Van Build Timelapse | DIY Promaster Conversion | Vanlife
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- Опубліковано 27 вер 2024
- Our van conversion took us a year to complete but you can enjoy it in just 10 minutes!
We are Ben and Jelaine with Nomadic Visuals. Our self converted van was definitely harder than we ever imagined. We hope this video will show you some of our mistakes and let you know that it's not all as easy as it is sometimes portrayed. We learned a lot throughout this entire van build.
Our goal is to inspire anyone who wants to pursue their dreams to do so! You only have one life and it's important to live it to the fullest!
/ nomadicvisuals
Follow us on Instagram:
@Nomadic_Visuals_
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Bedroom:
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Water:
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Shower:
Airhead Toilet
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Wool Insulation - havelockwool.re...
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Check out our full van tour here - • Van Tour | Couple Buil...
#vanbuild, #vanlife, #promaster
Ngl this motivated me to clean my room. Figured it's the least I could do.
lol! great to hear!
hahaha
Does it motivate you enough to clean my room?
@Michael Mckenna 🤣🤣🤣
🤣🤣🤣
I honestly think this is one of my all time favourite conversions. Well done guys! The van looks fabulous.
Thank you, Erin! Very kind of you!
Willy Walker, My Liēge / John Cannon Homes
@@NomadicVisuals
Willy Walker, [My Liēge] / John Cannon Homes
X2 would like to see more !!
Love your video! I'm a Grandma from Canada, long past the age of building my dream van and seeing the world. I am however, enjoying living vicariously through your adventure! Going to follow along and see where it takes you. I've been married a very long time and it's so nice to see a young couple working together and building a life. You are making memories that one day you will look back on with pride. Good luck to you, and travel safe👵🇨🇦
Thank you Jennifer, very kind of you! Hope you enjoy being apart of our community! We will be in Canada in a couple of weeks!
Awesome! It's starting to get chilly up here, especially at night, and the leaves have started to turn. You'll be needing your heater and some warm fall clothing!
I love this! You two did an awesome job! I’m wondering how you gained the knowledge to do this…so many details to consider and it looks like or better than a professional did the work!
Thank you for your kind words robin! We did a lot of research on UA-cam just to figure out a layout and then a bunch more UA-cam/blogs on how to do the various tasks and of course even more noodle scratching to figure out who it all would work for us haha. It took us about a year to complete.
I loved the built, very talented I doubt any conversation company would go into so much detail. Enjoy!!
Thanks Richeee! We really appreciate that!!
Fantastic conversion. I wish I had the time and ability to do something similar. The VW Crafter would be my vehicle of choice too. They're really good vans.
Enjoy it guys, it's richly deserved.
It definitely took a lot longer than we had anticipated. Really appreciate the kind words, Chris! I hope the opportunity presents its self in the near future for you! Take care!
Lovely van build. Greetings from sunny Jamaica.
Thanks so much, Lawrence! Jamaica sounds pretty amazing right now!
Просто обожаю автодома!!!! Однозначно молодцы.
Thanks so much!
Great job guys ... congratulations on your new home and best of luck for your upcoming adventures 🌼
Thanks so much! Very kind of you!
Props to see a woman getting down and hands dirty. Love your build and wish all the best.
Thanks so much! Jelaine has been fully committed since day one!
Very impressed, and now I need a nap.
Lol! 🤣
What a great job you did!!! Love everything!!
Very kind of you! Thanks so much!
Such an incredible job. I'm currently doing this with my 88-year-old stepdad and it's a struggle. Your build is inspiring. Any tips on how you measured for the shower drain hole behind the driver's seat? That's my current predicament - a lot going on underneath
Great great job. Amazing. From Portugal
Very kind of you! Thanks so much! we hope to visit your beautiful country soon!
Absolutely Kool.. love you build.
Really appreciate that! Thanks for the kind words!
