Many people have been asking so here’s our van tour finally. Been meaning to do this for a while but life gets in the way sometimes, yes – even van life! Click below to see the tour…
And here’s a rough timeline with links to videos we’ve made as we built the van out:
Bought the new van – September/October 2018 – We bought the van and did a quick “hack job” temporary build for our 3 week trip to Colorado and New Mexico. This was not much more than a plywood floor and a loft bed to allow a sleeping area above our storage.
Espar D2 Diesel Heater – January 2019 – The first major project was installing our diesel heater under the passenger seat.
Swivel Seats – February 2019 – We installed swivel seat adapters for both the driver’s and passenger’s seats
Roof Rails – May 2019 – Our van didn’t come with them so we installed our own aftermarket roof rails. This had to happen before doing much work on the inside because insulation and paneling will cover up the fasteners.
Roof Vent Fan #1 – May 2019 – The first major hole cut in our van, and in the roof no less! This was a scary job, but we were successful!
Upgraded Temporary Build – June 2019 – We made some more refinements to the temporary build from last fall so we could have a more comfortable trip to go to our niece’s graduation in Ellensburg.
Windows! – July 2019 – More holes cut in the van, and bigger ones this time. On both sides!
Plywood sub-floor – August 2019 – This is where we started getting more serious (and time conscious) on our build. We put down the third iteration of our floor.
Waterproofing – September 2019 – We’ve read online that the clips that hold the body trim panels can tend to leak, even on newer vans, so to be extra cautious, we waterproofed ours.
Insulation – October 2019 – Insulation went pretty quickly but also sporadically as it needed to happen as paneling went up. This video shows how we removed the interior back door panel.
Loft Bed Platform – October 2019 – Now things are starting to happen faster – here’s the construction of our bed.
Window Trim – October 2019 – Here is a 2 part video series showing how we made our own “trim ring” for our driver’s side window. The construction detail, and the finished product.
Electrical system, plumbing, kitchen cabinet, refrigerator, insulation and paneling, ceiling fan trim… All of this happened through October and the beginning of November 2019. And we were pretty rushed with a deadline to hit the road for Shannon’s first travel gig, so unfortunately we didn’t shoot any video.
But there you have it – we hit the road on November 14 and at this writing it’s nearly a month we’ve been in the van.