We finally did our accounting! Here is the cost of our DIY Van build. Did you think it would be more or less? (Check the links in the description to watch the FULL van tour!)
Nice build, great cost breakdown too, plus you both seem like people you would welcome to your dinner table. Couple of questions and suggestions: 1. Why did you go with a 7 gallon hot water tank instead of a insta-tank hot water system? 2. Extended warrantee covers what concerning the drive train? 1a. Upgrade the brakes with all that extra weight, it is a must. 2a. Battery monitor panel should be placed on dash. 3a. Outdoor shower / shoe rinse hose is a great thing to have. 4a. Easy remove/hide roof top chairs to enjoy better views and a glass of vino is also a great feature to have. Be kind, enjoy life, laugh and dance every chance you get.
I saw your van tour for the first time tonight. Like other of the thousands who commented and/or gave thumbs up to the thousands of comments, I too, believe you have excelled in a quality, well designed build. I stopped reading comments when you linked this video of the cost breakdown and came here. Of course I have subscribed and wish you the best on your life's journey. I believe offering your build plans for sale will benefit your coffers. Now I'm looking forward to watching this and reading comments.
You did a fantastic job! Even though it was a good amount of money, you would not be able to to even touch a Class B of that quality for that money. Plus, it is custom to your taste, and you know it’s built well. Happy Travels!
Thanks, AdVanture Tom (love the name btw!). True! We looked at some RV's recently and were surprised how much more storage ours had plus Beatrice is pretty unique too. Safe and happy travels to you as well!
Thank you! Getting ready to buy my van, a brand new pro master! Sadly I’m a senior so I will be outsourcing my build... while I think I’ve saved a lot of money for my build, I may only be able to do the must haves.... solar power, lithium batteries, shore power, water tank along with shower/wet bath! Storage can be held off as can the bed.... thank you for giving the scoop on what’s really needed. I’m waiting now to hear from a van conversion company with my must haves and my wishes! After a year in quarantine, I need to get back my life!!!! Best wishes and wishing you many happy miles!!!! Bless you both!
You did a great job with this build. It’s the best of any tiny house or can build I’ve ever seen. You have the best of many worlds. Since you are in a van and not an RV you have lots more options where you can go and park. I’ve seen trucks and cars sell for more than this and you have everything you need to live comfortably in. Good job and you should be proud.
Way cheaper than a house and built from the people's desire and dreams.. Completely feel your energy. Awesome video and build. Love you guys. If you may.. I have one question for now. 1. What do you guys do for a living other than Vlogging.. thats is something I am trying to find out to be ready when I am.finally on the road. Cheers safe travels to you too and Beatrice 😗 ❤
I'm really glad how upfront you are, outside of the cost of the van itself I'm pretty much able to get the conversion under a reasonable price but with the van this is more the cost I was expecting. I'm in process to sell everything I got, it's honestly not much but still got a fair bit to get rid of. I would like to do this but honestly with these cost it gives me a great idea of what I'm looking at. I'm gonna have to go professional build as I'm not able but at least one day I know this could be a possibility :D
We're happy to help :) It was really helpful for us when we were about to build to look at costs breakdown too. There are so many ways to convert and save money too. I will say that the bathroom when having someone else build out for you is usually a BIG expense. We got a quote from someone before we decided to build ourselves and the bathroom alone was $7000. But I think you could do a toilet and less permanent shower area to save a bit as well.
@@vanhallaadventures That is how I'm gonna approach things with looking for a cost breakdown. 7 thousand! Ouch... that is a lot of money. Yeah I'm gonna with that idea a less permanent shower area that is a lot more than I expected it to be lol I'm glad there are breakdowns though as without it knowing is just impossible.
Wow! This is the most information packed video I've seen in a long time. Beautifully done. I'll be doing a build and am pretty confident in my skills except for electric. Do you have background in electrical? Can't believe how many uses you get out of that bed/couch area. Good job!
Thanks Gary! We’re glad you enjoyed our video. I was consulted about the electrical system but it was me that installed everything electric. Lots of RU-vid research.
Hello and thank you for such informative videos on both the van build and costs. Your videos are exactly what I needed as I, too, am considering selling everything and setting forth on a solo van life adventure as a traveling grandma. I love everything about your conversion and can only hope that I will be as happy and satisfied with my build and life on the road as are the two of you. Thank you for sharing your hard earned experience! God bless you on your travels!
I love this very informative video. Thank you so much for the breakdown costs. It was so helpful to know how much money you need to do this type of conversion. You are so awesome and inspiring. Go luck and stay safe!
I really liked your post about the look. You definitely have a beautiful vanhouse. This one so informative. Your blood and sweat well spent❕ Looking forward to more. 🕊️
I would love more info about your windows please. I was rather sad when they were not included in the info above. Where did you purchase them, size, cost ,etc. Thanks for sharing all your info, your build is fabulous and your videos are great!
i would like to see that adding the # of man hours plz.. i’ve flipped and renovated a lot and know the drill( no pun) and figure you may have 1500 mh in this and even more counting research of different products/ how to videos
That’s a great idea. Are human hours are probably somewhere in the thousands, like you said above. The research alone was a year or so since we had no idea what we’re were doing.
Beatrice is fashion, darling! I love the kitchen-so stylish. I have random questions. Is it super noisy in there when you guys are on the road? i.e. rattling mason jars, cabinet doors, etc. How much does she weigh? Is all of your clothing packed in zipper totes or is there a secret wardrobe? You guys never looked rumpled which seems like an integral part of living on the road. I'm also curious about monthly expenses...
