VAN TOUR: The Most Functional and Lux DIY Van Build You've Ever Seen
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- Опубліковано 8 лют 2023
- VAN LIFE TOUR of the most gorgeous and functional DIY van conversion you’ve ever seen / Hidden van life shower 🚿/ Full van life roof deck 🔨 / Glamping at its finest 🍾
We’ve been living in our van (Napoleon), full-time for over a year and there is not a single thing we’d change about the layout. It’s roomy and built for as much comfort as one could ask for while technically living in the vehicle. Everything you see, from the walls to leather pull tabs we built ourselves - looks like you CAN learn anything on youtube!
Our van has a full queen-size bed installed with Flarespace van flares (so you don’t have to make or build your van life bed every night), cozy bench seating for five people comfortably, plus a swivel seat captains chair, and plenty of room for activities we love - like playing games, watching movies, family meals, and dancing on the roof deck.
We splurged on a robust power system (4 x 170 amp hour lithium batteries) so that our van life build is 100% solar powered and can still run a double burner induction cooktop and air fryer - no propane needed. Our 115 liter Isotherm Fridge/Freezer and 40 gallon water tank allow us enough food and water storage to go off-grid for nearly two weeks.
The gorgeous eye-catching decor is vibrant, artistic, and cozy to emulate our friendly and outgoing nature. We hope you love our van life build as much as we do. Enjoy the van tour and let us know what you think in the comments below!
🤟STAY IN TOUCH
►Instagram: @jakeandemmie
►Email: jakeandemmies@gmail.com
All the music we used in this van tour video is from The EMatic:
Music by Mr. Jello - Tidepool - thmatc.co/?l=FEFE4675
#livinginavan #vantour #vanlifetour
Nice van, but is it the *best* layout, or the *most* LUX? Not by a long shot. Why do people hype their vids this way? Yes, they should be proud and excited but why not just title it “Welcome to our DIY Van Tour - We Love it so much!” I’d still have watched it.
Lol We can assure you we weren't aiming to deceive anyone with the title. We've seen a lot of DIY builds and do strongly believe ours is one of the best if not the best we've seen. We've also got a pretty insane power system and amenities that we feel make it pretty lux... As lux as it can be living in a car. It all really is just a matter of opinion anyways and we do want to hear more perspectives. So thank you for letting us know how you feel about it! We hope you stick around 🙂
Not sure how many van tours you've seen J & E. Maybe watch a few hundred more. 😃
@@jakeandemmie You two are dreaming... about as average as it gets
I think it's great! I love it!
Safe travels and happy trails! 💖🛣️🙏🇺🇲
Anyone would think from your feedback that they were SBF & watching this vid fooled you into investing your life savings into FTX. Goodness me, what a warm welcome for their new channel. 😒
Hi if you put a little of oil around the lip of spice container and on the inside of the lid it will open easier
Great tip thanks
Best shower I've seen.
Thanks a lot 🙌 We almost did a cabinet but decided a larger seating area is a better option
Gorgeous inspiring van build guys. Looking forward to seeing more of your content. Love your energy as a couple sharing your adventures.
Thank you so much, Lara!
Love the closet! And that pullout is not something I've seen in a closet before - great idea for all the products that clutter countertops and shelves, or roll around and spill contents in drawers. The custom cabinets are beautiful! Love the toilet 👍 and how the shower curtain gets pulled up by a shower rod instead of lots of hooks to connect. Thank you for sharing!
Thanks Lisa 🙌 The shower 🚿 design took months to think of... so glad you like it! We thought we had quite a few original ideas & wanted to make a video to show people... so thanks again
They personally believe it is
So many brilliant ideas in this van ! Love it !
Glad you like them!
Great build and I love the shower…really everything you have done. Beautifully done build. 💜
don’t get why so many people are slandering y’all for being proud of something y’all built yourselves. ridiculous considering half the comments are from people that would never even know where to begin putting together a rig like this.
great video, great rig, gnarly workmanship. y’all be safe
Hell, we didn't know how to build this rig at the beginning... thank God for, You Tube universe 😜 All good people will always have something to say... Thanks!
I like the shower, very brilliant idea to have one in a small space. Good job!!
Thank you 🙌
Very nice build. I like the compost toilet you guys made.and the seating area and the colors inside your home is great. Great idea on the flares, would like to get that for our van.
