Van Camping / Van Life

I haven't seen any Veeky Forums threads based around the general van life theme. Why is that?
I was planning on buying an early 2000s Ford Van for maybe $3000-$4000 then
>removing inside panels
>insulating with spray foam $200
>install separate battery w/ 150W solar panel for lights, microwave, and minifridge $400
>covering inside insulation with cedar wood. $150
>Putting in one shelf w/ wood bed frame, and a bed w/ storage underneath bed $250
>Finally one rack of brackets for surfboard, skateboard, skies on side of wall you face when you enter van. $ 15 for brackets
Done with inside
>Then adding a motorcycle / bike rack on back for dirtbike and beach cruiser $250
>Stuff canoe with fishing supplies on top rack $80
>Add van awning for max comfiness w/ AR7 survival rifle. $170
>Lift kit $1000-1500? Idk, didn't research much
>Add push bar $250
>Finally adding a front towing winch just in case. $300
>Solar shower bag $30
Done with everything.
In total it would cost about $6095-7595
What is it about lifted vans with push bars and ladders that make them look so comfy?
Was planning on doing this and being comfy w/o having to pay rent.
It would pay for itself in a few like 8-10 months.
Thoughts?
/k/, /out/, Veeky Forums, /diy/, /wg/ welcome
Post comfy vans desu.

Other urls found in this thread:

victoria.craigslist.ca/cto/5872522567.html
austin.craigslist.org/cto/5863352063.html
twitter.com/NSFWRedditVideo

Postin some before all the
>But OP You forgot x and y!
>This will never work...
Just rough estimates user, not gonna include every nut and bolt.

God this shit is so aesthetic and hipstery at the same time.
Really makes you wanna drink.

Just got done with snoo snoo.
Last one I'll post b4 I wait for someone else to post.

I am building a chevy express AWD right now.
Gonna drive to mexico when I am done.
pic is what i am shooting for

What's the dimensions of the inside
What's the odometer read
How much she cost ya?

Or you could get a pickup with a shit/no bed, and a sleeper off a semi for $5k and put them together with all the bedding/storage already installed and just add your brackets as needed. Panel vans are run into the ground before they're sold.

Spray foam will make it rust like mad. Put normal fiberglass insulation in.

Try to keep it light as possible, shit gets heavy fast.

Wire 120v shore power and leave a stub for an Invertor.

Wire everything in the walls, plumb everything inside with pex. Don't use shark bites, use crimp connections. Crimp is fine, you don't need the full collar.

I could go on for hours, expect 6 mos build time unless you're unemployed and doing nothing else.

This is not your van, I know the guy who owns it. Post your own or fuck off.

While you're at it pick up the battery box off the semi. 4 truck cranking batteries might give you a nights worth of modern power draw, and deep cycle will give you a few days draw. Install a capacitor for starting at the truck's spec tolerances and you can forgo the low voltage cutoff switch.

I'm employed, but currently doing nothing else until school starts.
Sleepers always smell like ass. How do panel vans get run into the ground? Maybe if they're older, yeah...
Thank you for the information, I didn't know it causes rust. I wasn't actually going to do any plumbing. Too much space needed and toilets are always a hop and a shit away.

>How do panel vans get run into the ground?
It's a work vehicle. By the time it makes it's way through the chain to the lower end of the market, the philosophy is 'run it until it breaks, then replace'.
My friend's father ran his last van until the radiator shut down, then just drove around with the heater full blast to vent heat.
It exploded halfway through a final bodge fix by the roadside.

>I haven't seen any Veeky Forums threads based around the general van life theme. Why is that?
Because you're a newfag.

Vandweller used to post on here all the time about the ins and outs of vandwelling. They used to be some of the best threads to read and look forward to. Right up there with LPG's Tales from the Dealership.

Your reading comprehension is lousy

Give user a break, he's still reeling over Hillary losing.

