great stuff...just kitting my 2005 rav4 out..back seats just pull straight out---.tinted windows very dark----foam bed on one side (fits perfect inside a single sleeping bag)--got curtains behind front seats...got all the camping gear as well..Fed up with paying loadsa money in hotel rooms (ripped off when single here in U.K)..Rain is no problem I can just kip in the car if its pi****g down...Thinking about some window insulation gets cold over here some nights...I'm 70 in 6 weeks time so I've built a one off bike rack and bought a £2.600 (3000 dollars) electric trail bike for my birthday...…..Somebody stop me!!!!!..(keep the vids [and the tunes]comin)
Just bought a 2018 Rav4 XLE, and I cannot wait to go camping in it! Drove Chevy Cruze the last 6 years. The Rav4 feels so refreshing! This video just excited me more.
Love your setup. HYBRID RAV4 is one of my top contenders for my future travel vehicle when I retire in 2 years 😃. I'm also intrigued by everything you've got going on...the cycling, the music and your creativity, and your intended travel plans. Question for you: are you concerned about how your instruments might hold up in extreme hot or cold?...later that same day...I realized your post was from years ago...and there are no more videos about this trip 😢.
I just did this trip for about 2-3 months back in 2019, now I'm married, 3 kids and I have a job... jk hahaha but I don't really make videos, just wanted to show my friends and family what I was up to. As for the instruments... I didn't take change in climate into consideration... but hey! It was fun
Planned to convert my 2015 RAV, stumbled upon your video, sitting in my trunk on my lunch break in Chapel Hill, NC. thank you for this video, perfect timing and place!!
We made reflectix window covers for all the windows and I'd say it's 10 to 15% warmer and even keeps it cooler in the summer. I feel far more comfortable in terms of privacy!
John, I have a 2000 Rav4 that I plan on using as a weekend warrior camping vehicle. Its also my daily driver. I'm painting it with Raptor Lining and going for it! Great video and good luck out there! Have fun!
Great tour, man and setup. Looking to get a Highlander for the extra space but this could possibly work. Just worried about the legroom in one of these, though.
I do not, I just made it off of the dimensions I got. Just draw what you want out on paper, measure and cut. I could make a quick video showing how I made those dimensions if you want!
@@johnpantalone6379 - yes a video or close up photos would be great - I have a 2011 RAV4 and was planning on getting a mini camper for solo traveling and never considered using what I already have!! I am a older Lady and not so handy with crafty stuff but maybe I can attempt it with a little help from my son!
Maybe just measure the back of the Rav4 and get a shelf unit from Ikea that fits. I'm looking at Rav4s and Subaru Outback. Nice job on the build and video.
BRO this is amazing! I have a rav 4 and ive been wanting to get a van instead, but I didnt know this was possible. where are you located? I need help haha
I did this with my 1998 rav4 but I just folded the back seats I’m afraid to move them where would I store them. But I gotta squeeze in to get inside because there’s no way to shut the back door from the inside which is ridiculous. Any ideas how to shut the truck from the inside. Please advise needed here in New York ty
I’ve thought about this and you could always anchor a handle or a rope to the trunk so you get enough momentum to close it from the inside. I’m not sure how you’d go about I stalling it but I believe anything is possible
My partner and I use my Leatherman to unlatch the door from inside. We removed the small plastic panel on the gate to expose the latch hardware. It is not convenient by any measure. I don't know what they were thinking not putting in an inside lever handle for the rear hatch. I have a 2014.
Not a conversion question, more of the lifestyle question. I really want to do this in my CR-V. How do you work on the road or do you? How much should I have saved up roughly? how do you get wifi and how stable is connection when you're in the woods? Safe travels during the Rona!
