I was having a really hard time deciding If I was going to permanently modify my van to make it a full time camper that I could never put the original seats back into. Your video has convinced me not to permanently modify. Beautiful and intelligent design!
Yes I highly recommend the non-invasive modular approach. In the winter we take our camping stuff out of the van and convert it back to a regular van. This is also good if you need to transport more than two people, because with the build in place there's only room for two. Eventually, if you sell your van or if it dies, you can buy the same make & model and reinstall your build in the new vehicle.
When reviewing designs, we also liked Eric's rear bench. However in practice we don't use it very often. The problem is that the height of the rear bench is such that you don't have much headspace. So it's not particularly comfortable to sit there, certainly for long stretches. I wouldn't change the overall design though
Brilliant! GREAT job! I just bought a 2006 Sienna for use as a van and also as an overnight when I visit my kids 2 hours away. I'm getting ideas and this was very informative and exciting to see the incredible possibilities you guys have presented here. Wonderful conversion!
This is a beautiful build. I love the design and ease with which you can convert it to a camper in a matter of minutes. This is now my dream after buying, remodeling and being disappointed with vintage campers continuing to leak or need repair. I would love to be able to convert a panel van in much this way. Thank you for sharing your awesome design. Happy Trails!
Such a simple clean design. i love it! do you have a site with all the dimensions and other parts like water pump, mattress etc i would love to try to make with with my son by far one of the best setups i’ve seen
Excellent video and smart build. It is the same as Eric's build and I think this is the de facto template for a minivan. Your visuals were very good, and the pace just right. I was hoping to see details like the sliding table hardware rail and leg, and you did not disappoint. This is a better alternative to the overpriced Lagun table. This table can be bigger and is more stable, not in the way, and no floor mounts. Essentially, this build breaks down into 4 components: Removable Floor, Bench Bed, Clothes Dresser, and Kitchen Galley. You could add a 5th piece behind passenger seat for a Toilet Cabinet, and/or Fridge. Fyi - Trelino toilets are made in Germany, come in 3 heights, light, robust, low profile and much cheaper starting at $300. Very nice to have when in a bind. Your wife will appreciate that! No more Portapotty dumping. See Humble Road videos to see them. This was most enjoyable to watch, you make great videos! Thank you for no music.
Thanks for your comments. We agreed that this design suited us best, after viewing lots of different designs and assessing the pros and cons. We opted not to have a piece behind the passenger seat in order to keep it feeling roomy, but yes you could add a fridge or toilet there. In the end we are not doing long trips away from civilization, so we've been fine with just a cooler and staying close to places where toilets are available
Thank you very much for sharing your Toyota sienna van build. 😊 I’ve been binge watching “Eric enjoys earth” all day, so it’s no wonder that your video popped up based on the algorithm. :-) Great job! :-)
Nice work! It's good to see multiple applications of that side cabinet based on Eric's design. I'm hoping to do one of those as well. Mostly commenting because the first thing that jumped out at me was your bed cover. We have an old comforter that has that same pattern on one side. :-)
Thank You Mike! we used yours and Eric's videos and just did the bed and cabinet.. and we will do more in a couple more weeks. I did watch this video like 30 times. lol. thank you!
@@Seaturtle008 I left one middle seat in in case I have passengers and put the stow back row down. I use my van for a pick up truck hauling lumber, pine straw bales, etc It has 200,000 miles on it but on previous Toyota I got 300,000+ so I expect it to last. I haven’t made any long solo voyages yet but live in S GA so lots of camping available. Happy travels..minivans are the best vehicles. I’ve never had one.
Well done! That's a nice, clean build. I like that you use a cooler. I know that many van builds include a refrigerator, but the electrical needs are greatly simplified with a cooler. I think a cooler is the way to go if you're not living in the minivan.
Yes we definitely concur. As soon as you introduce a fridge, you need to get a second battery and it really starts to complicate the electrical setup. For people like us who just want to camp in our van, we find that the fridge is not necessary. In practice we've found that ice in the cooler lasts about three days, which is roughly hong long our water supply lasts as well. Our build is not suitable if you really want to go overlanding for days or weeks at a time. But for regular camping in your vehicle without the hassle of setup or driving a big rig in the city, we're really happy with our arrangement
Another great Sienna build. Love the modular builds, you and the others you have mentioned, are doing. Lots of great and creative ideas I’m collecting for my Astro van build. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Hello ') can you go into more detail about how to remove the tracks on floor from front seats. and especially how and what tools are needed to remove back seats. thank you!
Ours is a 2010 Sienna, the last year before they changed the middle seat anchor design and added the tracks. If you look at the picture at 1'53" you'll see that with all the seats removed there are no tracks, just the seat anchors. Eric Enjoys Earth has done a video showing his floor (ua-cam.com/video/A5XxEZpDhpk/v-deo.html) - his van has the tracks like yours. Another video from 'I've got an idea' shows his floor design with a van that also has those tracks: ua-cam.com/video/QjV44lxxyQg/v-deo.html
I believe it’s about 75”, as long as a standard full-size mattress. We had to cut the mattress narrow, but kept it the same length and just cut it into those four sections.
