วีดีโอ

Thanks Eric! We're happy to share ideas for what others might be able to do! To answer some of your questions: The dually sprinter can handle a 7500 lb trailer and a max full load of 16,900 lbs, and we managed to keep it just below that. We did add sumo springs onto the rear of the van and a Red Arc brake gain controller and those have made worlds of difference with the handling and braking. The 3500 is a high-torque engine; it's an absolute beast for towing. Without the trailer the van will get us 13-15L/100 km and with the trailer 20-22L/100km. (We also put in a 177L tank to help keep our range up.) Yes, the last time we crossed the border, the guard was really nice, believed our honesty towards the laws of the land but also felt that other guards would block us. We do unload my work stuff before going south, but this last time I did have a lot of tools on board as I was working on our tilt rack and roof storage while at our camp spot. He also mentioned (this is interesting (we found)), Canadian youtubers technically would need a work permit to film in the USA for their channels. (How many you think do that?) We also might have had a bit of difficulty last time crossing as the entire rig is listed as my electrical company's asset, so that could raise questions as well. On the flip side.. Ellie is half American, so we could always play the game legit through those means if that's what we were ambitious for... but personally, we like the safety and calmness of Canada. Stealth camping can be possible; and there are a lot of car pool lots that can be good to use...more hidden away the better in my opinion. As a rule of thumb, if we have the trailer, we wouldn't stay in the same lot more than 2 nights in a row. Better yet, having a private yard or property to land on is better. If you are like me and work in the trades, gradually over time your circle of contacts grows and you meet generous people or can easily exchange some services for overnight parking. We have good contacts all over southern Ontario now 6 years in, so we feel pretty confident on that end. part 2 to come....

part 2 here.. If you are going to be street parking it, Toronto for example doesn't allow commercial vehicles to street part overnight in some areas, so either watch your plating on the van, OR storage yard options can be helpful. Also, if you haven't watched it, watch our video on staying safe on the road, and arm that trailer up with every security measure you can! As for promaster vans, if you're planning on doing the long game in this life/investment, I am doubtful of the quality of the promaster to hold up under work loads. We've talked to builders who said they see them falling apart within 150,000 km of manufacturing. Thanks for watching and feel free to ask questions and I'll do my best to give you a hand. If you want some build advice, happy to facetime for free to give advice! IG msg if needed.

@@kageandellie Wow, thanks for the answer. I'm a data analyst here in Toronto, but, I really wanted to start building vans especially with how dire the housing crisis is. All the van outfitters just cater to the wealthy but I think a cheap and durable build could still be done in an old Dodge Caravan so that anyone with a few thousand $ can afford to get into VanLife and have some dignity instead of going into tent life. I'm not even a handyman but after watching a lot of vanlife and woodworking videos, I think I could manage to build a van with just a set of cordless brushless Ryobis (not the consumer grade stuff), probably could do without a trailer, just buy the new Promaster with the "super" high top and build the bed up very high to maximize the "garage" space.

You’re welcome to go to www.realtor.CA (Canada) and find us a place for $250,000 Canadian. Keep in mind too that if there was no work trailer I’d be spending a $100k Canadian to get a quality work vehicle, so you’re realistically working with $150,000 Canadian. You should probably start the search in southern Ontario.

Hey! Thank you! We really try to keep momentum going on videos; never dwelling too long! We appreciate the comment and feedback! Thanks!

Haha yes! We were actually on Vancouver island last year and we tried to swing it; unfortunately that was the week he was really sick and being the considerate guy he is, didn’t want to pass it on. We’re in Ontario, so hoping we can do a tour for him when he brings the Ambo to Andy at Overland Interiors. 🤞 I do enjoy his channel and we actually met him back in 2019..way back!

Thanks!

And thank you for watching!

Oh I wish we did! Unfortunately, we are always building the van and the trailer under limited time availability… It was always in a rush. Setting up cameras and talking to them tends to split my focus and make things take three times longer! However, we are plan to do some renovation in the van in the near future so we’re pretty determined to make sure we get footage of that happening!

Oh I wish we did! But unfortunately building was often done under time constraints, so taking time to film was never really an option! However, we are going to be doing some renovations on the van later this year and we are DETERMINED to film that and get it out! That's going to be in about 4 video's time I think!

Aww! Thanks Will! You're so welcome and happy to help you out anytime!

Thank you so much! What a nice comment to wake up to! I'm sure if we had more regular content the algorithm would push us more, but just being small with a good posey of people who get us makes us happy too! Pursuing playing the big youtuber game could really put us in a place that is unhealthy and become all-consuming for us (we've kinda seen it for others..) What we lack in consistency, we'll try to make up for in quality and telling a good story :) (We also have to make up for not having amazing scenery filling every video.. we're basically kinda normal people living a kinda normal life..? lol) Thank you so much again for watching!

