Box Truck Conversion | U-haul to Tiny Home Tour
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 20 ธ.ค. 2021
- If you're thinking of getting into Vanlife or looking for a custom build, please email me, I would love to chat with you: Nomadbrad503@gmail.com
I have Finally completed my Uhaul box truck to Tiny home conversion. I love designing my builds to be light and bright with a modern feeling. This one is no exception. I decided to really lean into my minimalist vanlife lifestyle by leaving a lot of open space on the walls and ceiling. The result is a space that feels larger than life. The Floor of my box truck is only 12' long but I have had 6 friends hanging out inside at the same time and we never felt crowded.
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You have plenty of room to add a bathroom with a shower and this build would be perfect. An insulated carpet for the floor would be inexpensive and keep the heat in. You did a great job making it look great without spending a lot of money. A hot water hear for the shower can be routed to the sink for a full kitchen experience. You have a lot of space for upgrading a little at a time. (Oven, more cabinets or shelves, etc) You'd be able to live in it full time eventually. Great job!!!
Thanks Bob!
00:40 Left roll up back door in place. Nice. A few questions, please…. 1) Since you left the back roll up door in place, did you remove the track at the top inside that the roll up door used to roll on? 2) Are you able to stealth camp in the city even though you have windows?
@@joeblow1942 24:55 answers your question
@@michaelthoma I missed that before. Thank you.
This is awesome. An incinerator toilet would be awesome.
You are so type A. This shows in everything you do and in every flawless detail of your build. I love how you show the entire room first and stand back and use your hand to point and guide your listener. You are a very comfortable speaker as well. I’m sure you are aware how many of these videos come off contrived and in it for followers. You are such a breath of fresh air dude. Wonderful new useful ideas!
Thank you so much for your kind words! I appreciate you
Not only a awesome build but a great delivery and presentation. Well spoken, without any “umm’s” and “like’s”.
I love the grey, and the white keeps it bright inside.
A practical and affordable conversion. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you very much!
This is one of the best builds. It's fabulously fashionable and functional. Thanks for sharing this video!
Thank you for watching!
Very well thought out, excellent execution and aesthetically pleasing too. Even more amazing is the $10k all-in price tag. Thanks for thw sawzall tip!
Yes! Vanlife can be affordable if you have the skills
Best idea is the side-slide fridge allows access to the refrigerator throughout the cooking process.
My thoughts exactly
I love that connecting door with the use of accordion boot, so innovative! This setup look so cozy and aesthetically pleasing.
Thanks so much! 😊
Astheticly pleasing, efficient and frugal budget for the build. I'm impressed then you show the pass thru to the cab which I was staring at the door most of the video and wondering how did he cut that. Great explanation and the rubber accordion seal is brilliant just like on a passenger train. Lot of good ideas in this video. 🤔Thanks
Thanks for watching !
Tip on the accordion boot....make sure you place the ends to meet at the bottom of opening. Use to work at a place where we used it all the time for camper shell thru door/windows installs. Had several customers come in that went the DIY route and install it them selves and complained about the boot leaking. They all had the ends meeting at the top of the door/window.
That’s how I did mine. Great advice
I like many things about this build... the color scheme, the photo frame display, neat organization etc. But I would add a shower/bath. I would insulate the floor too. But since you didn't, you could add carpeted runner, rubber mat, or foam mat etc during colder weather. Or just wear slippers.
Yes, I agree. A bathroom would be a wonderful upgrade
I was happy without a shower until my government shut down the gyms. Now I consider it a necessity, since I work in the city and can't just do an outdoor setup. I do love your Floorplan, though!
@@nomadbrad503 Where the toilet bucket bench is, maybe a shower pan with curtain could be put there instead. You could still put a the bucket and bench on top when not using shower.
@@nomadbrad503 where would you put the shower ? thank you
Yeah good suggestions. I have a washable roll up carpet runner I lay out at night from my bed to the bathroom incase I have to get up in the night. Otherwise I just wear slippers. My little motorhome is only 22 ft and about 6 ft of that is the cab.
This is the most clean and spacious box I ever seen in my life wow?? Good work excellent to living
Thank you so much
This is by far the best U-Haul Box conversion I've ever seen!
I personally know the square footage you're dealing with and OMG, you've made it feel so spacious! You've proven that a plan works and if you've never done this before, feel free to ask others that have. Learn from their mistakes by being humble and simply ask. I've never heard of a van-life member to say "Nope....I'm not helping ya!"....lol.
