Should I use a Citroen Relay for a campervan conversion?
We explain our reasons for choosing a Citroen Relay L3H2 for our campervan conversion, including dimensions, reliability, photographs and our personal priorities. This information also applies to the Peugeot Boxer and Fiat Ducato which share the same specifications.
Introducing Fleur, our 2010 long wheel base Citroen Relay campervan. We bought Fleur in 2014 when she was a fresh-faced 4 year old panel van. After an initial push to get her insulated and usable, we’ve spent the last few years building, altering and, most importantly, using her.
We have no regrets about choosing a LWB Citroen Relay as the base vehicle for our campervan conversion. Our original priorities haven’t altered, the van model hasn’t thrown up any unexpected surprises and the Fleur we know and love today is well suited to our needs.
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Here are our reasons for choosing ‘Fleur’ the Citroen Relay for our campervan:
1. She’s big enough for a 6ft human
The Citroen Relay, Fiat Ducato and Peugeot Boxer are essentially the same van with different badges and engines. The long wheel base models of these are the only panel vans wide enough to fit a 6ft bed width-ways and, like many other self-builders, this was one of the features that clinched the deal for us.
Other popular LWB van models, such as the Ford Transit Jumbo, Volkswagen Crafter and Mercedes Sprinter are just that little bit narrower, which is fine if you’re happy to have a shorter bed or position It lengthways.
When choosing a van and designing your layout, it’s worth bearing in mind that the DVLA requirements for converting a van to a motorcaravan stipulate that the bed must be 6ft in length. The bed can be either fixed or pull-out, but the dimensions refer to the bed length when it’s in the sleeping position. We can’t comment on how strict they are on the length requirement, but this is what their guidelines state.
We were set on having our full-sized double across the back of the van, so we went for the L3H2 Citroen Relay. It’s wide enough to accommodate the bed widthways and high enough to stand in with the floor and roof insulated. Stu is a little over 6ft and can sleep and stand comfortably in the van.
| Height | Width | Length | |
| L3H2 Citroen Relay external dimensions | 2,524mm | 2,050mm | 5,998mm |
| L3H2 Citroen Relay internal dimensions | 1,932mm | 1,870mm | 3,705mm |
You can see all of the Citroen Relay size options on Citroen’s website.
Positioning the bed widthways without compromising on bed length has enabled us to make the best use of the space available. The van feels open and roomy, even when we’ve got all our buddies crammed in there with us!
2. She’s reliable
After the stress and turmoil that came with owning our previous van (a 1997 Volkswagen T4) we decided that a modern, reliable base van with a solid engine was a must. Our T4 had its charm, but never managed to complete a journey without some catastrophic failure and even came close to totalling us and itself on a number of occasions (total brake failure in the Alps, shorted starter motor almost self-combusting, you get the drift…)
While there are many older vans still plugging away that don’t appear to be on a vendetta to kill their owners, we decided that we didn’t want to take the risk. So we chose to invest in a newer base van.
At the time we didn’t know much about the reliability of a Citroen Relay (or Citroen vans at all come to mention it) but we’d been impressed with a friend’s Citroen Relay when it blasted out to the Alps loaded with people and gear, never muttering a complaint. This prompted us to do a little more digging and Citroen Relays did seem to hold their own against other popular conversion models.
Fleur was 4 years old when we bought her and had just under 100k miles on the clock. So she wasn’t new, but she’s barely missed a beat in the 5 years we’ve owned her (although we did change the clutch after the flywheel went a couple of years back). Apparently from 2010 onwards these vans tend to be in slightly better nick as this was when the manufacturer’s warranty was extended from 60k to 100k miles.
3. She’s got solid bodywork
Before you put your life, soul and all of your money into building a van, you want to know it’s not about to crumble away beneath you. Rust can (and very often does) kill a van. It doesn’t matter how beautiful it is inside, if it fails the MOT with terminal rust then all that work will have gone to waste. This was a tragedy we simply couldn’t bear to face, so it was another important factor for us when choosing our base van.
Since 2006, Citroen Relays (along with their Fiat Ducato and Peugeot Boxer siblings) have galvanised bodywork, meaning they’re more protected from water, road salt, stone-chips and other rust-provoking hazards (as long as chips and dents are tended to properly). We’re not entirely sure when they began galvanising these vans, but models from 2006 onwards certainly are. It’s worth being a bit more cautious with the older models.