Nice van, good man and thank you for the video. Change whatever suits your taste but keep the percolator. 57 here and have been using mine over 40 years at home and camping. No special tools, ingredients, electricity or language needed. Lol.
I'm encouraged to see you made the IKEA rail work in an Econoline. I bought the rails but pretty much gave up on using then in my Econoline. Now, I'm going baack to the drawing board.
Honestly it was not hard. The mounting brackets were the hardest thing to get. 2nd hardest thing was to get the brackets to comfort to the shape of inner wall. Let me know if you got questions
@@MikeAndTheGreatOutdoors Thanks, I'll be revisiting this. Mine is a conversion van and some of the inner wall was cut during the conversion. You are right about the brackets being hard to get. Even with the SKU I couldn't find them on the IKEA site and phoning customer service got me nowhere. I finally bough them from e-bay.
Great intro. I just got one just like yours except extended version. Laying out now. Looking for the right IKEA bed to do the same great idea bed! Thanks for sharing
You can move that Air Bag module.. Just disconnect the battery. Then make sure you mount it on top of the Pedestal somewhere else. And don't delete the Rear AC\Heat.. As you can buy so many different air vent combinations for them from Conversion vans. I see them in Salvage yards all the time.... Just get some AC foil tape to seal the ducts off good..
Great job Mike! You're always gonna think of stuff you wanna add. But you got a nice build and you're getting out there and enjoying our beautiful country! Nothing better than that!
Just watched your video and i love your fancy basic build. I have an econoline 150 and really love my van. It has a basic build as well, similar to yours and the bench and cabinet as well. I chose to have my cabinet near the doors for cooking and the sink to be a shower as well. I also love the bench there so i can look at the ocean, lake etc as im sitting relaxing. Thanks for sharing. I know it was last year but i really enjoyed it.
@@MikeAndTheGreatOutdoors I didn't film but i have pictures. I didn't do the work myself. But the first van builder did not do what was contracted, finally my handyman finished it for me so I could do some traveling. I'm ready again to make some changes/upgrades.
Howdie, neighbor!....I don't live too far from you...just up the road in Va Beach. I turned my 2013 Transit Connect (small van) into a camper van and I love it! Lived in it for a year and then covid struck so it grounded me a bit, now-a-days I've just been using it to camp until the shenanigans calm down. I like your build and I think as you use it more, you will figure out how it will best work for you. I made small changes along the way as I understood what worked for me and what didn't. Happy camping and see ya down the road!
Hey there. I took the van out last weekend to newport news park for 2 days, all systems good. I met two other RU-vidrs there. Lots of fun, and thank you. My build is pretty simple. Maybe see you around!
Great video. Love the IKEA bed idea. Here in the UK there is so much IKEA stuff available, even on the second hand market, so this is a neat idea with the variable width etc. Subscribed :)
I like your van build. I have a Ford E150 higher top 1998 van with all windows. My husband can’t understand my need to have my glamping stuff, lol! I want to do a side seat like you have but to put some of my longer items like my Clam Outdoor shelter, my aerobed and my tent if we decide to sleep outdoors. I do a lot of Mexican cooking so that bin may be able to hold all my pots and pans. Thank you for your ideas! You’re a great dad to help your son out for his hike too!
@@MikeAndTheGreatOutdoors I’m deciding between the jackery 2000 or Bluetti 2000 for now as I don’t want to deal with installed solar panels, batteries, charge controller, etc, etc cause it’s too complicated!
I was doing the same thing… with what I was doing with the van I wanted two to three days of power. I run a 12 volt freezer, and the microwave. Working on a better shower now. Keep me posted on your build, would love to see the progress!
My wife and I want to camp in our van, not live in it. Your van looks great. Your Bed is smart and that first meal of your looked delicious... Congrats, have fun, take care.
@@MikeAndTheGreatOutdoors likewise, I just sold my 30' RV, after owning it for 20 yrs. I had a 15" trailer before that. My sons are gone now, so our E-150 will be just fine for my wife and I. Best of wishes.