You have used materials that you can find just about anywhere. This great not only for the initial build but also for repairs. Yes....repairs are gonna happen. There are certain thing though you do need to get that are for the RV/Van world like the windows....sink...fridge and so on. I've seen others try to convert items not designed for this specific use and ends up costing them more in the long run. Yes, niche items will cost more upfront simply because they sell less of them but they also are usually made more robust than their stationary twins.
To me, the hardest thing would be keeping it cool inside. This is from a power consumption view as well. You did the best thing not only by using the 1 inch foam insulation but simply by making the outside white and the inside light colors as well....which helps with lighting. LED lighting has came so far also. It uses very little power and is so bright.
Just a great job! In fact, I'm bookmarking this so I can use it as my reference box style conversion when showing others!
thanks for watching, your absolutely correct
I like the way you have structured the fridge; when it’s pulled out, you have extra counter space.
Yup! I’m really happy about that!
You did an amazing job with this nicest transformation I have seen from a uhual truck
Thank you so much
Definitely a nice build but for me I definitely would squeeze a shower in there somewhere.
Highly impressed by this build. I like how it’s not overcrowded with cabinets. So many folks gets box trucks/busses and by the time they overcrowd it with cabinets, showers, and everything including the kitchen sink, that lovely spaciousness is gone.
That’s exactly why I decided to keep it open. I don’t want to live in a hallway
This is definitely what I am looking for my son and me. This has made it feel much more manageable to handle with the breakdown and inspired more than a few ideas for me to use in my own build! Thank you so much for sharing your beautiful home!
Thanks for watching! I’ll be hosting some free vanlife zoom classes on my website that may help you . Check it out www.VanlifeRX.com
Great build!! It's very Aesthetically pleasing and looks great, everything has it's place and well thought out!! Congrats!!
Thank you so much!
I want to make one!!
Even if somebody gets a glimpse in the back door it looks more like an office on wheels then a living home. I like it! Thanks for sharing.
Thank you so much for watching!
Love the openness. Would love to see more open plan type mini homes.
Me too!
Omg that is amazing! This the closest conversion I’ve seen to an actual “stealth” motor home.
Thank you Jaime !
Great build with lots of cool and useful features! I especially like both of the doors and the flooring.
Thank you so much
So surprised a whole bathroom was not installed. I really like it, super cool.
yeah, i have been living in a van for 6 years now I'm pretty comfortable without a bathroom but you can definitely add one in yours!
@@nomadbrad503 It was only a statement,not a suggestion like the rest of the comments.
Something I saw in another van build that I thought was really ingenious was adding storage in the floor. He had a tall ceiling so he just built up the floor and added a ton of storage accessible with lift up panels. That way you could add a bathroom and still have tons of storage. Most can’t do it because of already low ceilings. Overall a beautiful build. Great job!
This is a fantastic build. I have always loved the uhaul truck inner dimensions: as tall as they are wide with enough height that I can stand in them. Love the decisions concerning the rear door.
Thanks Devon!
This turned out VERY nice. There seems to be a lot of great space in your home! Well thought out spaces (bed & also the fridge sliding to make extra counter top). Watching from Northern Minnesota
Thank you for watching!
I think you have done an excellent job, it looks very nice and is so practical, you have done an excellent job.
You have a wonderful life and I wish you many,many years of happiness and contentment. Carol in Australia🇳🇿
Thank you very much!
There's sooo much potential for this build.
There's a lot of space for a stationary bed and shower. And also where the controller for the heater is, is far from the bed so if you want to turn it of say, at night, it would be annoying to get up out of bed and walk all the way to it.
Definitely a lot of unused space in this one
Great build ! I REALLY Love the Diamond Plate. I always wanted to use that for a wall like you did! Wonderful!
Also I think it’s great that you reply to so many people.cheers!!
I really love the diamond plate too 😎
I think that's remarkable. You did a wonderful job. I've considered doing something like that. I'd want an open area also because I wouldn't like the closed in feeling. Again, very remarkable. Be safe
Thank you so much
Mad respect you didn’t put a fisheye effect in the video. This is one of a honest review on youtube.
Thank you !
“Better to not buy the cheapest fridge…” Agree. We bought cheap, just over $100 vacuum cleaners for about 6 years, which never worked well and generally broke in about 2 years. Then bought a $500 vacuum…and it works great. Assuming it makes it a couple more years to 10 years, the expensive one costs LESS money, and hassle, than the low quality ones that fall apart after a couple years.
This is exactly what I’m talking about 👏🏻
Love the beach vice mounted on the bumper. I was told a trucker had a metal pipe wrench welded on rear bumper to look like it was laying flat...this gave the appearance and warning don't follow too close from behind...👍😜👍
I have heard that too, great idea!
