How I Built A CAMPER From Start To Finish (Under $7,000)
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- Опубліковано 7 лют 2025
- In today’s video we go from part 1 to part 5 of tis epic caravan rebuild. This build took almost 2 years to complete and it looks absolutely amazing. Now onto the interior so stay tuned for that video.
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PRODUCTS USED BELOW (Not Affiliated By Any Means)
3mm Composite Cladding - SAS Signage
1.4mm checker plate - Guy on Marketplace
H Moulding & Jrail - Pro Bond
J Rail Rubber - Google & EBay Stores Sell Per M
Flooring - Locally Sourced Pine Coated In Bitumen Membrane From Bunnings.
Windows - Australian Caravan & Rv Accessories
Polyurethane - Soudal Car Bond 940fc (Sika Would’ve Been Cheaper…)
Axle Kit - Huntsman Products (EBay)
Hitch - Alko 3.5t
Door - Camec
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Music Credit Epidemic Sound
#caravan #campervan #renovation - Авто та транспорт
Did you enjoy this build?
Check out more builds on the channel 👌🏻
"I cannot believe it's the same van". It's not bro. You built a new caravan
Yeah he must of re used a screw or something. Its like that old question about the wooden ship that has been repaired so much it no longer has a single original part
Lol. I was about to say the same thing.
MAte you are a talent - Great Vid - I howled with laughter when you gutted the van then knocked out the interior - then the frame came down- Went in a direction i did not expect - but was great fort sure -
Haha thank you, it took a different direction to what I had in mind at first that’s for sure 😂
I’ve always wanted to build my own van, this has been a great experience watching you do it. Thanks
Just do it man so much fun 😊
Thanks, I really enjoyed your video. Your work is amazing. Brilliant! This is what You Tube Videos are about!
Thanks! 👌🏻👌🏻
Every wire, every nut bolt, wall/ roof frame you will know where they are. Great job, cannot wait to see it complete.
That’s it man! 👌🏻
Congrats, Wow, what an amazing job . I can't wait to see more 👍
So glad I found this .
I appreciate you putting it on UA-cam
I did have one laugh
Your comment you can't believe it's the same van
Sorry to burst your bubble
Mate it's not
You just made a brand new van
😂
Very inspirational
Thanks man glad you enjoyed it👌🏻
Brother this is amazing work..i dont know how i stumbled across your channel but glad i clicked great work
Can't wait to see interior builds subscribed
That’s awesome thanks!
"I can't believe this is the same van" 🤣
It's barely the same frame!
Ship of Theseus, mate, ship of theseus.
It's not the same van. It's a complete build from scratch.
So really, you kept part of the chassis and the axel, and built a new van?
Replaced the axle to.. Yes original chassis
Ye that’s what I see too. Nothing much of the original van
*axle
Did you read the title of the video
Solid effort mate, well done!
You done yourself and your parents proud mate. Excellent work. New Sub brother👍🍻🍺
Thanks legend much appreciated 👌🏻
Great job ! 👋 I am now looking at the same situation, rebuild an old caravan complete. Your video is good and instructing, like to see more of it, and about the suppliers for materials and parts, knowing who makes those windows is very good. Many Thanks.
Glad it helped, it’s a huge job haha. Check out my other videos they are much more in depth 😊
Well done young fella, great job, good work ethic. Congrats.
Thank you! 👌🏻
Well done at an exceptional cost of only $6,000. However I don’t think it’s accurate to say it’s the same van. Just like me saying I’ve got my great grandfathers axe from 1900, although it’s had 3 new handles and 2 heads. Again very good work
Thank you, it still has the original chassis so I guess it classifies? Haha 😊
Don’t worry about it.
@@EngineeredToDesignlegally speaking the chassis is what matters.
Did you read the title of the video?
unbelievable you reply to every comment. Well done. I learnt a lot!
Thanks that’s great to hear 👌🏻😊
Beautiful job mate, you’ve shown some great skill and patience with this project 👍🏼😜
Thank you! It has certainly tested my patience at times haha😂👌🏻
Great work! You can be very proud of your efforts!
👌🏻👌🏻
Looks amazing! Great job. Cant wait to see the inside finished
Thanks! Interior will be fun 👌🏻
Looks awesome matey 👍 done well.. Thanks for sharing
👌🏻👌🏻
When it comes to puting in a air con , go for a split system, they are so much more efficiant that a roof type system and you don't have to worry about the roof leaking down the track. The hard part is were to mount the compressor. looking forward to the fit out.
