After three incredible years of living full-time in my vans, I’ll sadly be closing this chapter of my life and moving back into an apartment. I was lucky enough to pour my heart and soul into two beautiful builds, and every adventure I had with them was unforgettable.

I recently received my dream job offer in NYC, so I’ll be leaving van life behind at the end of this month. Rigby, my current build, will carry me through until my two-day road trip in a sedan, (which will feel like such a downgrade).

I want to take a moment to thank this community. Being able to share my builds, experiences, and questions here has meant more than I can express. To the few of you I got to meet in person, it was amazing connecting with like-minded people.

Van life will always hold a special place in my heart, and I’ll be following along from my cramped NYC apartment as this incredible community continues to inspire me and make me a little jealous. Good luck to all of you, and if anyone ever needs advice on electrical, plumbing, or anything else, I have two builds under my belt and would be more than happy to help.

Meet Rosie. My 2021 ram promaster 2500. Based in central Ohio and figuring it out as I go. Follow my struggles on Instagram!

@kylesvandownbytheriver

Open to all tips and suggestions!

Hi all. This is basically a completely hypothetical question. I am not interested in living in a van fulltime but I would like to eventually take long camping trips of a couple weeks, driving across the country. This is years away, but I like to day dream about it.

My husband is not a small guy 6'2" and big shoulders and I am tall (5'10"). We have dogs. I have a mini aussie/sheltie mix (25 lbs) and a newfoundland puppy who will probably be 120lbs full grown. My collie mix will probably have passed on by the time we do this so I'm not considering her but we may have a another mini aussie or small 25lb herding breed to round out the dogs.

I have a minivan where the seats are folded down all the time. It has tarp laid out on the floor and is our lumber hauling and dog carrying vehicle. I had planned on building it into a camper at some point but now I have this giant breed puppy. I love my dogs, don't mind the sacrifice. I have tent camped, backpacked and done lots of hiking and have travelled across the US with my collie mix and we were fine. However, that was tent camping. So I don't need people telling me why I should NOT travel with dogs.

Does anyone else have a van with a very large dog? What does your setup look like? I don't want a huge bus type camper. I'd like to have a van if I can build it out. Should I have a poptop type camper so I can have additional floor space? I keep looking at all these vans and they have like NO floor space for a big ole dog to lay down. I'm just curious what other's thoughts are about this. We did camp with our previous newfie and had a pull along trailer and he just rode in our SUV. This could be an option too and honestly where I might be leaning but I would need to trade in the van for an SUV and I LIKE my minivan. I also like camping off grid and it seems easier in a van. FWIW, it's my husband, myself and our 2 dogs. No kids to consider. They are all grown now. Any thoughts or advice or suggestions to fuel my crazy day dream?

Every vanlifer I meet swears their way is the only way:

Driver’s seat side = “better feng shui”

Rear doors = “fresh air + fast exit if nature calls”

So, what’s the actual science here? Or is this like the pineapple-on-pizza argument of vanlife? 🍍🍕🚐

I purchased my van a little over a month ago. 36k miles, $35k doll hairs.

Drove it back to my home in Ohio. Ate some delicious food, sweat the ol' nads off, got stood up by a Texas latina, got accused of being a murderer in Arkansas, jammed to Ye's new stuff & finished the Tools of Titans audiobook for the 2nd time. 🤘

Now I'm broke & grinding so I can convert this bad boy. Might use it for hauling. 🚚

Built our overhead shelf about 9 years ago now- we added exterior outlet electrical plates/covers to receive magnets. The covers were like $1 US each at hardware store- great to magnet curtain up around swivel seats or hang hats/ dog leashes or paper map for reference- just sharing as I have not seen it elsewhere (not saying it does not exist elsewhere) 🧐😝 Also love my level gauge on center where I can see it for left/right- forward/back level is above passenger ceiling handle so awesome leveling without getting out of my seat for my lazy butt

Hey, i got a working visa in Canada for 2 years. And im debatting between saving and buying a van there or sending mine from europe. I keep seeing people saying it costs 2500€ to ship a van on the atlantic, and other saying it costs 6500€. So i dont know what to believe. Maybe its prices before and after covid ? My van is small, its a VW Vanagon T3 Syncro 4x4 so what price could it be ? Keep in mind that i wont live in it in winter in canada so no need to tell me about heating or else. Thanks !

Found a nice utility owned (PG&E) campground less then 10 minutes from Emerald pools. The water was amazing!

We take the long way to Crested Butte and explore along the way. I do some van repairs, we check out big reservoirs, travel over mountain passes, see some moose, and explore the town of Crested Butte.

Hey all

Bit of an atypical post for this sub maybe, but I don't really know where to go with it, maybe r/CarTalk though this is more specific towards vans... Feel free to point me in the right direction.

Me and my wife scuba dive and we've started taking our two children on diving trips as well. We're also getting into camping more and more, but are sick and tired of trying to puzzle all our gear into our station wagon (Skoda Octavia) and then getting everything wet after a dive. Or having to go on holiday with a roof box which just sucks.

