LUXURY VAN TOUR - our dream off-grid van
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- Опубліковано 23 лип 2024
- Over the past two years, we've meticulously crafted our dream camper van, drawing inspiration from both our loyal UA-cam community and nearly five years of full-time travel in our trusty old Sprinter. Today, we proudly present our completed Ford Transit cargo van conversion, and this tour offers a comprehensive overview of our entire journey.
➤Check out the full build playlist of this van: • New Ford Transit Campe...
➤ Shop the EXPLORIST.life Store: shop.explorist.life
➤ Shop Battle Born Batteries: battlebornbatteries.com/?afmc=...
Here are some additional resources that you may find helpful with planning and installing your DIY Camper:
FULL ELECTRICAL INSTALLS:
➤50A 5th Wheel RV - Full Electrical Upgrade: • We added 2400W of Sola...
➤30A Class C Motorhome - Full Electrical Upgrade: • Motorhome RV Solar & L...
➤ 30A Travel Trailer - Full Electrical Upgrade: • RV Electrical System S...
➤ Truck Camper - Full Electrical Upgrade: • How To Upgrade Your Tr...
➤ Ford Transit Camper Van Electrical Install: • DIY CAMPER VAN ELECTRI...
➤ DIY Sprinter Camper Van Electrical Install - Full Tutorial: • DIY Sprinter Camper Va...
OTHER HELPFUL RESOURCES:
➤ Binge the Transit Van Build: • The Ultimate Camper Va...
➤ DIY Camper Solar Wiring Diagrams: www.explorist.life/solarwirin...
➤ How to Perform a Power Audit: • How Much Solar Power D...
➤ Basic Parts & Components of an Electrical System: • Basic Solar Parts Need...
➤ How to Cut Wire: www.explorist.life/how-to-cut...
➤ How to Strip Wire: • How to Strip Wire from...
➤ How to Crimp Wire: • How To Crimp Wire Lugs...
➤ How to Make MC4 Connectors: • How To Make MC4 Connec...
➤ How to Wire Solar Panels in Series-Parallel: • How to Wire Solar Pane...
➤ How to Crimp Wire Ferrules: • How to Crimp Ferrules ...
➤ How to Wire an AC/DC Breaker/Fuse Box: www.explorist.life/how-to-wir...
00:00 Introduction
01:04 Lift Kit and Bigger Tires
01:30 Bumper and Exterior Lights
02:14 Work/Scene Lights
02:51 Windows
03:17 Garage
03:32 Mountain Bike Storage
04:06 Plumbing/Water Tank
04:51 Power System
05:29 Window Covers
05:45 Bug Screens
06:21 Solar Panels/Rooftop
07:03 WeBoost
07:26 Exterior Storage
08:33 Water Port
09:00 Shore Power/Ground Deploy Solar Port
09:45 Swivel Seats
10:00 Interior Cabinet Storage
10:21 Kitchen
11:35 Toilet
12:03 Window Screens/Blinds
13:12 Upper Cabinets
14:00 Ambient Lighting
14:50 Platform Bed
16:08 Mattress
17:06 Walls and Insulation
17:40 Flooring/L-track
18:43 Blobbies!
20:03 What we didn't DIY
20:19 How much did we spend?
21:19 Final Thoughts - Авто та транспорт
*➤FULL BUILD playlist of this van - (basically a free DIY camper van building academy)* ua-cam.com/video/iga8VotrDqg/v-deo.html
*➤Bike helmet clips for unistrut:* Hero Clip - Medium amzn.to/3FLQiM4
Been a fan of your channel since the first van. Nate thank you for all the step by step instructions on electrical basics. Hope to see you on the slopes this winter in your much more reliable van!
Nice build! I like the garage area. I like the no face upper cabinets! I would guess the build cost would be around $40-$50K not including the cost of the van or labor.
you guys did an amazing job! thank you for all the information you are educating the community with!
Beautiful and functional van. Love your videos! The detail that you share is super helpful for a DIYer to follow. Thank you!!
Thank you for sharing this build. Very enjoyable !
Thanks for watching! 👍👍😁😁
Your van is great. Obviously your prior vans provided the foundation for building this one with all the items you knew were needed. I envy your project. If I were a much younger man I'd build one also. When my wife and I decided to start traveling in a class B we were 66 years old, so we opted to order a Coachmen Galleria.
