This is absolute gold and seriously should be the top search result for "vanlife regrets". Thank you for taking the painstaking amount of time needed to compile and index all this stuff. Priceless information. 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
I think if you're going for a larger sink, it may be worth finding a cutting board that goes on top of the sink so you can still use that space even when you're not using the sink.
Brilliant video that should be required viewing before any van build. Thank you for the hours you spent on this! The editing was superb too with just the right amount of humor.
Not sure if anyone has mentioned this already but in my research I think newer vehicles have something called a variable voltage alternator on their start battery. Any vehicle that has this is not compatible with a battery isolator which is where a DC-DC charger comes in. Also this video is incredibly useful as I start my van conversion and iron out all of the details.
The DC to DC charge controller limits the amount of amperage your battery charges at. Which is good for people who have a stock alternator that may struggle with a beefy electrical load. Limiting this will help the engine idle rpm resulting in less engine wear. 💪
I actually ended up purchasing a DC to DC charger as I upgraded to lithium this year. The lithium batteries won't self limit the incoming power like the lead-acid batteries. So it would effectively be short circuiting the alternator. Seems the consensus is to limit the charging amperage to around 1/3 of the alternators rated output to keep the alternator from heating up excessively. Just a bummer the DC to DC chargers are still so expensive! Thanks for the comment :)
Using DC to DC with lithium as my sprinter has the smart alternator which steps down the output when the starter battery is happy; the DC to DC maintains a higher draw for as long as needed to charge the house battery. The Renogy I use has an MPPT built in, so if there is enough solar it will split the draw between that and the alternator, and will also use solar to charge the starter battery if it has been parked up a while
I wasn't sure whether to say anything, but I immediately thought "This is the perfect van life video for someone with autism," especially because all of the "I can't relate-s" follow the pattern of "I don't have a problem with that; I have a system!"
I have to disagree about indoor showers. If it's taking up too much space, then the design is wrong. Our shower is in our hallway (including shower pan recessed in the floor) with a curtain that pulls around (no, it doesn't stick to you) and we use it all the time! Easy, convenient, and roomy. I would hate not having it.
Lithium will pull full amps (200 to 600) if connected to the alternator with a combiner. Your alternator is not rated for that kind of duty cycle and will fry it. Which is why a DC-DC charger is necessary to limit the current draw.
That makes total sense then. Still have a bit to learn about lithium. Probably another year or two left on the AGM bank for now. Appreciate the insight 🙏
@@VanwithTim the reason I went with a renegy DC to DC charge controller, is that not only do they regulate the input to the lithium battery, but in certain models they not only combine the DC to DC charger but also the mppt solar can charger all in one box. I thought they were really cost-effective and also took up a minimal amount of space in my tiny build.
And when Tim upgrades to LiFePo4 batteries he'll need to swap the battery combiner for a DC-DC charger, as I understand it, to get lithium-friendly voltages.
older vehicle alternators run around 14.0v max, so with agm house batteries you hardly ever make it to 100% state of charge, which will hurt your capacity and ultimately make your batteries fail somewhat early. it can work well enough in most applications. power system design has some gray areas. oh, and some new vehicles have variable output alternators to save energy, so may be far from 14.4v (+/-). also, your alternator will never drop back to a float voltage when the house batteries do reach full charge. the dc-dc charger is often programmable for many chemistries, so it's easy to change out battery types if your needs change. for a low initial cost SLA system the combiner is fine 👌
Honestly, I've been researching my van for 5 years now (waiting to graduate) and this video gave me almost everything I've learned so far. Thank you so much!!!!
I regret not doing it during college (I'm in my last semester and haven't started yet). I didn't like renting near campus, and right now I absolutely don't like commuting. I've seen at least one person on campus living in a van and didn't even try being stealthy about it.
I think a lot of people would just watch a few hours of videos and claim they'd watched 100's. Then they'd attempt to make generalized statements about what others had said. I appreciate your integrity; this is so useful to me to have all this info in one place and from a trustworthy source. Thanks!!
Wow, 2 years later and this vid is as valuable now as when it was posted. Gave me safety tips I hadn't thought of and helped sort out some of my own priorities.
Wow, you put in the work for this video! I will say we avoided a lot of those van build regrets by owning a RV and using it extensively before we did the build. I simply can't imagine going from zero RV experience to a successful build out.
My sloppy notes on this video; I included the vast majority of things raised. Thank for this absolute gold Tim! Easy outlet access, Keep electrical cabinet cool, Don't get inverter bigger than you need, Always go 12v, never 24v, Many want a battery isolator (of good quality) (battery combiner), don't go with dc/dc charge controller, Don't get a battery that's too small, get lithium, Induction cook hob good if have big enough electrical system.. Shore power a regret, never used, - but you need enough solar or other Plan electrical first, not at end Not enough solar - 200w too small, He was adamant that you don't buy solar panels online or ones specially built for vans, ripoff, regular are fine, do not go with flexible solar panels, Make sure you have enough light in the kitchen! Put a light switch by the entrance and by the bed, Definitely have running water, hot water heater advisable (bosch), Make sure plumbing connections accessible - will come loose with van moving about. Use good quality thread seal tape for plumbing, Make sure water tank big enough - at least 170 ltrs Consider an undermount grey water tank, Some people regret shower because of space (but I want private area, esp in no toilet room, ..) - investigate Ovens take up too much space, Make sure dual burner can fit two pans, Make sure to seal your kitchen countertop (to stop water getting in), Make sure counter top not too low, and made with hard wood, Many people regret a small sink, (14" x18" he recommends as perfect size), dont get round sink, Don't have sink right next to bed - splashes, Make sure have a decent sized fridge (doesn't apply so much for me) (he recommends $110 - Whirlpool cu WH32S1E american) ("Don't be fooled by "vanlife" fridges) People who got fans wish they got the Maxx Air fan, - usb fans could be a decent alternative (he has them) Get a diesel heater (2KW) and duct properly, Do insulation first, no fibreglass, consider insulating cockpit area, Mount shit down in case of accident, Bright colour on wall (as dark makes it look small) but not white as difficult to keep clean, Cedar tongue and groove wood cracks too easily, Vinyl flooring not durable enough one person says, Make sure to not raise the floor too much with insulation, but insulate well, He recommend spending a little extra money on materials to get more quality, Do not cut holes before knowing layout.... duh?! Don't make entry way too narrow, make sure inside isle not too narrow, Want a dedicated work area, Weight distribution - batteries & water & fuel tank heavy, Have enough counterspace, For cabinets - 3/4 inch wood overkill, too heavy, half inch ok. Cabinet planning.. Go with drawers not cupboards, and put on drawer slides, add toe kick. Leave space between bottom of press doors and ground. Have latches on cabinets/doors, Don't hang up clothes, fold them instead, shoe storage, 6 inch mattress good. Use memory foam, make sure bed big enough (possibly lengthwise) Make sure you can sit up in the bed. (don't put it too high). Signal booster, waste of time Make sure roof high enough,
My promaster has OEM swivel seats, and the salesman claimed it's lower than after market swivel seats. I am 5'10" with no problem, but it's close, at least, with the overhead OEM storage that I love. Awesome video!!
I insisted on the high roof, even though the medium was SO close. I measured a parking garage that claimed 8'3" clearance. They were correct... until you get to a speed bump... and there's no way out... but forward, through the garage. 😅 Now, I get nervous at not very close calls, approaching overhead. Hahaha😂 I still like the high roof. No ragrets""
Great video! Thanks for sharing. 9+ hours well spent. On our third van build, no regrets. But then at 70+ if we had a regret it's that we didn't start 50 years ago. Have a good one.
I already watched this entire video, and now I'll share it in some groups. I love the switch for the van blower fan, best, as I recall. There's even a wiring diagram. I love the cheap HVAC I love that I thought of (or found) almost everything here. So, it was very reaffirming. We've got chapters, to make it easy. =) Terrific video
Three months in a factory RV showed me what I didn’t need. Massive downsize has been great. All cooking under the rear door tent at the back of the the van for heat. Solar panel is on a cord separate from van because we usually park under trees. Solar on the roof is for desert life. My main struggle with the smaller van is moisture condensation from breathing at night: especially during rainy weather spells. Three wet days in a row and solar power is dead and things are getting too damp. Diesel heating is great because all exhaust and air intakes are external but still battery dependant and don't have the psycological appeal of a fire. My ideal would be a rocket stove style incinerator drawing air from under the van that had radiated heat in the van. Like a kelly kettle with a chimney and air intake ducting. Looking at how the tent stoves do their chimneys and adapting that to the rear under door tent.
