Camper Van Build-Out – Overview
Beginning stages
When we came back from our world trip we bought our Ram Promaster cargo van almost immediately. I truly believed that in a matter of a few months I would be able to build out a camper van and we’d be able to travel within a short time. As detailed in a previous update post that did not happen at all. Instead we made little tiny amounts of progress on it while focusing on other things. By October of 2020 we had the van fully cleaned of all the debris from the previous owner, fixed of all mechanical issues, a MaxAir fan installed through the roof, sound deadening installed in the cargo area, and aftermarket windows installed from Motion Windows.
In October, I began to research what needs to be done, what to buy, and how to design the various systems. I probably worked on the van about 4-5hrs a day during this point. By around the end of December I had completed the bulk of the electrical system. In January both Katie and I got sick with Covid, so there wasn’t much work done on the van. In early February we moved to Spokane to life with Katie’s parents. They graciously allowed us to use their garage to work on our camper van.
Getting Serious
I worked through the rest of the winter on the propane system, installing the sub-floor, insulation, and misc other items. In April we made a trip to Portland to pick up some things for our camper van build and then it was back to the grind. At the end of May we got our floor, and once we had that installed (Katie’s dad helped me bang out 90% of it in just a few hours) I began to increase my work hours to about 8hrs a day. By June I had the basic cabinetry done and we did a little weekend trip with Katie’s parents to see how the camper van would work for us.
After coming back from the trip we then spent the month of June finishing everything up. Katie’s dad helped me with the plumbing and the painting, as well as misc other items that needed to be done. I think in the month of June I probably worked 10-14 hr days, 6 days a week pretty consistently. At the end of June the van was pretty close to finished and we left Katie’s parents house on a trip through the North Cascades. After that we went to Portland to pick up a few more things and spent about a week there doing some finish work on the camper van.
Taking The Camper Van For A Test Ride
Weekend Test Ride
Before beginning our build we did not really take the van for any test trips. I think this was a little bit of a mistake since we could have technically thrown a mattress in there, some camping gear, and seen how it would work for us. Once we started on the build it became a place to store our build materials so it wasn’t very practical to take it on a trip.
When we did take it for a test ride in June we did not have any of our systems up and running and instead relied on Katie’s parents RV for all of our necessities. There were a few things that stood out to us. First, we noticed that our bed is a little bit too high. It felt too close to the ceiling, and was a little bit tough to get up on. Based on the way I built it, this was a quick fix. The other thing we noticed is that our insulation works very well and the camper van did a great job holding the warmth in, even though the propane heater wasn’t up and running yet.
Perfect Is the Enemy of the Good
I had assumed that we would leave a few weeks earlier than we ended up doing. That we would get all of the finishing touches done on the camper van as we went. Instead, I worked on it at Katie’s parents house all the way until July. I left the installation of the hardware for later since I had shipped that to Portland. We took off for a little trip through the North Cascades without door hardware, cabinets that wouldn’t stay closed, wouldn’t stay open, and were generally a pain in the rear. We used blue masking tape to try to keep them closed somewhat.
At this point there are still things unfinished in the camper van, and our current trip is in a way still a test ride. I’m going to finish setting up our shower one of these days, there is still some sealing around edges I’d like to get done. There are some misc. little upgrades I’d like to do when we stop somewhere for a little while. Maybe install a roof rack, build drawers into the garage, completely redo our cabinets….. It gets lofty very quickly!
At the end of the day there is always that tradeoff. Do we travel in the van as-is and enjoy it, even though we’ll struggle from things that are not done? Or do we allow that precious summer to pass by, and finish everything, but then travel in a fully complete camper van that we are extremely comfortable in? I think we chose a decent middle point between those options. It’s hard to figure out though what is the best thing to do!
Living #vanlife For A Month
So far we have been living #vanlife for about a month. During this time we have visited the North Cascades National Park. We then explored the Southern Oregon Coast. Now we are in Montana at Glacier National Park. It has been a pretty tough adjustment to be honest. Part of it stemmed from the van not being 100% complete. As a result we needed to do little tweaks here and there to make things more comfortable. Doing that takes time away from traveling which is a bummer.
When we stayed in Portland I installed all of the drawer hardware, which was a complete game changer. No more blue masking tape, no more drawers flying open while driving. While driving down the coast we finished installing the curtains on Ariel’s beds. Now we can do a few things ourselves after putting her to sleep. This was a huge game changer as well. Another major upgrade was to purchase a broom so that we can actually sweep our van. Can you believe that we left on our trip without getting one!
A Whole Different Lifestyle
The big change though, has been in understanding the different pace of living in a camper van. Whenever we did weekend trips there was often a little bit of slack in cleaning. After all we could clean everything really well when we got home. Now this is our home. In addition I think on previous trips there was a willingness to power through the drive, knowing that we can rest once we ‘get there’. Now everywhere is ‘there’.
We find ourselves cleaning all of the time. We sweep multiple times a day, wipe the floor whenever there is even a tiny spill, wash the dishes after every meal, and put everything away all of the time. In addition, we sort through the fridge all of the time and reorganize the panty and garage periodically. Basically we need to be ‘on-it’ in making sure that our space stays optimally functional.
Our Resources
For the build we relied heavily on the information found at FarOutRide. Their DIY Van Electrical Guide: Build Your Knowledge is pure gold, and their DIY Builder’s Package: All Diagrams & Tutorials is absolutely worth the cost.
A major inspiration for us was @moonmountainman on Instagram.
The concept of taking mini-retirements was introduced to us by Tim Ferris’s 4-Hour Work Week.
We believe in reaching for Financial Independence, you can find a lot of information on that at ChooseFi.com
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