Inspiral Curtains

There’s an invention lurking inside Pete Staniforth’s 2011 T5.1 that’s the best thing since, er, curtains. Get ready to be inspired…

- James Wallace

It’s easy to think of a new idea or concept, and maybe even to imagine how it might take shape, but having the balls to throw in the towel on your 9-5 and see it through to fruition involves risk, bravery and, inevitably, a great deal of hard work. For Peter Staniforth from Barnsley, his eureka moment was born out of necessity, and you know what they say about that being the mother of invention, right? In Pete’s case, that couldn’t be more apt: “I’d long been into doing a Van for myself and my other half, Paula, but I really wanted to do it myself, and put my own stamp on it, with some creature comforts to make it more homely,” he explains.

“Then, when we lost some people close to us who were far too young, one of my friends said to me, ‘You’ve got to drink it while it’s zzy.’ That really resonated with me and, even though we couldn’t really afford it at the time, I got a bank loan and ‘Olaf’ arrived soon after.”

‘Olaf’ was a part-converted, 2011, 2.0-litre (102bhp) T28 that came his way in 2013. Clearly a handy fella, Pete was able to turn his hand to every job inside and started by sound deadening, insulating, ply lining and carpeting the bare panel work.

“As we overcame various issues and got to grips with the steep learning curve, I was searching for a sleek, neat and tidy solution to Camper privacy. Obviously, a set of curtains would have done the job, but then I came up with a more elegant answer that looked more professional and didn’t involve drilling holes everywhere for tracks,” Pete continues. “I knocked up a set of thermal front window screens first of all, and then, as we got further into the project, the blinds followed soon after.

“The blinds were Paula’s idea really, but don’t tell her I said that,” says the canny northern lad.