>How do panel vans get run into the ground?
Forgive TF he only really knows logistics.
Those vans do indeed get the balls run off of them but most vans in the trades get very low miles but get pretty dirty.
Mine was a drywallers van and it took forever to get all the gypsum out of it , but it cleaned up like brand new a few dents from the interior aside.

how many miles he get out of it?
>Right up there with LPG's Tales from the Dealership.
Go on
Also, anyone notice that even MINIVANS look good lifted with push bars?

hipster indeed, thats a land rover discovery

Even if they're not vans, you can still do pretty much everything I described.
LOOK HOW FUGGIN COMFY THIS SHIT LOOKS user
>TFW you're not in Alberta Canda right now driving through small towns in light mist
WHY
LIVE?

>bucket seats
>big central console
>no place to sleep
That looks zero amounts of comfy.

In what timeline is the Discovery hipster?

Funny thing is the floor to ceiling height on the Disco is probably bigger than American vans.

So I am thinking of doing something similar but I am really looking into the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter vans. Longer wheelbase and raised ceilings = much more interior space. Not to mention the god mode four cylinder diesel which will easily go 500,000 miles without any issues

I live in Alberta and would love to live in the back of my car but it's going to get too cold too fast.

But Edmonton sucks and I'd be scared of having all my belongings stolen while in class

Insulation and a space heater.

Would insulation not help at all and a sleeping blanket?
Not putting a bed in the back
>ishygddt

My uncle had a Sprinter RV. I never saw it in person but he said it was fantastic and got ~20mpg to boot.

Want a little 4x4 merc assault van tbqh

Another Edmontonian here. In January and February it's not uncommon for temperatures to get down to -40, so it's just not feasible unless you want to be extremely uncomfortable at best.

I do want to try camping in my hatchback in the summer though.

Used to live in mountains. Would get to -10f on the regular

b-but... then who was phone?

I'm planning on just buying a cheap van off craigslist and hoping it gets me by for a few thousand miles of music living. Wish me luck, friends.

where the fuck is the engine located? Mid? I can't see that having a transverse mounted I4.

No it's in the front

>little
Its the same width as American vans though.

Under the dashboard.

Yeah I know what size they are, meant more little for a merc van

"overlander" here
a lot of the vans out there are very limiting in the sense that you cannot get very far.
in all the chevy astros and old 2wd ford vans people on here talk about you are going to be pretty much relegated to very established campgrounds with lots of people right next to you.
if you want to truly get deep into the woods you should get a proper 4wd and get a similar set up to pick related.
granted if you plan on living in it full time this is a different situation entirely

What are you using for your base vehicle? I am thinking this but going with a suburban/excursion over a van because of this.

Any pics of your setup? That looked like a stoc photo

i love these threads too

>tfw no qt nip campervan
Delicas are becoming legal to import into burgerland currently so
>soon

Thats why im going to strap a dirtbike to it. For deep innawoods. Van is just homebase.

I drove a sprinter for work. It was okay. I'll give you a summary


The good
>handled over 300 km/day
>hauled way more weight than it was meant to
>Was generally well thought out and easy to use. New ones even have aux, chargers etc etc built in
>comfy as fuck driver seats
>auto trans had a decent gear select system that allowed for engine braking and good down shifting for hills
>pretty decent fuel economy for their size

The bad
>blew 2 transmissions hauling weight through hills (our other sprinters did this too. Our mountainous routes ate transmissions like nobodys buisness. But the weights probably affected that)
>no fucking dipsticks. You have to get it serviced. Or get the machine that reads all it's shit.
>tire pressure monitors lasted a few months
>door handles are shit. Expect to replace a few


Overall i would probably buy one myself. The high roofs would make a great sleeping loft and you can fit a lot in them. Plus service is readily available in most cities.

Sorry i should add. No transmissions blew before 400,000 km plus. We had an old beater that had 758,000 km. Made it to 600,000 kms before rebuild

>wants to import a shitty nip van even though you have all the superior and bigger American vans available

kill thyself

-10 is a far cry from -40
>Celsius or Fahrenheit
Both. They intersect at -40.

I already knew where F and C intersect friendo..
Also, -10 F is -23C.
So no, it's not far off from it at all.
>iktf
Just end me friend
What's that get in mpg? 6? I bet it would stomp the shit outa mountain trails though.