Yeah the flares are a game changer 🙌 Expensive AF but worth the space if you're going to be in it as offend as we are... The space is amazing. Thanks glad you like it
Great van building! They're great behind the cameras. Love their energy! They're such an adorable, beautiful couple. Great blessings on the road. Yes you do have a great unique van!
Thank you so much ❤️
Love it! I'm going to try and mimic your layout as best I can in my Astro. Love the shower!!!
Thanks! Good luck on your build 🙌 will you be doing a van tour to share?
Nice Van build! Love the energy can’t wait to see you all in more videos.. the energy is spot on!! 🙃🙃
Thank you
Great job! I enjoyed the video, van layout and the shower. Be safe!
Beautiful build! Looking forward to following your adventures. 🤙🏼
Awesome, thank you!
Thank you for sharing your awesome van...love it 💛
So glad you enjoyed it! Thank you ❤️
What a very sweet couple. Great van layout. Thank you so much for the tour. Safe travels.
Thanks so much! 🙌
Love the van. Lots of great ideas. Build me one!!
Omg at first I thought that dog was a statue lol
Really great build! Looks like you’ve thought of everything and it’s beautiful!
Thank you 🙌
Kudos to you guys for building it all by yourselves 👍👍🙌.
Top 5. Excellent shower idea! And agreed on the compost toilet.
Love the hidden shower plan 😀
Great job ❤
Amazingly nice design and presentation! Be blessed and stay healthy. One love❤
Awesome ❤
Great vid yall🎉
Love it.... ❤️
I loved the video and your energy! I would love to watch a video about the toilet, as you mentioned. Keep up with the great work!
Thank you! Will do in the near future!
Toilet tour video is live! Hope you enjoy it 🙂 ua-cam.com/video/Ja_ts1jt7Hg/v-deo.html
Hi guys. I love your van and it answers a lot of questions for me. I will need a lot of electricity also. I didn't think I would need a shower, but I love the way you've done yours. I could prob do w/out the water heater get a small air conditioner instead. Could you tell more details about your van and I would love to know your gas mileage on the road. And what kind of heater set up might you do? Thanks in advance.. Cj. Also love your fur baby!! Wishing Happy Trails to you. Looking forward to more
What's up CJ 🙌 You will definitely need/want a large battery bank. I do wish we had more solar for sure (200W currently). You'll definitely want a shower 🚿 especially if you have a dog 🐕 Nothing like having a clean family 😜 You certainly do not need a hot water heater... if we were to change anything... I would add a gas stove & water heater. We do have a heater under the passenger seat gasoline Wabasto attached to our gas tank. It's expensive 🤑 but saved our butts in Wyoming (-20F) during ski/snowboarding season. We recently bought a Zero Breeze (12V & battery) A/C... for Mexico so keep you updated on how well it works. As for gas mileage... it depends... in the mountains w/ full water & gas, like 12 per mile... otherwise roughly 16
Ha so cool! Love the layout, I really
Like the wardrobe from the mirror to the Jewelry - you guys are so funny 🎉 - whoop cool vid! :):)
What a great van!
great build! i recognized your Great Wild Nowhere sticker! i have a few myself!
I want one and do they come with a driver? What a great way to see the country and world. You did a beautiful job on the van especially with all the storage nooks and I love the layout and ease of getting to things. Good luck with it. ❤
Thank you! Love you ❤️
Jake & Emmie! Fantastic video! I just started YT vids myself and I can tell you spent some time on it. 🙌🤩 Also…I disagree with some of the negative comments. I just started researching vans this year. I’ve watched over 50 videos… and your van IS THE BEST!! 🤘🥳 I love all the space and new/original ideas that I haven’t seen before. (Most videos I see have 1 original idea tops.) You have a cover for your stove, magnetic jars I’ve never seen, magnetic bug nets, easy access toilet in the garage… which is also custom (love the wood trim), custom collapsible shower frame (love that copper tubing), solar panels on top of your deck, plastic mirror, and other cool/original stuff I’m probably forgetting. Never seen any of that before. Y’all nailed it! Thanks for sharing! SUPER HELPFUL!!! 💪🔥
Keep shining!!! 🤩🤩
Ps. Can’t wait to see the custom toilet vid. 🤓
Thank you so much! The flares are a huge space saver/maker 🙌 They're expensive as F#ck but totally worth the space. I racked my brain over the shower set up for months & I'm super proud of it... So thank you!
