Come see our custom van build. #vanlife #promaster #promasterconversion #retiredvanlife #retirement #vanbuild #vanbuildout music pixabay.com/music/adventure-m...
I love the toilet. That is the first elongated toilet seat I have seen inside a van and exactly what I need for my van. I cannot use those tiny little ones everyone uses.
Great tour guys! Such a well planned layout - can’t believe how much storage you’ve managed to cram in and you’re not wanting for any appliances. Here we are toasting our bread in a frying pan 😅
Great to see another couple our age doing the traveling in a converted van. You guys have a lot of electric stuff. I am curious about your electrical setup. How much are your solar panels, what is your battery setup and what is the capacity of your inverter. All in all a very nice and practical setup. Is your toilet a natures head composting toilet or something similar? I subscribed to your channel and look forward to follow you on your Alaska trip. We are a Dutch couple in our early 70’s and travel parttime in our ProMaster City type van. Happy travels.
800 watts solar, 600 ah CHINS batteries, 3000 watt Victron Multiplus. We built the toilet using a urine diverter from the Throne Composting toilet company. Thanks for subscribing and enjoy your travels.
I want to reach this level, have been empty nesters since 2022 and once our kids get more settled into adulthood I plan on building a van. I really appreciate these types of videos!!
Thank you, I thought it was just me getting old with those headlights. Half the time I barely believe they are even on!! Love the silver van. Love the layout. Very nice.
It has been nothing but a problem with significant frost build-up which them impacts the temperature control. We may do a short video describing the problem. Our version did not come with a circulation fan so we added one which has helped but hasn't solved the problem. Overall, we like the size of the refrigerator.
@@grayandgrumpy I am so sorry to hear that you've had problems with it. I'm Grumpy, too 😁. Sorry if I sounded rude. I've been up all night with my stomach screaming at me for trying to eat healthy. 😂
My question is about keeping cool. I would need an aux air conditioner living in Florida. Have you boondocked with your van, and if yes, how many days does your power last? That looked like a lot of solar. We love to cook, so your set-up is perfect.
We boondocked for about 4 weeks in Newfoundland and Nova Scotia last summer. We drove several hours everyday which charged the batteries. The most we ever used on a night was about 20% of the 600 ah battery bank. That included heating the 4 gal hot water tank, lights, TV, hair dryer. It's 800 watts of solar.
@@grayandgrumpy that a fair amount of watts for that space. our van doesnt have that much roof area but would be nice to add fixed solar. thanks for the reply and enjoy your sunday :)
Very nice setup. Love the white design stickers inside. Curious about your e-bikes and how you like them? Cost and brand? Very nice setup! Your explanation for each feature was precise and to the point without rambling. Just enough space for exact what you need…nothing more! Enjoy Alaska!
Really nice van tour. Just about covered everything ✅️, And all without making it a music video too👏, Viewers should be kept interested. Not entertained. Nowadays, not enough of one, and too much of the other.
It's sorta hard to explain. The first bike goes wheels first and sits at a slight angle. The second bike goes hinge first and dovetails with the hinge on the first bike.
I kept the sink and shower gray water separate to minimize plumbing under the van. I also like that the 10 gal tank for the shower fits nicely under the van and doesn't really impact ground clearance. Second, it's nice to be able to empty the 4 gal sink gray water tank at any rest area.
We are on the heavy side and need to be aware of what we put in the van. We have a video addressing our van weight. "Fully loaded" minus clothes and food we are at ~ 8900 pounds.
We have a DIY 2017.. our layout is perfect for us and yet very different. We currently have an outdoor shower with a Coleman propane Hot-Water-On-Demand which is fully self-contained Toilet question? Can you elaborate on the type you use? We used a composting marine toilet called a Natures Head, although expensive it is completely odour-free and super easy to maintain. Shower Question? I saw the grey water for the kitchen sink.. do you have grey water storage for the shower?? Heating? I Heard a reference to a heated floor? is this an Aqua-Heat? Propane or Electric or either? We use a gasoline Webasto, the draw back is the cold floor on bare feet. Solar Question? how much solar panel capacity? How much Battery & type? We have 200AH Lithium and need to put in another 200AH to run the fridge, lights and furnace after the sun goes down. PS: We did a 3 month trip across the country to Newfoundland: even 30 days on the rock was not enough!!
The best thing about van conversions is there isn't one right answer. Whatever works for you is best. Toilet is built around a urine diverter from the Throne Composting Toilet company. Shower has a 10 gal gray water tank under the van. We have a propex propane heater but we also installed 110V underfloor heating. Unfortunately the 110 heated floor draws too much energy and it will only be usable when connected to shore power. 800 watts of solar with 600 ah battery bank. It's a shame more van lifers don't put Newfoundland on their bucket list. We really enjoyed our time there.