Wow 🤩🤩 veramente bello e funzionale 😊 complimenti anche per i piccoli particolari, che fanno da sfondo ad un bellissimo van 🤩
Thank you so much Daniela! We really appreciate it!!
Must rewatch!
Thanks! ❤️
Nicely done!
Hey Thanks Judd! Really appreciate that!
YOU KILLED IT! 🔥
Thanks! We really appreciate it!
Amazing common project , well done guys
Thanks so much, Andreas!
Well done guys!
Thanks so much, Dennis! Really appreciate that!
Amazing job
Thank you! Cheers!
Wow. Amazing attention to detail!
Thanks so much, GP DIY! really appreciate the feedback!
Очень понравилось, молодцы! Девица хороша!!!
Большое спасибо! она, безусловно, ценный актив!
Very cool build! I can't help but wonder how it affects the handeling now all that weight is added?
Hey thanks! It handles surprisingly well. The acceleration is definitely not what it was when it was empty but it’s also not terrible. We definitely don’t drive it like a race car by any means though. Since it’s front whee drive and we added a good deal of weight to the back it doesn’t like going up steep gravel hills lol.
Totally awesome 😎
Thanks for the kind words, Matthew!
Super work guys 🥰🙌
Thanks so much! Greatly appreciated!
Nice build!!
Thanks Jungle Bungalow! greatly appreciated!
Smart and neat
Thank you Pudinga!
Beautiful!
Thank you!!
Super job HIÉ
Thanks so much! ✌️
Wow looks great! What color stain is that for the butcher block counters? I love the cozy colors.
Hey thanks so much! pretty sure it was a mahogany minwax gel stain
@@NomadicVisuals Hey, thanks for the reply. I just happen to be making a butcher block desk for my apartment and this is exactly the color I was looking for!
Best of luck to you!
Awesome job! It's my dream to do something like this one day
Hey thanks for the kind words! Dreams come true ya know!! 😉
Such an efficient use of space. Is there a water closet?
Thanks, David! Our 40 gallon fresh water tank is located under the bed.
Hey, nice Video! 🚐🙋♂️
Thanks so much, GreenBetty! Greatly appreciated! 🙌
what are you spraying on the walls before putting up the insulation?
Hey Brenda, we used 3M high strength adhesive spray to adhere the insulation. It worked really well and made it super easy. Check out our insulation video below:
Van Build Insulation - Havelock Wool (Van Life Tiny Home Build)
ua-cam.com/video/7DWmXYnOaSc/v-deo.html
I love small space ,
Thanks Hong!
My wife and I would like to do something like this, could you possibly share your cost analysis breakdown? I would like to budget for something similar by the end of next year. Would like to start buying everything to have something similar as a vacation vehicle. congratulations. You all did an amazing job!!!! :)
Thank you so much!! We spent $25K USD on the build and the van cost us $40K. Here is our video on the cost breakdown of the build. ua-cam.com/video/kKFmpKueNk0/v-deo.html
Hurray!
woohoo!
Over the top. Great conversion. Why over my budget 😭😭
Thank you! we could have saved quite a bit if we didn't make so many mistakes 🤣
well done
Thanks so much! We greatly appreciate that!
nice
Thank you!!
I hope I can make like that
you've got this!
Have you ever heard of a tree limb with block and tackle?
yes, but a bucket truck makes it easier and there were no available tree limbs.
@@NomadicVisuals $$$!
Lol Bens dad owns a bucket truck otherwise we would have been forced to put them up individually or would have come up with a crafty solution to lift it in one unit. We lucked out on this one
How long is that van? Personally, 16 feet is my absolute minimum, would prefer 18 feet really. Would also prefer a Cutaway van too. Since Cutaway vans seldom go longer than 16 feet, I'm always bouncing between that, a step van or even a 5-ton. Stealth being my prime motivator. Yeah, solar panels would always be a give-away, but a utility truck can always pass a quick glance than any RV.
the built our area (not including the cab) is 14ft long x 6ft wide. its the promaster 159'' extended wheel base. they do have the stick on flexible solar panels that lay flat against the roof to have more of a stealth look. they just weren't the best option for us.
