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Van Life Diaries

DIY Roof Rack for Promaster Campervan

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Updated on May 25th, 2025

Roof racks for campervans can be super pricey! Since we are building on a budget, we knew we needed to create a DIY roof rack that was both effective and inexpensive. We managed just that with the roof of our Promaster 157 DIY roof rack.

Maxxair Fan

In a previous post, we talked about how we installed our Maxxair Fan. It’s worth mentioning here that we installed that fan as far to the rear of the van as we could to give us plenty of space for solar panels. Installing it as far back as possible also gave us some flexibility when we had to make some roof layout changes late in the build.

Solar Layout

We knew we wanted to fit as much solar as possible on this build since we have 900 amp hrs of lithium batteries that will need to stay topped up and a fully electric kitchen. We have had awesome luck with Rich Solar Panels on both of our boats, so we started looking at what Rich Solar formats would fit best. We landed on their 250-watt panels, which fit perfectly width-wise. We knew we could fit 3 panels with all the space we had. This would give us 750 watts of solar, with the potential to squeeze in a smaller panel when we were done.

Man installing solar panels on a DIY roof rack on a white van.

DIY Roof Rack

The next step was figuring out how to mount the panels to the roof without spending an insane amount of money for a roof rack.

The promasters have t-studs on the roof for roof racks from the factory. When Andy started looking at the options on the market for mounts to use the studs, he was really not happy with what was available. Most of the options put pressure down on the sheet metal roof and up on the t-stud. This can cause problems if they are overtightened, and can trap moisture and dirt under them.

Andy ended up designing a brand new mount that we are calling the Penny Promounts. The Penny Promounts sandwich the t-stud between layers of stainless steel and don’t trap dirt or moisture. They make it easy to attach two unistrut rails where we could attach solar panels. The total cost was just over $200.

We wanted to provide the DIY campervan community with a more effective and less expensive alternative to what was on the market. We’ve spent the last year testing and perfecting our roof mounts and we’ve now made our Penny Promounts available for purchase in our store!

Solar Panel Brackets

Now that we had somewhere to attach the solar panels to, we had to tackle the how! Andy also designed up solar panel brackets that made it super easy to attach our metal framed solar panels to the unistrut using unistrut nuts.

We’ve also made these solar brackets available for purchase in our store. They make installing metal-framed solar panels so much easier!

Air Conditioning

We thought we would eventually put in an air conditioner unit, however we didn’t think it was in the budget right away. After our first shakedown trip, I quickly realized that I was having a ton of anxiety around leaving Aiden in the van. Even in just 65 or 70 degrees. We also came in around $5000 under budget initially, so we decided to take some of that money and install an air conditioner.

We picked the Dometic RTX 2000 because it was the only model with good reviews that would fit without us losing any solar. It wasn’t pretty, and the interior of the van looked like a scene from dexter for two days. We had to shift the solar panels around to make space. There were also some real Gwen and Andy shenanigans involved in getting the 70 pound unit on the roof without breaking any solar panels or ourselves.

A man and a woman using a tractor to lift an air conditioner next to a white van.

Installing the AC was one of the best decisions we made in this build. I can’t imagine not having it. We can leave Aiden without worrying and it’s really great for days you’re stuck in the van working when it’s hot.

Starlink Mount

The last item on our roof is starlink. Starlink is a necessary evil in our life. It’s the only form of reliable internet we’ve found for Andy to continue with his job on the move. We knew we wanted to have it mounted to the roof so he could work while I drove, but we also wanted to be able to move it off the roof if we had obstructions like trees.

We have modified our Gen 2 dishy to sit in a wedge mount that was designed by Jason over at Everlanders. That mount has magnets on the bottom, and then additionally is clipped to the unistrut rail. The extra wire is curled under the wedge mount so we can just pop the dishy off the roof, unravel the wire and set the dishy in a more open area. It has worked great for us! We rarely have to remove it from the roof but in places like Shenandoah, or here in New England it’s been incredibly useful to be able to move it around.

