The DockItBox Module Transforms Any Van Into a Mobile Home With No Mods to the Vehicle

For the past five years or so, we've seen, heard, and watched thousands of stories touting the countless benefits of this new lifestyle as a nomad, whether digital or not. Vanlife is a huge component of digital nomadism and it entails downsizing from a standard home to a mobile one that's usually a van conversion, either a DIY (do it yourself) project or a professional build.

Vanlife is a sum of benefits, from the ability to live cheaply on the road, to travel while working, and to monetize on your personal life on social media, with the huge caveat that you must be prepared for severe downsizing and whatever unpreventables will occur. That said, vanlife is not an all-in type of experience, even if it's usually presented as such.

Most of the vanlifers to have garnered huge followings due to their awesome rigs have left their previous life behind them once said rig was completed and ready to go. Regardless of age, profession, or income, vanlifers swear by living full-time in their van conversions and keeping on the move. Otherwise, what would be the point of it all if you're not traveling?

Halfway solutions do exist, though, and they're as worthy of your consideration as a full-time mobile home shaped like a van. Weekend warriors, adventurers, or even those looking for an RV for a couple of big annual vacations can still taste the joys of vanlife without selling their stuff, packing whatever's left, and then hitting the road.

The DockItBox is one such solution and it entails using your work van or a plain rental van as the base for your future home on wheels. There's a "but" here, of course. You shouldn't expect to find the exact same kind of features you'd get in a van conversion, let alone custom designer touches that turn that compact footprint into a cozy home oozing personality.

The DockItBox is a transforming module that brings basic functionality to a space you couldn't otherwise use as an RV. Designed in Hamburg, Germany, it's been around for a few years now, and from what we can tell, it's still in prototyping stage.

Like all good inventions, the DockItBox, too, drew on everyday frustrations for inspiration. Necessity is the mother of all inventions, indeed. "Everything started with a VW Transporter with no bed," the designers say on the very bare-bones official website. It took them six months to design the first iteration of the product: a module you slide in and out of the back of the van, which then unfolds into a two-person bed.

The idea is basic in the truest sense of the word; it's as basic as it comes across in writing. But it makes a world of difference in a real-life scenario because nothing beats sleeping off the ground, protected from the elements, in a space that feels very much like a proper bedroom. Plus, once you've slid out the module, you have space inside the van to add shelving and other basic amenities: a sink with a limited supply of running water, a porta-potty, shelving for storage, and the like.

The DockItBox module has an aluminum frame and sits on extendable legs with trolley wheels, which helps with removing it from the van in almost no time.

In camp mode, half of the module – more than 1 meter/3.2 feet of it – peaks out through the back of the van, with the tailgate acting as shelter against the rain or harsh sunlight. Stealth camping is out of discussion with this one, to be sure. The other half extends inside, forming the double bed with large storage drawers underneath.

As basic as the DockItBox module is, it still integrates neat features. Besides the storage options, it has curtains for privacy, a skylight with a built-in blind, and even an opening window for ventilation. That last one is very important, seeing how you'd be sleeping inside a metal box that, in turn, sits in another metal box, this time on wheels.

According to the designers, it takes minutes to transform the van or transporter into a proper camper, and the best part is that this is a one-man job that requires no special tools. Neither does it require modifications to the base vehicle, which means that, once back home, you can remove the module, put it in storage, and continue using it for work.

The DockItBox module is compatible with a variety of vans and transporters, including Volkswagen, Ford Transit, and Mercedes Vito. The designers say the prototype was properly tested on camping trips in Germany, Switzerland, and France, but don't go into specifics beyond that.

Since this is still a prototype, there's no info on price, either. We've reached out to the designers and we will update the story when we hear back from them.