Glad you like them! Thank you so much!

Thanks gxdad! It seems like the practicality of the van wins every time!

Thanks again; glad you enjoyed it! We’ll try to be a bit faster on the next one!

In my older trailer (the chaos is show at 6:02 ! - I kinda feel traumatized looking back at it!)

Hi Kenneth, The van upgrades would only be sumo springs in the rear and a red arc brake gain controller. Otherwise the 3500 engine is a high-torque engine and is meant for heavy tow work.. and it is an absolute beast! I'd be open to removing the DEF system as I've heard that increases power and fuel efficiency, but I don't know enough about that and haven't found anyone who can do it for us either!

haha....well.. I could theorize several factors... - I've been running my own electrical contracting business for 15 years. My tools (and the entire rig) are a tax write off.. can't really do that with a full house. - I have a high value in being prepared for most situations for work, and can't rely on local buddies to loan me stuff last minute. - Don't know about where you are, but in my region, electrical companies get to charge out $75-$100/hr CAD... it's not like that every else in the world. That would leave more financial room to purchase tools as needed. Related to that, I see waaaay more Mercedes work van in Canada than in the USA, and I'd guess that is because we have more regulations and less of a cash market that accommodates non-citizens, this means trades work is more lucrative up here in general. - I'm saving $75k a year on housing and business expenses, then deducting my rig expenses off of that. - No kids - No extra vehicles - Met my wife (Ellie, who is very frugal) in my 30's so I could have accumulated a lot of tools prior. - My wife also encourages me to buy what I need that will make life easier and save time, so there is a value in that as well (I'm tellin ya.. she's a real unicorn! (..hoping you know that reference, if not, YT video search "Crazy/Hot Matrix original")) - Have worked insane hours through my life.. trying to take it easier now though! Thanks for watching!

Oh wow that sounds great! Will the whole thing be 3d printed or just the interior?

@kageandellie my idea is print whole box and use fiberglas 2.layers outside and inside

Hah, ya that was one of the worst spikes we had seen at that time... $2.50 CAD for a liter.. it's down to about $1.40/liter now. The 177 liter (47Gal) tank will get us about 800 kms. No trailer: With trailer: 22L/100 km (10.69 MPG) No Trailer: 13L/100 km (18 MPG) Having recently learned comparing that to a military overlander or school bus: 36L/100 km (6 MPG)

Can’t argue with that! Certainly need to drive a rig that’s workable for your local geography. We’re mostly in farm country, with a small trip to BC, which was enough of an adventure for the rig!

The frame is a Bravo trailer ( USA built) with an aluminum frame. Looks like it currently is running for $25k Canadian. Our build costs are around 20k in materials and a year's worth of weekends and holidays!

Thank you! The rooftop was build basically out of aluminum for metalsupermarket.com (local shops all over), bolted together with fasteners cause I couldn't find a welder to help and don't know myself, and the plans are completely in my head lol. If you'd like more information or specifics on how it is framed up, feel free to shoot us an email and I can get you as much information/close up photo details as I can!

Yes, you’re absolutely right. There are products out there that are different types of telescopic poles that can go up. I haven’t had the chance to really investigate it, but there are definitely people out there doing it! Thanks for watching!

Thanks! The van has 400 Ah of Battle Born Batteries.. now having an AC unit on board, it would have been nice to have 600 Ah.. but oh well... The trailer has a 170 Ah Renogy battery, of which I'm not entirely happy with. I feel like the performance out of it is not as strong as the BB's in the van, and I also wish I had a heated battery in the trailer, so it wouldn't having performance issues if I don't run the heat all night in the trailer. Thanks for watching!

@@kageandellie Yes, more is better - always! :D Tim & Katie installed a 12v Heated floor install (bought from Germany th-cam.com/video/my423zca4gc/w-d-xo.html). You could be able to heat a certain space i.e. the area underneath the battery which would also be in closed and insulated space, so the heat wouldn't evaporate? Or perhaps do a heated flooring 1/3 of the trailer having the battery on that end. Haven't tried, but I assume you could also be able to do whole floor heating divided by two or three setups (switches), but that would prolly increase the costs.

Thanks FloridaManConstruction! It was a lot of imagination followed by a lot of learning as I go!

Thanks! 👍 Glad you liked it!

HAHAHAHAHAHAAHAAA! Love that!

Awesome! Thank you! Hello back to Puerto Rico! We'd love to come there some day! ....Particularly in February! lol

@@kageandellie you guys will love it! Come on down.

