AFTER 3 YEARS IN A DIY CAMPER VAN: What Works and What Doesn't?

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Here are 9 things about our van build that have either worked very well for us or have given us grief.
00:22 - DIY Composting Toilet
01:05 - Lagun Table Mount
02:34 - Water Faucet/Water Filter
04:06 - Tongue & Groove Paneling
05:43 - Insulated Window Blinds
07:04 - Kitchen Counter/Cabinet Combo
08:17 - Mattress and Bedding
09:21 - Espar D2 Diesel Heater
10:47 - Dual Ceiling Vent Fans
11:53 - Bonus Tip #:1 Heating Duct for Garage
14:05 - Bonus Tip #2: Cable Internet Port
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Referenced in this video:
WATER FILTER INSTALLATION In a Camper Van: • WATER FILTER INSTALLAT...
OUR DIY COMPOSTING TOILET REVIEW: • OUR DIY COMPOSTING TOI...
HOW WE FIXED OUR SAGGING LAGUN TABLE MOUNT: • HOW WE FIXED OUR LAGUN...
AVOID KILLING YOUR DIESEL HEATER: • HOW TO AVOID KILLING Y...
Our DIY Composting Toilet has been great. Here are FREE PLANS for you to build your own: timshannonltd.com/free-plans-...
Plushbeds Queensize RV Mattress: www.plushbeds.com/products/mo...
Adventure Van Company: diyadventurevanco.com/
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Опубликовано:

5 июл 2024

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Комментарии : 89

@morphergaming0531 5 месяцев назад

Great reviews. Appreciate the heads up on the plastic in the Laguna table, that a costly purchase to have failure points.

@TimAndShannonLTD 5 месяцев назад

Glad to help!

@tristanlasley8030 11 месяцев назад

They make 15watt plant seedling warmers.. and also low power gas tank heating pads.

@TimAndShannonLTD 11 месяцев назад

OK , thing for us to research. Thank you for the suggestions!

@kinderliving1 Год назад

Thank you for the practical advice.

@TimAndShannonLTD Год назад

You're very welcome - Thanks for commenting!

@darrellfort1668 Год назад

vanlife4ever!

@TimAndShannonLTD Год назад

Indeed!

@strawberryroad1347 Год назад

I always like to hear what works and what should be done differently, so that I can do the right things in my own build.. 😊

@TimAndShannonLTD Год назад

We're happy to help and glad you enjoyed this. Thanks for letting us know! ❤

@joanhiggin1134 Год назад

I'm just starting thinking about doing this Do I buy already done and save the time Or is it worth taking the time

@strawberryroad1347 Год назад

@@joanhiggin1134 It depends on how much money you have. If you can afford it, buying can be great. I build because I don't want to use that kind of money on it, and because doing it myself teaches me so much. What someone else builds, doesn't necessarily fit your needs, so many do like me, going the cheap route first, figuring out if it's actually something they want to do full time and spend more money on.

@TimAndShannonLTD Год назад

@@joanhiggin1134 For us the time building was fun time. Part of the process. We did a couple of temporary builds to start with, just to get things figured out for how we wanted everything laid out. Having built it ourselves, we know exactly how to fix or tweak things later. If you're not into crafts or building, then buying a pre-made may be better, but it will likely cost more (although you may find a used van for sale at a good price too).

@joanhiggin1134 Год назад

@@TimAndShannonLTD Thank you I'm on my own so I have to rely on others , but we will see , your post are great especially the kitchen roll Draws etc

@Scrambler85 Год назад

My favorite kind of videos. I was already building my 2 van in my mind before I was half finished with the first one. Definitely a thumbs up 👍

@TimAndShannonLTD Год назад

Hi JG - good to see you again. We're always thinking about that too. (but we sure love this one!) Thanks for the comment!

@strawberryroad1347 Год назад

Just a little sidenote, peatmoss can be harvested substantially, you have top layer which is green and always renew itself, and the brown "dead" part underneath, which means that you sort pull out everything and make a large impact. If you buy from the right place, its like cutting grass, and don't do any damage.. 😉

@TimAndShannonLTD Год назад

Thanks for adding that Strawberry! The problem is finding the right suppliers when we're traveling all over the US going to different (and unfamiliar) stores. But yes - good to know this.

@nancydanaland Год назад

GREAT TIP for You! I run my 110 Cord this way... Hold the cable up when you close the left door. Then mash it gently under the rubber that runs vertically between the doors,at the floor. Then close the right door. Works fine!