That was very helpful because I am planning a van or box truck build. Now if I can find a video like this about all they put in their van they really like and work well. Another one is how to calculate how much energy you will need.
I'm glad the video helped! For electricity needs it depends heavily on what electronics you plan to run. The highest draws are electric hot water, electric cooktops, or air conditioning. Electric heat should be fully avoided. Some van builds run a single 300 watt solar panel and a 100 amp hour battery without issue. Others run 1,000w solar and monster 500 amp hour battery banks.
An isolator is so that you don't drain your starting battery when using house batteries. I accidentally killed my RAM 1500 battery by not unplugging our travel travel once. Live and learn : )
Don't use IKEA furniture when building ever IKEA. Furniture is cheaply made. That's why it's cheap. That's why it's popular with a lot of people. It's cheap material. Cheap board is no good. Plywood is the best. It's like a heavier but it's stronger. Plywood is the way to go.
This video needs to go to the top of anyone’s list that is building a cargo trailer or a van for off grid purposes. Awesome freaking work buddy. By the way I have a two burner Duxtop top that I love. I spoke too soon, this is an amazing video.!!! What the hell, did you do? This is like the ultimate list??? Thank you so very very much!! This is fucking brilliant. Review of video, priceless. You did a fantastic freaking job. You have both, validated, and, debunked a lot of different things that I have come across. Excellent research. I highly recommend this video.
Great video with a unique look over the issue with good crowdsourced info! Glad to keep seeing high-quality work from you. Its a testament to the work you put into your own van! Keep it up and good luck!
This is such great information. I wish it was around 5 years ago when I built mine. My biggest regret is buying stuff then not using it for one reason or another. I have a huge pile in the garage. Mostly stuff im afraid to install by myself like stepsides.
If you use a "battery combiner" instead of DC-DC charger: - With AGM, not so much of a problem except that the more discharged the HOUSE battery is, the more voltage drop along the length of the cables used to charge the house batteries from a vehicle alternator, and it will take longer to recharge. Effectively the wires act to limit the charge rate and sometimes may take 10's of hours of driving to recharge. Not so much of an issue if the HOUSE battery is fairly close to the alternator and supplied by very thick wires, but a big problem with batteries in caravans (travel trailers) where the battery is a very long distance from the engine alternator of the tow vehicle. Also not such a problem if solar is charging the HOUSE battery too and this is why you haven't had issues. If you didn't have solar supplementing the charge your HOUSE battery would probably be in a discharged state most of the time and die an early death. - A DC-DC charger only draws a limited amount of current, thus reducing voltage drop on the charge wiring, yet it uses electronic magic to boost the voltage at the HOUSE battery end, allowing it to charge correctly. - A lithium battery has completely different voltage characteristics and should only EVER be charged from an alternator via a DC-DC convertor. Your alternator regulator is designed to charge Lead Acid batteries and will probably be damaged if connected to a Lithium battery. Great video, and thanks for sharing.
This is why you don't follow name brands. My friend think for yourself. Do it your way. There's plenty of cheaper brands just as good. If you're gonna follow name brands you're paying for the name. I refuse to pay for someone's f****** name not doing that.
Propane is good. It's only a pain if you're a nomadic and you live at your Van full-time and you're in the desert and build a middle of nowhere and it's cold then it'sn't a waste of time, but if you're doing Van life and live in. The city or in a town, no big deal. So what propane still works? Good for me. I love propane rather than plugging plugging. No electric heater, burning my batteries down.
Look at it because you are a fool. You don't follow other people's methods. Follow your own ideas. You can get ideas watching other people but learn for yourself. I learn from myself old when I built my Van. I didn't myself so I don't give no one credit to accept my myself.
Arthur, if you're going to park install fronts, you can use the bathroom multiple, if not get a simple bucket or go to Walmart and buy one of those nomadic toilets where you put your bag and you do your piece of s*** in there that's all and wrap up your c*** yo. Ur c*** up and then you throw it in the garbage simple. You don't need no fancy toilet. Lots of people live in there. Bands trying to meet their band like a house. You don't need to do all that b******* A simple nomadic toilet with a bag in it. When the bag is done, throw the bag away. Oh most times if you're in a store front, just use the toilet for free at all.
Very interesting! I personally loved my chest fridge, definitely getting it on the new build, but to each their own. The nice part is that the whole space is usable, you minimize sound coming out of it from things bouncing around (and you minimize things bouncing around). Definitely a personal preference though. I'd definitely recommend installing shore power though, it really isn't that much of a hassle and its a good backup even if I've only used it... three times?
Rather than boat dedign, look into submarine design, simple. Home solutions dont hold up to road vibrations and temp changes. Boats are heavy, look into commercial airline cooking solutions.
As an older single woman, I want a toilet inside my van. I don't want to go outside in the middle of the night. And sometimes as an older person, you wake up and just have to go, Now! I don't have time to go wandering around the forest to dig a hole.
Propane heater water heater is the best or baythe not just get a stolo shower in a Wolf summer time he took. Let the heat water heat up and that will heat up your water for you. Free of charge Austin, please or simply just get a bucket of water bucket of water and heat it up and get one of those shower long shower suction things and use 1 of those.
I want dc to dc charger bc I want lithium battery's, I only want about 50 amps coming from my altenator bc I want my altenator to last a long time. Pulling to much amps at idle gets your altenator to hot bc the cooling fan will not kick in until you meet a certain rpm.
I would have never in a million years thought about putting the bed on the passenger side for safety reasons. But wouldn't having your bed across the back be the same thing unless you slept with your head toward the passenger side of the van and your feet toward the driver's side?
The ISOTemp water heater thing..Motoraid was the old 70's name..yes they used that in the 70's! It's nothing new or fancy..my 83 Bluebird Wanderlodge (In my pic
Starting my build in 3 months, and I was fortunate to have stumbled on this video. Very vital information to consider during my planning phase. I'm definitely interested in seeing more if your content, and this van in action. Cheers!
regarding Reverse Osmosis - you can have the RO return go back to the fresh water tank. That water is still great for washing hands/dishses/fido while the RO clean water is AMAZING for drinking/cooking/toothbrushing/etc.
Just discovered your channel - great video! Really appreciate the time you took to put this one together. I already knew about many of these things, but some really make me think more about how to configure my van. I especially liked the idea of using a standard 115VAC fridge and small AC unit as you have and letting the inverter run all the time (and simply take the hit on parasitic draw). Not a bad tradeoff at all when you think about it. Thanks again for the comprehensive and very thought-provoking video. Definitely subbed now!
Glad it helped! Let me know if you have any issues with the link: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1QFRyFu3R8wd1yjYv2m32AVZF1ZF5YNyi/htmlview?mibextid=Zxz2cZ
Mine was welded by a fellow in Canada. He no longer produces them but I’ve heard fantastic things about the Express / Savana swivels from: ironcloudmetalworks.com/
Awesome video, including the chapters, for when I can hopefully find this video to revisit. I'm especially interested in your ac. I saw you have videos that I need to find. I'm of exactly the same mindset: max out solar on the roof real estate, cut no holes, stay under the radar, and under obstacles. I've got to see how you did the air conditioning and the grey water. Was your regret about the cabinet that water was next to electrical? If so, I've always wondered why buildings are the same way. So many great ideas. I also have homework with battery combiner and isolator. THANK YOU!
I can't use public restrooms, so a toilet and a shower are a must for me. I would get the dry flush toilet. It's worth the investment for me because of not being able to use public restrooms.
This is like an old video by this point but yeah, chapters are the best feature youtube has ever added to the platform, and I always appreciate people that actually utilize them a ton!
Love this video! It also made me feel confident about all my choices that people was complaining about with my ideas. They have all seen the youtubers :p But those people are no electricity experts and are not a technical engineer and programmer like myself, so my thoughts around electricity are probably much more sophisticated due to experience. Haven't done plummeting before tho, so that is a lot of research going in to.
Plumbing is pretty quick to pick up especially with an engineering mindset. It's the electrical that people tend to get hung up on. Each individual has different campervan needs, but I feel like water and electricity should be included in any camper build!
I gotta say, the beginning of your video threw me off but I'm glad I jumped into the comment section, like you suggested, which then had me continue watching and I went through until the end. Thank you for taking all this time to research those clickbait videos and leasting it so neatly. The video, apart from the beginning, was quick and efficient, not dragged out at all, I liked it. Cheers mate, all the best!
That was awesome! I've been in my current van for two years. I know when I redo it soon, what I should and shouldn't implement. It's worked, but a lot of not ideal design.
I’ve been keeping a list of the minor annoyances and slowing taking care of the somewhat easy ones. Digging your minivan build! Did you end up doing a water tank in there? I know space is a huge premium.
