Here in deepest, darkest January, I find time at last to reflect on another year of van building. It's probably fair to say that we have a rigid formula at VanHux which is designed to ensure our customers get a really good product, I hope that comes across in these selected highlights.
It might be that 2025 will see us introduce a new in-house furniture offering alongside the tried and tested (and much valued) Majestic Wood Designs equipment, but to keep the bar that high will be a real challenge. We will try - let's see!
*I only left this appalling gag in to prove this wasn't written by an AI bot
The Stats
In 2024, the team - Jack, Max and I completed 73 projects, some huge, some small, but it was, once again, a year of steady growth:
Caravelle kitchen unit
We worked with Pete at Majestic Wood Designs to add a useful and great looking unit to a Caravelle.
It allowed the customer to retain the sliding distance they needed for the rear seat, while maximising storage space and adding 12v outlets.
Not a full camper, but an interesting challenge for the team and a great addition to the cutomer's van
The long and short of it
This was an oddball - the time we fitted a short wheel base furniture set into a long wheel base van!
The idea was of course to provide a rear garage. In this case, for wet gear, bikes etc.
Here you can see the base construction for the garage area which was subsequently lined and sealed.
Seen from the main cabin, we installed the modified short wheel base interior which still provided a very usable living space, along with a pop-top.
A swivel base added to the double front seat helped maximise the flexibility and capacity of the main cabin.
This required quite a bit of deisgn input from Pete at Majestic to pull off, but we did it!
A part-conversion is cool too
This beautiful Ravenna Blue van came to us for a partial conversion.
Here we have installed a meaty lithium power set up including solar and 240v charging with bluetooth monitoring.
Adding a colour coded pop top and a wind out awning completed the job for us.
The customer can now fit the rest of the van out to their own taste.
Van-U-Like
Not often that we build a U shape camper but here's a very nice one from back in the Spring.
Here Jack is building the overlapping door section which always takes a bit of jigging to get right.
If rear seatbelts aren't something you need, then a U shape can be a good alternative to the classic "3/4" design.
Once the cushions are in place and the side section is extended across, that's a lovely big bed!
Denim blue and bamboo in this project.
How many hours can you put into a Caddy?
The answer is: more than a Transporter! To be fair, this was a one-off custom build for a very specfic set of requirements.
The active, outdoorsy customer wanted to fit a bike down the centre of the van.
This meant designing an elaborate system of sliding/interlocking pieces to make a usable bench/bed platform with storage under and a side unit with pedal clearance.
That's a gold splashback, an undermounted sink and amazing tiger bamboo.
Every inch of space was critical, in terms of worksurface and storage, and that bamboo needed to be seen...
Elsewhere in this diminutive van, we squeezed in a full leisure battery system and a diesel heater.
The customer was quite happy to use their existing camping stove and gas system, so we designed the unit around this nice double burner with canister storage under.
Below, with the cushions made by the customer to finish things off
What no carpet?
Changing things up on this project where the customer wanted a natural wood finish inside the van.
We manufactured the internal panels in birch faced ply, wax finished for a lovely, durable, warm glow.
The perfect project?
In this case, the customer came to us before even sourcing a van, which allowed us to provide maximum input to the project. They sourced a nearly new van and we took everything else from there. Gold blinds, bamboo on top quality units made this one of our faves.
A favourite new product
Safari windows came on stream this year and we couldn't wait to get some installed.
Looks like the fitter is pretty pleased with himself :-)
VanHux manufacturing takes off
Using our CNC router, we've been developing the ability to make useful sliding bench systems that can be quickly tailored to specific dimensions.
Off-the-shelf units in standard sizes are out there but here we can make to a specific customer requirement.
This one was shipped out to VanHux South, where my nephew Tom makes all kinds of van magic happen too.
Not just VWs...
This wee Vauxhall Combo came in for a quick and simple fit out.
We packed quite a lot in, with a diesel heater, electrics, windows and full insulation/line out
We also made a special, low slide out bench/bed system specifically to work in the limited space available.
Bamboo Beauty
Bamboo has proven to be very popular, but here, the customer really wanted more. We had the main body of the furniture manufactured in it, with Fjord Green birch accents. Very special this one...
Journeys into space
Every inch counts, obviously. Here you can see how efficiently our designs come together in various configurations. With so little space to play with, thoughtful planning and cool features come together.
It also helps when the whole package looks as classy and refined as this!
The customer will never tire of this inviting, practical and beautiful space.
A VanHux makeover
Everyone loves a good makeover, ourselves included. Here the customer's conversion just didn't work for him at all, so we rose to the challenge to fix all that...
You might not recognise it, but below is the same van, just more VanHux:
Just say, oh, go on then...
It's been quite common for us to turn larger van projects away. It's not what we were designed to do really. Growing demand and growing confidence, plus our new in-house manufacturing capabilities have made such things more feasible for us, so a few have started making their way through the workshop. Our favourite (van and customer!):
And finally...
A job that took up a large part of the year for us, but about which we haven't said much. The background involves a little tragedy but we were privilaged to rescue a very large and complex project for it's owners. Finishing off somebody else's work is never easy but worth it in the end...
Thanks to Jack and Max for all your hard work in 2024. Thanks to all our suppliers, couriers, posties, even the Evri delivery people. Thanks to all the lovely customers who trusted us to deliver something special each time.
We intend to deliver even more and better in 2025.
Jon
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