How to Build an Adventure Van
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A lot of people who want to get into vanlife get hung up on the build process. While it can be a fantastic and empowering learning experience to outfit one's own campervan to their specific needs, not everyone has the time or ability to do so. Dave Walsh saw this problem in the community, which is why he started Vanlife Customs.
Vanlife Customs is a campervan outfitter which offers its customers professionally outfitted and unique products that address the specific needs of the client. They’ve been able to help numerous people over the years get started in the van dwelling lifestyle, and through their experience they’ve learned a lot of useful tips that anyone can implement into their own build, whether it be the first or millionth project.
For Dave, planning is a crucial part of the project. This is where a lot of costly and sometimes irreversible mistakes can be avoided. By taking your design ideas into CAD software like Autodesk or Google Sketchup, you can try out very specific layouts and components without ever cutting a single piece of wood. It is during this process that you can iron out a lot of potential issues at zero expense.
It is important, however, not to just do your planning in the computer but also actualize it in the real world with various prototypes. While it can be easy to get excited after coming up with the perfect layout to immediately start building, it is important to realize that while the computer models and drawings do a good job of displaying physical measurements, they don’t give a good sense of how the final space will feel. Especially with first builds, a lot of people find it very helpful to make prototypes with either inexpensive plywood or even cardboard to get a good sense of how each element will fit into the real space.
Another tip Dave has is with the gutting process of the vehicle you intend to convert. A lot of components that might not be useful in your camper can be sold to offset some of the initial vehicle expense. Even if items aren’t sold, a lot of stuff you remove might come in handy later on, so it’s important to be careful when removing components that might be useful further down the line. For example: some builds Dave is able to reuse the original flooring material as a subfloor.
It is also important at the gutting stage, especially with older vans to take care of any holes, leaks or rust. These are issues that can be difficult to repair later and cause future problems with the build such as rot or mold.
For the physical build, Dave likes to use inexpensive two-by-fours with self drilling screws (not tapping) to frame the interior and act as furring strips for the final walls, flooring and ceiling to attach to. This makes the build more robust and eliminates potential thermal bridges that will heat/cool down the space faster.
The next step for Dave is the wiring. It’s easiest to do this step when the walls are bare, and by doing the framing first he eliminates the possibility of accidentally drilling a mounting screw through the wiring. For insulation, Dave recommends using whatever fits within your budget. While R13 fiberglass insulation is super cost effective, it might not be the ideal option for mobile rigs as when shaken it can release microparticles of fiberglass into the air. While reflectix is popular due to it’s thin size, it doesn’t work well without an air gap, which a lot of people don’t realize. While Foam insulation and wool are popular choices for insulating vehicles, they might be outside your budget. Options for campers are constantly changing, so Dave recommends doing some research into what is current and fits within your budget.
Some kit that Dave recommends having during the build is a voltmeter. When installing electrical, it allows you to check on the health of your battery and make sure that everything is wired properly.
Dave recommends to keep headroom in mind when installing a bed platform. A lot of people install their beds too high to sit on in favor of more storage underneath, which is often a choice that they regret later. This is an important consideration to look into during the prototype phase of your build. To keep weight down while saving space, Dave likes using tube steel to build the bed frame.
For cabinets, Dave says that keeping lines straight and square will result in a better quality experience. He likes using quarter-inch plywood for exterior surfaces with half-inch plywood for counters, shelves, and other weight bearing surfaces.
While there is definitely a lot more that goes into outfitting a van, these are the tips that Dave thinks are important to consider when building a rig on your own. There’s no one right way to build a camper van, but these are the tricks that he’s found helpful when operating his company.
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