DIY Feature -Carl Webster

Features

Jan 31

After an unforgettable campervan trip, Carl and his wife dreamed of camping anywhere with their dog, Kobi —without the limits of a rental. That’s when they decided to build their own teardrop camper using Wander Tears DIY plans. Seven weekends later, their tiny camper was ready for adventure!

Carl started building his own DIY Vaga in New Zealand.

What made you want to build a tiny camper?

We wanted the freedom to camp almost anywhere with our dog Kobi after loving a trip in a rental campervan. The size of the teardrop allows us to explores place of the beaten track.

What was your experience level with the skills required to build a camper (wood working, electrical, metal work, etc.) when you started?

DIY skills in wood and metal work but have done a lot of 12v electrical.

What was the first step in your build?

Getting the chassis completed and painted myself in-house whilst waiting for the wood panels to be CNC cut.

What was your favorite part of the build?

Seeing how quickly it turned from a flat trailer to a tear drop looking camper. 6-hour time frame was amazing

What was the most difficult part of the build?

Bending external play and metal roof.

How long did it take you?

We had it completed in a 7 week build time, 7-weekends of steady building

If you're comfortable sharing, what was the total cost of the build?

We spend approx $8500NZD

Would you do anything differently?

Allow more time, it takes more hours than you would think!

Insulation might not be fully needed especially in our NZ climate as we find our camper gets very warm.

Add the star gazer window, we are regretting this already!

What are you most looking forward to?

Having a small camper packed ready for the next adventure, and also talking to people about them as they aren’t very common in New Zealand, and people are amazed what you can fit inside!

Any tips for someone that wants to build a tiny camper but doesn’t know where to start?

Plan out your electrical carefully prior to starting, having been a boat owner previously helped us, having thought into the fridge we wanted, lights where we wanted them, plenty of USB chargers and future proofing. We also allowed for 240v via inverter which adds a touch of luxury to the experience.