I didn’t work on the road when I was on my trip but it’s totally possible. I would research more on remote work if you’re looking to do this full-time. I saved up about 8k and it lasted me 2 months and I had some left over. Calculate how much you need to spend each month to live, make a budget, stick to it, and save that much. I never had wifi, if I wanted it I would just go to a McDonald’s or a Starbucks but not recommended. Maybe a library would be better. When I was in the woods i never had cell connection, just enjoy your time outside and stop worrying about what’s on Instagram. This was a long response but I hope it helped!
@@johnpantalone6379 I appreciate the long response! Thanks for the numbers and time line and for answering my question. I now have a much clearer vision on how to do this. Thanks a bunch! Safe travels 🙏🏽
@Michael Ellingsworth I still had bills to pay back home, IRA, car payments, life insurance in case I died somewhere on my trip lol and I didn’t spend it all, I wanted to make sure I had a couple thousand left over. I’d say I spend $2-3k each month, but it can absolutely be cheaper, everyone’s budget is different
Awesome! I'm just getting started on doing a build out in my Rav4 - 2016. Could you tell me - what is the height of your platform? (that your bed is on) and did you take the back seats out? Thank you!
I tied them to the 'OH SH*T' handles, but I recently upgraded to proper curtains, check it out on Amazon: www.amazon.com/Set-Car-Privacy-Curtains-Sunshade/dp/B0B9RDL77S/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=GP3ITP6ZDDYV&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.vFTSFbvlEsv4cHT9kbxf5NohXoo3h5LI7b4W5snIFIsBY0Xu6PEFuwZE6L-8ynGobIO283w9-Tk3Su0Fl_WNdlkTNv-9qoG2Cuth8FwS8c6AmApWddbGuOlBkEruwo0ZyD0mm07gqnJ0nzDjcTqlad3ruX_vMWPztSFrsZyE_nO9ZO1kCYBfc1KpmKjZqmM01YSolp-kt6m35iCtBf0ovMOOb88JabHyHHFykbvdqCAnrnrqTyfXNFJfg-xzAt8gCBV13izrTvrRwbe6xUY7dyVRSSzTziQxM6I7F-McMFY.drYcLVw2Y9l_jJyiUfg7GBh9w_0uWAvvmHvuhi_J-Zk&dib_tag=se&keywords=car+privacy+curtains&qid=1714586060&sprefix=car+privacy+curt%2Caps%2C79&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1
Hey about to start on a similar project. Did you remove your backseats for this? Also, what is your mattress? Is it just egg crate foam roll? Great video. Subscribed!
71.5” (5’-9”) is perfectly attainable with the back row seats folded down/removed. I believe it’s 6’-0” long so you should be good. No update sadly, that was mainly for me and this video was partly to share with people how I did it and show my family what I was up to
Super sick. How do you feel about leaving your bike on the rack while going into places for extended amounts of time? I’ve been trying to figure out a way to stuff my bike in the car with me but obviously keeping it outside would save so much space.
Good question, I didn't end up bringing that bike with me across country, it was just too much for me to take care of and I was constantly paranoid it would fall off, I left it with a friend in NC. Be careful where you park, it may get stolen!
Bro John, 😔 🙄 I really like your built. I wan to copy it to my 2015 RAV4. Can you please make it? Or can you please show how did you build bed and the cabinet. Specially the foundation please.
T W haha of course man I’m just playing, I can message you the plans I drew out for this build. I drew it all out by hand but it has all the info you need
Looks dope!!! How tall are you/how much lying down space do you have? I’m a pretty tall dude and I’m wondering if I could manage to fit in one of these.
Nelson Raley In this situation I’m thankful to be a short guy (5’-7”) and I fit just fine, you can always move up the driver side seat to make some extra room but measure it out and see what you got in your set up
From the back of the front seats to the trunk I believe is around 6’-0”, so if you’re shorter than that you can sleep straight, if not you’ll have to either bend your knees a bit or sleep at a bit of an angle. In this case I thank God I’m not 6’-0”, everything is built for my size and my lower back doesn’t hurt 😂
Get used to sleeping with you legs bent. I'm 5'-7" and in this case i'm happy to be so short because any taller and you're going to have to sleep with you legs tucked into your stomach lol Tall guys can't get all the advantages!