New subscriber here... I'm looking for inspiration how to convert Ford van. I am working on getting our Hotel van Econoline 2010 passenger type... Thanks for your layout of the bed. I'm 5''7" and I can position my bed like the way you did...👍
I’m planning a build and I got a Chevy express that looks pretty much like yours because of the windows I didn’t get a cargo van because I wanted the windows but because of the windows I do lose a lot of space on the sides so I did like to see how you did your build and gave me some ideas ,
Thanks for the tour! I’m in the planning stage of converting a ‘97 E350 Superduty, a former ambulance (somewhat raised roof but not a box). Your use of an IKEA bed looks like a good solution! What’s the approximate width of that part of the van? It looks like you sleep diagonally. Also, was that a specific IKEA bed, or rails that are used for several beds? Looking forward to updates!
Thanks for watching. I have a video on how I built the bed. Here is a link for the bed rail www.ikea.com/us/en/p/skorva-center-support-beam-galvanized-90124534/?gclid=CjwKCAjwzaSLBhBJEiwAJSRokgjah3l_jn9jO4QoykSvmOcr6ZubUKC3fGyL6bTTdLZNcYbLkHTyYRoC1o0QAvD_BwE You need to go to customer service for the brackets, they can be hard to get. Width is 72", I'm 5'9 so I fit length wize. I use a "full" matress which fits snug. Just installed a microwave in the van. Share updates on your build!
A few adjustments and you'll be happy. I would have offset the sink for more space. You'll be thinking about things as you use it, the changes are usually ongoing, great job. I have a window van, looking to do something like this. Happy trails!
Totally agree. I ha e the flip up shelf on the left side of the sink. Dont do a lot of cooking inside. Ive since added a 2000 watt pure sinwave inverter and two lithium ion batteries and a microwave lol. Good luck on your build, would love to see it.
@@MikeAndTheGreatOutdoors Cool. Can I ask how many AH the batteries are and what kind of longevity you're getting out of them while using your microwave and any other appliances? Also, is that the Bouge RV 30L fridge? I'm looking at getting one of those. Great build!
@@Viajero69 thank you again, the chest is a refrigerator/freezer. Can not do both at the same time. Got a video on still working great. Usinf 2 100 Ah LifePO4 lithium phospate battries. Ihave not run the batteries down yet. I also upgraded to a 200 watt inverter. I have not run the microwave more than 30 mins at a time. If the do run low I can start the van to charge the house batteries.
Thanks for watching! I'm 5'8, my wife and I sleep wheel to wheel and I have a couple inches to spare. I have another video on just the bed if you want more details.
I haven’t yet. I am careful with having limited light at night. I make sure all foods are closed tight and dish’s cleaned. I am working on some screens. Thanks for watching!
Www.discountvantruck.com. If your doing the econoline, I would recommend getting the heavy duty model they offer. The owner Is direct and to the point when you talk with him. Thanks for watching
Thanks for watching. Main reason ont to have carpet, is it's easier to keep clean. Lots of traffic in a d out of the van.dust pand snall broom, makes for sasy clean up.
Thanks for watching Hal. So not totally sure how the 2000’s are set up. Mine had the rear a/c, it had a vent tube that went from the top of the rear a/c, up the drivers side rear corner, and connected to the roof vents. I wanted my be at or below the windows. The vent tube on the rear a/c was two tall for me to put my bed that low. So there is a pretty big chamber where the fan is on the rear a/c. I used a hole saw, I believe it was 3”, and cut a hole down towards the fan unit. I then cut the top part down to below the bed. I cut a piece of wood that fit tightly in the original vent, and left some room to put spray foam. I found a piece of pvc at lows that fit the hole I cut. I epoxied the pvc pipe into the a/c unit. I attached a dryer hose to the pvc pipe and ran that forward from under the bed. Works great hope this helps,
@@MikeAndTheGreatOutdoors I was asking about installing your aftermarket fan in the ceiling and cutting through the a/c duct up there. Sorry I wasn't more clear. Yours looks like mine.
Oh sorry, well as I described above, I rerouted the A/C under the brd, so the roof a/c ventes are not used. I had removed the headliner from the van. Mesured like 12 million times before I started my cut. I originally had not planned on putting the headliner back in. Changed my plan snd decided to use it. The underside of the headliner is thin fiberglass, the port the are flows through is also fiberglass. The roof vent went in the middle. I'm pretty sure if you could get creative and route some flexible hose around the vent. Good luck!!
@@MikeAndTheGreatOutdoors View the beginning of your video and look over your left and right shoulder, the water colour is drastically different. Just curious as to why? Sorry, I forgot, FJB!
