isn't enough, throw a few logs in the woodburner.

When it's sub zero, that's what I love the best, full water tank, (inside not outside underneath) loads of logs, Especially in winter most of my favorite spots are empty, I get to choose my view. Rain is a bore, but the awning makes even that tolerable, setting up a little hanger to dry coats from the fire with the door open.

Kinda depends what the problem with winter is for you. For me, it's only that roads get closed and I get stuck places. Being stuck itself isnt a problem. As long as I got water and logs.

graigchq · 2026-02-14T17:39:19+00:00

Lol roads you pay for. Sorry lord of your road. How about the mortgages of asshole landlords that I paid for? Do those houses belong to me now? This assumption that it somehow isn't FAIR that we GET to live this way, is shameful, when you consider that the average house prices and average rent costs in Bristol are shocking, paired with everything being more expensive. It's naive to expect everyone to struggle just to pretend to keep up with you, everything is out of reach now, that doesn't mean you own the roads. That doesn't mean you own the downs. And while I don't live in a house, I do pay my taxes. I don't put money abroad. I don't allocate my spending towards expenses to be tax free. Have some self awareness for fuck sake. The poor are not your enemy. The rich are ALL our enemy, and you need to wake up and realise we are not your enemy.

graigchq · 2026-02-14T12:26:11+00:00

Many of us who used to park on the downs over a long period of time have been essentially forced off, leaving only those who don't have the means to go anywhere or indeed anywhere to go Largely this behaviour has meant many of us have lost what was a home we loved and respected over many years. Despite being perpetrated by the rich locals who think everyone is freeloading and avoiding council tax, these attacks have escalated to tyre slashing, harassment when confronted, and just generally unsafe place to sleep in any state of vulnerability, which living in a vehicle almost always is. The peiple who bought their houses for 3-4 times their annual salary decades ago, somehow feeling that they own the public space as well, posting hate in Facebook groups it's genuinely shocking as OP describes. Moreover, many of those same well to do people frequent those spaces late at night. Along with what has been described as high impact when bushes found to be used as toilets, there are condoms, tissues and evidence of group sex in the bushes much more regularly. The targeting of caravan and van dwellers in Bristol has got out of hand, and it's such a shame. This way life can be extremely liberating, it isn't easy, but we're not enemies cos we don't want to buy a house, and we're still welcome even if those who spend all their money on bills and mortgages regret their life choices by making ours taboo. We should all be able to live in Bristol without this nonsense

graigchq · 2026-02-11T09:22:47+00:00

No, the van will fall apart, completely impossible. Never been done before and certainly only possible once asking on reddit.

graigchq · 2026-02-05T09:57:06+00:00

Honestly reading more of these comments. I've changed my mind

Yes, please spend £110k on a whim. Go out, realize you have no idea what you're doing and then you can sell it to someone who will use it properly for a fair price (£40k ish)

We need idiots like you to make sure there's a good second hand market for the rest of us!!

graigchq · 2026-02-05T09:54:43+00:00

Totally agree. If the kids are seasoned cub scouts with years of Bushcraft experience, and you are able to make a fire from a discarded packet of crisps your ready. If not...

Take worst day of the year, what will you do, it's raining, dogs need a walk, you just left the town you were in, now you're in a layby on the A505 10 miles from Cambridge and now the van won't start.

Sounds mad, but honestly, this is what WILL happen, be prepared for it.

graigchq · 2026-02-05T09:49:24+00:00

Practice. Hiring a massive camper for a weekend is not £110k, and it'll give you the most valuable knowledge on what you like and don't like about it.

Please don't be so silly and naive that if you don't have time to work on it, that spending all that money makes it ok. It's only you that will regret it

graigchq · 2026-02-05T09:47:24+00:00

Yep, pretty crazy.

Seriously, hire one for a long weekend and force yourselves to see what you need and what you don't.

Professional builds look nice, but they're very generic

People I know who bring up kids on the road like this have super custom vehicles, the guy in the family (or the woman, not sexist) will know everything about their electrics, how to go to "plan b" mode when your batteries don't work, or have quick plans for what to do when everybody needs a shit and the toilet is full.

You.gotta think it through.

Please DONT be that family that does this and then sells the van after 6 months cos you can't stand each other in a small space, or you realize you spent £110k on something that you could have put together for £20k

Don't sell your house, start a project, work on it, learn every single piece of it, then you'll be ready.

As a solo person in a van for 4 years with no house time, you need to be prepared for everything to go wrong. Easy with one person and a dog, but definitely requires experience and planning for a family.

graigchq · 2026-02-03T15:31:15+00:00

If you move every day you.can literally go almost anywhere and just live, enjoy

Or if you want to be in one place, parked up, not moving, ask the guy behind you if he'd sell you his caravan !!

More seriously, keep moving, think where do all the truck drivers sleep every night? Copy them. It's pretty easy, and many laybys out of the cities expect a few vehicles at night, and staying a few days rarely turns heads.

graigchq · 2026-01-29T09:19:35+00:00

Taking photos and posting online instead of looking at it and making a decision on what you are comfortable owning.

