My DIY Camper Van
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After lots of time and work, my DIY camper van conversion is finally somewhat presentable. The bones of it is a '97 Dodge Ram 2500 van that I had picked up about 4 years ago for $2000 (with only 42k on the ODO). I estimate that the remodel has cost about $2500, including the ARB fridge (which is about $1k alone, but totally worth it). |
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Nice work! |
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Very nice build right there. |
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Nice! Love the refrigerator. |
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Nice work. Love the look of the space. |
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Awesome setup! I'm currently looking to build a camper van. What are some of the things you'd do differently? |
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thats a unique addition of the basketball hoop on the roof! |
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Looks great! |
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mucci wrote:What did you use for insulation on the deck and walls?Walls are primarily rock wool. The floor has a few different layers: foil bubble insulation to fill in the ridges, a layer of foil-backed demin insulation, then 1.5" rigid foam. I haven't tested it yet in super cold conditions, but when we were in Ten Sleep last and it was 40 degrees at night I was warm enough to sleep with my bare feet out of the blankets all night. It also used to get REALLY hot on the floor right between the seats at the front since the exhaust runs under there, but now I can barely feel a temperature difference. I'm guessing my dog might enjoy the extra floor insulation too. Aside from just thermal insulation I was trying to cut out noise, too, and I think it's helped a lot. The black square in the floor in the second picture is a mounting plate for a 3rd captains chair. There's a cover in the floor that can be removed to add in the seat. Foil-backed denim insulation. 1.5" rigid foam insulation. Walls insulated with rock wool. John Greer Jr. wrote:What kind of gas mileage are you getting with all the fixings installed?Anywhere between 16 and 18mpg depending on the hills and wind. Catalano28 wrote:What are some of the things you'd do differently?The number one thing I'd do differently is start with a van that is mostly SQUARE. I used this van because I had it and didn't want to spend big $$$ on a Sprinter, but it turns out that making everything work when there isn't a single 90 degree corner is a total pain in the ass. The windows are curved, the walls are curved, the corners are curved, etc. To put it into perspective, the ceiling panel is 48" wide and the width between the walls at the bottom is something like 68". So the walls curve in about 10" on each side. I honestly think I could have done the whole thing in 30% of the time if the van were more square. I had also thought of a construction technique that I think would have made things a lot easier. When I built this one I cut and installed the floor, then welded together the bed/bench frames and then just screwed it all down to the floor/wall studs. Next time what I think I would do is cut the floor to size and install T-nuts in the floor exactly where the various frames would be attached, and then I could use the floor itself as a jig to hold everything in place when I weld it together. Darren Mabe wrote:thats a unique addition of the basketball hoop on the roof!Gotta have something to do on your rest days! :) |
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Looks excellent, but fisheye pics are disorienting. Really hard to get an idea of the actual spatial layout. Anyway, nice work! |
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Does the solar panel have a battery attached? Or just works when there's sun? |
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Pontoon wrote:Does the solar panel have a battery attached? Or just works when there's sun?From the OP: "Everything powered by 100W solar panel, deep cycle marine battery (mounted under vehicle), and alternator isolator" |
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mountainhick wrote:Looks excellent, but fisheye pics are disorienting.+1 Great job though. I like the clean Euro style (cabinet hinges, floors, etc). Thanks for sharing. |
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What size battery and does the alternator isolator allow you to switch on and off the charging of the deep cycle battery when engine is running or just ensure even charge between car battery and deep cycle? |
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The isolator prevents the system from draining the starter battery when the engine is off. |
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Yeah, sorry about the fisheye pics. I thought it might be able to show a more complete view of some of the inside and I didn't feel like changing the lens once I started taking the pictures. Morgan Patterson wrote:What size battery and does the alternator isolator allow you to switch on and off the charging of the deep cycle battery when engine is running or just ensure even charge between car battery and deep cycle?The battery is only 65Ah, though I'd like to either replace that with a 125 or just add on another. It hasn't failed me yet, but that doesn't mean I won't ever hit a cloudy stretch. The isolator is just an automatic one that ensures an even charge. I'm using this one (the 140 amp version) amazon.com/NOCO-IGD200HP-20… |
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I just got a Ford Transit Connect and am in the middle of the conversion right now. under $200 total so far. |
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Thanks Jeremy, I had just woken up when I wrote that. |
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If anyone is looking for a van to work over, I have a 1996 GM Vandura with a solid engine but a rough interior that I'd sell. Was going to sell it a few years back, but pulled it for a few more years of use. These days I am thinking of selling it again. |
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One of the best set-ups I have ever seen, in my opinion. |
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Ian Stewart wrote: The battery is only 65Ah, though I'd like to either replace that with a 125 or just add on another. It hasn't failed me yet, but that doesn't mean I won't ever hit a cloudy stretch.I'm guessing because the panel is constantly (throughout the day) trickle charging or better you probably haven't run it down. I'm wondering just how long that that 65ah battery would last without the panel connected under normal use conditions with a load of food/beer in it... have any exp with that? |