Beautiful build. Thank you guys so much for all the information. 😊
Thanks for watching!
Love this video Nate! Super fun and entertaining.
Glad you enjoyed it! Cheers!
You guys are awesome! Again, your contnet fortifies my respect for you. Thanks for creating and sharing!
Much appreciated! Cheers!
After watching every video in the series (OK almost every video) I can only say wow! And congratulations! So helpful. Now I have a ton of hugely helpful notes to develop my build thanks to you.
Great to hear! Thanks so much for watching!
I have similar set up in mind for my van, but I would push the mattress to the left, and have a wall of storage to the right @40cm deep. Much bigger window on the left and no overhead storage. Also pull out table from under the floor to slide out for cooking or just sitting.
One of my favorite channels! Appreciate all the content!
Hey, @razorwired130! I appreciate that. Thanks for watching! 🙂😀
Came out awesome ❤, I got so many ideas from your build...
I'm so glad! Thanks for watching!
My electrical system is completely based on one of the exploristlife diagrams. It would not have power if it weren’t for you guys 🙏.
Love the van. I have a Quigley 4x4 transit high roof normal wheel base. It’s a mini ski cabin.
We did our upper storage with baskets like you and we love it.
Congratulations on finishing. Looks amazing.
Hey, @mikewatts1014! I appreciate that. Thanks for watching! 🙂😀
Great series. I learned a ton and enjoy the way you guys create the content. Pretty funny ordering coffee😂. Thank you. Keep up the great work.
Awesome! Thank you!
Fun tour, excellent work 😊🎉
Hey, @monagale34! I appreciate that. Thanks for watching! 🙂😀
Watched through your build, great stuff guys.
Awesome, thank you!
Great job, beautiful van. I really like the cabinets and the bed, not so much the height. Recently went camping at a State Park the bathroom was so far from the cabin I brought a popup shower tent. Which I think would work for a outdoor shower. One big draw back folding the blasted portable shower back into the carrying bag. My guess the cost 💯 thousand. Thank you for detailed video. Once’s hope to build, but life has gotten in my way, oh my goodness my ADD would totally be a disaster build.
Great video guys. You continue to inspire! Love the laid back, off the cuff, unrehearsed nature of the tour.
Just picked up our new Promaster 3500 ext last week! Am only intimidated by the electrical aspect of our first build. Will be picking up prob 85% of our electrical components through you. Good chance we may hire Explorist for at least a "go-over" of our plan/a consultation. And so it begins...
Hey, @TeutonicNordwind! We really appreciate that! Thanks for watching! 🙂😀
Very nice and certainly no surprise since i watched you guys build from the beginning. This video brings the build to a nice crescendo. BTW, would you use those push/pull cabinet latches again? Are you satisfied with those for your cabinets? Thanks again guys for some very worthwhile videos.
Nothing beats a real mattress! So I would prefer a real bed over a sitting area. That’s why I prefer Sailing boats they come with both plus a full bath plus two guest cabins :-) for our fiat-panda-4x4 compact camper we use a blow-up roof-top tent plus blow-up mattress with a memory gel topper wich is due to the blow-up tent floor astonishingly comfy and super insulated and work pretty well in cold conditions… our whole kitchen is a Primus gas-cooker in a 65cmx45cm kitchen box on rails in the back… our whole electricity comes from an eco-flow pro plus a 30 Ah battery for our water pump with 4.3 bar of pressure attached to a 30 Liter water tank :)
Y'all did a great build.
Thanks!! 😁👍
It was a great series of videos. Your expertise was very much appreciated. I am on the road full time now, so much of your electrical expertise has been put to good use. Thank you! One thing was never cleared up and would be a great service to Transit builders in the future. What did you end up doing with the second OEM altinator you specified on your Van? I don't recall this ever being part of any of your electrical build. Can you please clarify?
Thanks again for all the helpful information.
Really beautiful build and design. Ambient lighting was really nice. Appreciate the recap of the things you changed from your previous build. Curious what the brand of the final woven flooring is?
It was great to see it in person last week in Utah.
I love the indirect lighting. Can you provide a link for the materials used for these lights? Great job on the build.