So very well done and explained. Thank you, as this is a positive as I shakily and ever so slow creep to the van camping side of life. (As much as I have enjoyed the little I have done, I can NOT for one second consider myself a camper. But the thought spells F R E E D O M to me !!! 🎉❤
Would you mind providing dimensions of the bed width and shelving width? How does a person get the curvature dimensions for the shelving by the back windows? I have zero building experience and am struggling with getting the measurements accurate. what thickness of wood did you use for the shelving? Thank you for any advice you can give.
Sorry for the late reply. @ericenjoysearth2756 has good tips about how to shape the side cabinet for the contours of the van. Basically you attach a marker to a stick or ruler, and then hold up a piece of cardboard vertically and run the stick along the edge of the van so that the marker draws the contour onto your cardboard. Then you cut out the cardboard and adjust the cut so that it is close to the shape of the van's contours. Finally, trace the cardboard onto your wood panel and cut it with a jigsaw. It's not too important to be exact with these cuts - as long as you get the contours of your shelving unit close to the contours of the van, it will fit well. It doesn't have to fit perfectly, because you're usually not storing tiny things on those shelves. We used ½" plywood for the shelves, and ¼" plywood for the front panel of the shelves
@@AdamStear I added a reply to the main comment with some more info. Also, check out @ericenjoysearth2756 and his main van tour video - he shows the process of cutting out the shelving unit to match the contours of the van
Sorry for the late reply. The bed platform sits about 9¾" from the van's floor. The vinyl floor sits on top of the van floor, so the bed platform is 9¼" from the vinyl floor.
Sorry for taking so long to reply. When fully laid flat, the bed is 44" (111.76cm) x 74" (187.96cm). The sections of the platform are 18½" : 18½" : 18½" : 2½" : 16". The bed is pretty narrow - narrower than a double bed (a double bed is 54" wide), but because you are "walled in", we find it quite comfortable for two people because you can move all the way to the edge of the bed which you can't normally do with a regular bed
Did you do that thing, where you convert it and you can get the energy from the alternator from the engine? And store it in a jackery? Also you would need some kind of roof vent or fan, to get air at night. Because you don't want to crack the windows for safety.
We didn't mess with the van's electrics. The Jackery comes with a cable that connects to a cigarette lighter to charge it while you drive. No need to do any "conversion" or tap directly into the alternator. We didn't do a roof vent or fan - I wouldn't want to cut into the van's roof or do a major modification like that; I think the risk of creating leaks would be too high. For ventilation we keep the second row windows open - if it's hot we keep them as far down as they will go, if it's cold we just keep them open an inch. We have screens on the windows to keep the bugs out. Usually we stay in campgrounds where safety isn't as big a concern. Most of the videos we have watched about other van conversions do something similar. If you're planning to modify your vehicle to put in a roof vent, I would suggest you get this done by a professional. But even then, I don't think a roof vent will help much if it's hot outside overnight - you will likely want more air flow than that.
Yeah the 1x1 strips under the floor are there to provide some stability for the plywood floor. I wouldn't say that it's *precisely* horizontally level, but it is approximately level. We found that trying to make things perfectly level is difficult especially because the van itself is often not on perfectly level ground. It's also not particularly important for the floor to be perfectly level, but we did try to make the sink counter and the table fairly level
What a fantastic job!! I am curious how you were able to pattern the contours ? Everything fits so well! Did you use a jig of some sort to get your contour patterns so tight?
Yes we used a jigsaw to get the contours as close to the shape of the van as possible. The video explains it a little, and @EricEnjoysEarth goes into greater detail about the process for building the cabinets
It’s very nice build out. Do you height of the legs for the bed frame , the rear , center and front. Seem like it a different size. I have 2006 van. It’s look very awesome. Thx for sharing
Hey Mike, I'm local to Vancouver myself and this build of yours will be inspiring my own build in a 99 Sienna. Looking forward to spending as much time as possible at some local lakes and rivers this summer. I am wondering if you have plans for the bed and cabinets that you'd be willing to share? I am not terribly handy, but when I have decent instructions I can do ok. Let me know if you have anything on hand!
Hey Luke; nice to hear from another local. I'm sorry but I don't have any plans - we did a lot of our work with just some rough sketches and trial & error. Your '99 will be different than our 2010 anyway, so specific plans may not work perfectly. We haven't installed our camping setup into our van yet this year, but when we do I'll try and take some measurements and post them up on our channel
The bed platform is about 9¾" from the van floor. We set the height with some trial and error, testing different heights using blocks before we made the final cut for the legs of the frame. You want a height that is tall enough to sit comfortably and put things under the bed, but short enough that you can sit upright without hitting your head on the van's ceiling. Depending on your height this can vary.
Nice. I like your calming voice too. Can you explain how you bolt the floor into place please? I’m not familiar with c anchors (just sea anchors 🙃), cheers.
The floor is connected to a seat (not "C") anchor. If you look at 2'08" of the video, we use a U-bolt around one of the seat anchors of the second row seat on the driver's side. The floor has two holes and we line it up over the U-bolt, lower it down, and then attach the nuts to the U-bolt and tighten (you can see the attached U-bolt 2'20". Because the floor is pretty heavy and rigid, it only needs to be attached at that one spot and then it doesn't move around
Thanks! Sorry I don't have any schematics or diagrams, but I am hoping to make a website to provide this eventually. When we built our van we didn't a lot of schematics; instead we took the design concepts we liked and then adapted that design and measured for our van. Good luck with your project!