Hah thanks for the vote of confidence that my workmanship is worthy of such a price tag! For a more accurate number take that price and multiply it by 0.31 and that is closer to the cost of the full rig build..and about a 16-18 months of full time building (but spread over 5 years)

Hey! We were pretty intentional from day one of our build to try to avoid the normal build materials that add a lot of weight.. ie particle board and lots of wood. We framed (and soon in the van re-framing) with lighter aluminum tubing with a lighter front paneling on board. Even the ikea PAX wardrobes are half air on the interiors. This is the same for both the van and trailer. We managed to squeek in just below the 16900 lb, around the 16700 lbs. We added rear sumo springs on the van and a red arc brake gain controller. Those both make a HUGE difference. The dually 3500 is also a high-torque engine that pulls very well. For engine longevity, we try to baby it. I don't go above 105 km/h, easy start ups and braking (our brakes tend to last us 150,000 kms before I get the final 10% notice on them.) We've been up and down through BC a couple times.. before the brake gain controller was connected, and... it was stressful, but we lived to tell the tale. Patience and caution is certainly important. On a daily reality though, we don't live and operate in too many hilly locations, so it's not a massive concern for us. But either mountains or flatlands, we tend to drive with every reasonable precaution as we do have a lot on the line and more to loose than most others on the road. There are times when we'll park and wait for rush hour to be over before we travel anywhere. Thanks for watching!

🤨

Hey! The lights are actually 2 separate components.. one is a 4000k color 12V dc (to match my power source (the battery) ordered in on Amazon. The other is some lighting track for led lights that I purchased from a local LED lighting shop (Jenco). This lighting dealer is local to Ontario, but I’m sure other similar style shops will have similar products. Be prepared to have some sort of adhesive/construction silicone to keep the hole thing together. Mine seemed to like to fall out of place a bit!

Thanks! There are a lot of topics we could run with on these sort of things, but you're right, time permitting. We have some travelling vlog content/experience sharing that we're going to try out as it was so easy to film, but if it falls flat, then we'll stick to just informational content.. as visually dry is it might be lol Thanks for the watch and comment!

@@kageandellie your informational stuff isn't very dry, I really enjoy the details.

Sold them to the circus. Just kidding.. The short answer is "snip, snip".. The longer answer is: we met in our early 30's.. Ellie was already the oldest of 5 and sibling to 2 younger foster kids, and parental involvement was lacking. Also had a nephew to help with. I was in a previous relationship with a gal with a young infant, so I've already had the fun parts of those experiences. Gave it a couple years after we me and decided we were happy without. We're both introverts and are perfectly content doing our hobbies and what gives us joy and drive. We've also observed our friends having kids and seeing how it is working/not working for them and also added on that there is also a lot of mental issues in both sides of our families and that we are not guaranteed that a child's temperament won't be genetically predisposed to taking on some of their less desirable personability traits. That said, we don't have a trustworthy family community for support, add on high cost of living, and general collapse of stable society and you have a couple cautious introverts who are happy to just be by themselves :)

haha! Thanks!

Something for everyone!

haha - too many!? We figured people are here to look at the rig, not my boring mug talking about it! We have video philosophy of "show, don't tell".. makes for a harder video to make, but hopefully more intersting! Viewer retention is a fickle thing!

hah ok thanks! Not on the plans currently!

Hey! (Sorry delayed response) Opened or closed, it really depends on the situation. The back end does have a nice overhang that keeps some of the water out, so depending on wind direction, I might keep it open. On a security perspective, if I can't keep my eyes on the trailer, I close it up. Parked on the road all day, closed. Backed onto a customer's driveway, probably open most of the day. Doing a job in the freezing cold, closed up and HEAT CRANKED! Thanks for watching!

Yeah, us too! It is a 3500 dually van so it has a lot of torque for pulling. We also added in sumo springs in the rear and a red arc brake gain controller. We actually have been through the Rocky Mountains with this whole rig, and it has done incredibly well. Not that I would want to do that every day…or in winter!

@@kageandellie ........But What About The Fuel Cost Of Pulling A Heavy Load Every Time?........And How's Driving In Small Roads And Small Spaces Especially If U Need To Back Up The Van? For Me 'Though, Van Life Is Good For A Weekender Use Or Vacation Use But Not To Replace A Stationary Home With A Home Address. It Is Still Better To Have A Home With A Very Stable Foundation And With Enough Space For You To Walk Around. It's THERAPEUTIC For The Mind And Body. But Every Individual Is Different. Maybe Other People Love The same As What You Are Doing. Which Ever Way, LET US ENJOY LIFE & ENJOY EARTH.......

Ok wow! That sounds like quite the project! I definitely need to check that out! Sorry about the delayed response, but I actually put the answer to your question in our latest video 🤪. Thankfully in Canada we have a pretty robust electrical that is fairly steady across the country. I have contacts that even fly up from southern Ontario to the northern territories to do safety inspections…I technically am licensed to work in every province, except Quebec. However, RUNNING, your own business in each province can be a little more tricky and require some paperwork. We’re hoping to do the Maritime provinces on a work tour next summer.

Thank you!