Lol! You are suppose to always oil/lacquer those counter tops :p That's true for not only IKEA ;) Karlby = Karl which is a name in Sweden, and by = village so Karls village one might say ;)
For people with sliding drawers they sell sliding tape and it works amazing! I have it on all of our drawers in our kitchen and we have to be careful we don't pull them too fast now or they fly out.
A little late to this particular video party but thank you! I'm slowly looking to do some conversion on my 2003 Honda Element. While many regrets will never apply to me(i.e. never installing a small fridge in mine!) but the electrical was useful, even the idea of hot water from engine coolant might be something I can rig up, are very useful! Think you'll ever do a similar list for those on a more restricted budget/vehicle size? Either way, thanks for the video!
Hate commenting; but this video is incredible! Legit the #1 most helpful source of information I've found. Time stamps have been very helpful to refer back to on rewatches.....have played this video a few times during my research and design process and now that I'm close to building. Thank you to everyone that experienced a regret I get to (try to) avoid haha
Not quite van life for me but I have been designing a 5th wheel for my family. Most of these are true in all RV systems! one of the biggest regrets I have currently... MAXXAIR! their fans need rebuilds often, the thermostat system is terrible, and if you have an auto opening model, they open and close with the thermostat and are loud, and that is in a full size RV... I could not imagine in a van... some of the sizing is humorous differences though. Where vans look at tanks in the 20-80 gallon range, I'm putting in 200+Gallon Fresh, 200 gallon grey, and 60-70 gallon black. The goal is my wife and I not needing resources for at least 14 days at a time to optimize national and state park stays. In regards to cooling and heating, We are looking at Mini splits, not sure 12v or 120VAC yet, but having them over everything else is wonderful. being able to dehumidify at low speeds is wonderful for an RV/VAN. Then onto power, I truly agree many people severely underestimate battery capability. I currently run 1000Ah of lithium 12v and use DC-DC chargers between the truck due to the truck auto managing battery voltage depending on temperature, before this we found that the truck would discharge the RV batteries to about 50% in hot weather when the truck dials back the alternator. I did go with a DC-DC with MPPT so when not getting power from the truck, it can pull from the panels. Lastly... appliances! Even in my 27ft fifth wheel we are designing it will not have an oven or cooktop! leave counter space open and have two induction burners... when you don't need them you have space! we just installed a 7cuft residential fridge in place of our propane fridge to reduce energy consumption... dual fuel RV fridges use a constant 450W! Great video and glad to see this... Ill be referring my friends to this so they can learn from others mistakes! Thanks!
Tim, Good day. I just came across your channel probably because I have not even purchased a van yet, but.....I want to use an Express 2500 or 3500 like you have as a base for my van build. Thank you for going with an Express and the very informative feedback you scoured the internet for. This will be quite helpful as I go along my process. Your Express provides me a better opportunity to think about what I want my Express to have and what I don't want. I need to start with where will my van build live its life most of the time? In a cooler mountain time zone state is what I have been aiming towards. Not the whole time, but a majority of the time I will be in cooler to cold temperatures throughout the year and mostly for work and other reasons. Now I can progress through the rest of my comment here. 1st prerequisite is a very specific thing on the Express van I choose. The letter 'G' must be the 8th character in the VIN on the 2010-2020 Express van I want. I have already decided a used van is the option for me because of the options I want. I don't know what you know about that so I will delve a little into it. 'G' is equal to no AFM 'Active Fuel Management' or DOD 'Displacement-On-Demand'. Essentially, 4 cylinders have zero fuel going to them when cruising down the highway. This fuel-saving measure GM came up with has proven to be a very bad idea for the longevity of the engines with this system. These are all installed on the 6.0-liter V-8 engines. The 'G' is a good thing for my selection process. No AFM. No DOD. No OEM rear-mounted A/C. Not necessary. I do like the floor-mounted aftermarket option you went with. This generation of Express/GMC Savana also had an optional 'G80' auto-locking differential. This engaged when there was a speed differential between the rear wheels of about 120 RPMs. When one wheel slips while the other is sitting stationary, at 120 rpms of the slipping wheel, the 'pawl' inside the rear diff locks into a tab, for both forward and rearward movement, and locks the driveshaft as a whole member. There are companies that can also do a full 4wd conversion if that is necessary and an Australian-based company, 'ARB', also sells 'Air Lockers'. Using pressurized air to engage a rear diff 'locker'. Disengagement occurs when the pressure is released from the locker and then it becomes a standard 'open' diff. like every other car on the road. This generation of engine, IV (4), also has the 'flex-fuel' system that allows 85% ethanol. I would steer clear of ethanol normally, but the 'G' VIN code option has that available if an owner decides to go with it. These are all Generation IV port-injected engines. Generation V (5) are direct-injected engines. This, in my opinion, is a bad choice to go with. After a while, the carbon builds up on the back side of the intake valves and never gets washed off by the fuel spray because the fuel spray happens inside the combustion chamber. After 30k miles, the heads need to be removed to service the backsides of the intake valves to remove the carbon. With Gen IV (4) engines, this is not a problem because the fuel does wash the back sides of the intake valves with port injection. 2nd prerequisite: Towability. Having an engine strong enough to be able to tow is a good thing even if I don't need to. The 6-liter is big enough for the needs I would want. I would be in the higher elevations of the US most of the time. The 4.3-liter V-6 is underpowered for towing. The 2.8-liter Diesel VM Motori made is also underpowered for this size of van. The 6.6-liter Duramax Diesel....is a bit too much for my needs. Although, I am a Diesel fan, I don't mind passing on this option this time in my life. Also, it's cold where I will be at and I don't want the fuel in my van to 'gel' in the winter time. 3rd: OEM Express roof height or high roof conversion? I am on the fence on this decision. Once the hole is there, roof removed, there is no going back. Careful decisions need to be made of where I can park with a high roof. Walking into a business is easy to do instead of a drive through when you know access is limited due to a high roof. It is a give-away about what you use your van for instead of cargo transport or use as a work van et cetera. Clearly being lived in is the appearance with a high roof.....and solar on top of that. Certainly, adding a high roof will reduce the space for solar on the roof as the leading edge of the roof will be swept back to the rear. Then the space is limited....unless....you add solar to the swept forward end of your high roof (after the windscreen/windshield). Meh....maybe not. Maybe some rectangular panels on the sides of the high roof. ......maybe. 4th: Batteries and electric planning. Yes, I totally agree with you on this. Making your 'electrics' accessible is the most important step here and placing them above water is another big important thing to consider. I will have LiFeP04 Lithium batteries on a 12-volt system, not 24 volts. The 'cycles' of charging and discharging is what attracted me to lithium over AGM. I would want a DC-to-DC charge controller for alternator charging as well as solar charging, unless there are better options. I was considering 3k watt inverter...until I watched your video. Maybe 2,500- or 2,000-watt inverter. I will have three or four 200Ah battery cells wired in parallel to net me 800 watts, or more, of power. I did not know there was no difference between so-called 'van solar' and every other solar out there. Thanks for sharing that. Can never be the other way around. Thanks for reiterating that point. The electric has to merge well with your floor plan and where other things will be for the longterm. The roll-over part you brought up is a very good thing to consider as well as vehicle wrecks or accidents. Where will your water tank be after a roll-over? Where will your batteries be? Your refrigerator too. This is your home. ....well...for some people, it is their home. You need to drive it like it is your home. You can't stop bad drivers from messing up your day. You can only do so much to ensure you are being as careful as possible.
Have a place to store things that you don't carry with you year-round. For me, it's a motorbike. Then the towing part comes into play here. A storage facility is a nice thing to go with.