I'm trying to figure out an easier way to get mine in the garage area too. Someone suggested trying to use the lid of a plastic storage bin to help slide it in the back of the van.
Cool to see that it ain't just 20-40 year olds doing this type of stuff.
Great job on the outfitting of the van. Absolutely no wasted space. Happy travels!
Gray and grumpy...love the name 🥰
Enjoyed the Van tour. Looking forward to more of your videos. Happy traveling!
OK, finally sensible adults. You’ve done an excellent job with this man. This is the way I would live life on the road. Great job.
nice build !
Gray and Grumpy. Great handle.
You guys did such a beautiful job with your van. Great video and we love the thumbnail pic! 😊
Impressively well thought out and executed! Thanks for sharing.
I like your channel name because, as you can see, I’m grumpy and my husband’s name is Gray! I like the layout of the van. Nice setup.
Very funny. Thanks for watching.
Gray and Grumpy, too funny. Be blessed on your journeys.
great video - your van is beautiful -I love all your hidden (kinda) storage and that shower WOW!!!
Great job! Your Van looks great!
Hi, I'm a new subscriber from Atlanta 😊 thanks for sharing ❤ I LOVE everything about your van. Stay BLESSED AND SAFE ❤
This is the quality content I needed this weekend
Absolutely fantastic!!
I love the toilet. That is the first elongated toilet seat I have seen inside a van and exactly what I need for my van. I cannot use those tiny little ones everyone uses.
We purchased a urine diverter from the Throne Compositing Toilet company. They provide some plans but you can customize the design as you like.
Great tour guys! Such a well planned layout - can’t believe how much storage you’ve managed to cram in and you’re not wanting for any appliances. Here we are toasting our bread in a frying pan 😅
Funny thing is we are doing Keto and haven't had toast in over a year.
@@grayandgrumpy haha so just lugging the toaster around for no reason 😂 I did that with a pair of dumbbells - 35,000km and used them twice….
Actually there is a method to our madness. At van gatherings we can offer toast and people will love us. 😂
Beautiful!
Really like your build.
Beautiful
Great to see another couple our age doing the traveling in a converted van. You guys have a lot of electric stuff. I am curious about your electrical setup. How much are your solar panels, what is your battery setup and what is the capacity of your inverter. All in all a very nice and practical setup. Is your toilet a natures head composting toilet or something similar? I subscribed to your channel and look forward to follow you on your Alaska trip. We are a Dutch couple in our early 70’s and travel parttime in our ProMaster City type van. Happy travels.
800 watts solar, 600 ah CHINS batteries, 3000 watt Victron Multiplus. We built the toilet using a urine diverter from the Throne Composting toilet company. Thanks for subscribing and enjoy your travels.
What a BEAUTIFUL rig! Well designed and quality built. How much to build one for me? haha
I want to reach this level, have been empty nesters since 2022 and once our kids get more settled into adulthood I plan on building a van. I really appreciate these types of videos!!
Retirement starts in three weeks.
Thank you, I thought it was just me getting old with those headlights. Half the time I barely believe they are even on!! Love the silver van. Love the layout. Very nice.
Very nice! Enjoyed the tour and you both are awesome! Safe travels!
Great build, Many Blessings.
Very nice set up!
Wow! This is a good build. So efficient
Great build 😊
Beautiful 😊
Very nices
Nice Van!! Saw you guys on Steve and Audra's Vanfest video. Look forward to watching your videos.
Hopefully you get a chance to meet them. Just really good people.
It is a good build. I am looking forward to your Alaska trip.
Very cool!
I love your guys you tube name its awesome.
Nice Job Joe! Drop in on us @ Bainbridge Island on your way to AK
Love it ! 👍.....my only disappointment was that you didn't do the tour in the formal wear 🤗🍻
I was really hoping you would show the inside of, and talk about the refrigerator more.
It has been nothing but a problem with significant frost build-up which them impacts the temperature control. We may do a short video describing the problem. Our version did not come with a circulation fan so we added one which has helped but hasn't solved the problem. Overall, we like the size of the refrigerator.
@@grayandgrumpy I am so sorry to hear that you've had problems with it. I'm Grumpy, too 😁. Sorry if I sounded rude. I've been up all night with my stomach screaming at me for trying to eat healthy. 😂
@@Kimberley_Black_White_TV Didn't sound rude at all 😊. We are just happy that people watched and are subscribing.
❤❤❤
My question is about keeping cool. I would need an aux air conditioner living in Florida. Have you boondocked with your van, and if yes, how many days does your power last? That looked like a lot of solar. We love to cook, so your set-up is perfect.
We boondocked for about 4 weeks in Newfoundland and Nova Scotia last summer. We drove several hours everyday which charged the batteries. The most we ever used on a night was about 20% of the 600 ah battery bank. That included heating the 4 gal hot water tank, lights, TV, hair dryer. It's 800 watts of solar.