Anytime you customize your space you love it more. They are pleased with their ingenuity. They designed it to their needs, perfect. My kitchens usually become custom once i start cooking. The counter drops about 5 inches. Storage for less used things. Handy tools for cooking and such are needed to be easy access. You have it all,
What kind of puppy do you have?? I love how proud you are of your home. Napoleon’s a beauty! PS. Finished whole video now. Holy cow, you guys have a work of art. What love and dedication you put into it. ❤
Our puppy is an Aussie Doodle 🐶 Thank you, definitely a lot of sweat equity & planning
You're not the first van person to say the tops of the IKEA spice containers are difficult to remove. I will have to remember that when I'm building.
Great Video...Make more 💜
Hey thanks, Doug 🙌 Don't worry we are
This really is the best layout as far as the important things go. A queen in the back is cool. Along with where storage would e and the front seat swivel is nice too. Instead of an electric stove id put a wood burning stove in
Thanks 🙌 Yeah having a queen size bed is amazing & a must for us & the dog 🐕 Honestly if I were to change something... I would change out the electric stove for a gas one
Respect! Amazing and practical build 🤩Stealing ideas with no remorse 😁 Thank you.
Thanks! Please do
Great Build! Love those flares/bump outs! I've never seen anything like them before. They look great from the outside and the extra space inside is awesome!
Yeah those bump outs are expensive AF... but totally worth the space 🚌
You did a great job!
Thank you!
Jake! Such a smart shower design 👌. Great thinking my man.👊
Safe travels brother.
Thanks man! Definitely pretty proud of it & having seen it in any other build
I think you both did a great job. You should be very proud of yourselves. 👍🏻👍🏻🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🙏🏻
Thank you, we certainly are happy with our home on wheels
Who knew that Chris Hemsworth lived in a van! Great build y’all! 💜
🫣🤣 Thank you!
Nice build. Love the shower!
Thanks, we're certainly proud of the shower
I love your van. Now tell us what you would do differently next time. Those are the most interesting clips. Cheers
Honestly the only thing we'd change is perhaps going with a black sink instead of the white. It shows too much dirt 🥴 But as for the overall layout, we can't think of anything yet!
Enjoyed the video. Looking forward to the one about your composting toilet.
Awesome 👍 thanks! We'll be dropping that soon
Toilet tour video is live! Hope you enjoy it 🙂 ua-cam.com/video/Ja_ts1jt7Hg/v-deo.html
Beautiful van build 😊😊.....
Thank you! 🙂
Lovely but very Attractive built.... #GoodJobDone ...stay Blessed
Beautiful job! Looking forward to your composting toilet build video, I have to say.
Thank you! Yes, definitely coming soon 🚽🪠
Toilet tour video is live! Hope you enjoy it 🙂 ua-cam.com/video/Ja_ts1jt7Hg/v-deo.html
@@jakeandemmie That was quick! Thank you!
Lol dude thats not extra shoes... thats a shoe store back there 😂 but love the build good job
Hahaha 🤣 can't let'em go 👟 Thank you
❤awesome ❤
I paid a 1K for a ‘compsoting’ turlet. I unplugged the fan, stopped venting it, and basically use as a bucket (it separates though) with pine pellets that have baking soda in them (kitty litter). NO smell now!
Beautiful build
Thank you!
Ignore the comment about not the best layout. I have looked at hundreds of videos. You nailed it. I put you in my top 5. Great job and....nice home!
Wow thanks! Definitely tried to think of "everything", while maximizing space.
Beautiful Van ❤🚐love it ❤❤hello from Australia ❤️🚐😊👋
wow! this is now the 2nd van ive seen that is better than mine, lol vanlife4ever!
Oh shit! Thanks
@@jakeandemmie awesome video
I'm sure it's perfect for them.
That's the biggest freezer in a front opening refrigerator I have ever seen. I want to do meap prep and that wouldhelp. I may go with that one insteadof a chest style refrigerator.
What a beautiful home! Definitely has a great layout; I'm currently trying to map out the inside of my school bus. I might draw inspiration from your shower set-up, I love a clever stowaway shower lol It's 30 feet long, but I have 4 kids, 3 dogs, 2 turtles, and a cat :S someone's gonna have to go! I'm thinking of bunks, and having just a toilet room would be way more space-saving than having a full or wet bathroom-type setup.
