Anything THIS well thought out qualifies to me as Art. “Industrial Art” but true art to me. Narrator has such a good heart telling about this vocation-passion he is doing. He doesn’t love the camera, I kinda dig that about him. What a smart kind and skilled fabricator, he could work on my imaginary Van. He tells the why of his excellent materials choices and how to use some of the details of the build.
LOVE the cutting board on the outside flip down table, and the fact that there's an outlet. Snacks and blended drinks! Also, I'd get the portable induction burner - you could take it out to the outdoor table 😻 Also love the step drawer and the slide out tray in the garage. I guess one could put a 2 person seat with seatbelts in the dinette area?
Im so chuffed to hear about the electromags. I've been working out if I can do this in our build with ignition power and hadnt come across anyone doing it yet! Yay for possibilities 🎉
Probably one of the cleanest and nicest van build i have seen. Love how compact it is yet: shower for me in mandatory! And honestly the details like the table outside and the garage is just so nice. Outstanding job
Another beauty, Ben! This is the plan i want for my 170!!! Knowing prices can fluctuate, can you offer a ballpark range to duplicate this EXACT van on my 170. Happy to have a phone conversation if thats easier. Im about 10 months out from retirement and am now looking for a builder! Thanks!!!
That's great - he also builds wonderful vans and is good people. We love working for people all over, but it's especially nice when someone's so close. Send us a message if you'd like to swing by, it doesn't have to be anything too formal!
You really are a Master in your domaine. ALL your vans are so professionally created and so perfectly finished. This piece of art is also « Magnifique » ❤ from Québec ( New-Jersey is not that far .. maybe when GESARA happens .. we’ll do business together ..)
Ben I have been enjoying watching your van tours with you alone and with Patrick. Would like your thoughts on an the side door shower location. My concern is keeping the shower curtain from touching. And would there be enough depth in 5he shower pan? The shower pan would be recessed into the floor across the door opening.
I noticed this company has a lot of well thought out things compared to most. I accidentally was watching the video on 1.25x speed and I was gonna ask him to speak slower in the videos. 😂
I am so close to having enough money to buy one! Ben how long does it take from start to finish and do you buy the van for me and include it in the total price or do I bring you a new one? With love from MN!
We do build on the 144! Two different layouts with a long list of options. None with a murphy bed, though, sorry. We've done murphy bed layouts in the past and find the fixed bed + garage layouts to have less compromise, but do see the value of them for certain applications.
Insulation? How would it work if you wanted to take it to the mountains? I like to ski let say I wanted to camp out for a two week stay in Aspen is that doable in that van?
Absolutely! We use 3M Thinsulate behind the walls, which works quite well. In combination with the Webasto heater / "furnace" you can absolutely camp out in Aspen in the van! That type of thing is quite common for our owners.
Hey Ben, another beautiful Hudson! I’ve been meaning to ask, what do you do to keep all that beautiful woodwork from warping over time especially the sink cover, and I know there’s wood sandwiched between those pieces of acrylic, it seems to me that with the moisture, rich environment of the Van life,that could pose a problem long-term? Has anyone had any problems?
Thank you! Great question. The butcher block holds up remarkably well with periodic maintenance (applying mineral oil) like you would do for a cutting board. It only takes a minute to wipe it on and it creates a food safe barrier to prevent water intrusion. It also looks amazing. We have had some clients who didn't do it often enough, with the worst cases resulting in cracks. It hasn't happened all that often but as a result we've recently switched over to using a food safe sealant/finish that creates much more durable and long lasting protection that will look and function great without the need for and maintenance.
It’s summertime hotter than hot and the door open wide while trying to cook outside and the inside air is getting hotter and hotter. Doesn’t make sense ??
Good eye. No these are the stock wheel/tires that come on the sprinter. This client is planning on traveling mostly on pavement and occasional dirt roads. They chose to try out the stock setup before choosing rubber so they can make a decision based on what their needs actually turn out to be.
I’m so glad that I looked up to high top Astro conversations and this late 20s millionaire with no budget came up . Van life has been so glorified by these silver spoon kids that I’m loosing interest due to available content
I feel like people who buy these spend 140k just to live in it for 1 month. I just picked up a 1998 dodge ram 3500 class B with 50k miles, so fkn excited.