Excellent build!! I appreciate the aesthetic (contemporary design in my opinion), the functionality & the space.
Thank you so much
That's funny, I named my van conversion Abundant. Very cool.
Great minds think alike!
Love your show and the design, that logo is right up my alley too. Im doing this.
Go for it!
outstanding design and layout!!! So many elements I want to put into my van dream build :)
Thanks for watching!
I love this! I have a dog & cat and will need the extra space. I've been contemplating uhaul & this video has pretty much convinced me this is how to go about it. I'm glad I stumbled upon your video!!
I’m so glad that you found a solution!
Thinking the same thing...I have two cats and thinking I could put shelving all along the top just for the cats.
Functional, spacious, clean, stealthy and so much more!!
Truly, an expression of Abundance!
Great work. Thank you for creating & sharing the video tour!!
Thank you so much for watching
Watched this video twice. You do a fantastic job describing all the realities we VanLifers live.
Thank you!
I love your design but I will probably put a shower in mine if I were to get a box truck.
A shower and real toilet would be amazing
A more narrow hanging closet space and small storage over the bed would have allowed the toilet bench/ some of the current closet location to be a "bathroom" with shower
Nice simple setup...love the desk..congrats 😎🍺
Thank you!
Wow! You have an awesome setup. I really like how you completely thought out everything and you are living a great life! Enjoy your travels!
I appreciate you John
You're my type of van lifer. Very practical and quite livable even for a non outdoorsy type of person. A shower will be the cherry on top for me. The space and the natural lighting is Marvelous!
I love the layout and the ingenious practicality that you put in everything you did.
I appreciate you 😊
Impressive love the cedar closet, bed bench and everything about your build thank you for sharing with us new subscriber.
Thanks for watching
@@nomadbrad503 You are welcome.
Absolutely amazing build! Attention to detail is apparent. Its beautiful, comfortable appearing and functional. Considering doing builds for others to earn $$ id be happy to pay you for this exact build.
This was my best build so far, do you want to buy it?
@@nomadbrad503did u sell it?
Fantastic build, great video production as well. Absolutely love the fridge layout, very smart. Thanks for sharing. God bless
Thank you so much 🙌🏼
Such an impress build...love how bright and clean.
Thanks! That was my goal
This is definitely one of the top 50 builds of a box truck. Love the uhaul builds because these can be used for both transport and living.
Only thing I wondered is the stealth aspects that others took versus the door on the back which for me would have to be completely stealth leaving the passerby to only assume it's a regular worker truck especially with the side having a logo
Thanks! I love the uhaul platform
Actually people are pretty dense. I have a bot truck conversion I consider way more ‘obvious’ and the fact it’s a camper is overlooked all the time. His box is white and the logo could mean anything. It’s pretty stealth. The fact that the rear is a basic all white really helps.
There are actually utility box trucks that have swing open doors instead of rollup doors. From the outside this could easily be a tool or utility truck.
I strongly recommend an all in one solar unit like a growatt. Mine was $900. You hook up the solar panels, batteries, and ac in/out. It supports up to 2000w of solar panels, 3000w inverter 5000 surge, and up to 60a for a normal wall outlet. Also only supports 24v batteries, so 5kw lithium iron batteries is a good minimum.
I don’t like the all in one systems because of one component fails, you have to send the whole thing in for repair. I have had charge controllers and usb sockets fail on me and have ordered replacements on amazon to replace while traveling. Also if you build your own system you can upgrade components whenever you want/need
@@nomadbrad503 This is my main gripe. AIO units are great until something goes wrong.
I’m not in love with the craft, but it’s functional. The design ideas and space planning, the utility born of experience, the slide out fridge and flexible door: beyond compare. I’ve never seen it done better.
I appreciate that, thank you for the kind words 😊
Looks like an apartment. Great job.
Thank you!
Fantastic open build. And the most practical rear wall I’ve seen. Two questions:
1) How did you cut and remount the roll door panels?
2) Do you find that the lack of insulation at the top of the walls (where the rails are) makes a significant difference?
Yes, that is my current problem as well, the roll up door is broken. I removed the spring bar and it's brackets. I've temporarily put a couple of pieces of 3/8 over the inside so it doesn't just fall out. My problem, I think, is that the rollers on the sides of the panels seem very unsturdy.
I left the roll up door in the down position and added a sheet of plywood over the top to connect all the individual panels. It becomes 1 wall. The rollers were in good shape so I didn’t need to do anything. It’s very sturdy
@@nomadbrad503 ah! So after adding the plywood to connect all the panels, did you cut the opening with a circular saw?