I have to put in a plug for you for your electrical install kits. I have been working on a conversion myself and your tutorials and install kits have been a lifesaver. Thank you
I'm looking for details (brand, model) for the exterior portable solar panel port next to the shore power connection. I could not find it in the playlist or electrical system install videos.
Great build, I was waiting for the final tour of the van since I have followed the process since the start, I was curious to see #1 if you were going to end up using all of the L-track #2 I was waiting to see where the dining area or lounge area was going to be. You guys don't need any of the two?
Your van turned out great and it was a pleasure to follow you on the road to build it. Hope you'll make great memories with it over the years to come.
OT: maybe you allready have a video out about what i'd like to ask or answered that somewhere else and you could provide a link to that. Is it possible to make a video about what all the different components, especially electric and plumbing weighs? Just started a "mind"project and seeing all those possible vans with so low usefull payloads are raising my concerns that a build of my own would be totally overloaded.
Have great rides :)
Your van turned out lovely. Thanks for all the DIY information. You guys have the best of the best on how to build a van. I've enjoyed watching all your videos and they've been helpful in doing my build. Enjoy your travels!
Hey @cheryl7917, Thanks so much! Cheers!
Nice build what kind of composting toilet is that?
Thank you to the sponsors, and thank you for doing it for us. Even more, thanks for asking for feedback and answering questions in the comments. My estimate, $150k including the van.
12:11 "A Wild Nate has appeared!"
🤣😂
Great build, Nate and Steph! Thanks for bringing us along for the journey. My guess is $103,750
Hey, @OurThrivingLife! I appreciate that. Thanks for watching! 🙂😀
I' put my water and power inlets in the same spot you did. I did the water inlet only because in California certain locations require you to have a water inlet to be considered an RV.
The water inlet came from an RV supply store and the power inlet is from a Marine surplus store
What kind of Connector did you use for your External Solar Panels?
I have a Bluetti AC300/2x B300 Batteries setup. There are extra Solar ports on the Batteries.
Great fall backdrop for this beautiful fall time weather we're having! Nicely designed, beautifully built OTR full-time, weekend warrior or bug-out van! 5⭐ Cost? Van included = between $117K and $147K or Priceless if you include Nate's wage!
15:51 That's right, Nate! Teach her how to back that thang up!
🤣😂
@@EXPLORISTlife 😂🤣
I need to hear back how the thinsulate + lizard skin (all of the insulation) holds up in winter weather. I plan to camp mainly in California but if a job takes me to Seattle or New York I'd like to be warm - so following your foundation I can know how it holds up. The deeper the snow the better! I checked a couple days ago for a whole van tour and a week later it's here, and what a long road it's been for you two guys
I'm guessing $62,000 van, $15000 electrical, $20,000 paneling and l tracks, $3000 suspension, $3000 lights. Maybe $124,000 in total?
So glad to see the completion of this masterpiece. Thank you so much.
My guess is $140,000
Thanks! 🙂🙌
Induction cooktop in a Similar Van, one size smaller. I ripped off Forrest's idea of mounting in it's drawer (the drawer came out of a rack mount case I modified to hold Musical Equipment,so it's recycled). The Hamilton Beach Induction Cooktop I got was purchase from Best Buy because it has a square housing for drawer mount, by coincidence fit 19" Rack Mount Drawer. Drill some holes using a spade bit to the bottom to accommodate the fan and the line cord.
I also wanted to go to the microwave went on the fritz (i still can function with patience [beating on it like an old TV] but the some kind of grease or something has gotten onto the circuit board that has to be disabled properly cleaned outside of the appliance). Lo
I found and tested a Microwave with similar Dimensions from the thrift store, the old one into storage until they have the opportunity to clean it.
Even before I got the van I had purchased a very "Cute" Australian-made alcohol Marine stove (2 burners and Oven) but I think it requires some special preparation to get it together.
Shortly after buying the induction cooktop I also bought an old waffle iron that looks like it's still in decent shape and I did test it and it works for what is made for the old style waffle batter and I'm using this just add Water gluten-free waffle batter that probably requires different procedures the plates aren't Teflon.
All these other appliances draw less current in the induction cooktop.
1 burner butane camping any of these items.
Also prior to the building had an electric kettle so I I saved that.
Ten. Million. Dollars. Or maybe 140k. You guys are a kill. I hope to bump into you sometime at an event or next time in the 'boat. I'm buying the coffee/beer.