4:30 this what I'm trying to find a solution thank you. I want some support like the original Eric design but also want it to be free like Rob's. what happen if you screw that long bar to the bed platform? will it be better or worse?
We originally screwed the long 2x4 to the end of the bed platform. The main problem was that you can't really fit anything large in the trunk area, like a cooler or bins for your cooking supplies. The removable solution (by cutting the notches from each end of the long piece and also at the ends of the bed platform) allows us to put the support in place if we want to sit on the end of the bed, but we can easily remove it if we need to put in or take out anything large in the trunk area.
Thanks for the kind words, but I would not recommend attempting to add some lap belts to a self-build. The bench would not be safe, especially without headrests
Each cushion is about 18½" x 45". If I were to do it again I would cut them a little shorter (like 44") - right now they fit pretty snug and it makes it harder to switch between bed mode and couch mode once you add the bedding. If the mattresses sit a little looser then it's easier to raise and lower the bed. For the mattress width it's important that they are snug in bed mode, with the mattress brackets in place, so that they don't separate when you're sleeping on them. So in my opinion they can be a bit looser on the sides, but they have to snug front to back.
Nice concise video and great build! Mike it looks like your bed, cabinets, counter top (maybe the floor too) are level with each other - please confirm. Did you start by parking the van on level ground to build the interior level, or did you do a best fit to suite the interior of the van (and then choose camping spots accordingly to get the interior level)?
This is an excellent question and one of the more difficult elements of our build. Our driveway and carport are more or less level, which helped in the construction process. We wanted to make the build as reasonably level as we could, and we spent quite a bit of time augmenting the underside of the floor until we had it fairly (but not perfectly) level. Had we tried to make the floor perfectly level, it would have beed raised up by probably more than four inches towards the front, which felt impractical. The most important decision with respect to levelling the build was the sink cabinet, which is not actually level with the floor. We made sure that cabinet was as reasonably level as we could make it, because not only does that impact things like the drainage of the sink, but also how level the table is (since the table connects to the aluminum side railing attached to the sink cabinet). At the time, we weren't sure whether it would look more aesthetically pleasing to have the sink cabinet *even* with the slope of the lower edge of the window that it sits next to, or if it would be better to make it level. We chose the latter and I'm really glad we did. Although the lower edge of the window *looks* level with the naked eye, it is not. When we use the van for camping we try our best to find a level spot (I use my phone's level sensor - part of the measure app on an iPhone - by placing it on the center console tray). Because we tend to camp at campgrounds, it has not been a problem to find level ground. Some people pack levellers (graded heavy-duty plastic ramps that you drive onto), but we haven't used or needed those. Just like any camping, it's most comfortable if the vehicle and bed are level
Sorry for taking so long to get back to you. The platform plywood we used is ¾", and although it is nice and sturdy it's also quite heavy. You could probably get away with good quality ⅝" plywood
Hello Mike ! Very Nice project. Very Neat ! I'm also making a van conversion and I also use Eric loves Earth video to give me ideas. I Have a 2013 Sienna, same as Eric. I'm having a hard time figuring out what height the bed is going to have, with the matress and everything. Can you tell me what it the free space you have between the car'S floor and the bed structure you made, especially at the spot you are sitting ? Thanks for your help
Sorry for being so late at replying. For the platform height we ended up doing a bit of trial and error. We put the platform on some temporary blocks, put the mattress on top and sat on it to try and get the maximum height without hitting your on the ceiling. Regular van seats are tilted to give you more headroom, but with a flat bed platform you want it to be high enough to store things underneath, but not too high that you can't sit up straight. As luck would have it, we ended up with a height that was just tall enough to fit our rubbermaid bins underneath. The platform is about 9¾" from the floor of the van, and when you put the mattress on the platform the top of the mattress is about 14" from the floor. I'm 5'10" - you may have to adjust these if you are taller
Hi Mike, I am gazing at the photo, at 1：55 of the underside of the floor trying to figure out what I need to get for the floor support and their cut dimensions. I figured the two playwood support pieces are the same plywood as the floor board and they are fastened to the floor board flush at the edges. What are the dimensions of the two plywood support? Also how long are the 2x2 and 1x2 and the spacings between the strips? And the short 2x2 plus 1x2 at the front corners? Could you please talk a bit more details? Thank you!
Hi Brixia, Yes the two plywood pieces on each side are cuts from the same piece of wood and attached flush to the edges. The width of those plywood pieces are roughly the width of the tread area in the van that they sit on - the exact width is not really important. For the 2x2 and 2x1 supports, we had to do a bit of guesswork to figure out where they should go - the floor of the van is uneven so we wanted to position them to provide stability for the floor. The first 2x2 is flush to the top of the floor. The first gap is 6⅜", the second gap is 3½", and the third gap is 5⅜". We added some 2" foam in between these supports (not shown in the picture from 1:55 in the video). Bear in mind that these measurements apply only if you have the same van as us (2006-2010 Toyota Sienna). If you have a different van or a later model then you will need to do your own measurements to set up a stable floor. The length of the short corner supports is not really important, just a short length to aid in stability. I would recommend that you cut your pieces a bit long, attach with tape, and then put the floor down and see if it wobbles or bows in places when you put pressure or walk on it. Then adjust as necessary. Hope that helps!
@@MikeGoetz Thank you so much! I have 0 carpentry experience/skill but your info-packed video with detailed narration has encouraged me to take on the "fun project". Super helpful. Thank you.