This is the most spacious and clean box built I've ever seen. Very nice! How do you cook? And do you have a television or use your lap top for movies? First time here on your channel. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you! I cook everything in an instant pot and blender. And use my laptop or iPad for watching
@@nomadbrad503 That's one thing I would change, more solar/batteries fo tv, microwave oven, pc.
One of the best builds I've seen. When you're up against the woods, consider installing a heavily gauged screened door with a lock on it to avoid surprise visits from people or wild animals. You can even take a nap or sleep with the main door cracked at night. Do you have dark coverings for your windows at night?
Great idea! I’m going to be installing some diy window coverings soon!
@@nomadbrad503 Awesome! Safety is everything these days. People and animals are looking for opportunities.
best build ive seen so far!! love the simplicity and you still managed to get alot of storage!
Thank you!
Absolutely beautiful! I’m only 5’ tall and single so I’d have been tempted to adjust the bed to just one side with a twin cut lengthwise in the same configuration. Just leave the one side as a couch and sleep on the desk side. Love this idea. Would it be possible to put the box onto a new truck if ever needed?
Yep. A lot of businesses will buy cab and chassis combos and have a dealer put their own box on the vehicle.
yes, you could do a bed on one side and yes the box can be moved onto a new vehicle
What at great build! I was all prepared to comment with a question about the gap between the cab and the box on every 10 foot Uhaul I've ever looked at. Surprise, at about the 20 minute mark, you answered the question. Awesome. Just one dangling question...where did you get the accordion boot? Thanks!
I got mine off eBay.. it was about $100
Ebay, or your local truck camper/topper shell dealer usually has or can get that stuff. It works great, and it lasts pretty much forever it seems like. Its very soft, flexible, and doesn't harden or shrink in cold weather.
If you ever need a new vise, I did a complete restore on an old one from a guy's Dad's machine shop in NJ. Picked it up off of craigslist here about 5 years ago. It's way too heavy to ship but if you ever come through Cary NC I would give it to you. I thought I would use it more than I do which is none :)
I appreciate that!
Looks awesome, I have one of these Uhauls 8x12 feet.I installed fireplace on it,bathroom/showroom basement n side pocket with eight sleeps.
Love this! How did you deal with condensation? I would think the mdf would be susceptible to mold if it gets too damp.
I haven’t had any issues, the diesel heater puts out a dry heat
Question: I've been looking at these vans for a long while now and one of the biggest things that I want to know is if it's possible to completely connect the cab and the cargo area. The reason is I'm a software developer and would like to spin the driver side chair 180 degrees and have it become a workstation with a large computer monitor. I can't find ANY camper/rv designs that do anything like that, so I'd rather just customize my own solution instead of tearing out an existing rv. Do you know what the complications would be from connecting the cab to cargo area?
You'd have to cut a door in like this guy, it myself. You attach the cab to the box and than cut out a door.
BecUse the cargo area and cab area are separate, they move independently while driving so the connection would have to be a large rubber boot. It would be extensive surgery. I have seen rvs with rotating passenger seats and work station tables. Do an image search for “
2013 Pleasure-Way Pursuit RV”
Personally, @Zero Cool, I think you're asking for trouble wanting to do this in a box truck vehicle. As @VanlifeRX stated, the 2 are separate units (cab and box) move independently. (the suspension and frames on both move separately) A small door as we see in the conversion is a small area to maintain and also has a minimal amount of separation movement. Because it is centralized, it is also more protected from any type of weather blowing, dripping, seeping or leaking in on all sides. Once you make that hole larger, not only are you weakening the build of both the cab and the box, you are also creating more room for failure of your seals between the 2 pieces creating more opportunity for damage. Examples: sun damage, water leakage, insulation rot, inset and animal penetration. You couldn't seal it with a spray foam that you have also sealed and protected, that in time, will crack and separate from both metal enclosures, especially with the 2 moving independently; If you could somehow invent a way to create a flexible rubber seal, something like the accordion boot that was used in this video, and incorporate them back to back somehow - first off, I don't know if they'd fit on the opening back to back, but also, over time, you are creating more opportunity for that rubber to break down, dry out and crack from the weather. Remembering that you may have weakened the framing by cutting a much larger hole.
Mine has that. Keep in mind that a cutaway is not the same as a chassis cab. Mine is a cutaway 10ft and it was easy. In fact, the rise in the seat swivel thingy was almost exactly the same as the floor height difference. In a cutaway, there is no gap in the wall, just a 3/4 plywood wall. I added a matching seat the the front ones behind the driver, a seat belt, and a table made from 2 workbench legs and a piece of that butcher block top. I can ride 3 legally, and 3 people can sit at the table. I also put a window for the 3rd rider to look out when riding. My wife frequently goes back there and watches movies on her laptop when travelling.