@TimAndShannonLTD Год назад

Thanks Nancy, we’ll give that a try. Next build though, we’re including an internet port! Thanks!

@lizzyjp1 Год назад

A SPONSORED VIDEO!!! Congratulations!!! Can’t wait to try these filters!! Thank you!!!

@TimAndShannonLTD Год назад

Thank you Lizzy!! Yeah we are super stoked about it.! Thanks for the comment!

@HoboJoOnTheGo Год назад

I’ve been on the road almost 5yrs now…have a channel, watched lots of others nomad videos,….BUT you guys, wow, great ideas. I’m going to let my subscribers know about you two. Great job!

@TimAndShannonLTD Год назад

Wow thank you Jo! (just looked at your channel real quick - gonna check it out some more tomorrow). Thanks so much! Glad you liked this!

@GreatGrannyFreeBird Год назад

youtube just suggested you and I'm glad they did.

@TimAndShannonLTD Год назад

Sweet! Thanks for the comment!

@StepvanDan Год назад

Great info ,new sub here and thank you for sharing big hugs from MN

@TimAndShannonLTD Год назад

So glad you like it. Welcome and thanks for the sub!! 😀

@anthonymarino4260 Год назад

it was nice to see you.guys again love your MODS HAD A GREAT TIME IN A. K. we will meet you guys again on the road. cant wait

@TimAndShannonLTD Год назад

Hi Tony! Can't wait!

@stevesidare2493 Год назад

Nice to know about these frailties. Thanks.

@TimAndShannonLTD Год назад

You're welcome! Glad you found this helpful!

@geneberger4785 Год назад

Tim & Shanon Love & appreciate your down home ideas on your Van living. Your notes/ideas are most practical. Thanks. GB North Carolina

@TimAndShannonLTD Год назад

We are so glad to hear that. Thanks for letting us know Gene!

@kingbee3 Год назад

Nice rundown! We love our Lagun tables, but they do wear. We have 2 table mounts in our van; one gets used a lot, and we sometimes forget to loosen the clamp before we move it. So it got sloppy just like yours. But Lagun sells the pin as well as the bushings separately. The other day I installed the new pin and bushings, and now it’s like new. I also rubbed some candle wax on the pin, I’ll see if a little lube makes it last longer. We recently splurged on Starlink because when we travel, we need to stay connected and be able to zoom. We started with a WeBoost and Jetpack, and as long as there’s some cell signal it can usually boost it enough. But when we go to remote places, there is often zero cell service, so there’s nothing to boost. But the Starlink works great anywhere it can see the sky. Was awesome on our last trip in Utah and Arizona, as well as Padre Island. All places where we’ve not been able to use our cell booster in the past. It will probably struggle with trees though. We’ll find out if we do any trips here in the UP this summer. There are lots of people on RU-vid who have taken the standard RV antenna, cut off the leg, and flat mounted it permanently on their vans, with no loss of performance. I haven’t done that (yet) but I might. As for cost, yeah it’s $600. But I actually have more than that in my WeBoost and Jetpack. The service is now $150/month, but you can pause it when you aren’t using it. Probably not a big plus for full-timers like you, but great for us.

@TimAndShannonLTD Год назад

Wow thank you for all this! Good to know. Much appreciated!

@LastNameTom Год назад

I've heard about the door handle being a pain, and because of that I specifically made my counter top removable. I put in 4 t nuts into the rear half of the counter and cabinets and bolted the front half into it. Super easy to remove when needed. And I agree with the tongue and groove ceiling. I made the same mistake and that's what I would 100% change in a next build.

@TimAndShannonLTD Год назад

Super cool! Oh man I wish we would have done our countertop similar to that. And yeah - the T&G ceiling and walls... one of these days I may just rip it all out and redo it! Thanks for the comment - good to hear that feedback!

@nubiasilva2449 Год назад

Me encanta que viajen juntos u trasmitan sus vivencias, gracias gracias ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

@TimAndShannonLTD Год назад

Gracias, ¡nosotros también!

@chonkontheroad4649 Год назад

My house sale completes in 3 days and I will be on the road after that, when I built my van last year I was concerned the water tank under the bed would become a heat sink so I tee'd off the hot water line and routed it back into my water tank with a quarter turn valve at the tank. I can open this valve, turn on my pump and recirculate back into the water tank as much as I want and I feel this lowers the amount of time my heater has to work to maintain a constant temperature.

@TimAndShannonLTD Год назад

Hi there - this sounds very interesting and I'm trying to understand what you mean exactly. Are you saying you use hot water to help keep your van warm?