Nice van i like all the little cubby spots. how much solar where u able to fit on your roof? Thanks for sharing with everyone have a great summer.
800 watts. It was a tight squeeze and Unaka Gear Co did the CAD to make sure it all fit
@@grayandgrumpy that a fair amount of watts for that space. our van doesnt have that much roof area but would be nice to add fixed solar. thanks for the reply and enjoy your sunday :)
We don’t care what you have The drawers. God !
Great job! Does the van have a name yet?
Very nice setup. Love the white design stickers inside. Curious about your e-bikes and how you like them? Cost and brand? Very nice setup! Your explanation for each feature was precise and to the point without rambling. Just enough space for exact what you need…nothing more! Enjoy Alaska!
The bikes are Lectric XP 2.0. We still don't have 40 miles on them so can't really give an honest review. We paid about $1000 each.
@@grayandgrumpy thank you
Really nice van tour. Just about covered everything ✅️, And all without making it a music video too👏, Viewers should be kept interested. Not entertained. Nowadays, not enough of one, and too much of the other.
👍👍👍 👍👍👍👍
Very nicely done! How are you able to get your bikes to sit so closely together when stored in the van?
It's sorta hard to explain. The first bike goes wheels first and sits at a slight angle. The second bike goes hinge first and dovetails with the hinge on the first bike.
Beautiful. Why wouldn’t u connect your sink to your shower water?
I kept the sink and shower gray water separate to minimize plumbing under the van. I also like that the 10 gal tank for the shower fits nicely under the van and doesn't really impact ground clearance. Second, it's nice to be able to empty the 4 gal sink gray water tank at any rest area.
It Took 👉 0:30 for me to be the 140th subscriber 🎉🎉🎉
Nicely done. What is the pvc pipe in the garage area?
Holds the bike seats, the center rafter and crank for the awning.
Love your setup. What does your van weigh? I have a 2022 promaster and am always worried about being overweight.
We are on the heavy side and need to be aware of what we put in the van. We have a video addressing our van weight. "Fully loaded" minus clothes and food we are at ~ 8900 pounds.
We have a DIY 2017.. our layout is perfect for us and yet very different. We currently have an outdoor shower with a Coleman propane Hot-Water-On-Demand which is fully self-contained
Toilet question?
Can you elaborate on the type you use? We used a composting marine toilet called a Natures Head, although expensive it is completely odour-free and super easy to maintain.
Shower Question?
I saw the grey water for the kitchen sink.. do you have grey water storage for the shower??
Heating?
I Heard a reference to a heated floor? is this an Aqua-Heat? Propane or Electric or either? We use a gasoline Webasto, the draw back is the cold floor on bare feet.
Solar Question?
how much solar panel capacity? How much Battery & type? We have 200AH Lithium and need to put in another 200AH to run the fridge, lights and furnace after the sun goes down.
PS: We did a 3 month trip across the country to Newfoundland: even 30 days on the rock was not enough!!
The best thing about van conversions is there isn't one right answer. Whatever works for you is best.
Toilet is built around a urine diverter from the Throne Composting Toilet company.
Shower has a 10 gal gray water tank under the van.
We have a propex propane heater but we also installed 110V underfloor heating. Unfortunately the 110 heated floor draws too much energy and it will only be usable when connected to shore power.
800 watts of solar with 600 ah battery bank.
It's a shame more van lifers don't put Newfoundland on their bucket list. We really enjoyed our time there.
I love your van, it is literally a house on wheels. How much was the total cost
We have a video on the cost which was about $28K for the build. th-cam.com/video/YH5htWDJFC4/w-d-xo.html
Love it. Did anyone catch the length? I missed it.
Length of what?
@@grayandgrumpy the Ram Promaster 😊
@@annfashaw9270 it's 3500 EXT. 🤣
So the 159 wb. Ty nice job. I’ll have one someday 😊
Is it hard to pick up your folded bikes to take in and out of the garage?
It's not easy and I'm always waiting to hurt my back. Originally I has a pull out tray but I had to remove it because of weight issues with the van.
I'm trying to figure out an easier way to get mine in the garage area too. Someone suggested trying to use the lid of a plastic storage bin to help slide it in the back of the van.
@@southerngirlyall6497 I have seen that but we couldn't use that method because the bike sits higher and wouldn't fit under out bed.
Do you have side and back up cameras
The van came with a backup camera and blindspot detection. We added a rearview camera.
Do you have solar panels?
We have 800 watts of solar. There is a good view of the setup at the end of the video in the Drone video section.
Which one is gray and which one is grumpy?
That mystery will be solved by watching our videos. It will become clear.
@@grayandgrumpy😅😅😅😅😅
Too serious inside
Camera too far away. A lots of things you couldn't see very well.
Thanks for watching and commenting. We are learning.