Ventje VW campervan review: ‘work from home’ from anywhere

Frank Westland and his team at Ventje in the Netherlands are responsible for turning the Transporter cargo van into a camper that lets you take your work or family off- grid for an extended weekend and still serve as your daily driver. Ventje says that it is the only car you need.

Flexible work arrangements have gone from temporary to permanent in the wake of the COVID-19 Pandemic. A new McKinsey survey shows that as many as 38 percent of American workers are able to work from home full time.

As a full-time flex worker myself, I arranged a four-day trip in a Ventje (which roughlytranslates to "little guy" in Dutch) with my wife and dog to see just how versatile this Campervan really is. I drove it 600 miles on a mix of dirt roads and the ber-fast German autobahn. I brought my laptop and RV internet kit with me because I still had to show up for work.

I went on a tour of Ventje's production lines to better understand how a company of 33 employees is able to make such a clever vehicle.

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A loyal following can be earned by delivering about one new Ventje each day. A community event held in June playfully titled "Eventje" saw 700 guests and 50 Ventje vans descend upon the company's home in Culem Borg, located an hour outside of Amsterdam. This is where the Ventje interior is manufactured and assembled to make a home on wheels.

Ventje interiors can be converted from a bedroom to an office to a lounge. Through inventive engineering and computer-aided design, and with the help of over 100 magnets, the team was able to assemble the parts with precision.

A lot of designers draw something that can't be produced. Engineers are making things that aren't very useful. At the age of 21, he completed a combined education in design and engineering.

Ventje's design was created from his own experiences. After graduating, he went to New Zealand with a tent and small car. After a year in Europe, he realized that he couldn't just pop up a tent wherever he parked. The thought of a van came to mind. He didn't have any experience with campers so he didn't have to think about layout. His first vehicle was cobbling together his first vehicle.

Westland built a simple kitchen in the back of his old VW T4 and went to Spain with it. Everybody would start to look when I stopped somewhere. That is simple. You can cook outdoors. I first felt that some people would like this layout and the way it is traveled.

When I popped the tailgate on the Ventje T5 I was testing, people stopped to marvel at the kitchen. At one point, I had a half-dozen strangers ask me questions at the same time. Ventje's flat-packed furniture set uses the interior's cushions to create plush outdoor seating, complete with a picnic table.

Eat

The foundation of the van is an intricate one. I wasn't able to take a picture because of the concern that others would copy it. The hinges that hold the seat cushions securely can break over time, but this system avoids that and allows them to be easily removed and rearranged. Special rails inside the kitchen drawers were designed so they could slide in both directions and still be locked in with the help of magnets. You can access everything in the kitchen from both inside and outside of the van.

Everything needed to cook meals from scratch was available in my test van. The open tailgate provided shade from the hot sun while my wife and I mostly cooked outside. Hidden magnets hold the large cutting board in place when chopping or opening the fridge, while other magnets hold a lighter and bottle caps, as well as the integrated opener. The kitchen was only accessible from inside the van when we were making simple breakfasts.

Work

The Ventje could be used as a mobile office. My van was fitted with a 180W solar panel that fed power to a 95Ah battery that also received charge from the VW's alternator as I drove. There are 4xusb charging points, 1x 12V sockets, and 3x 230V European wall sockets in the Ventje van. The large outdoor table can be attached to the small interior foldout table for a larger workspace when you need to spread out papers or share a desk with someone.

My daily power needs included running the van's fridge all day and night, a Starlink RV internet kit for a few hours, a portable fan and a portable coffee machine. The kitchen has two propane burners instead of the usual one. Two sets of AirPods, two phones, and a MacBook were some of the things the van had to keep top up. Ventjes only have 5V/2.1Ausb-A jacks, so I had to use the less efficient AC adapter. I was happy to find a pair close to the pop-top where I slept.

Driving a few hours each day and parking in full sun helped keep things charged, even though the power meter on my Ventje didn't show much remaining.

Westland drives his Ventje year-round. My fridge is always running because I have a solar panel. I don't run out of batteries.

