Travels in our self built camper van

We spent two years building our van, now follow our journeys.

YouTube
Illustration of a man and woman smiling, standing behind a black tour van with the text '@DiamondsOnTour' on it. The background features mountains and trees, with the logo reading 'Diamonds on Tour' and a YouTube play button at the bottom.

Let us introduce ourselves…

We’re Sarah and Ben. We love travelling and we’ve been lucky enough to explore some of the most beautiful parts of the World. We have made many memories scuba diving throughout South East Asia, and we have experienced the beauty of the mountains on skis and while hiking. Check out our photos page for some pictures.

Raja Ampat Indonesia

All that was tremendous, but there was always one problem. On a ‘normal’ holiday, however fabulous the location or luxurious the accommodation, you’re always travelling to someone else’s schedule. You have to be at the airport on time. You have to wait for your transfer. You have to wait for your bags. You have to wait to check in to your hotel. And worst of all, you have to go home again when someone else says so.

In contrast, a camper van provides the ultimate in luxury travel because you make your own schedule. At least it’s mostly your own schedule. There are some visa restrictions, the crazy Schengen 90 days maximum stay in Europe that the British have imposed on themselves, and you sometimes need to be at a ferry or a border by a certain time, but there’s not much anybody can do about that.

So, unless you’ve got a private jet, we reckon the freedom a camper van gives you represents the ultimate in luxury travel.

Come with us as we explore Europe and the Schengen shuffle and much further away after that. You can follow our travels on our YouTube channel and Instagram by following the links below.

Our van

A white Mercedes-Benz commercial van parked outdoors on a paved lot with a black building and other vehicles in the background under a blue sky with clouds.
A gray camper van with green and silver stripe decals parked on snow-covered ground under a blue sky with fluffy clouds, with a mounted rooftop cargo box.

From this,

to this

In 2020, when the World went crazy, we bought a 2012 Mercedes Sprinter. It had been a Police maintenance vehicle so it had been well treated with low mileage and a high specification with the more powerful 160 ps engine, automatic transmission and air conditioning.

We spent the next 2 years turning it into our little home on wheels. We wanted to do everything ourselves so I bought a welder, learned to TIG weld aluminium and made our own roof rack, side steps, ladder, spare wheel carrier and all the other bits that you need on your van. We even made our own lithium battery by buying the separate cells direct from the factory in China and putting it all together with the battery management computers and active balancers. That gave us a 560Ah lithium battery for around £1100, about 1/3 the price of off the shelf batteries.

The only thing that we paid someone else to do was spraying it in Mercedes Selenite Grey. It looks amazing.

The last thing to do was to weigh it to see if we had managed to keep it under its 3.5 tonnes weight limit. We hadn’t. It weighed 4060kg so we had it replated to its new higher weight so now we’re all safe and legal.

The link below will take you to our van build series over on our YouTube channel. Please don’t forget to like and subscribe!

Now to do some serious travels and make sure it can do what we built it for…

Van build videos
A couple taking a selfie at a scenic coastal area with rocky cliffs in Devon, England, an arch formation, and the ocean in the background during daytime.

Contact us

Contact us

  • Close-up of the front part of a gray van parked outdoors with a scenic mountain landscape and cloudy sky in the background during sunset.

    Life begins at the end of your comfort zone

  • Black camper van parked on grassy area near the ocean at sunset with the sun setting behind clouds and a distant landmass, Wild grasses in foreground.

    The goal is to die with memories not dreams

  • Two people sitting on the roof of a gray van with a scenic coastal background and hills under overcast skies, waving and smiling.

    Collect Moments, Not Things

  • A man and woman wearing orange climbing helmets standing on a grassy hillside with mountains, a lake, and a cloudy sky in the background.

    We don’t need objects; we need adventures

  • View of a coastal landscape on the West coast of Ireland on the Wild Atlantic Way with parked vans in the foreground, the ocean waves, a distant shoreline, and a partly cloudy sky.

    Travel opens your heart, broadens your mind, and fills your life with stories to tell

  • Two people sitting on the roof of a vehicle with a scenic mountain lake in Norway and snow-capped mountains in the background.

    You only get one life but if you do it right, one is enough.

  • A black van parked on a snow-covered road in a winter landscape with snow-covered trees and a partly cloudy sky.

    Jobs fill your pockets, adventures fill your soul.

  • Snow-capped mountains with a small town at their base, a body of water in front, and a vehicle with equipment on top in the foreground.

    Traveling—it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller

  • A black camper van covered in snow parked in a snowy forest area in Denmark with bare trees and snow falling.

    “Live life with no excuses, travel with no regret.” ― Oscar Wilde