Not a bad idea, I was looking at the truma under seat versions as I don’t want anything on the roof
Yes, just remember your high school phisics, hot air rises and cold air drops. Just one of the flaws with the under bed air cons and that is if the cold air is comming out at floor level, it is going to be hard to cool down the caravan and the main reason why a split system works better with the inside unit mounted as high up as possible. I also a few years ago had a major input into the 12 volt system for a couple of buses that were in the process of be converted into motorhomes. Both these buses had split systems install with the compressor mounted under in one of the storage bins under the bus. These also had two head units ( the inside bit ) with one head unit in the main bedroom and the other in the lounge room ? of the bus. This worked exstreamly well to the poind of being too cold !!
Bloody awesome job, mate. 😎👍
You’re a legend mate!
Absolutely brilliant work.
Thanks man 👌🏻
Thank you for a very entertaining video , wonderful job so far can't wait for the rest of them
Glad you enjoyed it 👌🏻
Great work. I guess you reached a point of no return once condition was fully assessed. main concern is fitout, bigger axel/wheels, full tanks etc will add at least 500kg plus your gear so how does the compliance go with revised VIN GVM details? Recommend at least 10-15% ball weight of finished travel all up weight. Fitout cost adds up real quick. Interested that they will register an enclosed trailer as a caravan. Will have to watch the rest of the videos.
It is satisfying to build your own, i did my from ground up.
Did all the Rover Adr, custom van for half the price.Lot of work but well worth it. Now doing a lap🇦🇺
Heck that’s awesome! Have you documented it? If so can send me an email of it all.
Engineeredtodesign@gmail.com
Thank you so much for this. My daughter purchased a van a few months ago and like you the whole frame is just rotted but a very good chaser. Thank you for inspiring me to keep going with the rebuild. 👍
If you can do the work it’s very rewarding, I say anything is fixable.. 👌🏻
Awesome job man! Stripping it down to its frame is my type of rebuild for sure. I doubt it’s gonna be under 7K to build the entire thing but it’s freakin amazing nonetheless 😎👍✨
That’s awesome thanks! 👌🏻
You inspire me to get off my arse and fix my own camper!
Heck yeah! 👌🏻
Looks fantastic mate
👌🏻👌🏻
Interesting. Been converting a small bus into a home, and have made lots of mistakes. Interested in insulation, avoiding condensation, and creating good airflow and ventilation without AC. Those windows looked amazing. Beaut job, creating a great van. Would like to see more.
How did you go with insulation? Got any tips? Yeah the windows are fantastic 👌🏻
Congrats on finishing it, it looks great!
Absolutely stoked with it 👌🏻
Looks amazing.
👌🏻👌🏻
Great video. You've got yourself a new sub!! I'm looking forward to the videos showing the fit-out. I've done a few camper van builds (Iveco and Ducato), and each build required around 350 hours of labour alone, but the end result is worth every one of those hours.
Glad you enjoyed it 👌🏻 man that’s cool I may need some pointers haha 😁
Well done mate
👌🏻👌🏻
What a great video to stumble across!
That’s awesome 👌🏻
I had to laugh at the comment at the end "I can't believe it's the same van" - it's not - you've pretty much rebuilt it from the ground up 😅
New subscriber here. I must say u did one hell of a job completely redoing that camper brother. Hell yea brother. Im about to get a camper to live in after a divorce so who knows i might be trying to redo mine after it's all said and done. Idk if i will be doing as much as u did. But the previous owner said that the roof had leaked before so who knows how bad that will be to replace or seal up. But other than that wish me luck because today I go to look at it and if I want to purchase it than I will go ahead and do so. 😮😮 def will be watching more of ur content for ideas and what not. Thanks alot for doing what u do and providing us with content of such. Keep up the hard work and dedication towards the channel and much love to ya from Maryland ❤❤❤
That’s awesome man thank you! A new chapter hey, yeah once they start moving and getting leaks the water can’t escape so the rott.. what year is the van your looking at? All the best 👌🏻
Good stuff mate
👌🏻👌🏻
Brilliant.....iv followed you right from the start....loved watching every bit of your progress
That’s awesome! Thanks for the ongoing support 👌🏻👌🏻
Good 👍 looking homemade RV camper
👌🏻👌🏻
Top job you have done. If your bed is east west I have seen some new vans lifting the bed to about 700mm and then using the space as boot space with access doors on the outside.
That is exactly the plan. Hoping to have the batteries in the toolbox up front and inverter ect under bed.. 👌🏻
@@EngineeredToDesign cheers
Great job mate! Should be proud!
Thank you! 🔥
Cracking build great job
👌🏻👌🏻
Question why didn’t you just buy a trailer and build your frame on that?
Cool video really enjoyed the watch.