Nice build, can you just mention those hooks/clips you use dor the bike helmets pls?
Oh right! Added them to the pinned comment. Here's the direct link, though: Bike helmet clips for unistrut: Hero Clip - Medium amzn.to/3FLQiM4
$135k is my guess.... We followed along your build steps as you released putting in what you did with the exact 540ah/24V system, ground deploy solar, lizard skin, Unaka roof rack, weboost and a bunch of other stuff on a sprinter. I hope I'm close as it will make me feel better about justifying my build out cost 😂
I’m always curious of what the total weight ends up being on builds. Have you weighed it with all your stuff? I would guess $137,234.63 retail prices on all your parts😊
What kind of flooring did you install in this van?
A great build, you put your heart and soul into it. My guess on total cost would be $108,500.😊
Hey @kmorris48, Thanks so much! Cheers!
What size Arctic Tern windows are the ones on each side of the bed?
What is the weight? Are you over when fully loaded?
So curious why you didn’t build the solar array to float ABOVE the fans & AC again this time around??
In our opinion it doesn't look as nice; plus that style gave some pretty huge wind resistance when fighting cross-winds.
$139,637.44 is my best guesstimate!
What did you do with that lighting wire loom that Ford tacks onto the interior walls of the Transit? Is it explained in one of your videos?
It's just tucked up into the wall. We didn't do anything special with it.
Like tucked into the van's metal wall structure, or did you frame around it? Maybe I just need to find the episode where you put the walls up? Great work on this series btw. I got here looking for tips on taking down the Transit's headliner (just planning my own build). @@EXPLORISTlife
Do you bring a spare tire with you? Since you have bigger tires, I guess the factory spare tire does not work anymore.
Not currently; no. Plug kit w/ compressor, though. We still have our factory size spare which would get us to the next tire repair place in a pinch, though.
$175K.
What do you have for heat?
Thanks for all your hard work on the videos! We’re building out our second Transit- got lucky on a Transit Trail- and your electrical system vids have been super helpful.
Heat is the ONE thing we haven't gotten to yet; but will be installing an Espar b4 or similar.
Great choice. We had a Propex in our first van but we went with a gasoline heater in this one. Got a Velit and couldn’t be happier. Mounted it under the passenger seat. Even though the van is unfinished we’ve used it a few times, and we stayed toasty down into the teens here in the UP. It’s a definite improvement over the propane heater.
Im gonna guess you’re at about 100k, including the cost of the van.
My two cents on the heater. If you’re using diesel, get an Espar, if you’re using gas, get a Webasto. We’ve installed around 10 Webasto gasoline heaters in Transits over the past 3 years and none of our customers have had any issues, except the one guy who requested we install an Espar B4 in his van… already having issues with the internal climate adjustment, which is a frequently reported issue among other things.
Is that the 148 wheel base?
Yep! Non extended.
Nice van. How long is it? High roof? Ecoboost?
Thanks! 148"WB non-extended. Ecoboost. High roof.
@@EXPLORISTlife Thanks. Now to find a van for me. I've been trying. I don't want to wait to order one.
Wow... this looks longer/bigger than a "normal" van... or maybe it just looks bigger because I'm used to seeing SUVs and not work type vans, that I'm sure this would be closest to, originally at least...
Since a "normal" SUV sized vehicle usually is just big enough to have a "single" bed in it, and MAYBE, albeit unlikely a "twin" while having ANY kind of space left over, for storage or cooking needs (i could get by with just a microwave really) going the length of the van, whilst only (likely) having the front row of seating available, i do wonder if such a thing would be feasible to do?
Obviously, you would probably have at most, 8ft of usable space, depending on the SUV size available, unless you DID use some kind of work van type of vehicle, which might net you a slight increase in length and cubic feet of space to work with, and i wonder if there are ways to make better use of the available space? Like for instance, instead of doing a bed lengthways, how abut doing a semi-custom bed frame, that has the upper body portion of the bed at some kind of an incline, and then flipped sideways, to save space for more seating or else more storage in place of the 2nd row of seating perhaps? I don't have the money to do something like this, but if I did, I would love to see what I can make out of something with such restricted working space...