This is so awesome, quick question, im a tall guy, do you guys have decent enough headroom when sitting on the bench? Also is it possible to set up a seat opposite to the bench do you think to sit across from someone?
Sorry for the late reply. I'm 5'10" and while it's comfortable to sit on our platform, my head still reaches the van's ceiling if I sit bolt upright. Our bed platform is 9¾" from the van's floor - if you're tall you might want to lower this height so that you can sit comfortably without hitting your head. Of course the lower you make your bed platform, the less room you will have to store items under your bed. We found the 9¾" space perfect for storing our rubbermaid bins with our cooking supplies & food. Also try to find a mattress that is reasonably firm and not too thick. The thicker the mattress, the higher you will sit. Regular van seats are angled back to give more head room, but the bed platform is flat so it will feel higher. It may be possible to create a design that pitches the bed slightly when in couch mode so that you create more headroom. As for seats opposite, we use our folding chairs and we've been able to sit four people around the table that way. You could set up a permanent bench on the other side, perhaps with storage underneath. Bear in mind that the more things your construct (especially out of wood), the heavier your van will be.
I need some help with my 2010 Sienna XLE making the storage you have covering the left side rear. Do you have the measurements by chance or can tell me how you contour cut your boards so perfectly?
Sorry for the delay in replying. We matched the contours of the van by creating a tool that basically involved attaching a marker to a long stick. Then, hold a large piece of cardboard vertically, run the stick along the edge of the van, and the marker will mark the contour onto the cardboard. Cut out the cardboard along the line from the marker, and now your will have a rough cut of the contour. Put the cardboard against the van's edge to see if the contour matches; adjust as needed. Once it's good enough, trace the cardboard edge onto your piece of plywood and cut with a jigsaw. It's important to note that the edge doesn't need to be *perfect*. As long as it's close enough it will create the cupboard space you need
Our van is the 2010 model, which is the last model before they put in the trollies for the middle seats. You can see from our video that we had the older-style anchors which were easier to cover with the floor
Now, this is smart, simple construction, without van living. Simple traveling and camping. Simple plumbing with door access. There is no shower stall in the spare wheel well. There is no composit toilet seat up between the front seats. No extra car batteries or solar to connect or run wiring. No smelling, dangerous battery caustic fumes while asleep. No cat or dog kennel under the bed to stink up the van. Nice and simple!
Thanks for your kind words. Design simplicity and ease of setup/takedown were important factors for us. I appreciate some people like to have more complicated setups, but for us we just want to use our van for camping, not for living in
Eric would be proud of you.
Absolute nicest mini van conversion I have seen yet. Great work
I was having a really hard time deciding If I was going to permanently modify my van to make it a full time camper that I could never put the original seats back into. Your video has convinced me not to permanently modify. Beautiful and intelligent design!
Yes I highly recommend the non-invasive modular approach. In the winter we take our camping stuff out of the van and convert it back to a regular van. This is also good if you need to transport more than two people, because with the build in place there's only room for two. Eventually, if you sell your van or if it dies, you can buy the same make & model and reinstall your build in the new vehicle.
Wonderful video, and really great design -- thank you for making and sharing!
@MikeGoetz - May I message you about your floor install?
I love how there’s a little bench in the back if you wanna sit with the back door open.
When reviewing designs, we also liked Eric's rear bench. However in practice we don't use it very often. The problem is that the height of the rear bench is such that you don't have much headspace. So it's not particularly comfortable to sit there, certainly for long stretches. I wouldn't change the overall design though
Brilliant! GREAT job! I just bought a 2006 Sienna for use as a van and also as an overnight when I visit my kids 2 hours away. I'm getting ideas and this was very informative and exciting to see the incredible possibilities you guys have presented here. Wonderful conversion!
This is genius. I'd probably do a somewhat simpler conversion, but mine would also be less functional. Very well done.
Excellent! Just bought our “retirement travel van” and I really like your approach!!
Awesome build 👏 doesn’t break the bank and very practicable. I love that your wife is your helper
🙏
This is a beautiful build. I love the design and ease with which you can convert it to a camper in a matter of minutes. This is now my dream after buying, remodeling and being disappointed with vintage campers continuing to leak or need repair. I would love to be able to convert a panel van in much this way. Thank you for sharing your awesome design. Happy Trails!
Such a simple clean design. i love it! do you have a site with all the dimensions and other parts like water pump, mattress etc i would love to try to make with with my son by far one of the best setups i’ve seen
Great video. Thank you for making it and for acknowledging the other channels that served as your inspiration. ❤
Excellent video and smart build. It is the same as Eric's build and I think this is the de facto template for a minivan. Your visuals were very good, and the pace just right. I was hoping to see details like the sliding table hardware rail and leg, and you did not disappoint. This is a better alternative to the overpriced Lagun table. This table can be bigger and is more stable, not in the way, and no floor mounts. Essentially, this build breaks down into 4 components:
Removable Floor, Bench Bed, Clothes Dresser, and Kitchen Galley. You could add a 5th piece behind passenger seat for a Toilet Cabinet, and/or Fridge. Fyi - Trelino toilets are made in Germany, come in 3 heights, light, robust, low profile and much cheaper starting at $300. Very nice to have when in a bind. Your wife will appreciate that! No more Portapotty dumping.
See Humble Road videos to see them.