Holy cow so much value in this video thank you! Building out my camper, not a van, and these are still helpful to think about since I don’t have years experience living out of my vehicle yet 😊
Thanks for taking the time to put all this together, we are about to start a very basic build (not living in it full time) so we can just get out and do some camping with our dogs so we still have to put together some basics and it helps to know what to think about when starting the planning stages. Bought a 1985 Dodge B250 campervan with partial raised fiberglass roof (still have to bend down but not as low as no topper) stripped out the 35 year old camping set up that was inside and then took it to the mechanic to get it fixed up before we build anything out. There is a bit more tear down left to finish (carpet, old ceiling panels, door panels etc) then we start adding sound deadening strips, insulation, flooring, then redo all wiring in main part of van, reusing old wires that still look good. Then we can start putting wall/ceiling paneling and rest of build out. I am planning a bathroom in the back door area, since there is already a small 18" x30"pan installed right in the center back floor area that drops down about 6" lets you stand up fully just in the pan, turning that into a shower pan by making it water tight and adding a drain, and place to put your feet when on toilet. That will make the back end of the van the wet end, sink/toilet will be back there as well, reusing the sink that came with the van. Then in the middle will be a small area for storage, and there are already 2 bunks over the wheel wells that we are reusing as the bed support that can be converted into seating if we need to, and a big open space where the side doors are, and used to be back seat passenger area we will turn into the basic kitchen/living room. Luckily it already has swivel seats so we don't have to add those. There is one of those tiny round 6" fans installed now in the very center over the bed area that was leaking so we plan to just cut the hole for a hike crew 11" fan with led lights where the round fan is now since it's already there and needs to go. Still a ton of work to do, and summer is here so I imagine it will take a while to complete each stage, maybe by the end of the year we will have it ready to go if we are lucky. I really appreciate all the build vids you guys and others are posting so I can fine tune my build before I get in the middle of it. Thanks!! :)
Thanks for the comment! Sounds like a great starting platform, and I'm fully jealous of the raised roof and that little drop down basin! I would definitely do as your planning and make it into a little shower area. For reference, our outdoor shower uses around 7 gallons for two adults to (quickly) shower. More if we're washing our hair of course! I can be a little slow to reply but feel free to reach out any time with questions! vanwithtim@gmail.com -Tim
I have the butane cooktop and yes you will be changing the butane canister a lot. About every other day when cooking for two. That said, we accidentally ordered a huge box of them and didn't realize it because the cost was so low. We're set for a long time.
Regerts😂 1) Didn't do "bouch"; 🛏️ 🛋️ tight along passenger side. 2) Lacking passenger side metal shelving on rear wall - have it on driver side which pushes bed onto the middle of van , no walkway gap, shmimmy on and off bed. 3) Didn't go big enough for the power station 🔋 4) Didn't add solar (yet) 5) Didn't do mini sink (yet) - 5-7 gallon slide out Jerry cans at 2nd bay door! 6) Didn't add rear pop out vent window 🪟 (yet) 7) Haven't found big enough bug netting for front door windows (need the air flow not the mosquitos 🦟 9) Didn't bother to count properly while doing this checklist 10) Failed to accept Scarlett Johansson's friend request in time. 11) FREE CANDY & FREE PUPPIES decals on the sides are not appreciated while driving past schools letting out.
This is exactly the video I have been searching for, I want to convert an EV van and need to go full Zeppelin weight save mode on the furniture. I'm both PAD and CAD experienced and have access to a woodwork shop and a laser cutter if needed. I can't wait to absorb your years of experience and apply them to my build. Thanks.
A) this was a great video to watch with my girlfriend to show her other people's opinion who are already living the life. B) this video would have been greater if said people who already living the life, agreed with my sentiments exactly. ;p
EXCELLENT VIDEO!! We’re building a 6X12’ cargo trailer. The first 6’X 35” area will be a toilet and shower area. 54” bed running East and West at rear of trailer. It looks like we’ll have about a 24 square foot living room area. All cooking will be outdoors. Our priorities are a real size toilet (cassette) accessible from outside door, a decent permanent shower, and a full size bed. Thanks for suggesting a 6” memory foam mattress, and the square sink. USB fans will be used, and a roof top fan also. Is there a such thing as a 12 volt coffee maker? We have a 1000 watt hour Delta Pro power station, portable 275W solar panels, and a backup 2200W inverter generator. I’m thinking a 45 gallon water tank will be good, and we’ll have about 25 gallons in the truck should be enough for 3 nighters. Any suggestions from you or anyone else is appreciated. Thanks again for the great video. 👍
I had made up my mind to make two Camper Trailers...a 16ft and Teardrop or 8-10ft. incorporating Foam...But I'm now seriously considering turning Something Else into my RV Knockoff instead of a Van. Maybe a Non Emergency Ambulance or a HighTop Shuttle. Maybe a Van And a BoxTruck.
12:25 no you're right the flexible stick on panels arent durable enough to live on a moving vehicle. Simply put. And the way I see people do wrong with plumbing. Make one wet room with a faucet and diverter that goes to shower head. You got faucet and shower. Bam. Why have two faucets and drag plumbing all around the van. Keep it simple. People are putting wayy to much work when this lifestyle is meant to "live without" .. (as I contemplate adding starlink to my build 😂)
Thank you! I'm upgrading my nomad 5x8 enclosed trailer. This was a great reminder of what NOT to do, and correct a few ideas that would not have worked out later. I feel like I'm jumping over upgrades with your video!
Lived full time in the city (and traveled) in my manufactured campervan. Biggest regrets were not having a dinette or anywhere to sit and eat or compute or have people over for game night on a rainy camping trip etc. I had a couch that converted into a bed, but I always left it in bed mode. Literally never used my shower or bathroom sink, both became storage. Wished I would've converted to a composting toilet and interior water and grey tank. Draining your tank in freezing temps sucks when you're still living in it in Winter and need water. I used my propane water heater twice. Took too long to heat up, waste of time. I used an Aquabot with spray attachment, heated up water on stove, did my dishes that way. Simple, saved water, and I didn't have to do maintenance or change anode rod. Wished it had been insulated. So many regrets!! And still I managed for 4 yrs. Saved on rent, had so many adventures and made so many friends in the van community. Worth it. But listen to Tim here! This was such a great idea for a video.
Now I don't write often, but DAMN! Thank you! Firstly: Yes, Timestamps! Secondly: Screw the scammers, be honest and thanks for Bea Salt! Now for real though. I'm a little curious about your electrical usage and need. I've been thinking of actually down sizing electricity mostly because of "pro-pain" stowes/cooktop. However, the amount of electricity needed to fill up phone batteries etc. ain't much. Not to mention that the only actual need for Batterylife is fridge. So you don't need power aka. inverter. Saves tons of conversion(watt) and money to not need an inverter. So having 900 watt solar I found a lil overkill? True? Ran ever under 50% battery? Let me know what you think? Am a virgin to vanlife :O This video is gold! Thanks again!
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This is absolute gold and seriously should be the top search result for "vanlife regrets". Thank you for taking the painstaking amount of time needed to compile and index all this stuff. Priceless information. 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
Thank you Jesus. It's certainly a lengthy video by my standards but we had a LOT to cover!
Enjoyed the summary😊
For me it is the top result.
Agree 💯
It's great to learn from your mistakes, but even better to learn from the mistakes of others. This is a brilliant video!
I had the same thought, definitely saving this video if i ever end up doing a build!
A wise man learns from your mistakes, and lets the blunders of his brothers serve to fill his plate.
Most of them didn't do van life before ,that would be the biggest problem imo
I think if you're going for a larger sink, it may be worth finding a cutting board that goes on top of the sink so you can still use that space even when you're not using the sink.
My parent's RV has this it works quite well
the most wasted space in a van is the side door enterance . thats where i put a shower pan .
Accessing the hindsight of hundreds of van builders is so incredibly valuable. Thanks for compiling all this info and sharing!
So glad nerds like you exist to make our lives easier. Your information is gold. Subscribed. Thank you!
Brilliant video that should be required viewing before any van build. Thank you for the hours you spent on this! The editing was superb too with just the right amount of humor.
Thanks for the feedback Juan, was worried about the length but it was getting tough to edit it any shorter!
Cheers!
Not sure if anyone has mentioned this already but in my research I think newer vehicles have something called a variable voltage alternator on their start battery. Any vehicle that has this is not compatible with a battery isolator which is where a DC-DC charger comes in. Also this video is incredibly useful as I start my van conversion and iron out all of the details.
The DC to DC charge controller limits the amount of amperage your battery charges at. Which is good for people who have a stock alternator that may struggle with a beefy electrical load. Limiting this will help the engine idle rpm resulting in less engine wear. 💪
I actually ended up purchasing a DC to DC charger as I upgraded to lithium this year. The lithium batteries won't self limit the incoming power like the lead-acid batteries. So it would effectively be short circuiting the alternator. Seems the consensus is to limit the charging amperage to around 1/3 of the alternators rated output to keep the alternator from heating up excessively.
Just a bummer the DC to DC chargers are still so expensive!
Thanks for the comment :)
Using DC to DC with lithium as my sprinter has the smart alternator which steps down the output when the starter battery is happy; the DC to DC maintains a higher draw for as long as needed to charge the house battery. The Renogy I use has an MPPT built in, so if there is enough solar it will split the draw between that and the alternator, and will also use solar to charge the starter battery if it has been parked up a while
Yep this is why I moved away from isolators. You should never connect LiFePO with a lead battery
As someone on the autism spectrum getting in to SUV camping, your breaking down videos in to a sort of data really helps me manage ideas! Thank you!
