Toyota Sienna minvan campervan conversion. Welded steel frame minivan camper build.
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 29 ก.ย. 2021
- I went a little full on extra for this build and welded up my frame out of some steel I had. I built a rear kitchen that stows totally in the rear seat well and raises up for use with an electric actuator. I hope you find some inspiration from this build and post comments if you have any questions or suggestions for improvements. I got a lot of help on TH-cam when I wanted to build so I hope i can give back to the community. Thanks for watching. Like and subscribe for updates!
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![My Van-Life [Ep. #1]: The Van - 2023 Toyota Sienna Hybrid AWD](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/aAPC3LhUXZA/mqdefault.jpg)
![My Van-Life [Ep. #1]: The Van - 2023 Toyota Sienna Hybrid AWD](/img/tr.png)
I've been getting a lot of excellent feedback on this. Very much appreciated!
Holy cow buddy!!!!! When you lifted your kitchen up out of the floor, my jaw dropped!!!! Excellent work!!! Very nice!!!!! ❤😊👍
Favorite is utilizing a lift!
Just drilling one hole in wood would allow your fingers to drop in and pickup lid above fridge instead of latches
the best van bedframe build I've ever seen!
I have watched hundreds of minivan conversions, this is the top 5 for sure based on the actuator, genius!
I like your build, Wow so professional. Impressed by your welding and electric skills.
It all looks so CLEAN and beautiful
I love that actuator kitchen!! You might be able to make a side business from that design!!
Thanks! I might actually try. If I could get 4 people to put a small deposit down I would totally go for it.
@@scottjoyce85 how much would you charge for it I have a sienna build and I would love that
I got my water faucet from home Depot you. You have to charge it but the charge last so long
@@504ontour5 I'm not 100% sure. It would kind of depend on how many I could build at once so I could get significant savings on the steel. Between 2-3k fully ready to go maybe.
That's awesome. Being 4ft tall and being able to sleep that way. Looks like a nice advantage.
Being 4 ft tall would be an advantage for van camping. Unfortunately I'm 6'1". Fortunately our mattress is 50"×75".
Have you ever thought about making these builds to sell? You have some truly amazing ideas.
Thanks! I would love to build these for sale. I want to fully test mine and possibly make a few for sale next year.
@@scottjoyce85 have you begun building these? I might be interested in a single wide of the bed 27-28 wide and I’m 5’2 so don’t need the standard length
Love the bed build
Excellent ingenuity and a great build! If I ever get my AWD Sienna, I wonder if I could concoct a bed-couch that could face forward or backward. I got that idea on a warm late October day in Yellowstone's Lamar Valley. People parked their vans windshield toward the road, with the rear door open looking out over the valley. Many folks had a comfy setup facing rearward to enjoy the view. Great job!
I think that's a great idea. I love that people can come up with so many different options to fit exactly the way they want to use their van. I believe that some Honda Odyssey vans have seats that will flip in that direction from the factory.
Haha, i was NOT expecting the kitchen to raise up like that!
That bed is brilliant
Love your van camper.
Nicely done so far. You'll get there.
Super impressive. Really great job.
Thanks Dawn! Are you building out a minivan also?
If you can create an instructional booklet with appropriate schematics and precise measurements (that's can be a lot of work) you've got a winner on your hands. I think a $20 price would sell like crazy, be ready to modify it every now and then. Love the lifted kitchen! Good luck.
Even though it's a steel build you think?
@@scottjoyce85 Sure, and it could apply to a wooden variation and aluminum (80-20) with modifications.
What a cool build! 😃👍🏻
Personally I would wrap the front legs of the bed with a pool noodle or plumbing pipe wrap. I would probably also cut the wood corner to cut down on sharp corners. You have some great talent. I look forward to seeing updates.
Sweet! I think the trap door for your fridge should be bigger…fold up front to back and wide enough to rest on the center support to the right of where the fridge is now. Love the bed set up!
regarding your door over your fridge, you could put a thin piece of wood under the door to support it when it is closed instead of the latches that you dont like. Good job on the build
also a small hole in the door to open it with
Great job! The best I’ve seen so far! Really fantastic!
Awesome job! Neat kitchen lift system!
Well done!! Nice clean design. Thank you!!
Thanks a lot. Is there a van build in your future?
hello Scott, love your Van Camper Conversion build / Tour ,just Subscribed to your Channel on today (October 17-2021) thumbs up 👍🏻 thanks so much for Sharing your Van build with us.
Way nice. Love the couch/bed frame, and kitchen. 😊👍
Amazing build
Awesome build! Love the auto kitchen and bed to couch design! Thanks for sharing :)
Scott your bed is so clever! This looks like a possible design for the window seat/sofa/guest bed in the tiny house I'm building.
I think that sounds like an excellent application! If you build it and remember me, I would love to see the finished product.
Subed. Looking fwd to seeing ur complete build. Can't go wrong with a sienna!