This was most enjoyable to watch, you make great videos! Thank you for no music.
Thanks for your comments. We agreed that this design suited us best, after viewing lots of different designs and assessing the pros and cons. We opted not to have a piece behind the passenger seat in order to keep it feeling roomy, but yes you could add a fridge or toilet there. In the end we are not doing long trips away from civilization, so we've been fine with just a cooler and staying close to places where toilets are available
This is so practical ,reminds me of the original VW bus camper.
Thank you very much for sharing your Toyota sienna van build. 😊
I’ve been binge watching “Eric enjoys earth” all day, so it’s no wonder that your video popped up based on the algorithm. :-) Great job! :-)
Most innovative build yet. This is going to be my go to build in the future. Thank you for sharing.
Beautiful execution, definitely inspired by Eric enjoys Earth. I like your rear access hatch ratchets. Have fun out there!
Nice work! It's good to see multiple applications of that side cabinet based on Eric's design. I'm hoping to do one of those as well. Mostly commenting because the first thing that jumped out at me was your bed cover. We have an old comforter that has that same pattern on one side. :-)
This is my retirement dream... great job!
This video “hits the nail on the head” as my own van goals align with yours for van multi utilization. Thanks so much for sharing.
Great job! Innovative, well thought out, and very practical!
Thank you for sharing. Love that you can convert it back to regular van.
It's a glad idea. I will try to make my car. Thank you for sharing.
Wow, lots of great ideas here. Thanks for sharing!
This is the best conversion. I feel that I could fo this as a project.
Thank You Mike! we used yours and Eric's videos and just did the bed and cabinet.. and we will do more in a couple more weeks. I did watch this video like 30 times. lol. thank you!
Thank you for your comment; glad to hear that we could be helpful and I hope you enjoy this project
Really good job! I’ve been looking at a bunch of Sienna vids to get ideas for my 2007, and this is one of the best thank you.
Thanks for your kind words
Great set up. I’m working on my 2008 Sienna. I got some good ideas from you. I’m a 70 year old solo camper and I’m not into stealth myself.
I am working on our 2008. Right now. We are partly done with the bed and partly with the side cabinet
@@Seaturtle008 I left one middle seat in in case I have passengers and put the stow back row down. I use my van for a pick up truck hauling lumber, pine straw bales, etc It has 200,000 miles on it but on previous Toyota I got 300,000+ so I expect it to last. I haven’t made any long solo voyages yet but live in S GA so lots of camping available. Happy travels..minivans are the best vehicles. I’ve never had one.
Well made and excellent design for a conversion that is not permanent.
Great video! Would love to see a more in-depth video about the couch/bed. I just purchased a 2004 Sienna to build a camper. This is very helpful.
Danny Hustle check out ROCK n ROLL van beds on UA-cam. There's a pleathora of them. Some with detailed instructions
Very creative. Looks great. Thanks for sharing.
I love this. I am currently building out my minivan and documenting on my channel. Glad I came across you guys.
Fantastic van build, thanks for the thorough and easy to watch video. Happy car camping 😊
Mike, Love your Sienna video. Hope to see more videos from you some day. Subscribed.
Well done! That's a nice, clean build. I like that you use a cooler. I know that many van builds include a refrigerator, but the electrical needs are greatly simplified with a cooler. I think a cooler is the way to go if you're not living in the minivan.
Yes we definitely concur. As soon as you introduce a fridge, you need to get a second battery and it really starts to complicate the electrical setup. For people like us who just want to camp in our van, we find that the fridge is not necessary. In practice we've found that ice in the cooler lasts about three days, which is roughly hong long our water supply lasts as well. Our build is not suitable if you really want to go overlanding for days or weeks at a time. But for regular camping in your vehicle without the hassle of setup or driving a big rig in the city, we're really happy with our arrangement
@@MikeGoetz Thanks for the additional wise information!
Neatest, simple, great spaces in a build to date
Nice work. Bro, your setup is clean AF.
What I wouldn't give for actual plans for something like this!
Great thinking!!!
You did a beautiful job on this van! Thanks for the video!
Another great Sienna build. Love the modular builds, you and the others you have mentioned, are doing. Lots of great and creative ideas I’m collecting for my Astro van build. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
this one is definitely one of the nicer ones from the rest!
Hello ') can you go into more detail about how to remove the tracks on floor from front seats. and especially how and what tools are needed to remove back seats. thank you!
Ours is a 2010 Sienna, the last year before they changed the middle seat anchor design and added the tracks. If you look at the picture at 1'53" you'll see that with all the seats removed there are no tracks, just the seat anchors.
Eric Enjoys Earth has done a video showing his floor (ua-cam.com/video/A5XxEZpDhpk/v-deo.html) - his van has the tracks like yours. Another video from 'I've got an idea' shows his floor design with a van that also has those tracks: ua-cam.com/video/QjV44lxxyQg/v-deo.html
Mike, I love your build. In the video you state that the bed is 44 inches wide. May I ask you how long the bed is? Thank you and Very Best.
I believe it’s about 75”, as long as a standard full-size mattress. We had to cut the mattress narrow, but kept it the same length and just cut it into those four sections.
So very well done and explained. Thank you, as this is a positive as I shakily and ever so slow creep to the van camping side of life. (As much as I have enjoyed the little I have done, I can NOT for one second consider myself a camper. But the thought spells F R E E D O M to me !!! 🎉❤
Very nice design. Thank you for sharing.