I'm a spreadsheet data geek myself - really glad it helped!! :)
-Tim
I think a whole lotta people that are looking to live or get out of everyday life this way, probably are.
As someone that doesn't care that you're a stimmer, I don't care that you're a stimmer.
I wasn't sure whether to say anything, but I immediately thought "This is the perfect van life video for someone with autism," especially because all of the "I can't relate-s" follow the pattern of "I don't have a problem with that; I have a system!"
I have to disagree about indoor showers. If it's taking up too much space, then the design is wrong. Our shower is in our hallway (including shower pan recessed in the floor) with a curtain that pulls around (no, it doesn't stick to you) and we use it all the time! Easy, convenient, and roomy. I would hate not having it.
Lithium will pull full amps (200 to 600) if connected to the alternator with a combiner. Your alternator is not rated for that kind of duty cycle and will fry it. Which is why a DC-DC charger is necessary to limit the current draw.
That makes total sense then. Still have a bit to learn about lithium. Probably another year or two left on the AGM bank for now.
Appreciate the insight 🙏
@@VanwithTim the reason I went with a renegy DC to DC charge controller, is that not only do they regulate the input to the lithium battery, but in certain models they not only combine the DC to DC charger but also the mppt solar can charger all in one box. I thought they were really cost-effective and also took up a minimal amount of space in my tiny build.
And when Tim upgrades to LiFePo4 batteries he'll need to swap the battery combiner for a DC-DC charger, as I understand it, to get lithium-friendly voltages.
older vehicle alternators run around 14.0v max, so with agm house batteries you hardly ever make it to 100% state of charge, which will hurt your capacity and ultimately make your batteries fail somewhat early. it can work well enough in most applications. power system design has some gray areas. oh, and some new vehicles have variable output alternators to save energy, so may be far from 14.4v (+/-). also, your alternator will never drop back to a float voltage when the house batteries do reach full charge. the dc-dc charger is often programmable for many chemistries, so it's easy to change out battery types if your needs change. for a low initial cost SLA system the combiner is fine 👌
Yes. I have a Tesla battery and got an expensive victron dc-dc because I could customize it exactly how I wanted/needed to.
Chapters always good. Thanks for the compilation, great vid and liked the comparison with your own!
Honestly, I've been researching my van for 5 years now (waiting to graduate) and this video gave me almost everything I've learned so far. Thank you so much!!!!
I regret not doing it during college (I'm in my last semester and haven't started yet). I didn't like renting near campus, and right now I absolutely don't like commuting. I've seen at least one person on campus living in a van and didn't even try being stealthy about it.
The fridge section had me giggling by the 5th mention of your $100 unit
I think a lot of people would just watch a few hours of videos and claim they'd watched 100's. Then they'd attempt to make generalized statements about what others had said. I appreciate your integrity; this is so useful to me to have all this info in one place and from a trustworthy source. Thanks!!
Get your van windows professionally tinted! High quality films can reject over 50% of heat, eliminate uv, and provide privacy.
Wow, 2 years later and this vid is as valuable now as when it was posted. Gave me safety tips I hadn't thought of and helped sort out some of my own priorities.
Wow, you put in the work for this video!
I will say we avoided a lot of those van build regrets by owning a RV and using it extensively before we did the build.
I simply can't imagine going from zero RV experience to a successful build out.
I can kinda imagine it having watched this video (said by me, someone with zero van build experience)
My sloppy notes on this video; I included the vast majority of things raised. Thank for this absolute gold Tim!
Easy outlet access,
Keep electrical cabinet cool,
Don't get inverter bigger than you need,
Always go 12v, never 24v,
Many want a battery isolator (of good quality) (battery combiner), don't go with dc/dc charge controller,
Don't get a battery that's too small, get lithium,
Induction cook hob good if have big enough electrical system..
Shore power a regret, never used, - but you need enough solar or other
Plan electrical first, not at end
Not enough solar - 200w too small,
He was adamant that you don't buy solar panels online or ones specially built for vans, ripoff, regular are fine, do not go with flexible solar panels,
Make sure you have enough light in the kitchen!
Put a light switch by the entrance and by the bed,
Definitely have running water, hot water heater advisable (bosch),
Make sure plumbing connections accessible - will come loose with van moving about.
Use good quality thread seal tape for plumbing,
Make sure water tank big enough - at least 170 ltrs
Consider an undermount grey water tank,
Some people regret shower because of space (but I want private area, esp in no toilet room, ..) - investigate
Ovens take up too much space,
Make sure dual burner can fit two pans,
Make sure to seal your kitchen countertop (to stop water getting in),
Make sure counter top not too low, and made with hard wood,
Many people regret a small sink, (14" x18" he recommends as perfect size), dont get round sink,
Don't have sink right next to bed - splashes,
Make sure have a decent sized fridge (doesn't apply so much for me) (he recommends $110 - Whirlpool cu WH32S1E american) ("Don't be fooled by "vanlife" fridges)
People who got fans wish they got the Maxx Air fan, - usb fans could be a decent alternative (he has them)
Get a diesel heater (2KW) and duct properly,
Do insulation first, no fibreglass, consider insulating cockpit area,
Mount shit down in case of accident,
Bright colour on wall (as dark makes it look small) but not white as difficult to keep clean,
Cedar tongue and groove wood cracks too easily,
Vinyl flooring not durable enough one person says,
Make sure to not raise the floor too much with insulation, but insulate well,
He recommend spending a little extra money on materials to get more quality,
Do not cut holes before knowing layout.... duh?!
Don't make entry way too narrow, make sure inside isle not too narrow,
Want a dedicated work area,
Weight distribution - batteries & water & fuel tank heavy,
Have enough counterspace,
For cabinets - 3/4 inch wood overkill, too heavy, half inch ok. Cabinet planning..
Go with drawers not cupboards, and put on drawer slides, add toe kick.
Leave space between bottom of press doors and ground.
Have latches on cabinets/doors,
Don't hang up clothes, fold them instead, shoe storage,
6 inch mattress good. Use memory foam, make sure bed big enough (possibly lengthwise)
Make sure you can sit up in the bed. (don't put it too high).
Signal booster, waste of time
Make sure roof high enough,
Perfect list. Thx
6:20
Rooftop hvac used 6x the power.
My promaster has OEM swivel seats, and the salesman claimed it's lower than after market swivel seats. I am 5'10" with no problem, but it's close, at least, with the overhead OEM storage that I love.
Awesome video!!
I insisted on the high roof, even though the medium was SO close.
I measured a parking garage that claimed 8'3" clearance. They were correct... until you get to a speed bump... and there's no way out... but forward, through the garage. 😅
Now, I get nervous at not very close calls, approaching overhead. Hahaha😂
I still like the high roof. No ragrets""
Maybe I missed it, but think you could drop that Excel Sheet in the description? 😉 Incredible work.
Great video! Thanks for sharing. 9+ hours well spent. On our third van build, no regrets. But then at 70+ if we had a regret it's that we didn't start 50 years ago. Have a good one.
Lol
Raising a family OTR tho
Not what I would want
Or having animals n crops
I already watched this entire video, and now I'll share it in some groups.
I love the switch for the van blower fan, best, as I recall. There's even a wiring diagram.
I love the cheap HVAC
I love that I thought of (or found) almost everything here. So, it was very reaffirming.
We've got chapters, to make it easy. =)
Terrific video
Three months in a factory RV showed me what I didn’t need. Massive downsize has been great. All cooking under the rear door tent at the back of the the van for heat. Solar panel is on a cord separate from van because we usually park under trees. Solar on the roof is for desert life.
My main struggle with the smaller van is moisture condensation from breathing at night: especially during rainy weather spells. Three wet days in a row and solar power is dead and things are getting too damp. Diesel heating is great because all exhaust and air intakes are external but still battery dependant and don't have the psycological appeal of a fire. My ideal would be a rocket stove style incinerator drawing air from under the van that had radiated heat in the van. Like a kelly kettle with a chimney and air intake ducting. Looking at how the tent stoves do their chimneys and adapting that to the rear under door tent.
The too small sink made me laugh when he panned to his van sink that's bigger than my house sink!😂
I'll never understand the fascination of "composting toilets" you're not composting, you're basically pooping in a bag and throwing it out
Awesome video! Thanks so much for all the tips! I will definitely be keeping them in mind throughout my build!
That was very helpful because I am planning a van or box truck build. Now if I can find a video like this about all they put in their van they really like and work well. Another one is how to calculate how much energy you will need.
I'm glad the video helped! For electricity needs it depends heavily on what electronics you plan to run. The highest draws are electric hot water, electric cooktops, or air conditioning. Electric heat should be fully avoided.
Some van builds run a single 300 watt solar panel and a 100 amp hour battery without issue.