On the new 2020 Rav 4 Hybrid... Has anybody run the AC overnight while parked in the summer ? Wondering how often the engine turns on and how loud and disruptive it is?
I never tried to sleep with the AC on all night, sounds like it would kill your battery and then starting your car would be impossible. I never tried it, just tried to find high elevation so that at night, ti would be cooler. Especially in the Eastern part of the U.S. it gets humid in the summer, camping in the mountains is always the way to go.
if it works like the Prius, the Rav 4 would run the engine for a few minutes every couple hours to cool the refrigerant. Been told it only consumes less than a gallon of gas and not much battery.
Did you end up running your AC on your Hybrid all night? We have a 2017 Hybrid we just converted into a camper and are planning on heading to Zion's National Park where it gets super cold in the day time, and was thinking about leaving the car on at night set go a specific temp and figured the engine would turn on and off as needed
You’re not allowed to cover up your plates here either but I have a license plate in the front too. Also different states have different laws. Some you need plates on just the back, some of both ends.
Such a cool set up! Love the storage self. Just so creative and well thought out.
great stuff...just kitting my 2005 rav4 out..back seats just pull straight out---.tinted windows very dark----foam bed on one side (fits perfect inside a single sleeping bag)--got curtains behind front seats...got all the camping gear as well..Fed up with paying loadsa money in hotel rooms (ripped off when single here in U.K)..Rain is no problem I can just kip in the car if its pi****g down...Thinking about some window insulation gets cold over here some nights...I'm 70 in 6 weeks time so I've built a one off bike rack and bought a £2.600 (3000 dollars) electric trail bike for my birthday...…..Somebody stop me!!!!!..(keep the vids [and the tunes]comin)
I saved up for a few year and purchased me a 2024 rav4 xle . Going to camp out in mine later this year
Just bought a 2018 Rav4 XLE, and I cannot wait to go camping in it! Drove Chevy Cruze the last 6 years. The Rav4 feels so refreshing! This video just excited me more.
Finally good to see a rav4 2014-2018. Great video will be living in my rav4 and going to uni this September doing all the conversion this summer.
Awesome! Have fun
Love your setup. HYBRID RAV4 is one of my top contenders for my future travel vehicle when I retire in 2 years 😃. I'm also intrigued by everything you've got going on...the cycling, the music and your creativity, and your intended travel plans. Question for you: are you concerned about how your instruments might hold up in extreme hot or cold?...later that same day...I realized your post was from years ago...and there are no more videos about this trip 😢.
I just did this trip for about 2-3 months back in 2019, now I'm married, 3 kids and I have a job... jk hahaha but I don't really make videos, just wanted to show my friends and family what I was up to. As for the instruments... I didn't take change in climate into consideration... but hey! It was fun
Planned to convert my 2015 RAV, stumbled upon your video, sitting in my trunk on my lunch break in Chapel Hill, NC. thank you for this video, perfect timing and place!!
I love Chapel Hill!! It's got a hip vibe to it
watching this in December 2020 an seeing him casually pass over the hand sanitizer...truly prepared for ANYTHING! Hope your trip went well
Even before Covid times I knew I was going to have to touch a lot of unpleasant things. And touched them I did
We made reflectix window covers for all the windows and I'd say it's 10 to 15% warmer and even keeps it cooler in the summer. I feel far more comfortable in terms of privacy!
2021 and watching this very cool my wife and I camped this weekend in our 2021 RAV4 was fun...thanks for the idea for my tablet
John, I have a 2000 Rav4 that I plan on using as a weekend warrior camping vehicle. Its also my daily driver. I'm painting it with Raptor Lining and going for it! Great video and good luck out there! Have fun!
Very cool have fun my friend!
Very good use of all the space in a rav4! Great video dude!