Would have been easier haha. Well this was free so it was a good start 👌🏻
Well done mate.
😁😁
Personally I would have used aluminium for the wall frames . Lighter and no rust
Well done
If I did it again I’d go aluminium for sure👌🏻
Very nice, good job mate, it is a credit to your talents.
I think with how far you took it back, you probably should have just done a complete rebuild from scratch, aluminium frame and tandem off-road axel set maybe, you could have built it to your own size and design, but what you have done will definitely stiffen up and reinforce that old chassis.
Looking forward to the fit-out, I know you will impress. Cheers
Most definitely would have been easier, maybe on V2 someday I can learn how to weld aluminium haha 👌🏻
A pneumatic rivet gun becomes your best friend when working with aluminium frame caravans. Even on planes they use rivets instead of welding with the aluminium
Great job. One thing I would have done is to clad the underside with thin sheet metal. I have had the unfortunate experience of having a branch come up and through the floor of my camper, nearly hitting my fridge, which would have destroyed it, potentially causing a major gas leak (3way fridge).
Wow that’s unlucky! Yeah that would be a good idea, my only concern is extra weight
@ yeah. Worst thing was warm beer for the rest of the trip!😝.
Fixing it was kinda awkward.
Should have dutched it up the old fashioned way to test for air leaks.
OMG, I said to myself 1100 when you said guess how much it weighs! Ok, granted I was thinking in pounds, but still! 😅 (To be simultaneously so accurate and yet so far off 😂) Awesome build, man, love to see it!
Haha that’s awesome good semi guess 😁👌🏻
Incredible
👌🏻👌🏻
Looks good!
Can't rego with out the inside done because by the time you fit it out it will exceed your gvm good luck I do registration and build vans every day for a living alloy frame and build inside 1st so you can secure all fittings to frame also alloy frame is the go and will have to re rego if you install gas stick to what you know
Daaaaamn, makes me want to build a caravan myself again 😆
Do it! 👌🏻
I might have to... hahaha. Did you look at doing aluminium instead of steel frame for the walls? I was tossing up when i was last looking at building one. @@EngineeredToDesign
@ yeah it was going to be more expensive and I would have to outsource the frame work as I don’t have an aluminium welder at the moment..
@EngineeredToDesign yeah fair call. I was looking at converting my mig to do it but I was having the same thoughts... hahaha. Well thank you! Can't wait to see how the interior fit out goes!
Damn mate that must have been a hard pill to swallow after pulling the cladding off and realising the whole thing wasn't worth restoring and needed to pretty much build an entire new van. Amazing build though youve made it seem much more simple to diy than it seems when you look at a van and imagine how complex the framing and wiring must be but the reality is theyre pretty simple. Thanks for sharing
Thanks man yeah it was a gut wrenching moment haha but all worth it. 👌🏻
Good job well done 👍
Wow well done. Looks very shmick.
👌🏻👌🏻
Awesome Job mate! Very jealous of your skills, just a question, what did you cut out the door and trim the ACM panels with?
I used a ryobi router with 1/4” flush trim wood bit. Worked amazing! 👌🏻
I have a million questions 😂😂 but I won’t annoy you, just one more quick one, do you take it off-road, if so can I get the specs on the springs and axel you used please
@ feel free to email me, I will be doing a video with regular asked questions to.. axle is 2500kg rated along with springs to suit..
Thank you I really appreciate it, when I get further along in my project I will definitely be emailing you, thanks again
It's telling me good profits when they sell a campervan. Congratulations
Lots of hours to build one to 👌🏻
bro im 2:30 mins in and im fkn blown away already. the things you can see on the webs!!!
Thanks legend!
New van with some recycled steel!
👌🏻👌🏻
Im doing something similar, i bought an old 6.5m x 2.45m food trailer and going to convert it into an enclosed car trailer. Already has dual axle with 4 wheel electric brakes, all the wiring for lighting etc, which i will replace. Paid $400 for it, so already well infront for what i want to do!
Wow that’s a bargain!!
@@EngineeredToDesign yeah couldn't say no to it, i want to extend the front 2m & rear 1m making it 9m of enclosure, enough room to have workbench/kitchenette & some beds 😊
Great stuff
Hey mate do u have an overall size of your van? From the towball to the rear of the van etc. height width of the actual van. Cheers mate
Hey man,
Tip of Draw bar to rear of van 7.3m
Van body (excluding draw bar) 5350mm
Side to side 2.4m
Height roughly 2.7m
Hope that helps 👌🏻
Awesome work
👌🏻👌🏻
Hi mate could you show a video in more detail of how you got the composite panel to bend, and was this a stock colour of was it the back of the gloss white boards?