Others run 1,000w solar and monster 500 amp hour battery banks.
I'm 2000 times more prepared for the van conversion after watching this.
Thank you tim.
An isolator is so that you don't drain your starting battery when using house batteries. I accidentally killed my RAM 1500 battery by not unplugging our travel travel once. Live and learn : )
Don't use IKEA furniture when building ever IKEA. Furniture is cheaply made. That's why it's cheap. That's why it's popular with a lot of people. It's cheap material. Cheap board is no good. Plywood is the best. It's like a heavier but it's stronger. Plywood is the way to go.
This video needs to go to the top of anyone’s list that is building a cargo trailer or a van for off grid purposes.
Awesome freaking work buddy. By the way I have a two burner Duxtop top that I love.
I spoke too soon, this is an amazing video.!!! What the hell, did you do? This is like the ultimate list??? Thank you so very very much!!
This is fucking brilliant.
Review of video, priceless. You did a fantastic freaking job. You have both, validated, and, debunked a lot of different things that I have come across. Excellent research. I highly recommend this video.
Really appreciate the kind words Paul.
Hate uploading such a lengthy video, but tried hard to add some entertainment throughout it!
Was this review sponsored?? (Kidding)
The amount of research and info you put out in your videos are amazing! Very informative thank you so much
Great video with a unique look over the issue with good crowdsourced info! Glad to keep seeing high-quality work from you. Its a testament to the work you put into your own van! Keep it up and good luck!
This is such great information. I wish it was around 5 years ago when I built mine. My biggest regret is buying stuff then not using it for one reason or another. I have a huge pile in the garage. Mostly stuff im afraid to install by myself like stepsides.
If you use a "battery combiner" instead of DC-DC charger:
- With AGM, not so much of a problem except that the more discharged the HOUSE battery is, the more voltage drop along the length of the cables used to charge the house batteries from a vehicle alternator, and it will take longer to recharge. Effectively the wires act to limit the charge rate and sometimes may take 10's of hours of driving to recharge. Not so much of an issue if the HOUSE battery is fairly close to the alternator and supplied by very thick wires, but a big problem with batteries in caravans (travel trailers) where the battery is a very long distance from the engine alternator of the tow vehicle. Also not such a problem if solar is charging the HOUSE battery too and this is why you haven't had issues. If you didn't have solar supplementing the charge your HOUSE battery would probably be in a discharged state most of the time and die an early death.
- A DC-DC charger only draws a limited amount of current, thus reducing voltage drop on the charge wiring, yet it uses electronic magic to boost the voltage at the HOUSE battery end, allowing it to charge correctly.
- A lithium battery has completely different voltage characteristics and should only EVER be charged from an alternator via a DC-DC convertor. Your alternator regulator is designed to charge Lead Acid batteries and will probably be damaged if connected to a Lithium battery.
Great video, and thanks for sharing.
This is why you don't follow name brands. My friend think for yourself. Do it your way. There's plenty of cheaper brands just as good. If you're gonna follow name brands you're paying for the name. I refuse to pay for someone's f****** name not doing that.
Propane is good. It's only a pain if you're a nomadic and you live at your Van full-time and you're in the desert and build a middle of nowhere and it's cold then it'sn't a waste of time, but if you're doing Van life and live in. The city or in a town, no big deal. So what propane still works? Good for me. I love propane rather than plugging plugging. No electric heater, burning my batteries down.
Look at it because you are a fool. You don't follow other people's methods. Follow your own ideas. You can get ideas watching other people but learn for yourself. I learn from myself old when I built my Van. I didn't myself so I don't give no one credit to accept my myself.
Arthur, if you're going to park install fronts, you can use the bathroom multiple, if not get a simple bucket or go to Walmart and buy one of those nomadic toilets where you put your bag and you do your piece of s*** in there that's all and wrap up your c*** yo. Ur c*** up and then you throw it in the garbage simple. You don't need no fancy toilet. Lots of people live in there. Bands trying to meet their band like a house. You don't need to do all that b******* A simple nomadic toilet with a bag in it. When the bag is done, throw the bag away. Oh most times if you're in a store front, just use the toilet for free at all.
Don’t know why I don’t see more indoor showers that can be set up and put away, doesn’t have to be a solid box taking up space all the time
Because set up and take down of something you use regularly gets really old
Showers taking up too much space isnt a regret. The regret was buying a vehicle too small.
How well does your AC cool? I would need to cool it down to 70. And heat, how’s your heat? These two are MOST important to me.
Very interesting! I personally loved my chest fridge, definitely getting it on the new build, but to each their own. The nice part is that the whole space is usable, you minimize sound coming out of it from things bouncing around (and you minimize things bouncing around). Definitely a personal preference though.
I'd definitely recommend installing shore power though, it really isn't that much of a hassle and its a good backup even if I've only used it... three times?
Rather than boat dedign, look into submarine design, simple. Home solutions dont hold up to road vibrations and temp changes. Boats are heavy, look into commercial airline cooking solutions.
As an older single woman, I want a toilet inside my van. I don't want to go outside in the middle of the night. And sometimes as an older person, you wake up and just have to go, Now! I don't have time to go wandering around the forest to dig a hole.
Propane heater water heater is the best or baythe not just get a stolo shower in a Wolf summer time he took. Let the heat water heat up and that will heat up your water for you. Free of charge Austin, please or simply just get a bucket of water bucket of water and heat it up and get one of those shower long shower suction things and use 1 of those.
As someone looking from the outside why do you need plumbing wouldn't a water dispenser and a water jug be enough?
So helpful!
I want dc to dc charger bc I want lithium battery's, I only want about 50 amps coming from my altenator bc I want my altenator to last a long time. Pulling to much amps at idle gets your altenator to hot bc the cooling fan will not kick in until you meet a certain rpm.
I would have never in a million years thought about putting the bed on the passenger side for safety reasons. But wouldn't having your bed across the back be the same thing unless you slept with your head toward the passenger side of the van and your feet toward the driver's side?
you have a water pump going over your electrical?
uhh...
Zero excuse to drive a fully converted van and bury your crap on public land.
Thank you so much for this compilation! Not all heroes wear capes 😊
nice to know bunch of statistics,.. thanks for a lot of info in this video.
✌
The ISOTemp water heater thing..Motoraid was the old 70's name..yes they used that in the 70's! It's nothing new or fancy..my 83 Bluebird Wanderlodge (In my pic
Great to know on the water heaters! Makes sense! (Love the old Wanderlodge's by the way!)
Thank you for the kind words. Will keep the videos coming!
Starting my build in 3 months, and I was fortunate to have stumbled on this video. Very vital information to consider during my planning phase. I'm definitely interested in seeing more if your content, and this van in action.
Cheers!
regarding Reverse Osmosis - you can have the RO return go back to the fresh water tank. That water is still great for washing hands/dishses/fido while the RO clean water is AMAZING for drinking/cooking/toothbrushing/etc.
I love the chapters. Now i find site without them tedious.
Just discovered your channel - great video! Really appreciate the time you took to put this one together. I already knew about many of these things, but some really make me think more about how to configure my van. I especially liked the idea of using a standard 115VAC fridge and small AC unit as you have and letting the inverter run all the time (and simply take the hit on parasitic draw). Not a bad tradeoff at all when you think about it. Thanks again for the comprehensive and very thought-provoking video. Definitely subbed now!
The electrical stuff confuses me so much. I know it needs to be done first, but I have absolutely no idea where to even begin 🤦🏻♀️🤦🏻♀️
Great video Tim, saved me another 9 hours watching videos :)
This is the most helpful and informative van designing video I've seen. Is there any way for me to get a copy of that excel file?
Glad it helped! Let me know if you have any issues with the link: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1QFRyFu3R8wd1yjYv2m32AVZF1ZF5YNyi/htmlview?mibextid=Zxz2cZ
Hey Tim, I know this video is 2 years old but your van looks identical to mine, Anyways, those swivel chairs you have, what they come out of?
Mine was welded by a fellow in Canada. He no longer produces them but I’ve heard fantastic things about the Express / Savana swivels from: ironcloudmetalworks.com/
Awesome video, including the chapters, for when I can hopefully find this video to revisit.
I'm especially interested in your ac. I saw you have videos that I need to find. I'm of exactly the same mindset: max out solar on the roof real estate, cut no holes, stay under the radar, and under obstacles.
I've got to see how you did the air conditioning and the grey water.
Was your regret about the cabinet that water was next to electrical? If so, I've always wondered why buildings are the same way.
So many great ideas. I also have homework with battery combiner and isolator.
THANK YOU!
So glad to see an update from you Tim.
Thanks.
Hi Jesus, why you let Covid Happened?