@@NomadicVisuals Thanks for the quick reply. Yes, there's always the question of whether the cab is included in the length.
14 feet and you still managed a shower. I'm impressed. I would be living alone and I wouldn't go that small.
Currently living in an old 22' trailer so I have a gist of what I want, and how to increase the efficiency of space over the "one size fits all" mentality of RV manufacturers. I sure don't need a Queen sized bed for instance. Nor do I need two sinks.
Countertop space, shelves, cabinetry, a bed on a slide-out that can slide into the lower cabinets whether it's made or not. And a bigger medical/washroom cabinet. An oven wherein I don't have to double over like a pretzel to light the pilot light.
Did you use any kind of software for the planning phase?
How did you learn to do all the electrical??? Van Looks great !!
Really appreciate the kind words. We watched a bit of UA-cam, but what really made it all click was playing with a 9v battery, a few wires, an led puck light, and a switch. Just trying different combinations to try to achieve the results we wanted. Electrical is really a lot less daunting than it may seem. It’s really just variations of a positive and negative wire that control everything.
Do you have more space with an box truck?
We think so but depends on how big the box truck is
Curious. What is the thing that you stick in the van? Kinda like foil sticker. May I ask what is the purpose of that? Thanks
its used for sound deadening
What exact make/model is this van? In trying to find the perfect size and this looks amazing
Thanks! Our van is the Ram Promaster 3500 159” extended wheelbase. Hope you find the perfect van! We absolutely love ours!
We are looking at doing a very similar design but are going back and forth over having the seating area next to bed. It seems that you give up a lot of potential storage space by going with the seats. Any regrets or suggestions?
We like it. We didn’t want to have to hop through a little hole to get in or out of bed. Some people have showers or closests on either side blocking the bed access. It also feels a lot more open this way too. I’ve even seen a good deal of sinks next to a bed which if it were mine, our bed would always be wet bc Im reckless with the sink faucet. We have storage in one bench and a “mechanical closet” in the other.
👍👍
Thanks so much!
Молодцы
Большое спасибо!
Love this vid! Question, if I may - what is the black backing behind the roof a d wall slats? Well done guys, top job.
hey thanks! its 1/4'' plywood that we painted
Nice! Great job! One question, what is the final extra weight in kilograms?
Thanks! We are going to take it to get weighed in the coming weeks. We will be sure to let you know. We’ve been living in it since October 1st 2021 and it doesn’t “feel heavy” when driving it.
@@NomadicVisuals The Navy has two weights, standard weight and fully loaded. You're going to have to weigh it after you've stocked it for travel too.
@@alainarchambault2331 yep
Wow! How much research did you all do and where do you get all the skills? Well done!
haha too much research! probably over 100 hours of UA-cam. We made tons of mistakes too which consumed a lot of time as well. Really appreciated the kind words!
@@NomadicVisuals when I start to build One I am going to do 200 hours of research lol and I will go over all the possible outcomes in my head to make it work in 1 shot last time I did that with my mining rig it worked
How long is the mattress now that it is cut short?
Pretty sure we cut it down to 77'' we cut it about an inch too long though, so we could stuff it into place and we wouldnt have to worry about it moving around going down the road.
Hello, amazing job 👌. Beautiful, great ideas👍. Regards Martin.
Thanks so much, Martin! Very kind of you!
Where'd you get the grey fabric at the end??😍
We got it from National Upholstery Supply and the color is dark grey. Here is the link: www.nationalupholsterysupply.com/dmx001.html
not sure about the insulation over uncovered wires.