If you have Instagram send me a DM and I can send you a video of what I did if you like? (Engineered2design)
I can't thank you enough for the info in this vid. INSTANT FOLLOW!!!
What state are you based in?
Glad I could help 👌🏻 Vic
Well done young man. You have done well and it looks great. I just did pretty much the same thing here on the Sunny Coast except it cost us another $100k. Ours is an 18’, what size is yours?
Wow I’d like to see yours! This is 17ft 6
@ Oh it’s about the same size. Here’s a link showing the solar panel remote control mechanism which is 2000w all up. ua-cam.com/video/O2OE-E0D0MM/v-deo.htmlsi=MXeoU6ixQJIPjEuR
Well Done 😂🎉 Does it Float 😮😂
😂😂
What size box section did you use for the walls?
30x30 2mm
I'm pretty shore this caravan in Geelong ,a couple otlf days ago...
with all the new trailer regulations, especially in vic. how much has changed in this process
A lot… if building a trailer entirely from scratch it all needs to be inspected/ tested. In my own experience older trailers/ vans some never had their vin numbers put against the rego. So an application to Rover for an extended 17 character vin is needed that uses your shorter vin to make it up. Photos, weights and a deceleration had to be submitted.. took 3 days and about $60 to complete.
The old van must of had a VIN as without it No Rego!
Did you have to Remove a Roller door!
Yes it had a vin but it was never placed against the rego unfortunately causing all the hassle..
Roller door stoppers were removed and the door moved up haha
Looks good mate however you shouldn’t ever weld across the drawbar, all welds should run the same direction as the vehicle is being towed ( the same way you welded the spring hangers on)
Good advice thank you, the draw bar was never welded across though?
Check your video at 2.30 where you’re painting the drawbar, definitely welded across bro
Great work you did
Thanks heaps!
Hi there mate, I used to watch you on TikTok building the mini bike and caravan, and seen you try to get everybody over to UA-cam and so on you know.
Anyway I havnt watched you in like 4 months ( hardly go on TikTok, focusing on UA-cam) but YOUR THUMBNAIL really caught my eye and I clicked and the 2nd I herd your voice I knew who I was watching. This thumbnail/video will def make your channel take off bro. Good on ya keep up the good work, also give me Chanel a geez bro 😉 cheers
Thanks man! Yeah I post every now and then on there but at focusing on Yt👌🏻 I’ll check out your channel 🔥
Yeah stuff timtok, yeah I’m only really doing farming history videos atm, but I’m a bit of a self tough engineer/fabricator. Just havnt got around to making any long form video about shed things yet, bit of fucking around with tripods and shit moving them every shot.. anyway keep up the good work mate
How did you get it registered? I thought the new VSB1 Regs don’t allow structural or drawbar work unless you are licensed ? At lest a vass engineer has to sign off, I’m pretty sure
This was under the category for a previously registered van so I just had to get the vin extended. All works were confirmed prior with my roads department. It was thorough the rover system. If you import trailers etc I believe they have to be tested or if you’re building your own from scratch..
Do you need to take precautions for asbestos with older caravans? Thinking of doing a similar project. Thanks for the vid
Yes I heard the glue on the flooring contained asbestos but mine had been upgraded luckily
Great job. The A frame looks very long. Does that make it hard to tow?
Makes it much easier to tow and back in..
Longer the A frame the better for reversing, it gives you much better reversing control to jack it into position, it also gives extra room for other gear you can mount to bar (gas, batteries, toolbox,bike mounts, etc), he has it nicely balanced with a 100+ kg on the tow bar hitch it will tow well, just needs to get the inside fitted out & designed to maintain that balance now.
Looking good 👍
👌🏻👌🏻
Think you are supposed to finish the inside to get a true weight before you get a vin number and rego
My local roads department didn’t care if it was completely stripped or finished they said just supply a tare docket..
I’ve been pondering the idea of getting one of those free ones off marketplace and basically doing just this. Honestly, now that I’ve seen you do it, it doesn’t look as bad as I had imagined in my head. This would be a great project for myself and the family.
Just do it man! It’s so much fun and to get the family involved would be great 👌🏻
How can you register the van with no interior, all the weights will change
I was told it was fine when I took it in.
You've done what I wanted to do, get a pre-approved chassis, upgrade it and add all the new electrics, brakes, break away etc. I wanted the PA'd chassis to stop the bs when getting rego'd.
I'd have used that grill plate around the inside of the wheel well to add some deflection for crap coming up off the road.
I must ask though, what size box and what type of steel was used to make the box frame?