Good luck on your build 🙌 Please take any inspo you want/need. You might need a solid wet room with that full bus 😜
Very nice build 👍
Thank you!
It is a sweet van build for sure, thanks for sharing. Also, y'all have a great attitude and humor. Y'all take care and my prayer to Father YHVH God is that he watches over and protects y'all on the journey ahead.
Thanks, you too!
That shower is pretty clever.
Awesome build! Any chance you have a link to the shoe storage solution on the back doors? Also, would you recommend buying them?
Sure, here you go 😊
a.co/d/05rqq0d
It's a little cheaply made but it works!
Great build . What stove and refrigerator did you use? We are just planning our build . Thanks.
Our refrigerator is an Isotherm
Induction cook top is a nutrichef
We love the refrigerator the size is perfect and has the best freezer size as well. As for the induction 🙄 we would probably go with a single burner induction due the the power draw & counter space
I wouldn’t say the most lux but great job guys
Thanks 🙌 We'll take it 😜
Best design I seen so far. I am looking into moving in full time. What was the cost to convert your van? Does Josh do van redos upon request? Wish you well in your travels.
Thank you, Kat! Well, we built it ourselves & it costs about 25K. Josh built our roof rack, not the van... sorry Kat.
Please provide (a link) info on your upper cabinet door hinges?
TFS!!! New subscriber!
Thanks for subbing!
Great van, nice layout, good amount of storage. What is the wheelbase on the Transit? Probably the long one. Would like a video about the toilet. Does it have a urine diverter so it can be emptied separately?
Yes our Transit 250 is the largest model. We'll definitely do a video on how the toilet was made & works. But, yes you do divert the urine & have to empty it... Offend 🤨
Toilet tour video is live! Hope you enjoy it 🙂 ua-cam.com/video/Ja_ts1jt7Hg/v-deo.html
Really nice van build...nice extras.
Only prob...I don't know why people think it's okay to swear in their videos. I find it so disrespectful..
It's so commonplace in society today, and that is such a shame...
I don't know if it could be done because of weight, but I would want the frig up in the closet???
Also, if y'all have lots of clothes and need more room there are many good organizing channels for clothes..just in case y'all want more or more room..
Good luck and happy trails y'all.
Love the shower..have to have one everyday..great job.
You two are adorbs! Looking forward to the DIY bucket-toilet vid (humanure adventure short?). Also, where the heck do you store that handy-dandy ottoman? It just appeared out of nowhere.
Thank you 🙏 haha we keep it in the aisle in front of the toilet door usually and move it around as we need to. We also put it up on the bench when we want it out of the way. Perks of having a huge bench!
Toilet tour video is live! Hope you enjoy it 🙂 ua-cam.com/video/Ja_ts1jt7Hg/v-deo.html
Clever use of the plexiglass to cover the electronic components so you can still see it. No worrying about other cargo against it.
Tarot, incense and essential oil’s- my kinda people! I’m gonna subscribe 😊
🤣 Perfect thank you! 🧿
Respect to you both and respect for all your hard work on your great van build.
Constructive criticism here.
Do something about the cringy squeaky hinges on every door you opened. Unless it doesn’t bother you?
Lol!
Yeah I hear you Doris... You're definitely not the 1st to mention something. But, it adds character 😜 maybe one day we'll spray some WD40 on the soon
Nice layout very comfortable. First time watched how much was the overall costs? and vehicle size.
The build out was roughly 20K & we have the Ford Transit 250 extended
Nice, but I don't consider any layout without a separate private shower/sink/toilet room acceptable, especially when two people will be occupying it.
Nice little frig, though, with a better-sized freezer than many others I've seen. I also like the size of the kitchen sink.
Thanks we definitely searched high & low for the right fridge. The space a full shower 🚿 takes up is not worth it in our opinion. Once you start living with your partner in a van... most "norms" start to go out the window. You don't shower as often as you may think & the space you gain is amazing, also someone could sleep (& has) on our bench easily.
I'd never want to give up that much real estate for a full time shower and bathroom sink. If I needed EVERYTHING a house has to offer, I'd stay in a house.
I love pretty much everything, except having the toilet under the bed. I would hide it under the bench. But the kitchen is really great, you also have a little stove, if I saw that right, I would have loved to see more of the kitchen. Congrats for this build❤
Thank you! Maybe we can put a kitchen short video together... 🤷
He looks like he could be a Hemsworth brother
Hey guys. Great start to the channel! Did I understand correctly that you've got an air conditioner stored in your bench? What brand/model do you have?