Sorry, new here, is this you first conversion? ☺️
Hello! Welcome! Yes this is our first and hopefully only build lol
Not to be nosy what was the total cost
the build came in just under $25,000 usd. We did an entire video on it where we break down the costs into individual categories called: how much does it actually cost to do a van conversion
Интересно, а что с подвеской? Не слишком сильный перегруз?
Нет. все хорошо. вы даже не можете сказать, что внутри есть что-то, глядя на внешнюю сторону.
helloooooooo, what are the dimensions of this bed? i'm 6"1, would i be able to sleep comfortably on this bed?
Hey!!! It is a queen size bed that we had to cut down to 74 3/8”. Ben is 6’ and he fits although we wouldn’t complain if their was more room 😂. One way to save an inch or so would be not to put shiplap in recessed area and just use like 1/4” plywood or something similar.
What length is this PM?
Ahhh.. Reminds me of the time my brother ate the wall stuff thinking it was cotton candy oops failed sistering..
Is that even a word?!
hahaha! that's hilarious!
What was the total cost of van plus work?
Hey Reinaldo! we are right at $65k USDfor the van and the build. The build came in right under $25k
USD (just for the material we did all of the labor) I have no doubt it could be done cheaper, but we made a lot of mistakes haha. We did a video called: What it actually costs to build a van. we break down all of the costs into individual categories.
What did you do to fix the cabinet lean?
We had to build another one unfortunately 🙃
Et du coup qui dit douche et toilettes vue l'installation c'est un matériel identique a un camping car donc interdiction de stationnement de nuit dans les parcs naturels et le littoral donc en vrais a quoi ça sert , au pire achetez un camping car directement si c'est pour etre équiper pareil et etre autant restreint
Do u have the blue print/outlay of this design?
Unfortunately not. Ours is very similar to Trent and Allies (their layout was inspiration for ours bc it fit our lifestyle and needs the best.) They actually sell a layout on their website. It can be found through their UA-cam channel.
What about a box truck?
I'm wondering the same thing
Like 👍 31.
Greatly appreciated! 🙌🙌
I watched the whole of this and once it ended I still felt like I missed watching it, probably should've been 5 or 10 minutes longer. 🤷🏻♂️
Thanks for checking it out! We will keep that in mind for next time!
Van name ( vehicle ) ?
its a 2019 ram promaster 3500 159'' extended ☮
my girl be like, I have no clean clothes
Sometimes it really be like that hahaha!!
The millennial dream. Buy a van and go play. Until you wind up with a kid on the way. 😆
lol no kids kids allowed!
@@NomadicVisuals ahh, but they will be!
@@timdale4047 don't you put that bad juju on us!😂
gas stove 2022? I guess whatever floats your boat. lotsa good work tho.
lol yep. already had a warranty claim with it too smh! Thanks!
@@NomadicVisuals all respect just a microwave king
Wood? over the stove? couldnt the wood just fall down yk
the part that flips up above the stove is secured with a hook while cooking and then we put it back down when we drive.
@@NomadicVisuals few
샤워실은 꼭 필요하지
마음에 드는 구조네
I don’t know that we would designate a place for a showe if we built another van, but it is nice to at least rinse off with warm water especially when it’s cold outside.
I skipped the ads
Solid move! 👌
You could have put the panels in 1 at a time instead of hiring a crane...
Haha true! That was Ben’s father, so luckily we didn’t have to pay for it. 😜
I’m 1 min in and seen 4 full sized ads
ben sounds like cr1tikal
🤣🤣🤣
I love this but man looks like he has experience I am a young women with no experience and think this looks impossible although I know nothing is impossible.
You can do it, Mariah! We are mechanically inclined, but have never built a house or van before! it took us 9 months worth of working on it every weekend and then another 3.5 months of working on it 12-16 hours a day. we aren't very efficient and make a lot of mistakes, but we eventually finished it. still making small changes here and there... We also had a lot of insight from friends and family!
@@NomadicVisuals thank you for the kind words and encouragement!! Wil definitely be seeking all the help I can get! 🤎
Feel free to reach out if you need anything!
