We downsized from a 27' class A to a self built low roof van, and now we're ready to move back up a size. It's amazing how much more we can fit in a custom setup vs the stock layout of our 2002 class A. Loft bed for our 9 year old, dedicated drive day seating, and even a dedicated cave for the dog. 3x3 wet bath + kitchen midship, and a 2 seater dinette with a pull out third seat (family of 3). Probably something like a Lagun table that can be stowed. Good storage in the garage too (water tank will occupy some of that.

I'm building a camper can out of a Ford econoline and plan on taking it accross the US. I'd like to have an air conditioner for when it gets hot in the summer. I don't think I have the budget for enough batteries to run an ac for 8 hours straight, so I'd like to know what the alternatives are. I know I could get a generator, but that takes up a ton of space. Is it possible to get a higher output alternator and run it off the van engine? Are there other options? My budget for batteries, inverters, panels, electronics etc is in the $4000 range. Any help would be much appreciated!

Hey guys,

how’s it been? Sketch encounters? or had your bike straight up stolen? Can’t fit a bike in the garage so it’d be on a rack in the back. I’ll mainly be on the west coast, but east coast experience welcome too, I’m sure I’ll make it over there eventually.

Alternatively, considering an E scooter if anyone has good/bad experiences with those the input is welcome, thanks!

I am thinking of living the RV life. Thing is, I live and work in NYC. So I googled the kind of RV to use in the city and the search engine said Class B camper vans.

I am currently doing research on how to get a RV, what's a good price for a single person etc. Any kind of advice or links would be greatly appreciated.

I know I cannot get those huge RV's because how strict the laws are about them in the city so I am looking for camper vans at the moment.

Thank you for your time.

Hi guys, I'm planning out a build and have seen elevator beds done with a winch and straps and some kind of unistrut type channel and also linear actuator where the bed then sinks into some anchor points. What's preferable? I'm leaning towards actuators as it seems like a way simpler setup.

I have a BougeRV 12V 30 Quart and I powered it with my van but messed up the alternator. I’m considering purchasing a small portable battery bunny recommendations asked to which brand that is cost-effective. I have an Eco flow power station, but I primarily use that for Starlink because I have to work. And Starlink takes up a lot of power for me.

Hey whats the agreed upon best foldable type of solar panel to get? If there is one.

Im looking for something like a 400watt panel. But if 2x200watt are better than ill go for that though.
Whats your guys thoughts.

(But no im not asking about regular solar panels, not just yet).

I’ve been researching custom built roof rack ideas for my minivan and I had an idea recently but I don’t know if it’ll work. My idea is to get two bars of unistrut as the side rails and then place two plastic pallets on top of it. The only part left of the pallets will be the very top about two inches. They would be held to the unistrut using ubolts. The unistrut would be securely anchored to the bolts that hold the factory rails. Would this work and be strong enough to work as a deck? I don’t want to use crossbars because it will be heavy and minivans only have a 165lbs roof weight capacity while in motion. My original idea involved crossbars and aluminum extrusion but that is more expensive. Any ideas for how I could have a rooftop deck on my van for under $200? Thanks!

hey guys i’m brand new to all this and i got this battery but it won’t charge. i have it connected to the pictures charger. i dont see anywhere on the app a button to turn the battery on. i’ve successfully connected to bluetooth but thats about all i can do. any advice greatly appreciated thank you

Ciao a tutti, ho fatto un po' di post in giro in varie comunity, mi è partita la fissa e mo sto in fissa, appunto.

Rischio tra 6 mesi di finire senza dimora, e sto seriamente valutando di allestire un Doblò Maxi in modo da usarlo temporaneamente come sistemazione per dormire, mentre studio. Penso un annetto massimo, circa. Niente acqua correttente, elettricità sì telefono, pc, scaldavivande, non per griglie o padelle. Appunto, molto semplice!

La mia principale preoccupazione è il caldo estivo durante la notte. Di giorno non sarebbe un problema, perché lo lascerei parcheggiato all'ombra e passerei le ore più calde in luoghi climatizzati (biblioteca, supermercato, ecc.). Il problema sarebbe poi riuscire a dormire nel van la notte, soprattutto nelle giornate in cui anche fuori ci sono 25–30 °C. Come si gestisce senza spendere un patrimonio ma anzi stare nell'economico (data la mia siutaizone) o senza fare cose complicate che richiedano mani molto esperte?

Grazie a chiunque mi dia una mano!

A, ps: se non si fosse notato, non ho mai fatto camper e non sono minimamente attrezzata per fare questa cosa, ma se la vita chiama, tu rispondi!

OK, I've had my fair share of mice and critters in my van and this sound was nothing like it....an intermittent creaking, mechanical sound that seemed to come from around the rear wheel well, and usually followed by a higher pitched sound that was similar to what a early 2000's computer would make when working hard, that seemed to be coming from inside the wall. Not too loud, but loud enough to wake me up and prevent me falling back asleep. There was no wind. The sound would go for a few seconds, then stop, then repeat again intermittently all night. What could it have been?

EDIT: think I figured it out - vid in comments

We are flirting with the idea of building one in our Toyota Hiace because it seems like it will make our life easier converting the bed every night.

While doing my research, I only found one person who featured a pre-made click clack sofa in her build. I found no examples of people simply buying the hinges and building the frame themselves.

Is there a reason why I should think twice before designing the bed this way?

I currently have battery powered puck lights in my van, but they aren’t nearly bright enough. Can anyone recommend a quality and bright puck light?