Thank you!
you should drive this right into vancouver BC. youd love it here
I love your rav4, I want to get the rav4 adventure and hopefully one day I’ll get it
You have done amazing !
Cool setup. I just bought a RAV4 today. Plan on doing the same thing. Thinking about building a little rack for a micro recording setup as well.
Look at that long hair! Can't believe this was a year and a half ago. More adventures to come
That’s right! More to come!
Great Job! Best of luck to you!
Great tour, man and setup. Looking to get a Highlander for the extra space but this could possibly work. Just worried about the legroom in one of these, though.
Great set up. 😊
I have the Rav4and also play guitar and am digging the set up-I’m going to be doing a similar “car-V” life
I subscribed 🔥🎥
Nice 👍
"rough terrain." - shows smooth forest service rd. :)
Very nice.
Come to oregon and write a song about it. That would be cool.
I'm no longer on my cross country roadtrip, i've been to Oregon, beautiful state!
@@johnpantalone6379 your welcome anytime if you decide to travel.
Do you have any build instructions for the shelf you built? I love it!
I do not, I just made it off of the dimensions I got. Just draw what you want out on paper, measure and cut. I could make a quick video showing how I made those dimensions if you want!
@@johnpantalone6379 - yes a video or close up photos would be great - I have a 2011 RAV4 and was planning on getting a mini camper for solo traveling and never considered using what I already have!! I am a older Lady and not so handy with crafty stuff but maybe I can attempt it with a little help from my son!
Maybe just measure the back of the Rav4 and get a shelf unit from Ikea that fits. I'm looking at Rav4s and Subaru Outback. Nice job on the build and video.
Nice! 💜
BRO this is amazing! I have a rav 4 and ive been wanting to get a van instead, but I didnt know this was possible. where are you located? I need help haha
Anything is possible with enough imagination.. and money, money helps haha I'm in the old dominion aka VA
Also, could you pleaseeeee tell me where you got the magnet thing for your iPad? I had the same idea and you beat me to it. Thank you!
I ordered the mount from Amazon, it's called WixGear Magnetic Phone Car Mount
How tall are you? My Rav 4 has only 150 cm behind the front seat. Not long enough to sleep??
I am roughly 170 cm tall and I have plenty of room in the back. you should be able to achieve around 182 cm if you scoot up your seat a bit.
I did this with my 1998 rav4 but I just folded the back seats I’m afraid to move them where would I store them. But I gotta squeeze in to get inside because there’s no way to shut the back door from the inside which is ridiculous. Any ideas how to shut the truck from the inside. Please advise needed here in New York ty
I’ve thought about this and you could always anchor a handle or a rope to the trunk so you get enough momentum to close it from the inside. I’m not sure how you’d go about I stalling it but I believe anything is possible
@@johnpantalone6379 it’s ridiculous the way they made trunk there’s no handle in the inside to open it . Idk wtf to do !
@@wolfgangproductions7402 Oooo that is a problem! I usually always just use the side doors
@@johnpantalone6379 yes that’s the only way to do it but they designed the truck door ridiculous
My partner and I use my Leatherman to unlatch the door from inside. We removed the small plastic panel on the gate to expose the latch hardware. It is not convenient by any measure. I don't know what they were thinking not putting in an inside lever handle for the rear hatch. I have a 2014.
Not a conversion question, more of the lifestyle question. I really want to do this in my CR-V. How do you work on the road or do you? How much should I have saved up roughly? how do you get wifi and how stable is connection when you're in the woods? Safe travels during the Rona!
I didn’t work on the road when I was on my trip but it’s totally possible. I would research more on remote work if you’re looking to do this full-time. I saved up about 8k and it lasted me 2 months and I had some left over. Calculate how much you need to spend each month to live, make a budget, stick to it, and save that much. I never had wifi, if I wanted it I would just go to a McDonald’s or a Starbucks but not recommended. Maybe a library would be better. When I was in the woods i never had cell connection, just enjoy your time outside and stop worrying about what’s on Instagram. This was a long response but I hope it helped!
