Converted Camper VansKevinOphoff2024-04-06T10:56:10-06:00

Converted Camper Vans

As a young man in the 1970’s, I joined my generation in our common yearning to own a customized van. We spent thousands on custom paint jobs, tear-drop windows, and mag wheels. Fur-covered dashboards, button-tucked leather ceilings, and awesome Captain’s chairs made for impressive interiors. Mostly we used them for cruising the main drag. We could load up the surfboards and head for the beach, or toss in the skis and head for the hills. Those were the days!

But why stop there? I started loading mine up for camping and spent several days on the road. As the miles rolled by I envisioned a tiny kitchen, a pooper, and my own bed. How hard could it be?

The Oldies-But-Goodies Are Still Out There

The image below is a 1985 Chevy G20. This model and conversion is very rare, and I haven’t found another one like it. The camper conversion is original from factory when it was built. It was for sale on eBay for just $10K*.

Building or Buying a Camper Van- A Big Decision

Converted camper vans can be very appealing in their compact and efficient appearance, but as for living in one, many folks find them to be too small. Not only that, but some find that the “nomadic” lifestyle can be quite lonely. You’ll want to carefully consider your purpose for the vehicle. Vacation and/or travel-only is one thing, and full-time living quite another. Being sure of your objective, as well as your budget, will help you determine whether you should purchase a fully-customized, ready-to-roll vehicle or convert a van yourself.

Buying a pre-built camper van can be quite expensive. Converting your own requires a good amount of building skill in many areas, from metal- and wood-working to electrical and plumbing.

Easy Design Software

We didn’t have the advantage of design software in the 70’s. We didn’t have computers for that matter- but you do. VanSpace 3D Design Software makes it easy to “Get your van conversion ideas out of your head and into the real world so you can compare them, share them, and build them easier than ever before!”

“Drag and drop components, resize them, move them around and tweak the details until everything fits just right.” VanSpace 3D is just $19.00* and includes a cost calculator. ” A bad budget (or no budget) is the #1 killer of van conversions. If you don’t know how much you need to spend, your trip can be delayed for months, or you may give up completely. The easy-to-use budget spreadsheet helps you plan better and get on the road sooner! Get VanSpace 3D today.

Domestic Campervan Conversions

When we think of campervans, the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter is usually the first image that springs to mind. But there are many advantages to using a domestic American van model as the basis for our dream campervan.

Mercedes-Benz Sprinter vans listed on eBay®, while really nice, can be twice the cost of a domestic model. Insurance and repairs are also more expensive.

The Dodge RAM Promaster Hi-Roof vans are listed on eBay®. Take a look at the selection.

Here are the kind of deals you’ll find on domestic camper vans

The 2000 Dodge Ram, shown here, has only 28k miles on it. It’s totally tricked out with an Onan generator, Emerson Quiet Kool air conditioning unit, and rear wet bath with toilet, sink and shower. The rear kitchen has a sink, two burner stove top, microwave, and refrigerator with built-in freezer. Scissor couch turns into a bed, and the dinette can also turn into a sleeping area. Has upper cabinets for storage, TV, DVD player, furnace, water heater, closet with hanger area, fantastic fan, and automatic rear step. Awnings on both sides.

It was listed for $50k* at the time of this post and was snapped up fast, but you’ll be able to find similar deals with just a little searching.

Vintage Campervans

There are many new and used VW Vanagon for sale at Cars.com. Click on image to see details.

Buying a used campervan might be just the ticket for those of us who don’t have the skills or cash to buy an convert a newer cargo van.

The VW Pop-top, later called the Vanagon and then the Eurovan, led the way in weekend campervan development. They were the first to use the Westfalia pop-up roof shown in the photo on the right.

Here is a great blog on the development of the VW Vanagon’s development, and the learning curve VW went through in the development process. The early models were seriously under-powered…read the blog for the details. I would steer you toward the later models that finally had a V6 engine, 1993 or newer.

Here is a YouTube video that has some good things to think about before pursuing the “Van Life.”

Learn About Van Life from an Expert: Kristin Hanes of The Wayward Home

Stop dreaming and start planning your van life adventure

Kristin Hanes of The Wayward Home has been living in a campervan for four years and knows how difficult the transition can be. From getting rid of stuff, to choosing the right van, to outfitting that van and adjusting to a huge change in your lifestyle. She hopes the Preparing for Van Life Binder helps ease you into a new life of freedom, adventure and possibility. It’s just $9.00*.