Yes! We got a zero breeze, mark 2. We haven't tried it out yet, but Mexico will be a great test.
We've got some friends with that unit. They're very pleased with it. When it gets really hot they string a blanket along the edge of their bed so it concentrates the cooling in that area. I'll look forward to hearing your review after you've used it a while. BTW, we biked down to La Gringa yesterday. Loved it - we're heading down there today for a night... or maybe two.
Very nice. How many watts of solar on roof?
Solar only 200 watts, as we can charge when we're driving, 40amp hours. Definitely need/want 400 watts of solar
It's fabulous, would you do a partial build? And just replicate some of it, or much of it, with a few minor modifications, like a stainless steel sink instead? I Love the flairs, upgraded suspension, so much of it. I would love to do this, but I'm in Hawaii. If I can figure out the van--I want the Ford Transit as well because I'm tall. I am working out a lot of things right now. The issue for me is there's no parking here at my condo. But 99% of what I need, new or lightly used, is all here. I could ship the van to San Diego, or buy there, which maybe you could assist me with. The whole thing is akward, but we could do zoom, or you could come to Hawaii as my guests, to do the design. If I set up a storage unit there, I could ship the things I'm retaining. After I get the van there. You did a great job and that's what I'd need, because I'd want to sell my Photography out of the van. I would love to dicsuss. Have fun, stay safe, listen to her gut instincts and yours,lol no lmmediate rush . I am coming up with many creative ideas. I also used to Organize Houses, etc. And have, a wide range of skill sets. I will subscribe! TTLY😊
With is your fridge brand and the mirror you show us ?
Isotherm fridge, we love it. It's an acrylic mirror off of Amazon
Some really cool ideas in this build! Did you guys do your own flare cutouts/installs? That's something I really want to do.
We didn't do the flares ourselves, that was the only thing we out sourced. Definitely expensive AF but worth the space if you're looking to be in the space for long periods
I'd heard you say your top deck a guy from NC helped with that, are y'all from NC? That's where I'm at trying to get disability fingers crossed I can get into van life. If so I might could use some help from someone 🙂.
Near Raleigh/Apex area!
@@jakeandemmie Kool not far 3 hours from me
Super weird question, but I love your necklace in this video, do you remember where you got it?
Sorry for just getting back to you... but Jake got his necklace from Burning Man
I would love to see a video that's just all about the toilet. How you made it and how you use, clean and maintain it. When, where and how do you dump it?
You've got it 👍 Toilet 🚽 video coming soon, Star
Toilet tour video is live! Hope you enjoy it 🙂 ua-cam.com/video/Ja_ts1jt7Hg/v-deo.html
What are you using for your bug screens on your doors? Where did you get them?
They look like the door screens that you can get at Dollar General, I believe.
We bought the "right size" from Amazon had cut the bottom to fit inside the door... Honestly they're not that great 😔 They get holes in them all the time but still love having them.
Thanks for the information. Good luck with you channel.
Great layout ignore the nay sayers!
Appreciate the love, thank you!
❤
Do not forget about making a video on how to build your DIY compost toilet. 🚽 And how it works.
Yes, we are working on that one soon!
Toilet tour video is live! Hope you enjoy it 🙂 ua-cam.com/video/Ja_ts1jt7Hg/v-deo.html
Y'all cute! You don't need to click bait 🥲👍
You guys really need to invest in some WD-40 for all those squeaky cabinets 😅
🤣 adds character 🫣
I said the exact same thing. It's so loud it hurt my ears I couldn't imagine trying to sleep if the other person was awake opening cabinets and other things.
Cool van .... but you're missing some WD4 😅
I like the layout, but would rather have a sofa where the bed is. Then, fold out as a bed.
Totally understand, Sonia. We wanted to maximize storage & it's hard to make the bed most mornings... 🫣 🤷
Please use WD-40 Every thing in the van squeaks!!! Every time you open the cabinets, the bench it all has a terrible squeak that hurts my ears to even watch. But everything else looks great
Adds character 😜 Kinda
dont drink alcohol anymore!? well F that!
i need to do a sprinter rolling winery conversion.....
Jake thought the same thing... especially after working in Napa for years. There's always room for a few bottles somewhere 😉
You have the bench you could step on to get into bed, no?