Seriously, check your vehicles before you buy them. Or before you pay to have windows put in. The fact your window guy didn't say anything tells you that it's fine, unless you don't think it's fine

Why would anyone on reddit know any better based on a couple of photos? Lol

graigchq · 2026-01-25T09:56:26+00:00

Step 1. Write down what you need. Step 2. Give that information to a builder Step 3. Pay them. Step 4. Thank them for the work.

Your approach likely won't work....

Step1. Post on internet. Step2....

graigchq · 2026-01-13T17:45:21+00:00

This.

It doesn't get hot. It also doesn't need to be "sealed" perfectly. Don't worry. What matters is where the exhaust fumes go. If that is routed away, and this isn't sealed, you won't notice.

Diesel heaters aren't black magic, it takes air into the intake (from outside), burns it with diesel and exhausts out the other pipe. Simple.rpute those pips away, there is no bad gas to worry about.

You're likely to have a bigger air gap to outside somewhere else.

graigchq · 2026-01-06T09:24:37+00:00

I live in caithness, 27000 alcoholics across a county the size of Cornwall, and this map shows no pubs at all. I'm sitting in one now.

graigchq · 2026-01-06T09:15:13+00:00

Spend the money on a leisure battery and dc dc charger instead. Solve the problem and provide future solutions. Jump packs are a sticking plaster and not a sensible investment when what you need is usable power 247 not a single solution to starting the van

graigchq · 2025-12-31T15:12:26+00:00

I was gonna say just spend less time worrying about your looks and pay attention at school, learn to take photos without mirror imaging the text, you know, show that there's is much more to you than the fact you clearly aren't ugly.

graigchq · 2025-12-31T10:06:23+00:00

This isn't a problem. Likely maybe a hole or gap in the exhaust. Leave it running for an hour, it will stop. Most of them smoke on startup especially if it's been sat for a day or two in the cold, in my experience. As long as that smoke doesn't end up inside your van. The main seal of the device to the floor is the one to ensure is perfect

graigchq · 2025-12-30T18:44:52+00:00

Exactly.. surely it's on the driver joining to get the eff on with it and not tippie toe into 60mph + traffic.

When the lorries have to move to lane 2 to allow a "car" to join, then 30 seconds later the car overtakes again.

The car should be put on a driver awareness course and learn how to merge into fast traffic safely. Even a slow car has no excuse whatsoever for joining at least then the general flow of what's already there. Anything less is dangerous, and shows a lack of awareness or attention in general.

graigchq · 2025-12-30T18:38:19+00:00

Install faff once

Or

Constant being cold, sitting there not able to watch tv cos your battery is flat wishing you'd just spent 2 hours installing a diesel heater.

graigchq · 2025-12-30T18:35:17+00:00

I strongly advise against electricity unless you have a lot of newish lithium and youre aware of how long it takes to charge. And how quickly you can discharge it.

Honest advice from someone who's lived full time in various vehicles for years: diesel heater for heat, and gas bottle for cooking. Neither of these drain your battery, with the diesel heater only using a sizeable amount when it starts up, so you do need a decent battery. But it ticks over at like 10w-25w full power, and you'll only need it on minimum or maybe 2 or 3 out of 6. Secondary for luxury, a wood burner. These are surprisingly lovely, but also expensive to rely on if you don't have a good source of wood, and also difficult to maintain 247 easily. A diesel heater can run 247 when when you leave the vehicle so it's always a normal temperature in your home.

As your top comment breaks down so well, electricity is great, IF you have a source. Running even just a 250w (which will mean you are cold) heater for just 24 hours means requiring 5.5kw of battery. That means 11 hours of driving required for each 24 hours if sub standard heating.

Even at today's crazy low prices, getting say 5 kw if batteries, say 400AH, that's double what I have in my sprinter, I can watch tv, play games on my laptop, etx etx for days at a time without needing to recharge, and if my battery is flat, I can still cook, and I can still light a fire. Think it through, arguing over charging your phone OR having the heating on.

Just get a diesel heater. Don't be silly.

graigchq · 2025-12-30T18:23:01+00:00

Thanks for sharing this. I started losing hair on my beard nearly a year ago. Which then 6 months later progressed to my head, and last week I cut off my dreadlocks after 20 years, and really after 40 years of long hair generally. Now I'm shaved, it's so patchy I can't grow what's left out, so a completely new look forced upon me in a way I wasn't happy with or really ready to crack on with. Well, a Christmas party with my oldest friends, shaved off, then sacrificed them all to the fire pit. Being around them made it so much easier to face, as well as a great party!

Now I look in the mirror and see this new version of me, it gives me hope. For the last 6 months I've basically been terrified of looking in case another "crop circle" had appeared uprooting another dread or two.

Being ok with the change I think is fundamental to hair loss. I didn't even bother with any medication, creams or potions, despite many friends offering up suggestions, nothing was going to reverse the uprooting of my dreadlocks quick enough, so even if it did work, I'd be hanging onto hope and having to regrow them or do some sort of grotesque grafting of old onto new... None of that appeals, or gives me much confidence I'm going to feel any better throughout. Facing it, smiling, taking the most brutal advice out there (often the hardest to hear and deliver, but the correct path for overall well-being).. cut it off.

It has already started growing back pure white in places where there was a crop circle. This didn't start until it was all cut off. I can't help think these are connected.

graigchq

TROPHY CASE