---
title: Homemade campervan festival (September 5, 2026)
date: 2026-09-05
order: -20260905
tags: [events, estonia, campervan, architecture, события]
---

I went to the [homemade campervan festival](https://triptoestonia.ee/novosti/v-tallinne-v-kvartale-pyhyala-projdet-vystavka-samodelnyh-avtodomov/) (Isetehtud matkaautode festival) in Tallinn's Põhjala quarter, on the parking lot at Ankru 10. It ran from 14:00 to 17:00, entrance was 5 euros for adults (cash or card on site). One of the organizers was the [KämpingVan](https://kampingvan.ee/) team, which converts vans into campers.

![Isetehtud matkaautode festival sign on the fence of the quarter](/assets/img/ru/events/img/2026-09-05-campervan/festival-sign.jpg)

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For one day the parking lot turned into a small city of modern nomads: converted vans, minibuses and buses, plus a food court with food trucks and a separate free zone for kids. The program had short talks by owners - about building a camper out of a van, about what to do if you don't want to build it yourself, about vanlife with a child, about a family trip across the Balkans in a crossover - and it closed with the "People's Favourite" announcement.

## The atmosphere of the quarter

The quarter itself made half the impression. Lots of kids, dogs, working cafes and restaurants nearby, organizers announcing things over a microphone, music playing. And a lot of visual contrast: old factory walls, new residential buildings with greenery on the balconies, and rusty eighties vans in between.

![Põhjala quarter: old industrial area and new development](/assets/img/ru/events/img/2026-09-05-campervan/pohjala-quarter.jpg)

![Coffee roastery cafe in the Põhjala quarter](/assets/img/ru/events/img/2026-09-05-campervan/pohjala-cafe.jpg)

![Festival stage at the homemade campervan festival in the Põhjala quarter](/assets/img/ru/events/img/2026-09-05-campervan/festival-stage.jpg)

![Pizza van with a Gozney wood-fired oven](/assets/img/ru/events/img/2026-09-05-campervan/pizza-foodtruck.jpg)

## Every vehicle had its own character

The main thing I liked is that almost every vehicle had character, and you could tell from the build which value its owner put first.

**Rescuing an old vehicle.** Some people took an old van and turned it into a usable camper - here the value is in the very fact that 30-year-old metal is alive and driving again.

![Mercedes T2 minibus in beige paint with a roof rack](/assets/img/ru/events/img/2026-09-05-campervan/mercedes-t2-side.jpg)

![Sleeping area in the back of the Mercedes T2](/assets/img/ru/events/img/2026-09-05-campervan/mercedes-t2-rear-bed.jpg)

![Front of the Mercedes T2, with the quarter's new buildings reflected in the windscreen](/assets/img/ru/events/img/2026-09-05-campervan/mercedes-t2-front.jpg)

**Practicality and low cost.** There were purely utilitarian builds too: bare plywood shelves, visible wiring, everything as functional and cheap as possible. It works, but it loses out because it is bland and has no character - there is not much to look at.

![Rear of a workshop-style van: ladder, tool boxes, e-scooter](/assets/img/ru/events/img/2026-09-05-campervan/van-workshop-scooter.jpg)

![Utilitarian van build: bunk shelves, exposed electrics](/assets/img/ru/events/img/2026-09-05-campervan/van-bunks-utility.jpg)

![Rear of a Sprinter with a mosquito net and a carpet](/assets/img/ru/events/img/2026-09-05-campervan/sprinter-rear-tent.jpg)

**Reliability and off-road capability.** Some started from a 4x4: you take an off-roader and tune it so you can cook in it, so it goes further off-road, and so you can sleep in a roof tent. Here the home on wheels is more of an extension to an expedition vehicle than the other way around.

![Mitsubishi Pajero with an awning and camping furniture](/assets/img/ru/events/img/2026-09-05-campervan/pajero-awning.jpg)

![Pajero rear door: sleeping platform and slide-out kitchen](/assets/img/ru/events/img/2026-09-05-campervan/pajero-rear-kitchen.jpg)

![Front of a Mitsubishi Pajero with a roof rack and a roof box](/assets/img/ru/events/img/2026-09-05-campervan/pajero-front.jpg)

![Land Rover Defender with an awning and a roof tent](/assets/img/ru/events/img/2026-09-05-campervan/defender-roof-tent.jpg)

![Inside the roof tent: a world map on the wall](/assets/img/ru/events/img/2026-09-05-campervan/roof-tent-map.jpg)

![Opened roof tent on a Land Rover Discovery](/assets/img/ru/events/img/2026-09-05-campervan/roof-tent-discovery.jpg)

![Front Runner folding table and chairs next to an off-roader](/assets/img/ru/events/img/2026-09-05-campervan/camp-table.jpg)

![Land Rover Discovery #18 with a roof tent and a ladder](/assets/img/ru/events/img/2026-09-05-campervan/discovery-roof-tent-18.jpg)

**Modern campers with a military slant.** Green paint, serious tyres, well thought-out off-road capability - but already with a full living module inside.

![Green VW T3 with an awning](/assets/img/ru/events/img/2026-09-05-campervan/vw-t3-green.jpg)

![White and green VW LT with an awning and the side door open](/assets/img/ru/events/img/2026-09-05-campervan/vw-lt-green-awning.jpg)

![Olive Mercedes Sprinter 4x4 with a roof tent](/assets/img/ru/events/img/2026-09-05-campervan/sprinter-4x4-green.jpg)

And some people went for design specifically: wood, hidden LED lighting, neat cabinet fronts - an interior that is simply pleasant to be in.