Preparing for the Van Life Binder includes

Planning worksheets, detailed information, van life essentials list, and 12-month calendar to streamline your van life dreams.
Downsizing Tips & Checklist: Tips to help you downsize with ease, plus room-by-room checklists so you can take action on getting rid of stuff.
Choosing a Van WorkSheets: Learn about types of vans, where to buy a van, and track your top van choices.
Bonus #1: 15 Van Life Meals to get you started with cooking on the road.
Bonus #2: A Van Life Build and Cost tracker so you have a detailed record of what you put in your van.
Bonus #3: An Income and Expense Tracker so you can start planning your budget on the road.

See more of Kristin’s van life aids on this page of the Tiny Life Consulting website: RV E-Courses and Workshops

Van Life Academy

With Van Life Academy you get a step by step course put together by several expert vanlifers to help you get over any obstacles that may be standing between you and your best life!

This course helps simplify the process of getting set-up and taking you from a wanderlust aspirant to a full-on road adventurer. So you can Go From Liking Instagram Pictures Of Van Life To Actually Living It!

Their objective is to enable you to live van life in the fastest and most affordable way possible. Learn the best way to build your van, live van life, and travel the world, affordably.

Here’s what you get:

You’ll be taught by 11 different expert vanlifers and van builders. They will guide you step-by-step through 6 different van builds. You can even replicate their work – making the van conversion process easy & efficient.
Learn everything you need to know about living Van Life in one place. This will limit your overwhelm & save you TONS of time as you won’t need to piece together hundreds of hours of scattered and sometimes inaccurate information!
Follow the proven processes and money saving tips demonstrated throughout the course to avoid making common mistakes that otherwise would cost you hundreds or even thousands of dollars & countless hours. In addition to this, if you were to buy everything inside Van Life Academy separately, it would cost you well over $1,000!!
Van Life Academy includes PDF’s, checklists, electronic schematics, floorplans, tools, calculators, diagrams, videos, exact processes, and more to help organize your planning & accelerate your van build. You’ll find EVERYTHING you need to build your van inside Van Life Academy.

Use this link for a 50% discount.

Here’s another great resource for those considering a life on wheels

From Van To Home

Take advantage of this guys van conversion journey and following years of travel throughout Europe.

He quit his job, bought an rusty old van off eBay®, turned it into a comfortable home and never looked back.

YOUR COMPLETE VAN CONVERSION GUIDE

Imagine: your home is on wheels with everything you need to live and travel wherever you want. It’s the ultimate freedom…

From Van to Home gives you everything you need to build your own dream van-home so you can get on the road asap

From VAN to HOME in just 3 months with ZERO experience
A van conversion that actually FEELS (and functions) like a home
Shortcut months of wasted time, money and frustration
Clear annotations walking you through every step
Revised edition + bonus material + lifetime updates + support

When you go to order the book the price is in UK dollars (£14.99). That’s about $18.83 depending on the exchange rate. Since it’s a download, even from the UK, you’ll have it instantly.

Insulating Your Camper Van

Insulation is the most important investment being that it is the determining factor in your comfort (or lack thereof).

Here is a recommended method of insulating a camper van I learned from Marc Vroman of Nomadik Customs while attending the Van Life Summit.

A lot of DIYers recommend using wool insulation for a van conversion. But, wool can compress overtime, it does nothing for condensation control, and is susceptible to mold.

Marc recommends that we first use a layer of Kill Mat first. Kill Mat is a sound deadening, self-sticking, foil backed butyl mat that sticks directly to the inner metal skin of your van. Not only does it help deaden the sound it creates a thermo-break stopping condensation.

The second layer is Reflexit or similar reflective foam insulation shield. With an R value of 1.5 it continues to offer a thermal break disrupting the the travel of heat or cold through the wall. Use Sika Sikaflex-221 adhesive.

The third layer is Poly-Iso foamboard with a double foil to increase the R value. Varying thicknesses are used to fill the wall cavity. It also adds another layer of reflective material.

The fourth and final layer is Thinsulate. Thinsulate is FMVSS 302 certified (federal motor vehicle safety standard). It delivers more acoustic absorption per unit weight vs. competitive products. Hydrophobic fibers resist moisture, mold and mildew.

Now you can add the skin, cabinets, and bed as you can afford it.

Van Life Summit

Attending the Van Life Summit put on by Project Van Life provided me with lots of expertise from DIY build out to transitioning to van life, even cooking in a van.

Kristen Haynes from The Wayward Home was the MC. She did a great job and the 65+ presenters had a lot of solid information. You can replay the entire summit by subscribing to their All Access Pass following this link.