>caring about mpgs

You sound like a yurocuck

I'm picking up a VW T5 in a few days. Gonna look at camper converting it.

There's some nice vans in this thread.

>Not caring about money
What is the point of getting a van if you're not going to either save money by living in it, or going on long roadtrips.
I don't want to spend 2,000 on gas alone going across the US in a car with 6mpg.

oh right I forgot you are so poor you HAVE to care about fuel costs.

Stay cucked

>waste of 2 grand
>poor
Do you know the value of a dollar?
Even if you make like 100k a yr as an engineer or some journeyman skill, that's like 3 days of work user.
If you're a normal fag making 30-50k, that's like 2+ weeks of work.
Try again.
WHAT ROOF RACK DOES EVERYONE USE?
>WHAT ROOF RACK DOES EVERYONE USE?
WHAT ROOF RACK DOES EVERYONE USE?
>WHAT ROOF RACK DOES EVERYONE USE?
WHAT ROOF RACK DOES EVERYONE USE?

>worried about fuel costs
>willing to go through the process of shipping a car from cartoon land

weebcuck

shut up you euro retard

not everybody eats the crumbs off their floor & sleeps in plastic bags held together by duct tape

gas costs don't matter to most enthusiasts with a brain because it's an expense that powers something you really like: your car (or van in this case)

if you're going to be so autistic, why are you even on Veeky Forums anyways?

go shove your minuscule cock into a prius charging port & leave the rest of us alone

Are you dimwitted or just ignoring the question
>What is the point in trying to save money by living in a van if the van gets 6mpg?

>saving money by importing a van

You don't know how to manage money

Clearly your reading comprehension is low AF
Go back to the post
>IKTF
Post before
>Tfw no qt nip campervan
If you're not retarded, you can see I want but won't get one.
I'm sticking with a simple ford.
Nowhere did I ever post I'm going to import shit.
Fuck bruh, what grade reading level are you at, 4th?

Just stop embarrassing yourself. Check the fucking reply chain, he never claimed he wanted to import a van, that was a different guy.

What the fuck is wrong with you people? Why does having an attraction to Japanese vans trigger you so hard?

>I'm sticking with a simple ford.
>sticking with a yuropoor transit van

YOU CANT MAKE THIS SHIT UP

>Even if you make like 100k a yr

>WANTS TO LIVE IN A FUCKING VAN

i doubt that you make even 2000 a year you dirty hipster

>ford
>euro
What did he mean by this Veeky Forums?
I'm normalfagging it up rn doing 15/hr while going trough college.
Pretty comfy tbqh famalam.

Fiesta, Focus RS, Transit

All yuro cars, you mouth breathing retard.

>Ford Motor Company is an American automaker and the world's fifth largest automaker based on worldwide vehicle sales. Based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit, the automaker was founded by Henry Ford, on June 16, 1903.
Wow, wrong again friendo.
>Fiesta
not a van
>Focus RS
not a van
>Transit
Finally a van, but you know I meant a ford econoline. The budget in OP post clearly says 3-4k for van, not 15k used 25k new.
Try again.
Grasping at straws bucko.

>econoline
>not actually economical

What are you even talking about?
You're just derailing the thread, fuck off.
Will Swivel hitches support a decent sized dirtbike?

yea

im about to buy a second van (the larger XLWB )

and creating a living space in this (still going to be a work van but put a living space in the cab and expand it

if you do a lot of miles cant beat the sprinter

fzj80 land cruiser
its currently in my buddies garage and im finally doing the suspension. this was a few months ago when I had just put the tires on.
wife and i have slept in the back a few times and its really not that bad. once we get the drawer/platform in there it will be even more comfortable.

well that still means though that you are going to have to spend a lot of time/sleep right in designated campsites which to me is not fun but if you dont care and want to just get out into the woods for a few times than go for it.

>>install separate battery w/ 150W solar panel for lights, microwave, and minifridge $400

you are going to need more than 150Watts and a single battery m8.

Been living in my car for seven months. Cant wait to get a van. Although I will miss being stealthy as fuck. Feels bad seeing the fucks that sleep on the concrete. Hopefully before spring I will have my van and I can bum around the country before the heat settles in.