Would you mind providing dimensions of the bed width and shelving width? How does a person get the curvature dimensions for the shelving by the back windows? I have zero building experience and am struggling with getting the measurements accurate. what thickness of wood did you use for the shelving? Thank you for any advice you can give.
I’d love tips on making the contoured cuts for the rear left shelf too. (2010 Toyota Sienna XLE conversion)
Sorry for the late reply. @ericenjoysearth2756 has good tips about how to shape the side cabinet for the contours of the van. Basically you attach a marker to a stick or ruler, and then hold up a piece of cardboard vertically and run the stick along the edge of the van so that the marker draws the contour onto your cardboard. Then you cut out the cardboard and adjust the cut so that it is close to the shape of the van's contours. Finally, trace the cardboard onto your wood panel and cut it with a jigsaw. It's not too important to be exact with these cuts - as long as you get the contours of your shelving unit close to the contours of the van, it will fit well. It doesn't have to fit perfectly, because you're usually not storing tiny things on those shelves. We used ½" plywood for the shelves, and ¼" plywood for the front panel of the shelves
@@AdamStear I added a reply to the main comment with some more info. Also, check out @ericenjoysearth2756 and his main van tour video - he shows the process of cutting out the shelving unit to match the contours of the van
Thank you!
i love this van!! I hope you do more videos
This is so cleverly done! I think it is almost exactly what I want to do with my van. Thank you for the video.
Amazing
Thank you for sharing !!!!
One of the better van builds
Great build!
Wow Mike... I didn't know you were so handy! Congratulations on a job well done. I could never do that...
Thanks Ben!
Well done! I am considering a similar build for my recently acquired Sienna. What are the dimensions of your sink unit?
Well done
nice job ! enjoy your travels .
Love the design. And with not using a lot of fancy tools, makes me think maybe I could do this, too. 👍🏻😊
This is perfect!
excellent video, Mike! Can you give your viewers, the height of the bedframe above the vinyl floor? Thank you!
Sorry for the late reply. The bed platform sits about 9¾" from the van's floor. The vinyl floor sits on top of the van floor, so the bed platform is 9¼" from the vinyl floor.
great stuff guys. I wonder which size is the double bed when in use (in cm.???) Thank you and congratulation from Ital
Sorry for taking so long to reply. When fully laid flat, the bed is 44" (111.76cm) x 74" (187.96cm). The sections of the platform are 18½" : 18½" : 18½" : 2½" : 16". The bed is pretty narrow - narrower than a double bed (a double bed is 54" wide), but because you are "walled in", we find it quite comfortable for two people because you can move all the way to the edge of the bed which you can't normally do with a regular bed
Very nice! 😊
Did you do that thing, where you convert it and you can get the energy from the alternator from the engine? And store it in a jackery? Also you would need some kind of roof vent or fan, to get air at night. Because you don't want to crack the windows for safety.
We didn't mess with the van's electrics. The Jackery comes with a cable that connects to a cigarette lighter to charge it while you drive. No need to do any "conversion" or tap directly into the alternator.
We didn't do a roof vent or fan - I wouldn't want to cut into the van's roof or do a major modification like that; I think the risk of creating leaks would be too high. For ventilation we keep the second row windows open - if it's hot we keep them as far down as they will go, if it's cold we just keep them open an inch. We have screens on the windows to keep the bugs out. Usually we stay in campgrounds where safety isn't as big a concern. Most of the videos we have watched about other van conversions do something similar. If you're planning to modify your vehicle to put in a roof vent, I would suggest you get this done by a professional. But even then, I don't think a roof vent will help much if it's hot outside overnight - you will likely want more air flow than that.
Thank you for the simplicity of the video, Looking at 1:55 min about the floor; I was wondering did you make the floor precisely horizontally leveled?
Yeah the 1x1 strips under the floor are there to provide some stability for the plywood floor. I wouldn't say that it's *precisely* horizontally level, but it is approximately level. We found that trying to make things perfectly level is difficult especially because the van itself is often not on perfectly level ground. It's also not particularly important for the floor to be perfectly level, but we did try to make the sink counter and the table fairly level
What a fantastic job!! I am curious how you were able to pattern the contours ? Everything fits so well! Did you use a jig of some sort to get your contour patterns so tight?
Yes we used a jigsaw to get the contours as close to the shape of the van as possible. The video explains it a little, and @EricEnjoysEarth goes into greater detail about the process for building the cabinets
Very nice build. Happy adventures.
Vraiment superbe, tu as les meilleurs idées. Félicitations
It’s very nice build out. Do you height of the legs for the bed frame , the rear , center and front. Seem like it a different size. I have 2006 van. It’s look very awesome. Thx for sharing
Hey Mike, I'm local to Vancouver myself and this build of yours will be inspiring my own build in a 99 Sienna. Looking forward to spending as much time as possible at some local lakes and rivers this summer. I am wondering if you have plans for the bed and cabinets that you'd be willing to share? I am not terribly handy, but when I have decent instructions I can do ok. Let me know if you have anything on hand!
Hey Luke; nice to hear from another local. I'm sorry but I don't have any plans - we did a lot of our work with just some rough sketches and trial & error. Your '99 will be different than our 2010 anyway, so specific plans may not work perfectly. We haven't installed our camping setup into our van yet this year, but when we do I'll try and take some measurements and post them up on our channel
@@MikeGoetz thanks Mike!
