I was van shopping and saw a refrigerated van for sale. Its pre insolated and has a refrigeration unit on the roof , i was thinking if i bought this it might be a interesting conversion . First time van conversion for me. This would not be for permanent living. This would be a road trip camping unit. Any thoughts?
Greetings & Welcome!
Building your own camper van is usually bad advice, and will end up costing you much more than purchasing a used factory camper, and not be nearly as usable or comfortable either. Generally you will lose the cost of any additions, and in this case you might destroy the value of the van as well.
Camper vans REQUIRE ample ventilation, which will destroy the usefulness of your refrigerated van for anybody else. Windows also add greatly to the camping experience. Bad weather and other things happen, where we want to camp out inside our vans for multiple days without leaving. Would you be happy in a windowless box for multiple days? Most people wouldn’t. Adding windows could get terribly expensive, and defeat the whole purpose of buying a refrigerated van.
In my experience, only good heating and cooling methods will actually keep you comfortable, and this is true with or without any insulation, and I am often an extreme weather camper. I’m currently south of Miami, and without my swamp cooler it would be really miserable here, and no amount of insulation would change that. The same was true last winter in Minneapolis and Duluth MN; good dry heat kept me comfortable, not insulation, and it got down to -60°f.
Cargo vans are also not stealthy, they have that “Creepy Cargo Van” stigma attached to them. Stealth isn’t about hiding, it’s about appearing to be harmless and being a good neighbor. With a cargo van I was judged by my van, with everything else I have been judged as a person.
Cheers!
"Many opening windows for the view, the ventilation, and the win." ~ Happy Camper
Hello,
I am in the Beginning research stages of van life. I have been dreaming and talking about it for years but my current situation is getting me closer to making that dream a reality (hopeful to make it happen by July of this year)
I caught your response on this topic and just wanted to give a thumbs up as it has also answered some important questions of mine, as I am constantly looking/comparing/wondering what type of van would be the most ideal for van-life without breaking the bank.
Thank you!
Greetings!
If can be a great lifestyle if you DON’T follow the advice of the promoters. They literally ruined my otherwise nearly perfect life, and cost me an over $35k loss within about a year. Every single expensive purchase they pushed was a huge and costly mistake, but they had me convinced that they knew how to improve my life. Looking back, it was all lies, and just designed to make themselves money at my expense. After all was said and done, I was $75k into it, and a year later I was lucky to get $35k back out. My previous under $1500 motorhome was a 1,000+ times better living and traveling experience.
For a year I suffered from depression, anxiety, stress, and never ending extra costs and repairs. Lack of daylight, sunlight, adequate ventilation, and a view were only compounded by inadequate heating and cooling options, mold & moisture problems, and no toilet or shower of my own. The gyms and public restrooms were filthy and disgusting, and the cargo van was a magnet for everything bad that had never happened to me before. The BEST day of owning & living in that cargo van was the day I sold it for an over $35k loss.
The promoters deleted all my complaints and requests for help, and blamed everything on me and the fact that I wasn’t willing to dump even more money into it. After a year of misery, it became painlessly obvious that the promoters masquerading as my friends and mentors were only in it for their own gain, and their true friend was my money and not me personally.
That experience is what prompted me to expose the bad promoters and promote the truth. With many years of experience, both successes and failures, good times and bad, hopefully I can help others avoid some of costly mistakes I had to pay for with my time, money, and lower quality of life.
Cheers!
"Opportunities are everywhere, but only action makes it happen." ~ Van_Dweller
2 Likes
That is the same boat I am in right now, trying to figure out what vehicle is really the right foundation. Mostly I worry about it being too large, thus making it difficult to get to where I want to go (I’m interested in going way out boondocking) or making it extremely expensive to tow if I end up getting into a situation where that is the only way out.
That is the other side of it too, while I feel like buying a newer vehicle for the foundation (Whether a Van or a Shuttle Bus) might help save me from mechanical issues early on, the savings and value in some of these older RV’s in astounding. There are several near me right now that aren’t too large, seem pretty solid, have tons of utility already in them, and cost less than $3k. But these older RVs are from the 70’s and 80’s, plus they are RVs so towing would be up there for them. As opposed to the Shuttle Bus option, where they are newer with solid diesel engines. But, the Shuttle Bus is $5k with nothing in it, so I’d have to build it out. But how much would it cost to revamp the RV systems to what I need them to do… 
Greetings!
I totally agree that there’s a lot of value in the older pre-electronic rigs. With mechanical engines that have proper maintenance, they will usually give you fair warning before actually breaking down. The same can not be said for electronics, they just die without warning.
Quality still meant something in the 70’s and 80’s too, both in the vehicles and the camper portion too.
I’ve built rigs from scratch, and helped build many more, and I’ve also had factory campers, motorhomes, camper vans, and even trailers. I built my current rig by accident, it was advertised as a camper van, but when I got there it had been gutted. But the price was right, it ran & drove perfect, and I loved all the windows. After restoring the floor, walls, and ceiling to original from donor vans at wrecking yards, I did a quick, cheap, very low budget “no-build” build just to get by until I decided what I really wanted. That was over 10 years ago now, and it turned out to be so comfortable, convenient, and reliable that I’ve never changed it.
It’s possible to get lucky with a cheap but reliable rig, and of course it’s possible to do an extremely cheap build. The problem is that’s the exception, not the rule. The promoters encourage people to spend big money on builds, that is totally unnecessary and often counter productive. The more money you spend on a rig or on the conversion, the more money you’ll possibly lose.
A highly recommended diesel cost me over $10k in repairs at under 100k miles. In the end, regardless of any supposed advantages, diesels will cost you about 3 times more in the long run than a gas engine. That rig was a 2003, newer than my preferred older ones, it was only 2 years old at the time. Turned into a money pit and a nightmare, the most expensive but uncomfortable vehicle I’ve ever lived in. It was a cargo van. I never valued windows so highly until I didn’t have any, and looking back the value of windows far out weighs any down sides to them.
In the end, we each need to make our own choices. They don’t need to be permanent, because mistakes can be fixed. I think the most important thing is to never gamble more than you afford to lose.
Cheers!
"Opportunities are everywhere, but only action makes it happen." ~ Van_Dweller