I want to do up something about 19-22 foot so we can live in it and "bugger off into the sunset". Shower isn't a must (too many problems with them and truck stops have showers) but an outside hookup to hose off after being at the beach would be good. Cassette toilet is a must though.
Looks bloody good, I'm jealous. You're making me want to get an old 22foot 70's Viscount to play with and go get a welder finally. I'll sub so I can watch the internal fit out as I'll be honest, that's the part that concerns me the most since we're maxed around 2.5ish tone so full interior, full water tanks and all our crap and the dog, having to limit it to 1.4T scares the crap out of me, and maintaining that ball weight as well but I'd probably put the bedding in the front and kitchen + entry at the back so the melamine kitchen cupboards can offset the ball weight of the toilet and bedding etc.
Honestly it’s so much fun to do, get an older van have it registered as is then do this and update them along the way.. I used 30x30 2mm box tube for the frame was a little over kill but screws don’t strip in it.. there’s lighter options for cladding externally, cupboards internally can be done lighter you just need to be concise of weight I suppose.
@@EngineeredToDesign that's certainly the hope, register the chassis before starting (less bs as NSW is shocking to blue slip a trailer).
Thanks on the dimensions there, can look into that as a SOLID frame that doesn't rot and doesn't allow so much movement the seal work craps out after 6 months.
You can’t believe it’s the same van because it’s not the same van
won't you have to reweigh again once you put all the interior in plus full water tanks and full gas bottles happy caravanind😅
Potentially I’ll have to re-weigh that’s a question for the roads company tho..
Rerego to certify gas install so yes it will have a new tare weight and could even exceed the gvm by the time it's fitted out also have to keep in mind water tanks full at 180kg looks like 2 90l tanks
How is that on a single axle
Look up any caravan this size. Majority of builders keep them single axle. Once they hit 18.6ft they go dual. It’s all about space with the door and wheel boxes people don’t think about..
You built a new camper on an antique frame.
I thought the was a restoration but you basically just built a new camper from tje ground up 😂.
Great job though.
It kind of spiralled out of control haha
That’s a Juan David of a prairie
I'd much rather pay the money and start with an alloy framed van, I reckon any old van should be seen as a shell full of rubbish that has potential.
With it fully outfitted inside it'll probably be around 1400-1500kg
Maybe more, I will be keeping a close eye on it
Triggs broom , if you know you know 😂
Looks good but I think it is going to be too heavy.
Nicely built, the internals will cost a fortune
Hopefully I can keep it on a budget 👌🏻
@EngineeredToDesign can be hard, depends on what finish you want
i have a 75 Millard van and was thinking of doing something similar as the wood construction is a bit questionable, a couple points, obviously i want to know is it worth the cost of doing this vs looking for a better van and second is it even achievable for the average bloke with limited knowledge and what mistakes have u made and wished you had done different? sorry to pick your brain but you are doing what ive only planned in the future.
For sure it’s worth doing. Mine has cost me $5k to this point. If I were to do it again I would have done an aluminium frame (more expensive) or the foam fibreglass panels all the way around (no need for framing). Maybe have gone to dual axle just for weight reasons. If I did comp panel again I’d use 1mm larger H mould than the comp panel as this stuff was a pain to work with..
@@EngineeredToDesign Excellent work. Iam in Perth and have a licensed 1980 Roma single axle 17'6"Van in good shape which i fully renovated the interior.
i would like to strip off the exterior cladding & chop off those 80's look upper half circle curves front & rear & some tweeking & re-clad the roof & walls using new style replacement windows. (I already swapped out the door for a brand new one + new rims & tyres+ new suspension & electric brakes etc)
Can you kindly list the exterior composite cladding & edge rail you would recommend & checker plate & windows & source with link to where you sourced from
@ hi there that sounds great, I will update the description of this video with mostly everything I used.
If you have a 75 Millard, you have an aluminium framed van, not timber.
If you have a "Millard" from 2000 onwards, it wasn't built in the original Millard way, new company, utilising recognised old name, timber construction.
Just look at internal wall to ascertain construction.
If it's stapled it's timber.
If there's rivets, it's aluminium.
That's the benefit of aluminium over timber, it doesn't rot, it just lasts and retains the vans integrity.
I wouldn't be destroying the existing aluminium frame myself, I'd be retaining it.
Neat "van".😂
Short for caravan, simpleton.
@reefhog There there, little guy, there there.
@@dougmorevoss Did I hurt your feelings, snowflake?
@reefhog Takes more than a few words from a keyboard warrior to hurt my feelings, cream puff.
Well done but no way did the materials cost less than 6 k
They certainly did.. materials are cheaper than you think