Excellent ❤
Hi Mike, great video!
Couple of questions please. What is the height of the bed (without mattress) from the floor? Thank you
The bed platform is about 9¾" from the van floor. We set the height with some trial and error, testing different heights using blocks before we made the final cut for the legs of the frame. You want a height that is tall enough to sit comfortably and put things under the bed, but short enough that you can sit upright without hitting your head on the van's ceiling. Depending on your height this can vary.
Nice. I like your calming voice too. Can you explain how you bolt the floor into place please? I’m not familiar with c anchors (just sea anchors 🙃), cheers.
The floor is connected to a seat (not "C") anchor. If you look at 2'08" of the video, we use a U-bolt around one of the seat anchors of the second row seat on the driver's side. The floor has two holes and we line it up over the U-bolt, lower it down, and then attach the nuts to the U-bolt and tighten (you can see the attached U-bolt 2'20". Because the floor is pretty heavy and rigid, it only needs to be attached at that one spot and then it doesn't move around
Wonderful job.
Great work, I love it.
This is awesome Mike! I have a 2007 Sienna that I’m slowly converting. Do you have any schematics of your build available?
Thanks! Sorry I don't have any schematics or diagrams, but I am hoping to make a website to provide this eventually. When we built our van we didn't a lot of schematics; instead we took the design concepts we liked and then adapted that design and measured for our van. Good luck with your project!
4:30 this what I'm trying to find a solution thank you. I want some support like the original Eric design but also want it to be free like Rob's. what happen if you screw that long bar to the bed platform? will it be better or worse?
We originally screwed the long 2x4 to the end of the bed platform. The main problem was that you can't really fit anything large in the trunk area, like a cooler or bins for your cooking supplies. The removable solution (by cutting the notches from each end of the long piece and also at the ends of the bed platform) allows us to put the support in place if we want to sit on the end of the bed, but we can easily remove it if we need to put in or take out anything large in the trunk area.
Very nice ! thank you for sharing.
Very nice. If you buy some Lap' Seat belts, you can transport 2 extra people if need too.
Thanks for the kind words, but I would not recommend attempting to add some lap belts to a self-build. The bench would not be safe, especially without headrests
Hi there great video thanks for sharing. Quick question for you. What did you end up cutting your four cushions too?
Each cushion is about 18½" x 45". If I were to do it again I would cut them a little shorter (like 44") - right now they fit pretty snug and it makes it harder to switch between bed mode and couch mode once you add the bedding. If the mattresses sit a little looser then it's easier to raise and lower the bed. For the mattress width it's important that they are snug in bed mode, with the mattress brackets in place, so that they don't separate when you're sleeping on them. So in my opinion they can be a bit looser on the sides, but they have to snug front to back.
Super nice job you guys
Nice concise video and great build! Mike it looks like your bed, cabinets, counter top (maybe the floor too) are level with each other - please confirm. Did you start by parking the van on level ground to build the interior level, or did you do a best fit to suite the interior of the van (and then choose camping spots accordingly to get the interior level)?
This is an excellent question and one of the more difficult elements of our build. Our driveway and carport are more or less level, which helped in the construction process. We wanted to make the build as reasonably level as we could, and we spent quite a bit of time augmenting the underside of the floor until we had it fairly (but not perfectly) level. Had we tried to make the floor perfectly level, it would have beed raised up by probably more than four inches towards the front, which felt impractical.
The most important decision with respect to levelling the build was the sink cabinet, which is not actually level with the floor. We made sure that cabinet was as reasonably level as we could make it, because not only does that impact things like the drainage of the sink, but also how level the table is (since the table connects to the aluminum side railing attached to the sink cabinet). At the time, we weren't sure whether it would look more aesthetically pleasing to have the sink cabinet *even* with the slope of the lower edge of the window that it sits next to, or if it would be better to make it level. We chose the latter and I'm really glad we did. Although the lower edge of the window *looks* level with the naked eye, it is not.
When we use the van for camping we try our best to find a level spot (I use my phone's level sensor - part of the measure app on an iPhone - by placing it on the center console tray). Because we tend to camp at campgrounds, it has not been a problem to find level ground. Some people pack levellers (graded heavy-duty plastic ramps that you drive onto), but we haven't used or needed those. Just like any camping, it's most comfortable if the vehicle and bed are level
@@MikeGoetz thank you so much for the detailed answer and explanation. I am going to follow suit!
Great job!
Do you have any plans or drawing with measurements? I just bought a 2011 and I work on the road and need a comfy hotel on wheels.
Mike... love your video and plan to build a bed/sofa like you. Just wondering what thickness of plywood you used for the platform???
Sorry for taking so long to get back to you. The platform plywood we used is ¾", and although it is nice and sturdy it's also quite heavy. You could probably get away with good quality ⅝" plywood
Hello Mike ! Very Nice project. Very Neat !