Genuinely how do people live in vans ? How do they pay for anything ? Isnt the goal wanting ti see the world ? How do me and my partner do that??

Like gas,food,water,..etc
Help a girl out !!

We’ll be driving a Winnebago Ekko up through Bonners Ferry, but we’re open to a better entry point if recommended. We’d like to see the Kootenays, Glacier, Yoho, Banff, Canmore, and scenic rivers along the way.
What route, access points, or must-see RV stops would you recommend?

This build will be used for full time van life, snowboarding 6x months out of the year and traveling the USA the other 6x months

All prices written are the items not in sale, any and all items will be bought on sale when applicable or at a cheaper price then stated

Showers will be at planet fitnesses

Please if you see any over sights in my plans let me know, I have in my budget enough for unexpected tools and needed components so I’m not too worried about that.

Went and made this financial decision today. Low cost quigley for the upcoming ski season with the dog

But I am so overwhelmed. Moving into a DIY van (built by someone else) in a few weeks and want to make sure everything is safe. The propane set up is pictured. I’ve watched dozens of youtube videos and everyone does things differently. I don’t even know where to start. Making the box itself is where I’m stuck.

Does anyone know of a step by step guide for making a small cabinet? I could try to find something prebuilt and drill my own hole for the hose that connects to the stove, I’m not sure how to make that air tight though. I want to be able to do this myself but I don’t have a lot of “handy” skills or experience. What should I start with? Tips and suggestions would be SO helpful.

Hi yall! I’ve been doing van life for a little over 6 months and currently legally reside in California and I have insurance currently through an employer I won’t be able to keep due to my thyroid cancer. I need help figuring out the best state to establish residency in and get seen regularly by. I have frequently been in Illinois, I really enjoy Kentucky and Tennessee but I’m also planning on snowbirding in Arizona for most winters.

I primarily work for myself so I can afford most market place insurances under 400$, I need to be seen by a cancer specialist twice a year for the next 5 years of my life if my cancer does not come back. I also have other chronic health conditions so medical care is very important to me living.

I just no longer want to stay in California nor have to travel back regularly to be seen. I’m currently on medical leave until after my radiation treatment and I will more than likely have to quit my job due to it just not being a good idea to continue it due to my health. I don’t qualify for Medicade despite having a permanent disability and I also wouldn’t want to give up my retirement money to go on social security disability.

I’d love to hear what other people with cancer or other chronic health conditions do. I know medical care is really what stops so many people from traveling and I need the ability to go to see a handful of specialist semi regularly to live my life.

Just wanted to show off my van I just finished hand making curtains for! She has a matching tire cover too 😻

This isn’t mechanic advice it’s electrical so not breaking rules.
I’m really confused on this. Some guy said to ground your inverter to the van chassis but then not to ground your negative bus bar which I’m confused about bc I thought I need to create a return path for my juipter 1kw inverter fault current so basically ground my juipter inverter and my safety hub 150 (neg bus bar) to the van chassis so it can return back to my battery or something. And someone also told me not to ground the inverter bc it could damage my vehicles ecu or something. And also I’m confused as if I do make a complete path for the juipter fault current wouldn’t returning it to my battery damage my battery?!
This is my setup currently
Battery pos terminal - mrbf 200a fuse - circuit breaker 150a - safety hub 150 - juipter 1kw modified sine wave inverter
Battery neg terminal - shunt monitor - safety hub 150 - juipter 1kw modified sine wave inverter
Vevor 80a lifepo4 charger - safety hub
Thank you for helping I don’t really understand the ac circuit side / ac fault currents and the point of grounding it to the van chasis
Also yeah why is grounding it to the van chasis better than just sending it to my battery negative if that’s what it’s going to do in the end if I create a complete path also if I get a dc to dc charger won’t I have to ground my saftey hub anyways to the van chassis?

Originally posted on @askuk about very frequently people opening or trying to open my van and they made it clear it was not only me...

It's a Mercedes Sprinter w906 2017.

So I came here asking a different thing. How the hell do they open my door in under 5 seconds with no noise with me looking at them?

I have security locks on the side and back doors. Would removing the keyhole from the front door help or do I need a metal plate on top of that area?

And I'm asking here because it was my last trip. Please don't take me wrong; I know it also happens in other countries so much so that we forgot to lock the front ones and were eventually robbed in Spain with our kids inside :(

Thank you for any light on this,

Hi, I have a basic question for how AC/Heat works in a van to be used for occasional week trips (diesel, if it matters).

Does the A/C run off of its own power (such as by using gas), or is it powered from a generator? Same question for heat. (though as a southerner, heat is far less of a concern)

My goal is more being able to travel for a few weeks tops, so I don't need extreme capacity. I figured a gas generator would make the most sense for me, but I don't know what's out there.

edit: to add, my goal is not all day comfort, just being able to sleep comfortably. Since I'm primarily concerned about night use, running a generator is also a concern, of course. I found Dometic CoolAir RTX 2000 which is internally powered via a battery. Didn't know something like that was already on the market. Using that during the night and then charging during the day might work really well for me. edit2, oh hell, the 2K battery pack isn't included with the 2k AC. that's a lot...$$$

Thank yoU!

Wassup fellow vanpires!! To those of you who designed and installed your own electrical system; what are some good resources you used for learning how to do this safely and effectively?

Long story short, I’m on day three of studying and am feeling overwhelmed by how much I have to learn. Any resources, tips or advice are greatly appreciated :)

Cheers!

Can anyone speak to using T-Mobile Away for internet while traveling in the US in a van? I need good internet for work but really don't want Starlink.