TINY HOUSE, STEALTH MODE
I mean, why the heck not? One of our good friends built a van, and we thought it was a rad idea to build one too! This is a work in progress, I'll be adding and organizing as I go. Please help support by purchasing through our affiliate links on Amazon! It's a great way to say thank you to us, and you won't notice a difference at checkout :)
IN A NUTSHELL
There are a few questions you'll need to ask yourself before buying a van, to know which one "fits" you and how much you'll spend to renovate it. Plan like you're a crazed OCD lunatic. Then order, template everything, and build. Anddd.... lots of youtube marathons.
Some questions to start asking yourself:
1. How many and how tall are the people using the van
2. What do you want to do when you get there
-Reading, vlogging, siteseeing, skiing, cook, hiking, biking, etc
3. Think about where you want to go
-Where are you going, how cold or hot is it?
4. How much do you want to spend. Turning a sprinter van into an RV is never going to be cheap. You can do the work yourself and it still not be cheap. I'd say you're going to spend 10-20k (maybe even 50k) to convert it, it depends how complex your water and electrical system is.
Some questions to start asking yourself:
1. How many and how tall are the people using the van
2. What do you want to do when you get there
-Reading, vlogging, siteseeing, skiing, cook, hiking, biking, etc
3. Think about where you want to go
-Where are you going, how cold or hot is it?
4. How much do you want to spend. Turning a sprinter van into an RV is never going to be cheap. You can do the work yourself and it still not be cheap. I'd say you're going to spend 10-20k (maybe even 50k) to convert it, it depends how complex your water and electrical system is.
,BUT FIRST, THE LOOK, THE FEEL
Pinterest, duh. (link to one of my fav boards) Decide on your look, like you would design your house. Go with a few inspiration photos first. Or if you're feeling super hygge, pull from your mental inspiration from all of those trips you've (probably) been on!
HOW MANY, AND HOW TALL
We are a family of 3!! Hubs is 6' tall... it's imperative we be able to stand up, and he really wanted to be able to sleep left to right. That pretty much put us buying a Ram Promaster 159" high top. We bought it from Riverside out of NC and had it shipped to Oklahoma... There are so many options here, you'll just need to think about your budget. I'd suggest as large as you can afford!
BUT WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO
Will you have a garage? What will go in it? Do you need a heater, an AC? Reading lights? Make a list, then start selecting all your must haves by keeping a spreadsheet with links to the items you want to buy.
Measure, measure, measure!
I laid out the overall configuration in sketchup, but you know what? The dimensions they say they are, and the dimensions they actually are.... are not the same! So once our van arrived the entire layout changed. (We did our renderings in sketchup)
Once we figured out what we wanted to fit in the garage (ummmm everything! 3 paddleboards, 3 mountain bikes, 2 coolers, 2 snowboards), we had to raise the bed up to make sure it would all fit under. That made us rethink the original bunk bed idea, and opt for a long couch that will double as a kids bed.
Latest design:
Master bed in the back, a full size mattress mounted high enough for bikes to fit under. A 6'6" sofa behind the driver.
Under the sofa will be a pull out camper toilet, loads of storage, and a low voltage refrigerator.
The sink will be right next to the sliding door (makes hosing off with the kitchen faucet a freaking breeze! ) Check out the matte black one I'm thinking about getting! We'll be pumping the water out with the Shurflo water pump. The sink is so inexpensive! Everything else you see will be built custom, stay tuned!
Measure, measure, measure!
I laid out the overall configuration in sketchup, but you know what? The dimensions they say they are, and the dimensions they actually are.... are not the same! So once our van arrived the entire layout changed. (We did our renderings in sketchup)
Once we figured out what we wanted to fit in the garage (ummmm everything! 3 paddleboards, 3 mountain bikes, 2 coolers, 2 snowboards), we had to raise the bed up to make sure it would all fit under. That made us rethink the original bunk bed idea, and opt for a long couch that will double as a kids bed.
Latest design:
Master bed in the back, a full size mattress mounted high enough for bikes to fit under. A 6'6" sofa behind the driver.
Under the sofa will be a pull out camper toilet, loads of storage, and a low voltage refrigerator.
The sink will be right next to the sliding door (makes hosing off with the kitchen faucet a freaking breeze! ) Check out the matte black one I'm thinking about getting! We'll be pumping the water out with the Shurflo water pump. The sink is so inexpensive! Everything else you see will be built custom, stay tuned!
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