A cordless drill will prove vital in almost all aspects of the build. We recommend a Makita combi drill as pictured here. We use it almost every day for various jobs including work with soft and hard wood, plastic, and even steel and masonry. It’s worth investing in a good quality drill with decent batteries for the extra motor strength and durability they provide. There are many great brands out there but we’ve always found Makita to work great for us - and as with most of the big brands - the batteries are interchangeable between various power tools.

A decent range of screwdriver bits will prove vital for you on your build. We’d recommend getting an interchangeable screwdriver with magnetic bits that can also be used with your drill. Some more expensive sets will also have hex end sockets included.

A good quality socket set is essential for vehicle maintenance. They usually come in three different drive sizes. 1/2” is most common whereas 3/8” and 1/4” are used in smaller, harder to reach spaces. It’s good to have a range of all of these if you have the space. Sockets will also come as hex or 12 point. Hex sockets will give more torque and less chance of slipping whereas 12 point sockets will be easier to attach in hard to reach areas and are sometimes better at taking off rusty or worn nuts.

It’s worth investing in a qood quality set of chrome plated sockets.

Talk about imperial metric

You’ll need one of these for a b and c. If you’ve got the money, we’d recommend getting an electric one…

Probably one of the most underrated things to have in your toolkit. Simple to use, light to carry and have a whole plethora of uses beyond tying cables. You won’t know how useful they are until you need them!

This one probably doesn’t need an introduction but just incase… picture the scene:

You’re eight hours in to a long day installing cupboards, you’re losing daylight but desperately want to finish the job today, there’s one more fixing to install and you can’t find the screws in darkness of the cupboards…

Also helpful for late night breakdowns and vehicle inspections, or for dashing to the toilets after hours!

Gloves are an essential item whether you’re working with wood, metal, heat, paint or chemicals it’s vital to protect your hands. Remember, if you’re injured you can’t carry on with your build project!

Check out the different types of PPE below:

General work gloves

Disposable gloves

Welding gloves

Metal cutting gloves

I’ve lost count of the times I’ve got dust in my eyes from sanding. Safety glasses are always an afterthought for me but I’m hoping by including it here, I’ll take on my own advice and start using them!

They’re extremely important when working with wood, metal, and paint or harmful chemicals.

• Utility knife

• Cable cutters

• Wire strippers

• Pipe cutter

• Metal cutting shears

• Hole saw kit

• Clamps

• Saw horse

• Spirit level

• Contour guage

• Square set

• Mitre blocks

• Digital angle meter

• Air compressor

• Spray gun

• Electric caulking gun

A decent wood saw will be important to your project, particularly good if access to mains electric isn’t possible. Also great for cutting precise angles with a mitre block.

A circular saw is perfect for getting long straight cuts. For example, we’d use this when cutting straight lines through plywood.

A mitre saw is great for cutting down long lengths of wood. For example, a scaffolding board or length of 2x2. You can also use this machine to cut angles in to the wood.

If you’re building your van with lots of metal, we’d recommend using a hacksaw with a metal cutting blade for precision cuts. It also works great with a mitre block.

A jigsaw is the perfect tool for cutting custom lines in to wood or metal. It allows full control over the direction of the cut.

Not just useful cutting, this brilliant multi-tool allows high precision cuts as well as a multitude of other features including sanding, scraping and sawing.

As well as having a cordless drill, a mini electric screwdriver can prove its worth when dealing with small spaces that your larger drill just can’t reach.

Orbital sanders are perfect for getting a really smooth finish on wood, plastic and metal. They are also useful for stripping paint and varnish from surfaces.

A nail gun is great for fixing furnishings discreetly without the need for screws. We’ve used this for decorative wood mostly including corner trim.

Belt sanders are highly powerful beasts capable of strip down wood in a very short space of time.

A utility knife is useful for cutting light objects such as cardboard, carpet and foam, making it a great little tool to have on site. Just watch your fingers!

Wire strippers are a vital tool for stripping the insulation from wiring, which allows for safe connection, repair, or replacement.

Wire cutters are essential for electrical work as they’re designed to cut wire with minimal damage to the insulation and internal conductors.

Pipe cutters are great for making neat cuts in your plumbing pipes. They come in different sizes so make sure you’re buying one that fits the pipes you are using.

A spirit level will prove vital if you’re wanting things built in a professional manner. If like us, rustic is your preferred method then it’s probably not essential.

Square sets are a handy little tool to aid in the drawing  and checking of angles.

A digital angle ruler is an excellent addition to your toolkit for accurately measuring very specific angles.

A contour gauge is a measuring tool used to record the cross-sectional shape of a surface. It consists of a set of plastic or steel pins set against each other in a frame.

A mitre block is extremely useful for cutting in 45 degree angles. We use this a lot for finishing trim.

A good quality hole saw kit is useful for creating larger, neater holes than a regular drill bit is capable of.

A saw horse serves as a space conscious and easily moveable table for resting wood, metal and sheeting whilst cutting and working on.

A paint gun is a great way to evenly and neatly apply layers of paint to your vehicle. This can be hooked up to an air compressor or 18v battery depending on which type you buy.

Clamps are great for securing wood and metal as well as assisting with welding.

An air compressor has a wide range of uses including paint application, pop riveting, tire inflating and ratcheting.

An electronic caulking gun. If you’ve ever tried caulking on a cold day, this item will be a blessing. No more squeezing the life out of a rock hard tube of silicone!