![Modern van interior: wood, LED lighting, neat cabinet fronts](/assets/img/ru/events/img/2026-09-05-campervan/modern-van-interior.jpg)

![Camper under construction: microcement, slatted ceiling, equipment under the floor](/assets/img/ru/events/img/2026-09-05-campervan/van-build-in-progress.jpg)

![Wooden van kitchen: sink, spices, live plants, fridge](/assets/img/ru/events/img/2026-09-05-campervan/van-kitchen-wood-plants.jpg)

**Vibe and nostalgia.** A separate category is the people who leaned hard into atmosphere: playing with colour (red, yellow, light blue), vintage VW campers from the sixties to eighties, carpets, guitars, curtains. Practicality is clearly not the main criterion here.

![Cosy van interior: wood, sheepskins on the bed, string lights, skateboard on the door](/assets/img/ru/events/img/2026-09-05-campervan/van-interior-cozy-bed.jpg)

![Yellow VW LT #8 with the door open: turquoise kitchen and a carpet](/assets/img/ru/events/img/2026-09-05-campervan/yellow-van-kitchen.jpg)

![Light blue VW T1 from the side](/assets/img/ru/events/img/2026-09-05-campervan/vw-t1-blue-side.jpg)

![Front of the light blue VW T1 with the plate 63VAN](/assets/img/ru/events/img/2026-09-05-campervan/vw-t1-blue-front.jpg)

![Rear of the VW T1: gas stove and kettle on the folded-down engine lid](/assets/img/ru/events/img/2026-09-05-campervan/vw-t1-blue-rear-kitchen.jpg)

![Interior of the red and white VW T1 #24: curtains, record player, pedal car](/assets/img/ru/events/img/2026-09-05-campervan/vw-t1-red-vintage-interior.jpg)

![Red and white VW T1 with the engine bay open](/assets/img/ru/events/img/2026-09-05-campervan/vw-t1-red-rear.jpg)

![Red van with a carpet and leopard-print seats](/assets/img/ru/events/img/2026-09-05-campervan/red-van-interior.jpg)

**A crossover as a minimal camper.** There was also a demonstration that an ordinary car is enough to start: a boot, a portable power station, a compressor fridge, a stove - and you can already cook pancakes.

![Kitchen in a crossover boot with a portable power station](/assets/img/ru/events/img/2026-09-05-campervan/trunk-kitchen-pancakes.jpg)

Overall, there was something for everyone.

## Pickup camper body (vehicle #22)

I particularly liked one living module built onto a pickup - at the festival it was number 22. Fully homemade, built over a year and a half.

![Pickup with a homemade camper body, number 22](/assets/img/ru/events/img/2026-09-05-campervan/pickup-camper-22.jpg)

Specifications:

- 4 sleeping places
- 80 litres of fresh water
- 150 Ah LiFePO4 battery
- solar panels
- 12 V / USB / 230 V electrics
- diesel heater
- air conditioning
- fully equipped kitchen
- pass-through storage
- total weight around 750 kg

![Interior of the camper body: sleeping area, air conditioning](/assets/img/ru/events/img/2026-09-05-campervan/pickup-camper-22-interior.jpg)

![Kitchen, fridge and electrical panel in the camper body](/assets/img/ru/events/img/2026-09-05-campervan/pickup-camper-22-kitchen.jpg)

Builder's contact: `mironella100@hotmail.com`

![Poster with the camper specifications](/assets/img/ru/events/img/2026-09-05-campervan/pickup-camper-22-poster.jpg)

## The commercial side

I expected more commercial advertising there, but in practice there was not much of it:

- **KämpingVan** - including their electrics, which I will actually need soon
- building a living module for a pickup (that same #22)
- sales of many of the campers on display - a fair share of the vehicles were not just on show, but had a price tag

![Camper electrics demo stand: Victron inverter, battery and a solar panel](/assets/img/ru/events/img/2026-09-05-campervan/electrics-demo-solar.jpg)

## Why this interests me professionally

Campers interest me because they are a complex construction - exactly like any information system. In both cases there is no "correct" solution, only a tradeoff between:

- price
- ease of building and maintenance
- convenience in daily use
- functionality
- size
- the ability to stealth park in a city
- heating
- the electrical system
- the water system
- connectivity

Add an air conditioner and a diesel heater and consumption grows, so you need a bigger battery and solar panels. Grow the battery and weight and price grow, while payload drops. Make the vehicle taller and more noticeable and you lose the ability to spend a night in a city unnoticed. Save on everything and you get a functional but faceless box you would not want to live in.

And on top of all these engineering compromises there is still the question of taste and design - the very thing people come to this festival to look at. Modern IT projects are exactly the same story: architectural decisions are made in the same field of tradeoffs, and how pleasant a system is to use is ultimately determined by the taste of the people who built it.

![Camping toilet and portable power stations inside a van](/assets/img/ru/events/img/2026-09-05-campervan/van-toilet-power-station.jpg)

![Land Rover Defender: water tank, shower and heating in the side compartment](/assets/img/ru/events/img/2026-09-05-campervan/defender-water-shower.jpg)