Engineer Martin Byford is one of a growing number of people who have embraced van life. Why?
“It gives the opportunity to experience life in a different way. You can tap into a sense of freedom and true connection to nature so many people crave. You can choose where you want to go to sleep and whether you want to have your morning coffee by the ocean or in the mountains! You’re like a snail with your house on your back.”
Now Byford, who was born in New Zealand but grew up in Dublin, has been joined on his travels by his girlfriend Fiona Grace, a former corporate lawyer, and the couple are bringing this on-the-road lifestyle to others, through their business Nomad Nester Designs, which manufactures flat-pack furniture for campervans, as well as doing van conversions.
Grace is not exactly the central casting stereotype of someone living life on the road. Byford was already living the van life, so to speak, when they met.
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He has had a van since he was 17. “I was a big hippie,” says Byford. “When I first left school I worked with Evo Design, which was based in Wicklow, but the owner moved back to the UK. I moved with him in a sort of apprenticeship. We set up a brand-new workshop. I needed a van to live in over there and a place to store my equipment. It was a prototype, if you will.”
Byford studied mechanical engineering and did a masters in design and manufacturing.
[ Ireland’s happy campervanners: ‘My van has completely changed my life’Opens in new window ]
Grace had qualified as a solicitor and was working with one of the big firms when the pair met on Tinder.
“Before I had started my studies, I had done a lot of travelling and had lived abroad. I was adventurous. Meeting Martin, it was such an eye-opener for me. It plugged me into how beautiful Ireland was. Before, I wanted to go far away.”
Oftentimes they didn’t have a plan. “We’d decide to stop and sleep here or keep going. That was the real clicking point for me. You can be free, spontaneous, adventurous. The sheer spontaneity of it. The freedom.”
The couple spent their first year together travelling around Ireland. They worked remotely, tethering to the networks on their phones, a smart way to get a reception.
When Grace would go back into the office on a Monday morning, she often felt conflicted - that she was living “a double life”. She told some colleagues about her on-the-road life, “but I was selective as to who would receive it and who wouldn’t”.
Their diesel van has solar panels on the roof with split chargers that charge all the devices and battery white they drive, Byford explains. “For access to the internet you need power. Battery storage is getting better. With internet and power, it means you can work on the side of the beach in the middle of Connemara.”
They also drop into music sessions when they can. “Me and Fiona both play banjo. When she plays banjo, I play guitar.”
Before they met, Grace had associated van life with camping. “As you grow to really like your comforts, I didn’t know if I could slum it.”
The set-up took her by surprise. “It’s quite luxurious.”
Warmed by a diesel heater and an electric blanket on the bed, it’s cosy, even in the dead of winter.
Kitchen storage is a big one for the couple. They have a two-ring gas burner and a small sink in their van, with smart storage for cutlery and kitchenware. Fridge space is limited. Martin installed a 50-litre one – about the size of a minibar. He also has a cooler box that he fills with ice, but tends to stay away from foods that perish quite quickly.
Cooking meat is quite greasy, so he also avoids that, as washing up fat-laden plates is tricky. He also cooks outside when he can to avoid lingering smells. On truly inclement days, he keeps the door open to vent the space.
Good coffee is also essential. Fortunately, Martin’s brother runs single-origin coffee roaster Roasted Brown, so he always has a supply and finds a French press useful.
A big comfy bed, whatever you can fit, is top of the list of requests for fitting out other people’s vans. “There are very few people in a hammock and a sleeping bag. People want it set up all the time. They don’t want to be folding things away. Usually, I tell people to go to Ikea and buy the biggest memory foam mattress. This can be cut to size using a bread knife,” he explains.
In addition to their duvet and blankets, the couple have a load of sheepskins. Travelling shotgun with the couple is a big German Shepherd called Indie. She’s spent her whole life in a van and beds down on one of the sheepskins.
It’s a prudent move too: when parked up in some remote beauty spot, it ensures a level of security. A lot of people have a dog in their van.
The couple still go on the road when they can – but this has got trickier as their business has grown.
A number of years ago, at the Willie Clancy Summer School in Milltown Malbay, Co Clare, Byford met a guy who “really, really wanted to build vans”. As almost a throwaway comment, he said, “If you find somewhere, I’ll build vans with you.”
The man found them a workshop in Ennis town. Business trickled in slowly, and after a period, Byford was doing all the conversions by himself, customising van after van. With the help of a Three Ireland small business grant, his company was able to buy laser-cutting machinery he needed to develop the business.
This business has since evolved into Nomad Nester Designs, which fabricates flat-pack kitchen, bedroom and bathroom kits for van owners so that they can renovate their own vehicles.
The couple originally envisaged moving from full camper conversions into just flat-pack furniture for self builders, for DIY lovers.
“We’re trying to cater to the self-build market, as there isn’t much out there for them,” says Grace.
As people soon discover, YouTube videos are one thing, “but it’s more difficult than they think”, she says, to actually convert a van into a home.
[ Ireland’s campervan boom: ‘Most people will spend €45k to €50k’Opens in new window ]
“So the majority of our inquiries are for full conversions,” she says. As a result, the couple will continue both strands of their business.
Their pods and storage can be customised to a degree to the type of van specified. If you need storage drawers, or a kitchen pod, a bed or a toilet, these can be made with the fibre laser CNC machine they’ve purchased. The flat packs are good for those with the skills to fit them themselves, Grace adds.
The approach is a bit like that of Ikea, in that you can buy fitted furniture to suit your particular van, with options such as kitchens and beds suitable for models such as a Mercedes Sprinter, a Renault Trafic or a VW Transporter.
The couple have even found themselves cutting for other flat-pack producers, thanks to their precision cutting machine.
“At the moment, we’re very much in Ireland,” says Grace, but adds that there is global potential for online sales.
Flat pack costs range from about €3,500 to €7,000, depending on the size, colour, model of van, and other considerations.
For those who prefer to get the work done for them, Nomad Nester Designs still offer full fit-outs.
For the full conversion you’ll pay quite a bit more – costs range from €25,000 to about €35,000 – but for this, you’ll get “a house on wheels”, says Fiona.
This can include a shower, toilet, hot water system, bed, kitchen unit with sink/cooker/oven, diesel heater, and solar power.
A signature of the conversions is the quality of materials used – rather than MDF, for example, Martin prefers working with birch, oak or bamboo. And sheeps’ wool is used for insulation, as it’s self wicking, unlike synthetic insulation, which can result in condensation and dampness.
The vans also come with “really good diesel heaters”.
“If you close the door and put it on for five or 10 minutes, the van gets toasty,” says Fiona, who is also a fan of an electric blanket for those winter nights.
It’s not just young adventuring couples that want to live differently, she notes. Her mother and partner are retirees in their 60s, empty-nesters with time to explore. They’ve bought a van too – and Byford is going to convert it.
