Besides all the video stuff (which was great, by the way), the fact that you'd put in this much time and effort to help a friend realize his dream is pretty awesome man. Well done to the whole team and I can't wait to see this thing once it's all done!
Whoa! Dudes, this is already on its way to being way cooler than my van! I have the same Promaster in silver. You guys are so lucky to have buds with wood working skills. I’m already jealous! Keep up the great work!
There are some beautiful conversions out there. I'd love to do my own if I had the money for it. (PS. Big fan of your stuff, your voice has brought a legit tear or two to my eyes).
definitely suggest a roof vent if there isnt one already, also a cool idea that i have on my camper van is a large eye hook on the outside of the van for a hammock I just park neer a tree and rig on end up to the van and the other to the tree, the ultimate hang out spot for in the hot evening
Seth, it's really impressive to see how fully committed you are to helping Alexander get started by DOING THINGS RIGHT. You are really a great friend and mentor to him, and the investment you're making in him is really incredible. You're an inspiration not only to Alex, but to everyone you're sharing the journey with. I salute you, sir.
This has been a massive undertaking thus far, but I'm really happy with what we have come up with. MASSIVE thanks to both Seth and Johnny as without them I'd be lost in this build! 🤘🔨 So what do you guys think we should add to the van next?
Good job!! I really like the swivel seats. For future build. I would plan my electric out using conduit for wiring. I would put the framing boards in the walls and the ceiling. Then skip buying sound deadening patches and spray foam insulation the inside walls and roof. Here's a secret most people don't know. You can measure the van out for spray foam and buy it. Usually locally. There ready to go containers. Pretty cheap. You tell them the square ft. Your covering and they tell you how much you need. I was building a hunting blind about 5 years ago cost $80 bucks to spray foam insulate. Back then and it was more square footage then this van. After you spray foam put your interior walls and ceiling on. Gives you better insulation,no mild,take care of sound deadening. Just a thought.
if you do it yourself then you'll know exactly how to repair anything inside the van if it breaks. For instance imagine all of your power shuts off and you have some mechanic fix it by buying a whole new battery when it couldve just been a loose cable?
@@Aggrobiscuit Oh they actually have mods for fitting in showers- Toilets are a bit more tricky, but they have portable composters that can be used. It's awkward, but it seems doable really.
Holy cow, you guys are killing it with the progress! Love the entire video - I'm impressed. That workstation and cabinet are freakin' rad. Cannot wait to see more. (And yeah, sorry for jumping on the bandwagon with the fiber glass insulation - you made the right call!).
Hi Hannah, give Alex all the feedback on what would you have done differently to your Van or what would you sacrifice in return for something your van doesnt have.
As a window tinter/stereo shop owner, custom woodworking nut, and overall mtb geek I just have to say this is one of the coolest things I've ever seen. Great friends doin' cool $hit for each other. Keep it up, folks: you are KILLIN" IT!!! Oh, crap; might be dumb, but did you guys VENT the battery enclosure? I'm sure I prob'ly missed that it's a completely sealed stable-medium gel-type battery, but I'm actually in the middle of helping a good friend myself! Great job, Seth; I moved up here to NC as a Florida native appx 17~1/2 years ago for one reason: TRAILS!!! I'm sure you can imagine my, umm, invocations and exhalations the first time I rode Kitsuma, for instance; sheer delight marries abject terror, lol!!! Keep up the great work my friend,,,
Nice Seth. You are a really good pal to Alex. Everyone should have such a competent and generous friend... I'm a big fan of yours. Alex seems like a really good guy too. Cheers
This is a phenomenal video, thank you for it. The narration is so clear and easy to follow, and isn't padded with useless filler words and sentences. God, RU-vid needs more stuff like this, keep it up.
it just seems like soooo much work for how much can go wrong in a split second. however seriously amazing itd be a dream to do this .. i truly hope this very video pays off that project.
I’ve watched a lot of van conversion videos but this one, for some reason, stands out as one of the best. Something about the tempo of the video and the narrators voice. Also the video is very informative with just the right amount of details. Bravo!
@ 5:18 absolutely brilliant way to get the cut outs for the wheel wells. I spent hours measuring the dimensions and re trimming excess until I got it right.
*Nice project. He created more value with this van.* He could try to sell it for profit and build the next version. That is how innovative businesses can start.
I've always thought that people who camp incognito should throw a something that looks like a company name or logo on the side of the van with some general statement like "emergency repair" so no ones questions why the van is there.
When you ran the behind the wall (DC) Power runs, Be very careful not to pinch the wires against the medal van ribs. This could short out and start fires, Unless you installed ground fault fuses or breakers no worries. Van looks great love it!
HOLY CRAP. Best comprehensive overview of a van conversion. Im moving my "studio" into a van eventually, complete goals and freedom. If i had all the money in the world i think this is how i would want to live. Really awesome man, thanks for sharing.
You guys need to check out these things called rivnuts they are the greatest things ever for adding machine threads into sheet metal especially thin sheet metal they are commonly used on conversions
I don’t bike at all, or even know the first thing about it. But you genuinely make some of the best quality videos I’ve ever seen and I very much enjoy them!