So the idea is to buy a double cab van to replace the station wagon. We're about to pull the trigger on an L1 Ford Transit Custom. We'll have 5 seats, it's "small" enough to use as a daily driver car, but we also have a bulkhead and a separate cargo area to separate the traveling area from the "wet and musty" area.

The idea is to provide some racking on one side of the cargo hold, and the other side have a little bench that can store dive bottles. I want to keep a length of floor available to store a bike as well.

That's our situation, so the main thing I'm wondering about now: how do I handle the storage area for daily use? How do I prevent a crate with groceries or a book bag sliding about the storage area? Are there good divider tricks? Use a net? Any tips or inspiration welcome!

Hi guys.

This is my first build.

So I started building like half a year ago, building in my freetime while studying and working… it takes time. Many hours of planing went into it and I am somewhat stuck a finding a good solution for slide outs for the front part of the bed. On the right side I will build a drawer but I won’t get the height of the slatted frame and I still need a solution for the left side. It should be a 50 - 55cm extension of the bed. Someting easy to set up.

Maybe something on top of the drawer that I can get on level with the slatted frame. I am quite lost how to work it out. Maybe some folding mechanism for the left side? Most of my build was “trust the process” and finding solutions on the go but I am stuck here since 2 days.

Does anyone have some idea how to solve this in a smart, easy and comfortable to set up way?

Sorry for my English and thanks for your help!

Saved up to buy a Van and found this 2000 E250 Quigley 4x4 for sale on craigslist for 11k. It has the 5.4 V8 with 194k miles, lots of paperwork and has been cared for very well. Any thoughts on what to do? I plan to renovate it for full time van life.

I've made it across the country and am trying to settle into my new locale, but I find myself feeling bad that my dog is so bored all the time.

Back in housed life, even though he was stuck at home all day, he had humans and another dog to keep him occupied. He also had a predictable routine to find solace in and a domain to guard and prowl call his own.

On the road, though he didn't have the comfort of a routine, every day was an adventure and while some were kinda dull, most involved hikes and exploration and meeting new people and sniffing new smells.

Now that we're settling into our new normal, it feels like the worst of both worlds: he's stuck in the van for most of the day while I either work or take care of my dad (the reason I'm here in the first place), with little interaction or room to roam.

He loves being out of the van and going on walks and hikes, and hates coming back to the van and the change in mood is palpable as he climbs back into bed with resignation, sleeping away his boredom.

I hate seeing him like this, but I've got a lot on my plate and there's only so much I can do to keep him engaged. How do your dogs spend their days? What do you do to keep them entertained and in good spirits while you go about your daily to-dos?

EDIT TO ADD: I should probably also qualify that my dog is a Toller, a high-energy breed that loves the outdoors and gets bored easily. He's not exactly built for just lounging around all day.

EDIT 2: So I have no idea how the fuck people got the idea that I'm somehow neglecting my dog, so let me spell it out: except for when I need to tend to my dying father, I spend every minute of the day with my dog. It's just that much of the day, I'm in front of the computer, working, because, you know, I'm not independently wealthy. He spends that time sleeping or laying beside me, bored, which I feel guilty about. But when I'm not working, I'm either taking him for walks, hikes, or down to the water to play.

I started this thread to try and get some tips on how to keep him engaged and entertained when I'm working, because I'm unable to actively play with him. How the everloving fuck that was interpreted as "I abandon and neglect my dog" is beyond me. I haven't edited the OP, so if someone wants to point out where they got that impression, I'd love to hear it. I love my dog. He is my world. I spend every minute I'm able to with him. There are just many minutes in the day that I'm UNable to lavish him with attention, and that's what I was here trying to get advice with. Instead I got judgmental pricks jumping to conclusions based on assumptions.

I think I made my electric box too big. In the photo below:

The width and depth are designed around said batteries so the main thing I can change is the height. The box is a total of 35 inches tall which is going to make my bed probably too tall. Should I cut 8-10 incehs off the top and remount everything? The only thing still not wired is the AC distribution which is going to goon the right side wall.

Also small side question: what have you done to get the wires to not run over each other? Or is that just a reality and I should add a sleeve of some sort?

In the process of initial clean up, going over its systems to see what's good/bad/ugly but it made the 45 minute drive home so how bad can it be?

Just want to check if overall the system makes sense! Anything stand out that is dumb or catastrophic?

Please feel free to download the draw.io diagram from google. You can click on the links through the site and it looks nice!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KZH75RD1vgd45XSY6vJInnYBUINkWJCB/view?usp=sharing

Or you can just open the photos below (separated for clarity):

My biggest confusion is with the silencer female fittings. They are clearly not NPT female fittings so why do they come with NPT male couplers? Will it be okay as long as I use a thread sealant?

Similarly, does the silencer female swivel into the strainer NPS connector cause issues? This one seems like it should fit better as they are both straight walled and I would add thread sealant.

Finally, there's the issue with the Shurflo strainer into the pump itself. It is an NPS female but the water pump has a NPT male. I am using the faroutride build as reference. They use the Shurflo pump which has an NPS in port so that makes sense that those match. Should I get an adapter? Do adapters like this exist? The only one I could find was this one from McMaster Carr: https://www.mcmaster.com/4685T13/ but that's only male to male. (I found some more on ebay so maybe this is a worthwhile solution?