@chonkontheroad4649 Год назад

@@TimAndShannonLTD Yes, I don't heat my van that way, I just don't waste the warm air. Imagine a room full of warm air surrounding a 32 gallon tank of 5 degree C water, what happens to the air temperature. Now imagine a room full of warm air surrounding a 32 gallon tank of 20 degree C water, the water will help maintain the temperature. The water will still cool overnight as the tank is sitting on an insulated floor against the wall but it won't draw near as much heat anywhere near as fast.

@TimAndShannonLTD Год назад

@@chonkontheroad4649 OH I see what you mean. Yeah we have a 32 gallon tank as well, and in the winter, it's like drinking ice water. Very cold. So you warm your "fresh water" tank (not the "hot water" tank) so it's not such a large, cold mass in your van, cooling everything off? Great idea!

@goldeneddie Год назад

I'd be concerned if you put an electric heating blanket or in fact anything electrical in your water-pipe area in the way that you were considering. A sprung leak and an electric blanket could cause a fire in an area you can't see, right under where you sleep! I added a looped extension to my diesel heater, just plastic piping with no insulation cladding. That gave off just enough warmth to keep the garage above freezing and seemed to make the bed warmer, though that might have been wishful thinking! Of course, you could just have a proper vent for your diesel heater into the garage, but that does use more heat and fuel, whereas the loop just uses a minimum amount that feeds back into the vehicle. EDIT: Haha! As I was writing, you came to the extra point of running some pvc pipe with a fan! Great minds think alike my friend ;)

@TimAndShannonLTD Год назад

Lol yes they do and thanks for the comment! Always good to consider things from a safety standpoint as well! Appreciated!

@carole2047 Год назад

Thank you for this. Some good for thought here for our own van build.

@TimAndShannonLTD Год назад

Hi Carole! Glad it was helpful - thanks for letting us know!

@danzbeard Год назад

I’m right there with you on the wood chips. I use cedar. In regard to your heating issue, I use 10’ extension tubing in conjunction with a “y” splitter on the diesel heater. So now I have heat going into the cabin, as well as under the bed

@TimAndShannonLTD Год назад

Sweet. Yeah I wish we would have done something like that. I may yet try to do it retroactively.

@JonTanOsb Год назад

Coir (coconut husks) is more sustainable than peat moss and works even better. I've found that pine pellets used for horse bedding or pellet stoves works better than pine bedding, plus it absorbs liquids and just turns into sawdust. And it doesn't smell. Cedar bedding smells nice, but takes a long time to break down, so not as compostable. Jon in rural BC, Canada

@TimAndShannonLTD Год назад

Wow good info Jon, thank you! We will look into those options (never thought about Cedar taking so long to break down but that makes perfect sense because it’s so good for fences, etc. as it “survives the elements“ so well. ) Thanks!

@CindyCaVANas Год назад

This was very informative for me!! thank you! 😊

@TimAndShannonLTD Год назад

Hey you’re welcome, glad it was helpful! Thanks for reaching out! 😊

@cristianm-uv9up Год назад

It is still expensive but a friend of mine has Starlink Roam(satellite internet ), The price is 599$ for the hardware and 150$/month. He called me from a very remote location in the desert, crystal clear quality. I am considering it but for now we don`t spend so much time in our RV.

@TimAndShannonLTD Год назад

OMG yeah we've seen those and talked to some people with them. Kinda keeping an eye on them to see how the prices do and what people are saying about the service as more people get hooked up with them. Thanks for the suggestion!

@bee-anca236 Год назад

On other channel I follow also hated the lagoon (Ladi and Margaret) so they made their own system - you should check it out.

@TimAndShannonLTD Год назад

Thank you Bee! We'll check it out - appreciate it! 🙂

@TimAndShannonLTD Год назад

I'm having trouble finding that - Can you link their video here?

@dross24MA 11 месяцев назад

I like the size & look of your modem and have looked thru several of your videos but have not found which one is it?

@TimAndShannonLTD 11 месяцев назад

We have moved on down the road so we don’t have that modem any more. Returned it when we canceled service. I believe it was called the Xfinity Wireless Gateway modem but not sure on that.

@kimbunning1023 Год назад

Thanks so much for your insight! My wife is retiring after 40 years in nursing, mostly ER. She absolutely LOVES being a nurse and lives for caring for others ... but feeling like she is just old and can't keep up with the yung-uns and new tech.I am hoping she decides to do some travel nursing (maybe in less stressful setting than ER). She is reluctant ... . Wondering if maybe Shannon has any advice. On another note, we also own a 2018 Sprinter Van built out into WB Revel. I love your videos! Recently you helped me via the Sprinter Forum to fix our stuck slider door. Thanks so much!! And one more thing .. didn't realize you had some videos about traveling to AK. We are heading there this summer! I'll be viewing those next for tips and insights.