@@NomadicVisuals thank you very very much💕
🍀👍👍👍🍀🇨🇿
Brother your wife look like Indian women cricketer Samriti mandhana 😊
Haha it’s true! It is her! 🙃
Well done. Unfortunately you already need to have a lot of money to make that a reality.
van life is different for everyone. we have a close friend that has a $1,000 build including the van. it has all of the essentials too. We've been planning and saving for years too, so don't think this was an overnight thing. you can do it too! ☮
What was total cost of inside the van?
@@johndon7377 our total van build was $25K USD. We have a video that breaks down our build into various categories, here is the link. HOW MUCH does a DIY van conversion ACTUALLY cost?
ua-cam.com/video/kKFmpKueNk0/v-deo.html
Wish you guys would have talked and said what supplies you used or how to even began a conversion. Watching and listening to music not helpful. Not a good video
Hey, we have an entire van build playlist where we go into detail on the steps we used building out our van and listed the supplies we used in the various descriptions. This video was just a compilation of the build to better see the progression. Here is the link to the playlist:
Van Build
ua-cam.com/play/PLz3v2QhnVrd1Oyeo6KnzGkeLXD_Q_wTfs.html
The video isn’t meant to be a tutorial
Ram Promaster is too large and heavy for front wheel. My friend's Promaster transmission fell apart as soon as the warranty expired. Engine problems followed.
Ford Transit is a much better platform
I would be able to build one in a month I bet I am smart and will be able to thigure stuff out sooner then alot of people
GUYS ,... WHO IS THE COWARD?
Ah yes a man and woman working together.....as it should be.
Thanks supocarta74! that means a lot!
Nice don’t have to pay for rent or mortgage
One of the many perks!
Don’t try this at home!
lol
I don't understand the madness with these silly VANS just buy a freakin RV and be done with it...
The part that was most attractive to us is that we can take our van where rvs can’t fit. We can park in a normal parking spot. Camp in a small pull off on the side of a forest road, and also the ability to customize your layout (to some degree) and use more durable materials than an rv. Our build and van cost was also half of one of the smaller rvs on the market at the time.
God loves all of us so much He came in the flesh to die and rise so that if we choose to accept Jesus as our one true Savior turning from our sins we may be gifted eternal salvation through Christ’s perfect sacrifice on the cross. Have a wonderful week
You too! ✌️
Muy genial 😀🤙
Thank you! We really appreciate it!!
I HAVE TO TELL YOU THAT TODAY A DODGE DEALER REFUSED TO SERVICE MY PROMASTER 3500 BECAUSE IT HAS BEEN BUILT-OUT TO BE AN RV. THE PROBLEM IS/WAS THAT THE BREAKS WOULD STRONGLY APPLY RANDOMLY AT ANY HIGHWAY SPEED. THE DODGE DEALERS THAT I COULD FIND DiD NOT AND WOULD NOT TOUCH IT BECAUSE IT WAS TURNED INTO A CAMPER VAN; I PAID $130,000 U S DOLLARS FOR HER JUST 15 DAYS AGO, BUT I AM SCREWED GIVEN THAT THEY REFUSE TO SERVICE THE VAN. DO NOT BUY ANY DODGE VANS OR YOU WILL LIVE TO REGRET IT. CONTACT ME IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS!
This is embarrassing for me, I spent 12 months converting my house into a van. I've made a right mess of it. Hopefully this video will help me get my house back
Lol it took us 12 months too!
😂😂😂
Well why did I waste my time watching all your other videos when I could've just watched this one!?!? 😉 Awesome time lapse!
Haha that’s why we posted it last! Gotcha
I’m impressed with your build…I no longer have the patience to do this myself and would have to spent so much $$$ in allowing someone else to do the work. Good job!!
Thank you, Mary! I don't know that we would have the patience to do it again haha.