I know nothing of mountain biking, but I like watching people build things. not to worry, just like there are biking channels like this for your community, there are channels around that document people building things for people who like that. good project and good video, have fun biking!
Good friends for helping him. What's the backstory for this -- is there a video? Why is he moving into a van? You've mentioned RU-vid career, so does it mean he can't afford an apartment or is it just because he wants to be mobile? Would it be better to buy a camper than building one from scratch? Maybe buying a used motor home?
Okay so I have been watching van videos for a while and every time I go into Lowe’s or Home Depot I see these tool chests. I always think how great they would be for a van or tiny home, they are fairly light weight, wood tops. They also have soft close drawers that lock in place. And this is the first van I have seen with the tool box. So yea great minds think alike I guess😂
I lived for 7 years in Denver, CO in a bare metal Ford Econoline van, and I tried that insulation too. It gets so incredibly wet inside of a car if you sleep in it. Bad times. This van looks like it might be ok to live in. Wish I had that kind of money lol
I'm pretty sure that if you let any avid Apple-hater design the computer workstation for a conversion van like this, the 400-500w PCU they stuck in their Gamer™ Approved tower alone would leave that van's battery banks completely dead in like, 15 minutes. (Not to mention a desktop rig would demand far too much of the already limited space, preventing you from using that desk for anything other than computer stuff.) It's not like he's trying to run VR in ultra settings or mine bitcoin with the damn thing. Efficient laptops like an MBP are plenty powerful even for content editing, and overall a much wiser choice for mobile studios since efficiency and a compact footprint are the name of the game.
As someone who has traveled in a van for 2 weeks with a tool box similar to the one you have used in this video I would highly suggest getting pick and pluck foam to put tools and other things that will go into the toolbox into or else when driving the sounds of tools hitting the metal can get very irritating. Other than that great build! Love how its turning out.
I've been watching build outs to get myself ready to build a rig for my girlfriend and I. This video gave me tons of things to consider that I'd never thought of and I'm crazy appreciative. Also, as a former biker who's never seen your channel before: instant subscriber. (I miss my Diamondback.) Thanks for pointing out everything you did wrong and every bump along the first part of this build out. That's a huge help to someone who's planning. It shows how humble you are in a small way, but it makes a huge difference. PS: I've known Johnny for ages (since '08-ish) and met him on a forum that no longer exists, and have found him in the wildest spots I'd never imagine. (Last time, it was on Reddit.) His woodworking is out of this f*cking world and is mesmerizing, especially because he's as OCD in his woodworking as I am in life. (I hang my head in shame, but in his craft that's an amazing thing to see, something most others don't consider to the level he does.) To see him help do a build out is probably the most satisfying thing I've found since my girlfriend and I decided we were going to embark on this extraordinarily scary but exciting journey.
This was very interesting, and well documented! Thanks for a very useful video that was fun to watch. I learned a lot. At some point, I want to do this all by myself. Thank you!!! I wanted to mention... instead of foam insulation spray, please consider black sheep wool insulation. No moisture, no mold, eco safe, no smell. Higher cost but no toxic vapors.
I've never worked in all of my career a job that went 100% smooth. Can do it a million times and every time there's something unexpected, a set back, a factor that was unknown.
That is quite possibly the most beautiful van I have seen in these conversion videos. You guys didn't have to do a lot of restoration since it's fairly new. It would be interesting to make a van like this as a traveling office for a small business
@@unacamper9123 which is why he included a question mark. Which you should've figured out before posting, yourself; if your IQ was worth bragging about.
One method for insulation that might work better would be to line what you need to with vapor barrier, trim the interior with 1x1 then sheath it with marine grade ply wood. After that you just drill holes and fill it with slow rise foam. its basically how you build a built in walk-in cooler box. the foam should fill in any nooks and crannies. to finish, you just trim the excess foam and plug the holes. best thing is that slow rise foam has an r-value of close to 8( or more) per inch and is generally not nearly as susceptible to condensation( hence it's use in walk in coolers).
So i've been working (as an apprentice) in a van modifying and repairing workshop, we do jobs like this everyday non stop and cant deal with all the work. So what i have to say is that you guys made an awesome job, there could be some minor changes but nothing special. Good Job! ps:from Portugal
Great build ! Be very carefull with expending foam. Puting it against your walls might creat a lot of problems later on as the foam keeps expanding even after it has dried out. Professionnal camper van,here in france, are strongly advising against it. You don't want the body of your van to have bumps due to expanding foam, this stuff as a very strong power and can put a lot of pressure on the walls.
@Dragon Energy i would say if you want a no compromise laptop go with the 5000 dollar msi one but you could easily fit a corsair one small form factor system in that space for low power consumption
Good stuff, from what I've seen, van builders rearrange things quite a few times anyway as they learn what they need and don't need compared to their initial idea.
So this is the most solid craftsmanship I've ever seen in a conversion video. I love what you guys have done. Might have another career in creating camper vans! I'm a decor chic so I'm eager to s what you do with the design.