@TimAndShannonLTD Год назад

Hi there! Yes we probably have some nursing and Alaska tips for you. Send us an email info (at) timshannonltd.com and thanks for checking out our channel!

@billnalen Год назад

Our puck lights look like yours and are held in by two springs so I can pull them down without disturbing the ceiling. SmartPlug makes an outside cable/Internet entry plug. Our Lagun table has the same problem.

@TimAndShannonLTD Год назад

Wow I’m gonna look more closely now - I just checked where we bought our lights (because of your comment, thank you!) and people are saying the lights can be removed. Also, I found out from a comment elsewhere that Lagun sells a replacement pin for their table mount as well so good new information all around. Thanks Bill - much appreciated!

@billnalen Год назад

@@TimAndShannonLTD I actually just ordered replacement Lagun parts yesterday. Hopefully they can fix my issue.

@TimAndShannonLTD Год назад

@@billnalen Cool! Good luck with that - let us know how it works out! We may just do that too. We made a wonky workaround for ours, and it works, but... wonky.

@jaymiddleton772 Год назад

I had the same lights in my first van - and the same problem with the tongue and grooove. Why not just replace the lights though? For my second van, I made sure to get lights that were spring mounted and could pop out from below. No need to modify the ceiling.

@TimAndShannonLTD Год назад

Hi Jay - yeah our lights are supposed to be able to pop out, but I've had trouble getting them out. And yeah - next van - different ceiling!

@roxannebond662 Год назад

hi n I like ur video. would a small shim work 4 ur lagun table under long bar that moves? thk u. Roxanne

@TimAndShannonLTD Год назад

Hi Roxanne! I don't think there's enough under the swing arm and on top of the vertical post for a shim to support anything. I did try a shim under the table mounting plate and that helped a little bit but the shim would have to be huge to make that work better than it did. New video is coming out first thing Sunday morning showing how we ended up making this work.

@ricebike Год назад

Thanks for sharing your experiences. Window coverings, way too $$$$$$$$$$. I'll learn a new skill if I have to use a cheap sewing machine or borrow my mother-in-law to do so That cost can be put towards a solar generator or panels instead

@TimAndShannonLTD Год назад

Yeah it’s a lot of money, that’s for sure.

@JustinShaedo Год назад

In-video-links don't exist when viewing from mobiles neither do descriptions. Please pin a comment, with links to your videos for (this majority of?) your viewers.

@TimAndShannonLTD Год назад

Hi Justin. You’re right about in-video-links, but Descriptions do work however. Turn your phone so it vertical, and tap on the Title (below the video and above Comments.) Then you can tap on “more” to see the whole thing. Reply back if that doesn’t work and we’ll go ahead and pin a comment like you suggested. Thanks!🙂

@adelinacravalho7305 Год назад

👍🏽❤️👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽

@TimAndShannonLTD Год назад

Thanks Adelina! ❤️😀☀️

@MsElektra33 Год назад

Hi guys! I just had to let you know that the beginning of this video totally looked like an SNL "Lov-ahs" skit, LOL! You guys are adorable! 😊❤ ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-tspv9UZVBwU.html

@TimAndShannonLTD Год назад

Well thank you Linda! Gonna have to look up Lov-ahs now. Very familiar with SNL skits ( and love them) but haven’t seen Lov-ahs!

@micheleelliott4726 Год назад

Hey this is just a thought on my ProMaster if you look below the the tail lights (under the van) there is way to feed a chord in through a rubber bladder so you don't need to cut a hole. I think you Sprinter (?) may have the same ports. I did a video of how I got my power cord in through this port. It may be helpful for you. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-3Yj9c-7IxY8.html

@TimAndShannonLTD Год назад

Hi Michele - Cool idea! Thanks - we will check that out on our van. Great video by the way - we just subscribed!

@rubychurch3466 Год назад

Great to know, and fabulous you can live together like this. But how in hell can you have the toilet open like that? Right opposite your kitchen. Everyone’s faeces stink. This has to be the most disgusting set up I’ve seen.

@TimAndShannonLTD Год назад

Hi Ruby. Its lid is closed whenever it is not being used and the fan does a very good job - there is never any odor. We’ve even had guests in the van and we’ve asked them if they notice any odor and they don’t so it’s all good! 🙂