>you are going to need more than 150Watts and a single battery m8.

Thats 1kw per day based on 8 hours of sun from the panel.
He won't have any surplus with a 150w panel and no aux battery. Its not ideal but its doable, especially if he drives the van every day and isn't drawing power constantly.

You dont get full sun in the morning or evening. At best its like 5, maybe 6 hours and thats if you are in the southwest. Anywhere else and its more like 3-4 hours of full sun. Also you dont get the full 150 watts because of inefficient losses.

Also, That minifridge lone will use up most of that power. They use about 1kw a day.

In the dc world we talk about amphours
a good dc fridge will use less than 30 per day.
Still though the guy needs more batteries and 250 is closer to what you need to keep a fridge and a few other devices going year round.

I really wanna do this, but I don't have a van, just a crossover SUV

>sell suv
>get van

Done

too late for that, without going into details. might just take the back seats out and do the best I can with it. at least it's AWD and can offroad well

Nice truck! I love the old Land Cruisers. I'd go that route but I need my base to serve the purposes of towing and passenger hauling too. I know I'm sacrificing a bit of off road prowess but it beast two trucks I guess.

So expensive though :/

This. Why does every idiot want to put a microwave in their car?

All I need is hot water for my oatmeal, rice, and to be able to reheat beans.
What do I need a gas stove that I need to keep buying gas for?

Not sure about that individual model, but I have a larger model that will work for 100 hours at highest heat with a 20lb propane tank. If all you do is heat hot water, cook rice, and reheat beans, a single 20lb tank could last you an entire year.

Is there a proper hybrid between van camping and motorcycle camping?

...Car camping?

thanks!
80 series are not that bad at towing, not that great though you're right. what are you planning on towing?
how many passengers are you taking with you? the 80 has seating for 7 with all the seats in..

if you're that concerned about towing you could always go for a 100. would certainly depend on your budget though as well.

Van camping with motorcycles?
Sounds like it takes up a lot of space between the tank and stove...
Don't want it

My plan's to buy an old Landcruiser in a couple years time when I stop being a student...

Living the dream, user, living the dream.

>Why do Americans act so American?

Should I get shag carpeting for the floors, or just stick with a simple wood bottom?

This is pretty much my only concern. I don't know how Benz can shill a 5000 lb towing capacity on an engine that produces only 160hp and tops out at 80mph....it seems underpowered

How come nobody talks about Honda elements in these threads? They seem really popular in this type of thing and I'm likely to buy one this winter for that reason.

I'll give you a few
>New cars are expensive
>not enough space to live in full time
>good for short time camping

If all you need to do is heat water use an immersion heater or at most an electric teapot, fucking idiot.

wood would be better in the long run

unfortunately vanning has gotten a bad rap due to the internet and vans being seen as pedo-mobiles.

but if you dont give a shit and still want a van: go get one. go to vanning shows (van-ins) to get some ideas and talk to the owners about their vans and how they achevied their goal. most vanners are a friendly enough bunch to help you acchieve a better looking van or look on the forums.

My Sonic is pretty small but with the rear seats down there is enough space that I could fit a sleeping bag, a laptop, a small hotplate, etc. With a roof carrier for supplies I'm good to go.

It's also built like a fucking vault so it's well insulated

Tow ratings are always for even, level surfaces.

hmmmmmmmm
victoria.craigslist.ca/cto/5872522567.html

Dude man the New Sprinter pretty much costs the same as the Chev Express. The Work Cargo versions are bare bones all you need if you don't have to color them.

>New sprinter
>new
Implying id ever get something less than 10 yrs old

>660cc
the nipps sure are pretty minimalistic and barebones when it comes to cars.
Especially Kei cars/vans/trucks

post car
how much have you thrashed it since the start on a scale of 1 to 10?
is the thrash avoidable?

How inadvisible would it be to invest into building out a 69 Dodge van with minor rust? (See link.) Funds & time for the project are no issue.

austin.craigslist.org/cto/5863352063.html

Anyone here own a Transporter T5?