📍Newport Beach, CA If you are interested in one of our vans Contact us at buildingvanlife@gmail.com If you have questions on anything else please leave them as a comment on one of the videos and I will respond. I generally wont respond to those types of questions via email. ig @ BuildingVanLife
I swear I'm having Mandela effect, was this video edited recently? You talk about an actual size 1x4 for the side walls then install that first from what I remember. In that video you read the sku of the 1x4 from home depot. What happened to that part?
Hey, I greatly appreciate it, btw what am I supposed to look out for in this video? Menards only has those first during strips I mentioned so I got 8 of those, think that they are think enough that they should work? Thanks
thanks bud. At 9:35 into the video i show how i had to alter it to make the framing on the passenger side a little closer to the wall so the finished wall will sit flush around the sliding door
Hey bro, I was just having a hard day, I'm at mendards atm, soooo Because I still don't know the layout of my Van. Can I still follow you're framing video to all the way even thoifht i dont know my layout yet? ? Also, you have a few other framing videos what one do you recommend that i follow? Also I have an extended cab.... appreciate you hope I hear back thanks.
Yes I think so. The only kind of customization I have is the cut out for the bed. You can keep that or just frame it all flat. Also watch the next video after this bc there was one minor alteration I needed to make in the next video. I pinned that video in the comments
@BuildingVanLife massively appreciate you, okay ill go watch the other video, I'm looking at these 2x2 actual size 1/2 furring strips they are spruce pine & fir they don't have a lot of options do you think these would be good as far as tickness goes and width goes? ? The only other option is 3/4 x 2-1/2 these are also pine.
I would sell my most recent van which is nicer than this one in the video for 100k, here is the link to that van ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-AazMLobZM6s.htmlsi=pPxuyCQYndjhWgBL
Do you have any idea why my panels keep stop working? My alternator charges and the panels worked and then just randomly stopped working so I changed the fuses and they worked again and then they stopped working again. I think every time I start the van, it burns the fuses between the controller and panels. They are hooked up in parallel, I’ve looked like 5 times
And tbh I’m not positive it’s blowing the fuses cause they are solid white. But I bypassed them and it started charging. So I got new fuses and it worked again, then a day later I noticed the controller is getting nothing. It’s sunny out and they are getting direct light. Zero light on the controller for the panel.
maybe you have the wrong size fuses for your panels? Starting the van shouldn't have anything to do with your panels, they shouldn't be wired together so maybe you them wired incorrectly. It would be difficult to say whats going on without seeing it.
@@BuildingVanLife there’s a sticker on the back of the panel that says max 15amp fuse. If I bypass the fuses it starts working. You connected your charge controller to your negative bus bar and the negative bus bar is all grounded from the starter battery, correct?
Hey bro, soo....I got 3 4x8 half inch birch l Plywood....and then I realized evdtuome I follow doesn't have a extended promaster.....and so cause I have a ft more I need to buy a another plywood...but not only that my cuts sucks and it's not even kind of perfect ...and it was a very stressful day everyone makes it look easy.... but I was at it for HOURS and I only cut one peice people be saying oh I have zero experience with woodworking or power tools and somehow makes some phenomenal van conversion. ....like what do I just suck? 😅😂😂😂😂😭😭😭😭
Hey i'm kinda confused why people use fern strips to frame the van...... Why not just use the existing beams to create your wall? This would maximize space. I haven't seen anyone. Do it and i'm not sure why.... Is there a reason why we frame the Van? When we already have existing beams, we can use use???🤔🤔🤔🤔
A few reasons. The metal beams are irregular so you wouldn’t be able to have uninterrupted walls. There is too large of gaps between the metal beams, framing for wood can’t have more than 16” between where it’s screwed in. It’s hard to screw into the metal beams and when you are using a delicate finished wall covering and the main cross beams are solid steel and impossible to screw into. It helps with creating a place for the insulation to go
Hey bro, there is not roofrack kn the link to your amazon affiliate.....and i wanan see how much it is, cause its simple and works and im about to buy FVC latter/roofrack its $2700... so if what you did is cheaper id like to go for that one lmk thanks.
Man i am sooo intimated by all this... been watching van builds since 2016 finally got mt van and i feel so lost, my vam came with a subfloor and boy it was a nightmare to remove im using half inch birch ply wood for my wubfloor.....i am using tye subfloor that came with the van as a template but its not flush to the walls all the way around...does it matter? Cause all of yours are flush, btw the videos i was just watching someone commented about rust when screwing you said the croas nuts or plus nuts was stupid cause its gonna cause rust too and i agree but seems some peope are super fixused on rust... qnyways hope you rely appreciate your videos... ive been trying to find how to make a bed and found your channel.🎉
It depends. It doesnt need to go all the way to the wall because once you frame the walls, the walls will come out furthur, plus at the end of the build when you put in your finished floor, that is when you can make it look perfect and make it flush. As far as people talking about plus nuts... this is the internet, everyone is an expert and wants to argue. Follow the videos on the channel and your van will come out nice and you wont have a problem, don't worry about the "internet experts"
Nice, thank you. I enjoyed the mariachi background music at the begining. My Dodge Caravan is black, so I think that the wood frame would be enough, no wall, just cupboards. I could have curtains and posters stuck with magnets on the metal.
One of the main reasons for the framing is so you can add insulation, which you will see on the video after this on my channel. Especially with a black van you are really going to want to add insulation.
Hi there, would you be able to update on that expandy foam insulation bit more, please? How is it holding? I always suspect the spray on foam insulation might get detached from the van body as it contracts and expands with the weather. Much appreciated if you would comment. Thanks
I have now put the spray foam on 5 vans and it's holding up perfectly. This video you are commenting on is van #4. First this stuff is not going to detach, anything it touches it permanently bonds to. You will find that out if you get it anywhere you don't want it. Second, it expands into every little space in the van so even if it magically detached, there is no way it could move. I would never use any other type of insulation, there are so many advantages.
I just installed these lights and bracket on my Promaster it took me about 3 hours with your instructions everything went great, the only thing I probably did different is I added about 2 feet of wire to one of the spot lights because it was short and I really wanted to hide the wires. Me and my wife were laughing like you were when we did the low beams then high beams then the LED Bar light haha!
Awesome! haha. I wish I could add the light bar on my new van but the parking sensors and auto braking safety sensors are in the way. I'll find a work around soon I'm sure.
Appreciate the tutorials! I followed your layout for framing and I'm currently halfway through my ceiling install. Always love seeing the jiu-jitsu attire as well! Thanks brother
Yes. I think I show that in the video. However I recommend watching my more recent van build and how I did the framing on that. I did it differently and I think it came out better. Here is the link ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-3P_TEdmfNAs.htmlsi=uDS-ft2kr6M1MwSr
I haven't watched all of your videos yet but can you tell me what the black cord that you cut, hoping it was going to be ok, that you connected to your inverter? was for?
That second 4 gauge cable from house battery positive, Would it be ok to run that from the positive bus bar instead? With the 70amp breaker. Thank you for great videos!