@@johnpantalone6379 I appreciate the long response! Thanks for the numbers and time line and for answering my question. I now have a much clearer vision on how to do this. Thanks a bunch! Safe travels 🙏🏽
@Michael Ellingsworth I still had bills to pay back home, IRA, car payments, life insurance in case I died somewhere on my trip lol and I didn’t spend it all, I wanted to make sure I had a couple thousand left over. I’d say I spend $2-3k each month, but it can absolutely be cheaper, everyone’s budget is different
Check out Serene and Simple Life or Lex and Riot on your. They have this work on the road down pat.
Awesome! I'm just getting started on doing a build out in my Rav4 - 2016. Could you tell me - what is the height of your platform? (that your bed is on) and did you take the back seats out? Thank you!
HOW DID YOU HANG THE CURTAINS????
I tied them to the 'OH SH*T' handles, but I recently upgraded to proper curtains, check it out on Amazon: www.amazon.com/Set-Car-Privacy-Curtains-Sunshade/dp/B0B9RDL77S/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=GP3ITP6ZDDYV&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.vFTSFbvlEsv4cHT9kbxf5NohXoo3h5LI7b4W5snIFIsBY0Xu6PEFuwZE6L-8ynGobIO283w9-Tk3Su0Fl_WNdlkTNv-9qoG2Cuth8FwS8c6AmApWddbGuOlBkEruwo0ZyD0mm07gqnJ0nzDjcTqlad3ruX_vMWPztSFrsZyE_nO9ZO1kCYBfc1KpmKjZqmM01YSolp-kt6m35iCtBf0ovMOOb88JabHyHHFykbvdqCAnrnrqTyfXNFJfg-xzAt8gCBV13izrTvrRwbe6xUY7dyVRSSzTziQxM6I7F-McMFY.drYcLVw2Y9l_jJyiUfg7GBh9w_0uWAvvmHvuhi_J-Zk&dib_tag=se&keywords=car+privacy+curtains&qid=1714586060&sprefix=car+privacy+curt%2Caps%2C79&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1
This your only video for rav4 van life? I was expecting more hope you will post more.
Gaffz I only lived out of my RAV4 for 2 months and that was a year, I won’t be posting anymore van life stuff. I’m on to the next dream!
Did u take the seats out or are they just folded flat?
I took them out
Hey about to start on a similar project. Did you remove your backseats for this? Also, what is your mattress? Is it just egg crate foam roll? Great video. Subscribed!
Yes I did remove my back seats, and just mattress toppers for the bed, works great and it’s cheap!
No update how was the trip? Anyway, can you tell how long is the cargo space you can get in this model? I need 71,5" :)
71.5” (5’-9”) is perfectly attainable with the back row seats folded down/removed. I believe it’s 6’-0” long so you should be good. No update sadly, that was mainly for me and this video was partly to share with people how I did it and show my family what I was up to
Be careful with the rest stops. I pulled into a rest stop and some strange guy was following me around. I had to call the police. Kinda creepy :)
I hear ya. Keep a can of bear spray at all times.
Nice setup! Did you take out the middle seats to put the platform in or did you just fold the seats down?
I want to do this with my ‘09 RAV4.
I took them out
John Pantalone awesome. And how do you power your fans? Do you have an accessory battery?
@@logifinirator They all have a rechargeable battery so as i'm driving i just charge them through a usb in the dash, works perfectly!
How tall are you , the bed looks a bit short.
I'm a short king, 5'-7" , 170 cm, works great for me
Super sick. How do you feel about leaving your bike on the rack while going into places for extended amounts of time? I’ve been trying to figure out a way to stuff my bike in the car with me but obviously keeping it outside would save so much space.