Great job. Thanks for the video.
Very creative 👏🏻👏🏻
WOW, very nice!
Nice built sir
Kool set up....
Very smart! Love it!!
Thanks! Your van looks pretty great also!
@@scottjoyce85 Thank you so much! I need to make a better video though 😅
Very cool design.
Thanks Sarah, are you building out a van?
@@scottjoyce85 yes I'm building out a Promaster, 136 wheelbase. So I have a lot more space than you but I like seeing what folks are doing in smaller spaces to get ideas to really maximize my space. I have extra seating in mine for my grandkids so my kitchen pulls out of the back. I like your shelves being close together for just one layer of things like silverware rather that a deeper drawer or shelf that would require stacking stuff and searching through a pile. I will definitely use that idea in mine. Enjoy your travels.
Clever setup
Thanks
Great job
Thanks!!! Are you building out a van?
THIS BUILT HERE…..PURE GENIUS. Just needs a little more finishing touches.
Thanks! I'm always open to suggestions. What finishing touches do you have in mind?
well done bro
You should patent it so no big company can steal it, looks great, good onya, from Perth Western Australia...
Can you give more details on the bed? It will be nice to see your plans, and a demonstration of actually how it is put together, and installed. I am a new subscriber. Is there a link for a video you have already posted?
Love the kitchen idea. Pretty cleaver! It, however, would work only for the older Sienna models (as did our 2006) with a "cargo well" behind the third row seats. But in our 2018 XLE, entire area behind the middle seats is all leveled, and came covered with WeatherTech, which is great.
I'll try to do a video with more specifics of the bed. I probably won't make any set of really formal plans at this time but that could change.
快速方便 很棒的創意
Thanks!
Such a clean build so far! Love da pop up Kitchen! Beer mode Yes !! and all the ugly electronics are hidden. Did you talk about how you made your dc-dc battery install anywhere? I have a 2017 Sienna and need to do this.
Genious
Thanks, are you doing a van build?
10:28 U CAN DO IT!!! lol
Very nice! I built a similar bed out of wood. It's called a Wathier bed.
Very cool. Do you use regular plywood for the couch back? I had to stiffen mine up with carbon fiber because it flexed so much.
@@scottjoyce85 Yes, but anything less than 3/4in will flex. Menards only had 5/8in so now I can't open the slide out drawer while sitting on the couch.😕 But the backrest is fine.
Well then you should do what I did and get some carbon fiber tape and epoxy it to the plywood on the side that faces down when in bed mode. Super stiff! I can stand on it and there might only be an inch of deflection.
@@scottjoyce85 That's a good idea. But I'm actually thinking about doing a whole new van design. This one is not quite right. Trial and error is never complete!
@@VantasticPacifica very cool. I think that's what is cool about minivan builds. Pretty easy to change out to make work for our personal style and taste! Good luck!
Women: Is that motorized actuator really necessary?
Men: No but it's cool and he can do it.
Get a 5 gallon water bottle and put a USB water dispenser from Amazon or Walmart on it. Tap it to power on or off. Easy peasy!
That would be the most simple and cheap way! I'm working on a way to have some pressure water for a beach shower or foot wash for the doggo. Thanks for the message, did you convert a minivan also?
👍🏻
Thanks Gayle, are you converting a minivan also?
You should make more, shorter build vids. I know that's really painful while you're trying to get work done, but I'm sure I'm not the only one who would like to see more of the specifics on the build.
I definitely should have. If I get the opportunity to build a second one, I'll try to do that. Thanks for the input!
Thanks for showing your build. You mentioned you were at Smokey...did you keep all food/any items that have a scent in the car while you sleep in the SUV? What about other places you've been to where bears are present? Thanks.
We kept all our food in the van except when we were eating of course. We don't really have that much gear so we didn't leave anything outside the van when we slept.
Thanks. Have you been to anywhere where bear locks are a must? I'm trying to see how ppl do it, like carrying all scented items out of car into the bear locks, at campgrounds or trail heads. Smoky didn't provide bear locks?
Superb! Did you show the actuator and the way it's set up?
Oh, shoot. I guess I did not go into a ton of detail about that specifically. It appears as if my video production skills are trailing my building skills. I'll do a short clip on just the actuator.
I just uploaded a video with some more detail on the actuator mechanism.
@@scottjoyce85 thanks
Joli
Sorry for all the questions. I just discovered your video and also happen to have taught myself battery-building and welding during the pandemic. What size cells did you use in your LiFePo battery? They don't look like 18650's. You mentioned it's a 4s 15p setup. So that means for 12V with 4s each cell's nominal voltage must be about 3V. What's the capacity?
Congrats on battery building! It's pretty fun. These cells are 26650 K2 cells from batteryhookup.com. You're right about 4s being around 12 volts. Nominal voltage is 3.2 for these cells and their individual capacity is 3,800 mah so it's around 57 AH at 12 volts.