I'm also making a van conversion and I also use Eric loves Earth video to give me ideas. I Have a 2013 Sienna, same as Eric. I'm having a hard time figuring out what height the bed is going to have, with the matress and everything. Can you tell me what it the free space you have between the car'S floor and the bed structure you made, especially at the spot you are sitting ? Thanks for your help
Sorry for being so late at replying. For the platform height we ended up doing a bit of trial and error. We put the platform on some temporary blocks, put the mattress on top and sat on it to try and get the maximum height without hitting your on the ceiling. Regular van seats are tilted to give you more headroom, but with a flat bed platform you want it to be high enough to store things underneath, but not too high that you can't sit up straight. As luck would have it, we ended up with a height that was just tall enough to fit our rubbermaid bins underneath. The platform is about 9¾" from the floor of the van, and when you put the mattress on the platform the top of the mattress is about 14" from the floor. I'm 5'10" - you may have to adjust these if you are taller
I really like your build. Great job!
Love your camper van. Great job!
Hi Mike, I am gazing at the photo, at 1：55 of the underside of the floor trying to figure out what I need to get for the floor support and their cut dimensions. I figured the two playwood support pieces are the same plywood as the floor board and they are fastened to the floor board flush at the edges. What are the dimensions of the two plywood support? Also how long are the 2x2 and 1x2 and the spacings between the strips? And the short 2x2 plus 1x2 at the front corners? Could you please talk a bit more details? Thank you!
Hi Brixia,
Yes the two plywood pieces on each side are cuts from the same piece of wood and attached flush to the edges. The width of those plywood pieces are roughly the width of the tread area in the van that they sit on - the exact width is not really important.
For the 2x2 and 2x1 supports, we had to do a bit of guesswork to figure out where they should go - the floor of the van is uneven so we wanted to position them to provide stability for the floor.
The first 2x2 is flush to the top of the floor. The first gap is 6⅜", the second gap is 3½", and the third gap is 5⅜". We added some 2" foam in between these supports (not shown in the picture from 1:55 in the video).
Bear in mind that these measurements apply only if you have the same van as us (2006-2010 Toyota Sienna). If you have a different van or a later model then you will need to do your own measurements to set up a stable floor.
The length of the short corner supports is not really important, just a short length to aid in stability. I would recommend that you cut your pieces a bit long, attach with tape, and then put the floor down and see if it wobbles or bows in places when you put pressure or walk on it. Then adjust as necessary.
Hope that helps!
@@MikeGoetz Thank you so much! I have 0 carpentry experience/skill but your info-packed video with detailed narration has encouraged me to take on the "fun project". Super helpful. Thank you.
Excellent....
This is so awesome, quick question, im a tall guy, do you guys have decent enough headroom when sitting on the bench? Also is it possible to set up a seat opposite to the bench do you think to sit across from someone?
Sorry for the late reply. I'm 5'10" and while it's comfortable to sit on our platform, my head still reaches the van's ceiling if I sit bolt upright. Our bed platform is 9¾" from the van's floor - if you're tall you might want to lower this height so that you can sit comfortably without hitting your head. Of course the lower you make your bed platform, the less room you will have to store items under your bed. We found the 9¾" space perfect for storing our rubbermaid bins with our cooking supplies & food. Also try to find a mattress that is reasonably firm and not too thick. The thicker the mattress, the higher you will sit.
Regular van seats are angled back to give more head room, but the bed platform is flat so it will feel higher. It may be possible to create a design that pitches the bed slightly when in couch mode so that you create more headroom. As for seats opposite, we use our folding chairs and we've been able to sit four people around the table that way. You could set up a permanent bench on the other side, perhaps with storage underneath. Bear in mind that the more things your construct (especially out of wood), the heavier your van will be.
Nicely done guys👏🏻
wicked build!
So inspirational!!! I love it
SUCH A DEDICATED PEOPLE. TALENT beyond me.
RAFI Maine USA-PHD
Fabulous 😇❤️😇
Very nice
Did you save any of your measurements for the bed frame?
I need some help with my 2010 Sienna XLE making the storage you have covering the left side rear. Do you have the measurements by chance or can tell me how you contour cut your boards so perfectly?
Sorry for the delay in replying. We matched the contours of the van by creating a tool that basically involved attaching a marker to a long stick. Then, hold a large piece of cardboard vertically, run the stick along the edge of the van, and the marker will mark the contour onto the cardboard. Cut out the cardboard along the line from the marker, and now your will have a rough cut of the contour. Put the cardboard against the van's edge to see if the contour matches; adjust as needed. Once it's good enough, trace the cardboard edge onto your piece of plywood and cut with a jigsaw. It's important to note that the edge doesn't need to be *perfect*. As long as it's close enough it will create the cupboard space you need
Awesome video thank you
Any chances you could give me the plans and dimensions
I love it Thanks
Sorry, we never developed any plans and dimensions when we were building out the van. I'm hoping to eventually publish some drawings; stay tuned!
Wonderful design and video. Did you cover the seat trollies with the floor?
Our van is the 2010 model, which is the last model before they put in the trollies for the middle seats. You can see from our video that we had the older-style anchors which were easier to cover with the floor
Now, this is smart, simple construction, without van living.
Simple traveling and camping.
Simple plumbing with door access.
There is no shower stall in the spare wheel well. There is no composit toilet seat up between the front seats. No extra car batteries or solar to connect or run wiring. No smelling, dangerous battery caustic fumes while asleep. No cat or dog kennel under the bed to stink up the van.
Nice and simple!
Thanks for your kind words. Design simplicity and ease of setup/takedown were important factors for us. I appreciate some people like to have more complicated setups, but for us we just want to use our van for camping, not for living in