Good question, I didn't end up bringing that bike with me across country, it was just too much for me to take care of and I was constantly paranoid it would fall off, I left it with a friend in NC. Be careful where you park, it may get stolen!
Are the back seats just down or removed???
Removed
Bro, where’s the van built part?
T W Bro, I didn’t make one
Bro John, 😔 🙄 I really like your built. I wan to copy it to my 2015 RAV4. Can you please make it? Or can you please show how did you build bed and the cabinet. Specially the foundation please.
T W haha of course man I’m just playing, I can message you the plans I drew out for this build. I drew it all out by hand but it has all the info you need
How are you going to message me? 😀
This is my email. tworser@gmail.com
What’s the dimensions of your mattress?
What size of mattress did you use in your car camper?
Full size
Nice setup! I got a 2016 Toyota Higlander and looking to convert into a weekend camper. Did you have a hard time removing the seats? And do you IG?
Seats were easy to remove, no problem!
How difficult to remove seats ?
motokev not too bad, I just looked up a video on how to do it and all you need is a pocket wrench and some elbow grease
Looks dope!!! How tall are you/how much lying down space do you have? I’m a pretty tall dude and I’m wondering if I could manage to fit in one of these.
Nelson Raley In this situation I’m thankful to be a short guy (5’-7”) and I fit just fine, you can always move up the driver side seat to make some extra room but measure it out and see what you got in your set up
Where do you position your camera? On a camera stand?
Tripod
How long is the sleeping area?
From the back of the front seats to the trunk I believe is around 6’-0”, so if you’re shorter than that you can sleep straight, if not you’ll have to either bend your knees a bit or sleep at a bit of an angle. In this case I thank God I’m not 6’-0”, everything is built for my size and my lower back doesn’t hurt 😂
Why don’t you built that cabinet on the other side too? You’ll have more space
T W if I did that, I’d have less free space. I didn’t have that many things so I didn’t need a second cabinet
How did you mount the Ipad in the corner?
Look up Wizgear on Amazon, it's a phone mount that i used to mount the ipad
more vids :) plz
P Win you know what, just for you I will
@@johnpantalone6379 I dig the vibes mannn :)
How tall are you? Is it okay for 6'1?
Get used to sleeping with you legs bent. I'm 5'-7" and in this case i'm happy to be so short because any taller and you're going to have to sleep with you legs tucked into your stomach lol Tall guys can't get all the advantages!
Or sleep diagonally
Are you from Virginia?
Yes
On the new 2020 Rav 4 Hybrid... Has anybody run the AC overnight while parked in the summer ? Wondering how often the engine turns on and how loud and disruptive it is?
I never tried to sleep with the AC on all night, sounds like it would kill your battery and then starting your car would be impossible. I never tried it, just tried to find high elevation so that at night, ti would be cooler. Especially in the Eastern part of the U.S. it gets humid in the summer, camping in the mountains is always the way to go.
if it works like the Prius, the Rav 4 would run the engine for a few minutes every couple hours to cool the refrigerant. Been told it only consumes less than a gallon of gas and not much battery.
@@12vLife I wish I knew about that when I was on my trip! That's awesome!
Did you end up running your AC on your Hybrid all night? We have a 2017 Hybrid we just converted into a camper and are planning on heading to Zion's National Park where it gets super cold in the day time, and was thinking about leaving the car on at night set go a specific temp and figured the engine would turn on and off as needed
it would be great if the camera was further away. You can't see much :(
Sorry about that!
Nice!, How much did you get the car for and how many miles has it done?
got it for about 15k, it was in brand new condition, and i have put almost 8k miles on it since i've been on this cross country road trip, so far.
Bang Kiley what u waiting for
In Portugal you were not aloud to cover the license plate.
You’re not allowed to cover up your plates here either but I have a license plate in the front too. Also different states have different laws. Some you need plates on just the back, some of both ends.
Dizzy last few minutes
bla bla bla, waste o time
Wasn’t for me, I got to see the country without paying for a hotel