Enjoyable vid - thanks!! Any chance of you sharing a sketch and dimensions of the bed frame? Have you drilled or cut any holes in the Sienna body? Tnx
No holes drilled other than on the inside plastic to install USB ports. I don't currently have any sketches but I might get around to it someday.
@@scottjoyce85 Any sketch can be just that - nothing set out on scaled drawings as that would be a lot of work unless your are skilled with a drawing board and T-square (or a CAD expert). Something hand-drawn with dimensions would be helpful. And you mentioned you maybe did not have to use such large steel members? Anyway Bud, it’s your time and you have a lot to do with your Sienna WIP. Good work - I will be following you with great interest to see your upgrades. 👍👍
@@murfeusa1 I'll see what I can do. I might be able to take some quality photos and add some measurements and what not to them. There's things I would change if I built another one so it would take a little time to explain the details. Probably worth a short video. I'll make it happen!
@@scottjoyce85 👍😁
I would use hydraulics instead for the kitchen, any mechanical moving part has a chance of failure and it also eats up the battery. I am not a big fan of the power window, I had to drive with a window down on a cold winter day, lol.
Fair point. I use an entirely separate battery for the actuators and refrigerator to prevent it from eating up the battery. Gas springs would be a good idea and was my first idea but in some ways it's more mechanically complicated than the actuator. Everything can break, plenty of hand crank windows have broken just the same. It maybe cycles 6 times a day when I'm camping so maybe that's 50 or 60 cycles a year. I'm well under the max weight of the actuator so we'll just have to wait and see how long it lasts.
Scott, Can you provide a link for the cushion that you bought it from?
Thera Health Folding Mattress - Portable Tri-Fold Floor Bed for Travel, Camping, Guest - Foldable 4 Inch Foam Sleeping Pad w/Carry Case for Adults & Kids www.amazon.com/dp/B07FJQ5BJQ/ref=cm_sw_r_awdo_navT_g_WET1QWF9JYXTJMB1A3D4
Took up too much space with the bed. Unless your married then it makes a difference. But love the concept
Not married but travel with my GF 98% of the time. Those single bed builds are mighty spacious but I'm not sleeping on the ground!
He did say, “Our trip,” but is he referring to him and the dog or a human? Too many videos with too many mystery questions. Also, none of these “Tubers” are hermits (they know people - family and friends) … have someone else shoot the video while you narrate. They also never tell you the exact space between their bed headrest and the kitchen. That’s important. Give us a view, top to bottom, all around, BEFORE you start showing us everything in your cabinets and your bed. My goodness!
@@joefarrugia7413 lol. My goodness is right. Next time I'll consult with you before making a video. I'm not getting paid for this nor am I that interested in making videos. The build wasn't even totally finished at that point so it wasn't meant to be super detailed. My goodness!
@@scottjoyce85, I enjoyed the video. You are free to shoot videos, Scott, and viewers are free to comment. You did nothing wrong, why so defensive? We ALL must be mature enough to handle constructive criticism and if I were to shoot a video, I would welcome critique. I do believe people should begin with “a lap” around the van, and too to bottom, before opening drawers and cabinets. We know space holds food and clothes as well as “brick-a-brack.” Good job on the video. Calm down my friend. You have to be able to distinguish between a personal attack and a critique of a public movie/video. You need to consult with no one, but everyone should heed advice periodically throughout their life. Best wishes!
hi where you buy mattress ?
Do you have any build plans? Including build plans for the kitchen?
Unfortunately I don't. When it warms up I might spend some time measuring everything and creating some rough plans but I currently don't have anything. Sorry.
What size and type metal did you use for the bed frame? What kind of welding did you use? I assume mig.
I guess I don't know the exact measurement for the angle iron. Probably 1.5 inch and 3/16 thick. I also tig welded it. Not because it needed it but just to practice.
I think it's better being over built. It is stronger. X
May I suggest Bruce Parks YT Videos!
He has a cool build for sure.
Bummer you can’t get the chair holds out.
It is kind of a bummer but they don't really get in the way of much. If the van had standing headroom it would be a giant pain but since we're just sitting in there it doesn't feel as annoying as it might look. We could take them out but we might have a little some day or not keep the van so being able to get a seat back in might be important.
@@scottjoyce85 oh I almost took that van off my list. So they come out? For 70 yr old gal could I do it or need help?
@@Gimo76 I know they can come out but I'm not sure about the process exactly. It doesn't sound overly hard but kind of a 1 way sort of conversion. As in, the easy way to get them out means they can't go back in. The generation of sienna prior to 2011 has a flat floor without these sliders.
@@scottjoyce85 oh not to worry.. I can’t afford anything probably over 2005 . Thanks for taking your time. Every time I am going out to find my Van I hit a health road hiccup. I hate getting old. It is not fun.