I'm going to have to watch a few videos on how exactly this particular vehicle was made into a camper van, because I would definitely like to know exactly how you did certain things with it. I wouldn't need windows on mine, were I to build one though, so all i would likely need for mine, were i to have the money, would be a panel kit, and probably not even any water storage, or as minimal of water storage as can be had, since I probably wouldn't ever need more than a 5gallon tank of water, including water heater, for basically everything I'd want water for...(again, assuming i even cared about water storage)
Most of the electrical stuff could obviously be put, depending on vehicle type, inside of the standard "stow-N-go" storage that's available on some SUVs today, and even if it's NOT the type to have built-in under seat storage, it could also likely be placed under the bed pretty easily, and come to think of it, you could, if it was small enough, have your microwave under the bed too, although I'd probably put some kind of shock absorption panel under it, just in case it needed it to reduce turntable rattling...
You've really given me a few ideas to think on in case I ever decide to do any projects like this. And, I'm not just talking camper vans either, but also pull behind trailer pop up RV tent things, which could also benefit from certain things such as LED lights and things of that nature...
59k ? No labor other than the tint and alignment. Nice van!! Take care.
$33,333 on parts. Van is tricky bc you bought before price increases. After tax/loan/reg prolly $71,666 I’m going $105k all in.
I'm going to guess $85K.
Nice work, I've been following along as I can. I'm going to estimate $185,000.
🎉🎉 Thanks for tuning in!
@@EXPLORISTlife I remember when you started building this van, I asked about mitigating condensation for this build. As you camp this winter, I'm hoping to hear how some of your solutions worked out.
22:17 $165,000
I'd say maybe around $50,000 + cost of van, but i think they got batteries and some of the more expensive compoenents for free so i'll say 40k
Price guessing estimate = total *RETAIL* price of all components/services *INCLUDING* cost of van
I think 85000
$140,000?
$203,442
Hmmm I’m thinking about 110,000-114,000
My guess is 163000.00
$185,000.
Cool built. $25k
150k dollar ink the van
guessing $115,000
My Guess is $135,000
My guess is $122,000
With van, $320,000
$125000
No private toilet deal breaker
There actually is a private toilet when all others leave the van for a minute and take a walk.
Van $40, build $35k??
$135.000. Electrical isn’t cheap with all power.
$101K😂
The bed sucks big time .. sorry..
Hey there, big guy! I'm sorry you've got so much negativity going on in your life that you have to spend your time coming to my channel to talk shit on my projects. Maybe logging off of the internet for a bit and going for a walk or hanging out with friends if you have any may help. Thanks for watching anyway and I hope your day gets better. 🙂
why is the side door always on the passenger side? if that door slide gets messed up, can you replace it easily. why does everyone put the sink next to the side door instead of the toilet. I could imagine cleaning a litter box from the side door and disposing of the contents into a campfire. you do the math.
why do you need swivel seats? you dont. would prefer the metal bulkhead with the kitchen galley mounted thataway to allow more room. But I am the guy that just sits in that seat to drive, and then parks in the camping place just to open the side door to camp. also the sinkbottom is also mounted crossways. at night I activate a self-inflating mattress on the floor to sleep. As I said, this is camping. there would be floor to ceiling storage in the back with plenty of canned meat. the roof has 4-200 watt bouge rv 9BB panels, 1 maxxair fan, and that fancy A/c unit. I like the exterior solar plug, because there are 11 Lipo4 12.8v 100ah batteries in different places in the ban. There will be four other 200 watt panels stored in the garage to bring out while camping. The theme to this build is "We have options here." there would be 4-5 different cooking options, 120v,12v, coleman stove with small propane and single burner with butane canister. the water heater goes in the cabinet under the sink, along with the water filtration system. the grey water tank is that 15 gallon that fits underneath in the sparetire well. (ram promaster) the garage has a slideout deck and slide out drawers on top of the deck.
there is a hidden shower pan directly in front of the sink (hidden under a floorboard.) so the showerpan and the sink have the same drain pipe.the shower head is connected to the sink faucet. you can figure out how to clean up after. there will also be a fold up platform to fold out over the sink area to sleep on, if one so desires. Also, on top of the van is a slideout deck that functions as a side awning, but slides back to protect everything from weather like hail and crap like that. needless to say I have built this van in my head.
It only cost $42,000 for materials but $64,000 for the van. $96,000 before labor