Hey everyone! I’m new to the forum but have been extensively researching for a few months now.
I’m just about ready to buy my van and start building. I’m looking at going with Ford.
I don’t see a 170" wheelbase, so am looking at the 148" wb. I’m having a bit of a tough time finding the exact dimension so that I can tape it out on my floor/build it in SketchUp. Any advice in terms of Ford Transit Cargo/what have you would be helpful as well - I’m not finding a ton of info on the differences between models either. Most van conversion sites talk about Mercedes/Dodge/Ford, but not the differences inbetween.
I am planning on traveling by myself but may have guests form time to time and plan on being somewhat stealth so I can park in cities no problem, but also go camping.
Any advice for a first time builder would be much appreciated in terms of whether or not this sounds like the right vehicle for me!
Greetings & Welcome!
The first and most important piece of advice is DON’T BUY A CARGO VAN!. Contrary to the crapola spread by the promoters, cargo vans are NOT stealthy. They promote them because they cost considerably more to convert, and the more you spend, the more money they potentially make. Cargo vans have a terrible stigma attached to them.
With a passenger van, the interior is already finished, so you can just remove the rear seats, and move your new modular interior in saving you both a ton of money and a ton of headaches. For camping, windows make a world of difference. No normal person wants to spend their days in a windowless box with crummy ventilation, and if you open the doors, you get eaten by bugs. With opening windows, you can easily have bug screens, and don’t need to spend a fortune on roof vents either. A window van and a $20 fan is a much better choice than a couple of $200+ roof vents.
Windows can easily be covered if you want privacy, so you can have the best of both worlds.
For dimensions, go to a car lot and find a van you’d consider, and measure it. I don’t bother until I actually have one, then I can measure it’s exact dimensions if I want to, which I usually don’t bother. I just look at the space and visualize where I want my bed, my kitchen, my bathroom, and my work/lounge/dining area. Anything left over is extra storage space.
My “builds” are typically “no build builds” these days. Simply move your camping furniture in and secure it, and you’re done. If your needs change, you can rearrange appropriately. Much easier than having stuff built in, but it just looks built in. Another advantage is that I could easily transfer everything to a different van very quickly if the need arises. The advantages of modular and portable are HUGE.
Cheers!
Hey Van Dweller. Really love your hot take here. Definitely not something I’ve heard or seen anywhere else. Do you have any videos/resources on how you’ve done this with passenger vans? Would love to learn more.
Greetings & Welcome!
I don’t make videos myself, and I’m not a promoter, just a supporter…
With window vans, the floor, walls, & ceiling are already finished. Once the rear seats are removed, their mounting points can be used to secure your new interior. You have your choice of building things, or simply moving things in and securing them, which is the method I prefer.
For many things it is possible to repurpose household furniture, cabinets, etc. I usually put the kitchen behind the drivers seat, and have repurposed student desks, sideboards, hutches, low wide dressers, and more for the kitchen counter & base cabinet. I have also used plastic drawers, and added a wood top over them to create a sturdy work surface.
I don’t typically mount sinks or stoves, but rather prefer an empty countertop/workbench. My campstove is portable, and I use dollar store dishpans for sinks, and trigger spray bottles for water delivery. Since they are portable, I can use them either indoors or outdoors without duplication.
A simple household futon sofa/bed works just fine, with no building required. Nothing needs to be complicated or expensive to be full featured and comfortable. I have my own toilet & shower, comfy bed, and a comfy swivel rocker/recliner to work, lounge, or relax in.
My conversions cost hundreds instead of thousands, and have all of the functionality & amenities of the very expensive motorhomes, just not quite as fancy, but much less to break & need repairs.
I can go into more detail if you’d like.
Cheers!
Thanks @Van_Dweller ! Really appreciate your response.
This approach is really fascinating to me and I’m surprised I’ve barely seen others mention this approach. I definitely like a) the pre-made insulated walls and windows and b) the ability to change configurations easily and c) how cheap this would be.
Personally I would like to avoid having too much plumbing so I really love your minimal approach to sinks and spray bottles.
Electrical
That said, my main goal for the van would be to have a solid amount of power to charge my electronics (laptops, monitors, phones and possibly some minimal DJ gear). For this I was hoping to mount solar to the roof and power a battery that has outlets running throughout the van. With the passenger van I think my only option would be to power the battery, and run extension cables to wherever I need it in the van right? Just curious what you’re doing for this.
Thanks again for your thoughts here. I’m also curios about the mounting points you use to secure furniture. Do you have any photos / videos of you doing this?
Much appreciate your help!
Greetings!
Very few people have probably built or helped to build as many campers as I have. With experience comes what I consider better ways of doing things. There’s nothing worse than having wiring problems, and they’re buried in the walls, floor, or ceiling. All of your wiring is basically extension cords, and the important difference is how easily accessible they are.
For this reason, I run all my wiring along the tops or bottoms of the walls on the outside of the walls, and hide them with trim. This allows modification or repairs to be done fairly quickly & easily, without having to tear out parts of the interior. I include a piece of twine running the full length also hidden by the trim, so if a new wire needs to be run, it can be tied to the twine and pulled through easily with no disassembly required. I prefer to work smarter instead of harder. 
My current house battery is behind my drivers seat in a marine style battery box, mounted to the battery box with double sided tape, I have a total of 8 acc. outlets. Plugged into one of them is basically an extension cord running to the back of my van with another 4 outlet port on that end. So I have plenty of acc. ports both front & back. That extension cord just runs along the floor behind my cabinets out of sight.
Most passenger vans will have seat mounting brackets built into the floor. These will typically be flush with the floor and not stick up above it. Many of these will be within inches from the outside walls, and a perfect point to secure cabinets to. Cabinets anchored to these will be very secure while remaining easy to remove.
I like to add a small back splash to my counters to prevent things from falling off the back.
Cheers!
Hi Van_Dweller,
I see you posted “DONT BUY A CARGO VAN!” in two years ago. Are you still agreed not to buy it today?
Greetings!
Absolutely, cargo vans are used & abused, and more often than not very poorly maintained. They also require much more time & money to convert, only to wind up with a camper you hate.
Passenger vans are a much better choice all the way around. Frequently better maintained, and the interior floor, walls, & ceiling are already finished. They have opening windows so you don’t need to add roof fans, & the more windows the better in campers. You want the view, the daylight, & the ventilation. Very few people are happy to live or camp in a windowless box.
With a passenger van it’s a simple as removing the rear seats, moving your new interior in, and securing it.
I prefer “No Build” builds. Doing absolutely no damage to vehicle, not a single screw hole. Many of my conversions use recycled, re-purposed, and re-imagined materials. Household kitchen cabinets, dressers, night stands, side boards, etc. and modified futon beds. In some I use plastic drawers with a countertop on top. Simple, fast, cheap, & easy, yet safe, comfortable, & convenient.
My heaters/cookers cost $6 to DIY from dollar store parts, and with the addition of a heat powered woodstove fan for ~$20, you can have electricity free fan forced heat. Cooling can also be accomplished dirt cheap & electricity free using a candle powered swamp cooler.
While the promoters are in it for the money, I’m in it for the comfort, convenience, & reliability. I make my vans the most comfortable & convenient place in the world for me to be, regardless of what might be going on outside. The fact that it can be done so quickly, cheaply, and easily is just an added bonus.
Cheers!
Hi, thank you for the words! Curious where should people throw the rear seats?
Greetings!
If the seats are in decent shape, I sell them. If not, I’ll set them by the curb for free, and if nobody takes them within a week or so, off to the dump.
If I think I might want to replace them, I might consider putting them in storage.
Cheers!
What about the airbags in the back?