It is good to know that there is enough storage space inside a Ventje to hold one of those giant batteries with portable solar panels and still have plenty of room for all your clothes. I had a Jackery Explorer 2000 Pro that I didn't need. It was the right height to fit under one of the rear seats, and its 200W folding solar panel could be laid on the floor under the table to fill the space between benches.

Sleep

Two people can be in the pop-top and two in the bed in a Ventje van. If you are traveling in warm climates where skin-on-skin contact must be avoided, the pop-top bed may be uncomfortable to share. On the two very warm nights we had the van, my wife and I slept separately. It isn't ideal for intimate relationships, but it does provide a bit of privacy. The dog slept below the bed and didn't complain.

It is a privilege to wake up in the forest on a Monday. I could easily pursue passions like trail running or mountain biking from my remote base and return to the van to begin work. The Ventje T5 allowed me to maximize my own flexibility.

The interior layout was designed by a group of experienced campers. The design was locked a few years ago and only minor changes have been made since. Ventje's Transporters can now carry up to five passengers thanks to the addition of two seat belts in the back.

Drive

Ventje handled all the roads I threw at it. On dirt roads, the custom interior was not a problem to drive to off- grid campsites. The van was able to be parallel parked in the dense city center of Amsterdam even at speeds above 140 km/h. Is a camper built on the VW Transporter platform the best car for that situation? Of course not, but no single car is. Ventje's "the only car you need" pitch might be based in compromise, but there is some truth to it.

The current spike in fuel costs, especially in Europe, is the main downside to this nomadic existence. My fuel total came to $198 in four days in a VW T5 Transporter that averaged 24.7%. That is only slightly below the EPA average of 25.4% for US cars, which is either impressive for a European camper or a condemnation of America's oversized vehicles.

Other observations:

• One oddity I noticed is that the battery’s display regularly showed 100 percent despite being partially depleted from overnight usage. It was only when the 12V Nespresso machine was plugged in and active that I saw the percentage drop. Even then, you get a worst-case estimate before the display reports the actual battery capacity remaining, according to Westland. For example, the day I saw the battery drop to 68 percent, it showed 91 percent a few minutes later, which was apparently the correct reading.
• There’s no pass-through from the front to the rear of the van. That means stopping to get out and open the side door should you need any snacks while driving.
• Ventje staff gave me a 10-minute walkthrough before driving away. Good thing because I doubt I would have discovered every possible configuration and feature otherwise.
• The van’s interior didn’t rattle at all while driving. We only heard some plastic cups (I think) knocking around occasionally since they were poorly stored in the drawers of our rental.
• There are so many surprising little touches everywhere: an emergency toilet that fits between the seats (we did not test this); magnetic privacy curtains that can be put in place and removed fairly quickly; an integrated wine rack and shoe rack; pockets of storage everywhere including a large recess to house all the linens during the day; and easy access to the van’s lights, AC inverter, ventilation, and heater from a central console that’s conveniently located in the main sitting (and sleeping) area.
• There’s easy access to fresh water, brown wastewater, trash, and gas bottles for quick servicing.
• The 10 liter fresh- and brown-water tanks are just enough for about three days of frugal usage for two people and a dog — but only if you’re carrying your own drinking water separately.

My time with the Ventje van was enjoyable. When fuel prices are high, any camper I buy will be dedicated to supporting three adults and a dog for more than a week at a time. Ventje's vans aren't for me

It is fine with us. He is worried that people in the market for a camper don't know that he has vans. The Ventje founder said that it felt like a waste if nobody had seen it. I get a lot of people come up to me when I travel. I just purchased this item here. It sounds like braggart, but it's actually what happens.

You will have to wait about seven months for the delivery of your Ventje, with tax-inclusive prices ranging from 50,000 to 99,000. Ventje's campers are a bit cheaper than VW's own California camper series. Ventje works with customers in other countries who want to import Ventje into the United States.

Ventje wants to expand to new platforms. Despite its microbus origins, Volkswagen has yet to make a camper version of the ID Buzz. It makes a bare-bone cargo van. The Ventje could be ready in about two years, according to the man.

The design is being worked on and we already ordered a couple.

All photography by Thomas Ricker.