At first I thought that the white door with "Abundant" written on was the fridge. ;-)
That would be a sweet fridge
Jeez touring would be a dream with this thing
I love it
Excellent.
Awesome thanks for sharing ❤️👍👍👌👌
Thank you for sharing. Love the space and layout as it is very homey inside.
Thank you so much
You did a great job 👏 👍 🙌 😊
Love you can build. Cute little door. Thx for sharing 🙏🏻❤️🙌
i appreciate you!
I love this build. The foot pump for the sink is a great idea. I took a lot of notes for my future build. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for stopping by 👋🏻
Great build.
Ingenious stealth thing I seen was to put a grate in front of the windows like a regular air vent but on a hinge to flap up for a blind. Avoids peepers, unwanted knocks and looks like a commercial truck for city Karen's 👍🚚
That’s a great idea
Awesome build!!!🤙🏼🏆 You’re very unique and clever my brother!!!!🤜🏼🤛🏼
Thank you kindly 😎
Perfect presentation ! Thank you for sharing you're creativity. I would add a pull down screen and have big movie nights !
Thank you !
Super love this one!❤
Love the connection from box to the front. Super clever. Looks awesome!
Thank you and I'm a fan of
Eckhart Tolle, so cool to see your book!
Thank you Laura!
Best one that I seen.
thank you so much!
What an awesome & thoughtful build! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you so much for watching!
This is amazing!!
I 'AM' impressed. Extremely! Absolutely luv the between cab door find! You sure got lucky when you found that! I'm not quite ready to purchase my own 'mobile home' yet, but I have been searching for a few years now. I've been torn between a Class C, van or a box truck. There's a few things that I don't like about the first 2. I would want to gut the Class c to not only re-enforce it, but to also insulate and seal every nook and cranny! (as well as re-wire and add solar, etc) I just think that a van is far too small for me. And I haven't been able to figure out how I would create my floor plan for a box truck. But I do love your 'simple' but rather elegant solutions that you incorporated here! Bravo! Now, I am much more inspired for the box truck that I was originally leaning towards. Oh, being a woman and also living in Canada, of course I already see things that I would change and incorporate for 'me', lol But because pf your ingenuity, I can now see how my needs just might work! Thank you! And thank you for being so darn detailed in your presentation and explanations! Very well done!
Thank you so much for reaching out, I’m glad that you found some inspiration
Shower 🚿 definitely!!! Wasted space is the part over the cab, that definitely would have been a better place for your bed. In my opinion, a bathroom would have fit easily in place of the pull out. I would have sacrificed sitting up in bed, so I could of had a shower and toilet. Again my opinion, other than that I think it's a great Rig and you look happy. I'm not trying to be disrespectful to your choices. Obviously, everyone is different, and what works for you doesn't necessarily work for me. I still give it 👍🏻👍🏻 on the craftsmanship and creative ideas used to accommodate your needs.
tried putting the bed up top. too close to the ceiling, I was always bonking my head.
Thanks for sharing your knowledge and experience. You are helping me work through the planning process (door to cab cut through).
I like your keep it simple style and this works for me, I hope you don't mind me stealing a few ideas and maybe a couple of questions for you later on sometime.
Many Thanks
Yours is my favourite configuration because it doesn’t look like one and because you don’t have your knees around your neck while sitting either.
The space really makes this design amazing
Thank you very much for sharing your build 🥰
I love it…
Thanks for watching
Well thought out build.
Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for watching!
Nice job, I like the kitchen and door set up. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks for watching!
This is impressive very nice!!!!!! also the photo collage with the frames is very cool!!!
I love the photos
Great job...very efficient and practical!
Thank you!
It's an excellent job very organized. I love it.
Thank you so much!
Really enjoy this layout! Thanks for sharing what you do.
Thanks for watching
Love the simplicity...you should be very proud of your masterpiece...👊
Thank you! I am quite proud
I love the choice of the diamond plate, it looks great!
Thanks! I really like the diamond plate too
Nice setup.
Thx for the tour. Looks good
Thanks for watching
very cool man, now THAT'S what I call a fashionable and functional home on wheels! 👏👏👏🎉😎✌
Thank you so much!
I would be comfortably happy living in that...you are a great host and explain thing in detail ... THANKYOU X
Thanks so much for watching!
This is beautifully done!
Thank you so much
It's so spacious... great build
I appreciate that
Looks nice. Not having a shower and a toilet is a breaking point for me in my opinion. But other than that. Beautiful rig.
You can definitely add those items in your build!
Very Nice build. Thanks for sharing
Thank you for watching