hey I was wondering how much people spent on buying the van/bus before converting it? And how much they spent on the conversation to a VANLIFER
And also I’m currently doing my van build slowly but was wondering if you guys could send me some pics
Dm me on insta - marcelkrol
Greetings & Welcome!
I spent $750 for my van (1973 Dodge Travco high top, gutted), and $300 for the conversion (much of it re-used, recycled, repurposed, or free).
I was not actually trying to save money, my aim was for practical, reliable, comfortable, and full featured, which I fully accomplished. I’ve lived in this one comfortably for over 10 years now.
Previously I have had many rigs, and with only one exception, never spent over $2500 on any of them. Most were ready to go with no conversion necessary. Prior to semi-retirement, I didn’t have much time to do build outs, and had not yet discovered my current method of just moving my furniture in and securing it. Portable and/or modular has a lot of advantages, and house style furniture is more comfortable and cheaper than RV type stuff.
Cheers!
There are a millions ways to do a conversion and it all depends on you and where your line between comfort and discomfort is.
For me, I wanted as many of the things I could have at home in my van. Walnut countertops, hardwood floors, cedar panel walls and roof. Comfy pillows and candles that smell like outside for when I’m in LA…
Not shopping around for long enough ended up costing me $4,200 for the van and another ~$3k for everything else including the entire electrical system
I haven’t done up the exact numbers but I would say I spend somewhere around $8,000- $8,500 on my bitchin’ ride