(also is there anything wrong with the way I have my cold and hot water splits? It feels like it should be fine but I don't know. Maybe I need splitters that have open and close valves?)

Let me know if you need any clarifications but thanks for any advice!

2003 E350 extended body with high roof. This build is less vanlife and more camper van/road trip machine, but it's still more than capable of keeping my family comfortable on the road for an extended amount of time. We got it almost a year ago as a typical beat up wheelchair van, stripped it down to nothing, then built it to suit our needs. One of the toughest things was figuring out a layout to seat 6 (day trips with friends/family) and still have enough usable space for a bed, toilet, and storage on long trips.

I recently finished installing bump outs at the rear end of my van to extend my sleeping space. Since I'm building it alone, it was much easier for me to attach each piece individually to my frame than to build the box and install it as one large piece. The process went relatively smoothly, but I was left with exposed corners at the upper corners where the metal curves. What would be the best way to cover these? I've considered using a roll of super thin flexi ply, installing carpet all over the the bump out, or just cutting and installing small pieces to cover the edge - but I'm really not sure which option would work or look the best.

Custom roof rack using super-strut beams and rivnuts to mount directly to the roof of my 2000 Chevy Astro.
ARB awning mounted to quick release brackets.

Full explanation on the build out here -

https://youtu.be/tNKRHJyx49o?si=DyRLpmgnank37E74

Pulling 15a and feeding 85ish amps to the battery! Nothing has melted so far (45 min). Charging a 300ah dumfume, with a 60a vevor charger and 30a victron at the same time. Still enough headspace in the 3kw generator to also run a 1500w space heater off the generator at the same time. Btw thats thru the 1500w inverter that has a transfer switch. But voltage flags and the generator sounds like its having a tough time, but thats 26-27a! Should be all good to run an ac and charge at max amps at the same time. This is not going to be my primary generator. Stress testing the system before buttoning up the walls and reinstalling the bed.

The 10awg marine wire feeding the system have stabilized at around 92f, the 12awg wires feeding each circuit are around 88f and the 2awg battery cables are at around 100f. Will proably be upgrading those in the near future. Battery terminals stabilized around 115f and the battery has risen 5f. Thats with an ambient of 80f. 20% up on the soc from 2% within 35min.

This is the product of 6ish hours actually installing and routing wires, plus countless hours reserching and buying things. This is only for the shore power and generator power 120v system.

20a twist lock on the rear and a normal 15a plug on the side. The switch switches between the two independent feeds. There is a neon light that indicates when the gen is feeding power.

Currently the 300ah runs an 8k btu portable ac (2 hose) on max for like 6-7hrs with the van in full sun and 90f 80% humidity. Plan is to have a system that can run ac most of the day and charge quick from almost empty in 2-3hrs of gen time.

I DO HAVE SOLAR. only 200w tho. Will be upgrading that as well, but figured a robust shore power situation is also needed and should come first. Most of the time, like no air con needs, 200w does fine keeping the fridge, lights, and cellular router going along with intermittent alternator charging. This vheicle is more like a movable off grid cabin than a spaceship jetting around all the time, it spends most of its time parked. Also yes i have two inverters and chargers. Started with a 600w giandel, which is great, but small. Same with the victron charger. So I decided to add on instead of replace. Redundancy.

Hope this post inspires anyone looking to build a similar system or just to add to your knowledge base. The real world numbers on alot of builds that I see on here are lacking. I'll try to answer questions, but internet here sucks, and I like that.

1hr15min in and have consumed 2.5ish kwh. Temps remain the same on wiring. Battery up 10f. Soc at 43%.

I have been homeless since February 10th 2024, now I've been in a camper on my bosses property. A customer gave me a pop-up camper, it's probably early 2000s. I get it's not a van but was hoping I could get advice. I plan to get a buddy heater. I just want to stay relatively warm as the months get colder in new England

Hello! We have 400watts of solar charging our 300a battery bank and everything has worked quite well for the last 6 months. A couple days ago I noticed the panels weren’t charging our batteries and took a look at the controller and it showed it was in night mode despite being in direct sunlight. After further investigation I noticed the inline fuse on top of the van appeared to be melted and believe that could be the issue. It has been pretty hot here like 100+ degrees but I believe it has more to do with resistance in the system rather than external heat causing the fuse to melt or blow. It is renogy panels connected to a renogy mppt controller with fuses/wires they provided. Any chance it’s just a mediocre/ poor quality fuse that needs to be replaced? It has worked so well up until a couple days ago and I’m not sure why. Thanks! I flipped the breaker that connected the batteries to the solar system, anything else I should do to prevent further problems while I fix this issue?

Hey! I’ll be living in this 1995 ford econoline during the months of January - April in Silverton Colorado. What are some mistakes you have made when building a van and what recommendations do you have for staying warm and dry while living in a van during the winter months. Thanks!

I've always worried about tornadoes