@@cristianfederico2411 to cleanse the earth of the wicked, of course
I can't use public restrooms, so a toilet and a shower are a must for me. I would get the dry flush toilet. It's worth the investment for me because of not being able to use public restrooms.
Exactly. I hate public bathrooms. I can't spend a long time using it
This is like an old video by this point but yeah, chapters are the best feature youtube has ever added to the platform, and I always appreciate people that actually utilize them a ton!
Love this video! It also made me feel confident about all my choices that people was complaining about with my ideas. They have all seen the youtubers :p But those people are no electricity experts and are not a technical engineer and programmer like myself, so my thoughts around electricity are probably much more sophisticated due to experience. Haven't done plummeting before tho, so that is a lot of research going in to.
Plumbing is pretty quick to pick up especially with an engineering mindset. It's the electrical that people tend to get hung up on.
Each individual has different campervan needs, but I feel like water and electricity should be included in any camper build!
I gotta say, the beginning of your video threw me off but I'm glad I jumped into the comment section, like you suggested, which then had me continue watching and I went through until the end.
Thank you for taking all this time to research those clickbait videos and leasting it so neatly.
The video, apart from the beginning, was quick and efficient, not dragged out at all, I liked it.
Cheers mate, all the best!
That was awesome! I've been in my current van for two years. I know when I redo it soon, what I should and shouldn't implement. It's worked, but a lot of not ideal design.
I’ve been keeping a list of the minor annoyances and slowing taking care of the somewhat easy ones. Digging your minivan build!
Did you end up doing a water tank in there? I know space is a huge premium.
@@VanwithTim Thanks. I keep one or two 6 gal jugs for now. When I rebuild I might make a more permanent spot.
2023, video is just a diamond for everyone, who interested in a road life. 100% valuable info, also as great humor. Was laughing a lot from windows.
Lol! You are suppose to always oil/lacquer those counter tops :p That's true for not only IKEA ;) Karlby = Karl which is a name in Sweden, and by = village so Karls village one might say ;)
I've always wondered if the furniture names translated to anything! Very cool!
this is so useful thank you
Flint Michigan? I livr in Flushing Mi. Just west of Flint. Yes, our roads are Legendary! Gov GGirl ran for governor to "Fix the Damn Roads!"
Heh, water pump directly over electronics. Tks for putting this vodep together.
For people with sliding drawers they sell sliding tape and it works amazing! I have it on all of our drawers in our kitchen and we have to be careful we don't pull them too fast now or they fly out.
Seriously, great video. I’ll definitely be watching this again.
Brilliant idea and execution! Hot tip - adding "mistakes" to your TH-cam search terms will give a better big picture view than just "how to" 😊
Excellent video!
A little late to this particular video party but thank you! I'm slowly looking to do some conversion on my 2003 Honda Element. While many regrets will never apply to me(i.e. never installing a small fridge in mine!) but the electrical was useful, even the idea of hot water from engine coolant might be something I can rig up, are very useful! Think you'll ever do a similar list for those on a more restricted budget/vehicle size? Either way, thanks for the video!
Hate commenting; but this video is incredible! Legit the #1 most helpful source of information I've found.
Time stamps have been very helpful to refer back to on rewatches.....have played this video a few times during my research and design process and now that I'm close to building. Thank you to everyone that experienced a regret I get to (try to) avoid haha
Not quite van life for me but I have been designing a 5th wheel for my family. Most of these are true in all RV systems! one of the biggest regrets I have currently... MAXXAIR! their fans need rebuilds often, the thermostat system is terrible, and if you have an auto opening model, they open and close with the thermostat and are loud, and that is in a full size RV... I could not imagine in a van... some of the sizing is humorous differences though. Where vans look at tanks in the 20-80 gallon range, I'm putting in 200+Gallon Fresh, 200 gallon grey, and 60-70 gallon black. The goal is my wife and I not needing resources for at least 14 days at a time to optimize national and state park stays. In regards to cooling and heating, We are looking at Mini splits, not sure 12v or 120VAC yet, but having them over everything else is wonderful. being able to dehumidify at low speeds is wonderful for an RV/VAN. Then onto power, I truly agree many people severely underestimate battery capability. I currently run 1000Ah of lithium 12v and use DC-DC chargers between the truck due to the truck auto managing battery voltage depending on temperature, before this we found that the truck would discharge the RV batteries to about 50% in hot weather when the truck dials back the alternator. I did go with a DC-DC with MPPT so when not getting power from the truck, it can pull from the panels. Lastly... appliances! Even in my 27ft fifth wheel we are designing it will not have an oven or cooktop! leave counter space open and have two induction burners... when you don't need them you have space! we just installed a 7cuft residential fridge in place of our propane fridge to reduce energy consumption... dual fuel RV fridges use a constant 450W! Great video and glad to see this... Ill be referring my friends to this so they can learn from others mistakes! Thanks!
What a fantastic compilation. Thanks for putting in the work.
This is such a useful video! Thank you for compiling all of this information, it'll be invaluable when I start my build soon
Tim, Good day.
I just came across your channel probably because I have not even purchased a van yet, but.....I want to use an Express 2500 or 3500 like you have as a base for my van build. Thank you for going with an Express and the very informative feedback you scoured the internet for. This will be quite helpful as I go along my process. Your Express provides me a better opportunity to think about what I want my Express to have and what I don't want.
I need to start with where will my van build live its life most of the time? In a cooler mountain time zone state is what I have been aiming towards. Not the whole time, but a majority of the time I will be in cooler to cold temperatures throughout the year and mostly for work and other reasons. Now I can progress through the rest of my comment here.
1st prerequisite is a very specific thing on the Express van I choose. The letter 'G' must be the 8th character in the VIN on the 2010-2020 Express van I want. I have already decided a used van is the option for me because of the options I want. I don't know what you know about that so I will delve a little into it. 'G' is equal to no AFM 'Active Fuel Management' or DOD 'Displacement-On-Demand'. Essentially, 4 cylinders have zero fuel going to them when cruising down the highway. This fuel-saving measure GM came up with has proven to be a very bad idea for the longevity of the engines with this system. These are all installed on the 6.0-liter V-8 engines. The 'G' is a good thing for my selection process. No AFM. No DOD. No OEM rear-mounted A/C. Not necessary. I do like the floor-mounted aftermarket option you went with.
This generation of Express/GMC Savana also had an optional 'G80' auto-locking differential. This engaged when there was a speed differential between the rear wheels of about 120 RPMs. When one wheel slips while the other is sitting stationary, at 120 rpms of the slipping wheel, the 'pawl' inside the rear diff locks into a tab, for both forward and rearward movement, and locks the driveshaft as a whole member. There are companies that can also do a full 4wd conversion if that is necessary and an Australian-based company, 'ARB', also sells 'Air Lockers'. Using pressurized air to engage a rear diff 'locker'. Disengagement occurs when the pressure is released from the locker and then it becomes a standard 'open' diff. like every other car on the road.
This generation of engine, IV (4), also has the 'flex-fuel' system that allows 85% ethanol. I would steer clear of ethanol normally, but the 'G' VIN code option has that available if an owner decides to go with it. These are all Generation IV port-injected engines. Generation V (5) are direct-injected engines. This, in my opinion, is a bad choice to go with. After a while, the carbon builds up on the back side of the intake valves and never gets washed off by the fuel spray because the fuel spray happens inside the combustion chamber. After 30k miles, the heads need to be removed to service the backsides of the intake valves to remove the carbon. With Gen IV (4) engines, this is not a problem because the fuel does wash the back sides of the intake valves with port injection.
2nd prerequisite: Towability. Having an engine strong enough to be able to tow is a good thing even if I don't need to. The 6-liter is big enough for the needs I would want. I would be in the higher elevations of the US most of the time. The 4.3-liter V-6 is underpowered for towing. The 2.8-liter Diesel VM Motori made is also underpowered for this size of van. The 6.6-liter Duramax Diesel....is a bit too much for my needs. Although, I am a Diesel fan, I don't mind passing on this option this time in my life. Also, it's cold where I will be at and I don't want the fuel in my van to 'gel' in the winter time.
3rd: OEM Express roof height or high roof conversion? I am on the fence on this decision. Once the hole is there, roof removed, there is no going back. Careful decisions need to be made of where I can park with a high roof. Walking into a business is easy to do instead of a drive through when you know access is limited due to a high roof. It is a give-away about what you use your van for instead of cargo transport or use as a work van et cetera. Clearly being lived in is the appearance with a high roof.....and solar on top of that. Certainly, adding a high roof will reduce the space for solar on the roof as the leading edge of the roof will be swept back to the rear. Then the space is limited....unless....you add solar to the swept forward end of your high roof (after the windscreen/windshield). Meh....maybe not. Maybe some rectangular panels on the sides of the high roof. ......maybe.