The kitchen worktop...you say it has a "live" edge, what is a live edge, we may call it something else here in the UK so forgive my ignorance...And as usual guys, another great video
Thanks Mark :) The Live Edge is the outer edge of the slab, we didn't cut it into a rectangle. We wanted to keep the personality of the outer portion which has curvature. Does that make sense? I'm curious what they call it in the UK.
This van has been classified as RV per our insurance company. Before the conversion the weighed 5,600lbs with 2 people inside. After the conversion the weight increased to 9,400lbs. This includes the conversion plus all the contents/supplies and full tank of gas and water.
@@nagendragpu yes bro, usually simple force traveller 26seater around 25lakh base model. Can you tell me about toilet system, tank full in howmany days? Where to dump wastes?
@@ramijrajamondal4297 in US many ppl usually install black tanks underneath the van.. after use they dump it in designated dump stations.... Other use composting toilet ( check youtube) ...In india we don't have these facilities very few RV camp sites are available across India and they charge per day very high
Beautiful build!! Curious of a few things. Is this the extended version? Have you traveled in tighter cities and how does she do with more compact city driving? Do you stealth camp in cities? If so, what is that like? How is parking in cities if it is extended or even if not? Curious about the overall worries of limitations. Do you enjoy having your vehicle and home in the same space? I'm stuck between van life or smaller camper trailer and being able to have a home base and take more rugged trails with my 4runner and do some other more off road ventures that way but it does cost more in gas and can't really do city camping unless it's in the 4runner which isn't as comfortable as a van.
Yes we stealth camp in cities. Some are more van friendly than others. I can park the can anywhere and it’s never a concern for me. I’ve been driving these types of vans for over 10years so I’m used to driving in NYC, New Orleans, San Francisco...etc. Makes no difference to me. ✌🏻
What do you like about having a van vs smaller trailer? Did you ever think of a trailer? Curious how the small space living in a van full time is? What's your day to day lifestyle like? I'm really trying to discern the best mode of vehicle for my travels. I originally thought van but then slowly turned into a smaller trailer to post up in blm for a couple weeks and be able to drive my 4runner into more remote areas. But maybe a van can do most of that by itself? Also a trailer is a bit less expensive option etc. Any thoughts in these regards?
Great question! Our insurance is $120 - this is our RV insurance that covers the full cost of the build but does not include cost of labor. We have a full spreadsheet with receipts that the insurance company said would suffice if anything happened. We also have a renters insurance policy for another $30 a month that covers all personal items and other small items in the vehicle.
Sorry if you have mentioned this before but did you work on it full time or just on weekends? I'm wondering if it would 9 months was full-time. Thanks so much. I love it!
Hi both! Great video. I’d say worth every penny (dollar lol). Such a beautiful comfortable home. You said you intended to live in her full time fir 3 years, what are your plans for after that? Hope we’re not going to lose you! Stsy well and stsy safe. Mo, UK XX
Thank you! We have some ideas after a few years but nothing set in stone. We want to travel with Beatrice all over the world and then possibly build a homestead or build another van and sell Beatrice. We are open to possibility :)
Loved this and your tour video! You have the best van conversion I’ve seen! Have you done any modifications to the engine or transmission as far as cooling for the added weight? You also said you got an extended warranty on the van so I’m curious with all the added weight if they said anything about the warranty being voided or having provisions on coverage?
Thank you! When we bought the van brand new we got the extra 4 year warranty. As long as the weight of the van did not exceed the limit ( 10k lbs) it’s all good. Our van weighs 9,400lbs with us both inside. No modifications to the engine or cooling. As mentioned in this video, I did add air lifters on the rear suspension and that made a HUGE difference! But yeah as long as you are under 10,0000 pounds (in a Ram ProMaster 3500 159” extended) yer all good....👍🏼 Hope this helps!
Thanks for full info. But how did you anticipate all these Neccessarties which you mentioned you were unexperiened!? If you wanna arrange same for others how much do you sell🤭🤭?!
We researched on RU-vid for over a year before we started building. Based on other videos we saw what worked for us and what did not. Currently we ate nothing selling any building plans. But someday I will create some plans to sell on our future website! I hope that answers your question.
Yes, we weigh about 9400lbs with both of us in it. The garage has quite a bit of weight back there which we'll be shifting soon-ish. I have a couple of tubs of herbs and other apothecary items that add a good 100lbs at least.
No. We wondered about that too but we didn't change anything to the engine - just the inside so we were all good. We did however get RV insurance rather than regular car insurance as it covers all build materials (not labor).
so quick question do you suggest getting a van first then saving for a conversion or doing it all at once. There is no question I'll have to finance it I'm just not sure whether it would be better to finance the van first pay it off for a bit or fully and then finance a conversion or seek out an all in one company that does a build plus the van and finance that. I'm guessing you're not finance experts lol but I'm just curious as to which you think would be better if it's gonna be a full time living. I currently am in a carehome so I don't have a place like no apartment or home etc
I think it really depends on your circumstance. We are paying for the van now and we were during the build. We factored that in when we budgeted. Most van companies will not finance the van, you generally have to purchase it yourself first then hand it over for the conversion. Only some companies will let you finance the build. The ones we spoke with said that they could take a 50% downpayment then pay the rest 30 days before finishing. I think it's worth doing whatever works for you and your budget :)
@@vanhallaadventures Ah, I see. That makes sense though. I was looking into a builder who is taking a deposit but it's not stated how much yet and if that would be with or without a van included. I see. I think that route of van first then build will probably be the best for me. I can get the van now but not the build but I'm not in a hurry for either. I'm gonna have to save more cause a 50% downpayment is quite a bit. My van build would cost about the same here as yours did it won't be a budget van lol