4th: Batteries and electric planning. Yes, I totally agree with you on this. Making your 'electrics' accessible is the most important step here and placing them above water is another big important thing to consider. I will have LiFeP04 Lithium batteries on a 12-volt system, not 24 volts. The 'cycles' of charging and discharging is what attracted me to lithium over AGM. I would want a DC-to-DC charge controller for alternator charging as well as solar charging, unless there are better options. I was considering 3k watt inverter...until I watched your video. Maybe 2,500- or 2,000-watt inverter. I will have three or four 200Ah battery cells wired in parallel to net me 800 watts, or more, of power. I did not know there was no difference between so-called 'van solar' and every other solar out there. Thanks for sharing that. Can never be the other way around. Thanks for reiterating that point. The electric has to merge well with your floor plan and where other things will be for the longterm. The roll-over part you brought up is a very good thing to consider as well as vehicle wrecks or accidents. Where will your water tank be after a roll-over? Where will your batteries be? Your refrigerator too. This is your home. ....well...for some people, it is their home. You need to drive it like it is your home. You can't stop bad drivers from messing up your day. You can only do so much to ensure you are being as careful as possible.
Have a place to store things that you don't carry with you year-round. For me, it's a motorbike. Then the towing part comes into play here. A storage facility is a nice thing to go with.
Holy cow so much value in this video thank you! Building out my camper, not a van, and these are still helpful to think about since I don’t have years experience living out of my vehicle yet 😊
Thanks for taking the time to put all this together, we are about to start a very basic build (not living in it full time) so we can just get out and do some camping with our dogs so we still have to put together some basics and it helps to know what to think about when starting the planning stages. Bought a 1985 Dodge B250 campervan with partial raised fiberglass roof (still have to bend down but not as low as no topper) stripped out the 35 year old camping set up that was inside and then took it to the mechanic to get it fixed up before we build anything out. There is a bit more tear down left to finish (carpet, old ceiling panels, door panels etc) then we start adding sound deadening strips, insulation, flooring, then redo all wiring in main part of van, reusing old wires that still look good. Then we can start putting wall/ceiling paneling and rest of build out. I am planning a bathroom in the back door area, since there is already a small 18" x30"pan installed right in the center back floor area that drops down about 6" lets you stand up fully just in the pan, turning that into a shower pan by making it water tight and adding a drain, and place to put your feet when on toilet. That will make the back end of the van the wet end, sink/toilet will be back there as well, reusing the sink that came with the van. Then in the middle will be a small area for storage, and there are already 2 bunks over the wheel wells that we are reusing as the bed support that can be converted into seating if we need to, and a big open space where the side doors are, and used to be back seat passenger area we will turn into the basic kitchen/living room. Luckily it already has swivel seats so we don't have to add those. There is one of those tiny round 6" fans installed now in the very center over the bed area that was leaking so we plan to just cut the hole for a hike crew 11" fan with led lights where the round fan is now since it's already there and needs to go. Still a ton of work to do, and summer is here so I imagine it will take a while to complete each stage, maybe by the end of the year we will have it ready to go if we are lucky. I really appreciate all the build vids you guys and others are posting so I can fine tune my build before I get in the middle of it. Thanks!! :)
Thanks for the comment!
Sounds like a great starting platform, and I'm fully jealous of the raised roof and that little drop down basin!
I would definitely do as your planning and make it into a little shower area.
For reference, our outdoor shower uses around 7 gallons for two adults to (quickly) shower. More if we're washing our hair of course!
I can be a little slow to reply but feel free to reach out any time with questions!
vanwithtim@gmail.com
-Tim
Luggable loo , with a CABELAS 5 gallon bucket. I say their bucket because its the strongest ive found. Way better then home depot bucket.
I have the butane cooktop and yes you will be changing the butane canister a lot. About every other day when cooking for two. That said, we accidentally ordered a huge box of them and didn't realize it because the cost was so low. We're set for a long time.
Regerts😂
1) Didn't do "bouch"; 🛏️ 🛋️ tight along passenger side.
2) Lacking passenger side metal shelving on rear wall - have it on driver side which pushes bed onto the middle of van , no walkway gap, shmimmy on and off bed.
3) Didn't go big enough for the power station 🔋
4) Didn't add solar (yet)
5) Didn't do mini sink (yet) - 5-7 gallon slide out Jerry cans at 2nd bay door!
6) Didn't add rear pop out vent window 🪟 (yet)
7) Haven't found big enough bug netting for front door windows (need the air flow not the mosquitos 🦟
9) Didn't bother to count properly while doing this checklist
10) Failed to accept Scarlett Johansson's friend request in time.
11) FREE CANDY & FREE PUPPIES decals on the sides are not appreciated while driving past schools letting out.
This is exactly the video I have been searching for, I want to convert an EV van and need to go full Zeppelin weight save mode on the furniture. I'm both PAD and CAD experienced and have access to a woodwork shop and a laser cutter if needed. I can't wait to absorb your years of experience and apply them to my build. Thanks.
A) this was a great video to watch with my girlfriend to show her other people's opinion who are already living the life. B) this video would have been greater if said people who already living the life, agreed with my sentiments exactly. ;p
EXCELLENT VIDEO!!
We’re building a 6X12’ cargo trailer. The first 6’X 35” area will be a toilet and shower area. 54” bed running East and West at rear of trailer. It looks like we’ll have about a 24 square foot living room area.
All cooking will be outdoors.
Our priorities are a real size toilet (cassette) accessible from outside door, a decent permanent shower, and a full size bed.
Thanks for suggesting a 6” memory foam mattress, and the square sink. USB fans will be used, and a roof top fan also.
Is there a such thing as a 12 volt coffee maker?
We have a 1000 watt hour Delta Pro power station, portable 275W solar panels, and a backup 2200W inverter generator. I’m thinking a 45 gallon water tank will be good, and we’ll have about 25 gallons in the truck should be enough for 3 nighters.
Any suggestions from you or anyone else is appreciated.
Thanks again for the great video. 👍
I had made up my mind to make two Camper Trailers...a 16ft and Teardrop or 8-10ft. incorporating Foam...But I'm now seriously considering turning Something Else into my RV Knockoff instead of a Van. Maybe a Non Emergency Ambulance or a HighTop Shuttle. Maybe a Van And a BoxTruck.
12:25 no you're right the flexible stick on panels arent durable enough to live on a moving vehicle. Simply put. And the way I see people do wrong with plumbing. Make one wet room with a faucet and diverter that goes to shower head. You got faucet and shower. Bam. Why have two faucets and drag plumbing all around the van. Keep it simple. People are putting wayy to much work when this lifestyle is meant to "live without" .. (as I contemplate adding starlink to my build 😂)
THANK you for this! It was great. Informative and entertaining, you had me belly rolling a few times! Subbed.
Thank you! I'm upgrading my nomad 5x8 enclosed trailer. This was a great reminder of what NOT to do, and correct a few ideas that would not have worked out later. I feel like I'm jumping over upgrades with your video!
Lived full time in the city (and traveled) in my manufactured campervan. Biggest regrets were not having a dinette or anywhere to sit and eat or compute or have people over for game night on a rainy camping trip etc. I had a couch that converted into a bed, but I always left it in bed mode. Literally never used my shower or bathroom sink, both became storage. Wished I would've converted to a composting toilet and interior water and grey tank. Draining your tank in freezing temps sucks when you're still living in it in Winter and need water. I used my propane water heater twice. Took too long to heat up, waste of time. I used an Aquabot with spray attachment, heated up water on stove, did my dishes that way. Simple, saved water, and I didn't have to do maintenance or change anode rod. Wished it had been insulated. So many regrets!! And still I managed for 4 yrs. Saved on rent, had so many adventures and made so many friends in the van community. Worth it. But listen to Tim here! This was such a great idea for a video.
Now I don't write often, but DAMN!
Thank you!
Firstly: Yes, Timestamps!
Secondly: Screw the scammers, be honest and thanks for Bea Salt!
Now for real though. I'm a little curious about your electrical usage and need. I've been thinking of actually down sizing electricity mostly because of "pro-pain" stowes/cooktop. However, the amount of electricity needed to fill up phone batteries etc. ain't much. Not to mention that the only actual need for Batterylife is fridge. So you don't need power aka. inverter. Saves tons of conversion(watt) and money to not need an inverter. So having 900 watt solar I found a lil overkill? True? Ran ever under 50% battery?
Let me know what you think? Am a virgin to vanlife :O
This video is gold! Thanks again!