Man on a ladder showing a magnetic starlink roof mount.

Ladder Access

The very last roof-related item, is our collapsible ladder. We decided against a mounted ladder. Primarily because of expense, and this collapsible ladder has turned into one of our favorite pieces of gear we carry with us! It is super light, easy to stow, and gets pretty tall! It costs a fraction of what a mounted ladder would have cost and still gives us all the access we need to be able to inspect, clean, and shovel the roof!

Man on a collapsible ladder next to a white campervan.

Cost Breakdown

Note: All Costs are as of April/May 2024

Previous Costs: $20,581.29

New Costs: $2939.91

Total Cost: $23,521.20

Check out our other Van Build Posts here!

Building Camper Van Cabinets | The Van Life Diaries 8

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Updated on May 4th, 2025

Cabinets in a campervan take the build from a mattress in the back of a cargo van to, “oh they meant to live in there!”. In our promaster campervan build we wanted to make sure we had plenty of storage so that we could stay out in the wilderness for long stretches and have everything we needed to stay comfortable on the road.

In the interest of transparency, please be aware that the following may contain affiliate links and any purchases made through such links may result in a small commission for us at no cost to you.   We appreciate you shopping from these links!

Floor-to-Ceiling Cabinets

Andy built our floor-to-ceiling cabinets “in situ” which means in place. He constructed the floor to ceiling cabinets by scribing the verticle pieces to the van walls and securing them to the floor with cleats screwed to the floor and to the ceiling using brackets that attached to furring strips on the ceiling.

The horizontal shelves stiffened up the whole assemble and those were installed using either cleats for the shelves that would hold a lot of weight, or pocket holes for those that wouldn’t have as much weight.

Floating Upper Cabinets

We knew that we needed our upper cabinets to hold a lot of weight. We planned to use 2/3 of them to hold the majority of our clothing and I can pack a lot of clothes in a small space. So we knew we needed to attach them to more than just ceiling furring strips in order to have the weight capacity we needed.

Andy designed the upper cabinets to hang over the metal horizontal van rib. That means that the structural rib would be supporting most of the weight and the ceiling furring strips were there for stability and additional strength.

To install the dividers for the upper cabinets, we used pocket holes. We built the entire assembly outside of the van and installed as one piece.

Kitchen Lower Cabinets

The lower kitchen cabinets are the most “traditional” cabinets in our van. The cabinets were built outside of the van and brought in as one piece. The cabinets were attached to the floor using cleats and the wall using the massive furring strip we had run on the lower horizontal rib. The butcher block countertop provides alot of stability to keep everything from rocking side to side.

Building Drawers

We had never built drawers before! This was the only major skill for this build that we had no experience with, so off to YouTube University we went! We found an awesome series of videos that Shara Woodshop Diaries put together on how to make drawers without any super specialized equipment! These videos were incredibly helpful! We were able to build all 9 drawer boxes for this build in just 6 hours with her awesome tips!

Drawer and Door Fronts

We originally thought we would be making our door and drawer fronts. I had my heart set on shaker style and when we started looking into making them we realized that it was going to be a massive undertaking. Since we only had a few weeks left to build, we ran some numbers and figured out it would actually only be about $100 more expensive to order our drawer and door fronts than we would have just spent in materials. We decided Andy’s time would be better spent putting in hours with his consulting job and we ordered all the drawers and doors from Fast Cabinet Doors.

Fast Cabinet Doors allowed us to have 14 pieces in custom sizes made in just 2 weeks. They arrived on pallet, and were already sanded and ready for their first coat of paint. We could have even had them bore the holes for hinges but since we already had the Kreg Cabinet Hinge Jig we did them ourselves. We were really impressed with the quality and the speed!

14 van cabinet door and drawer fronts laid out on tables ready to be painted

Painting Cabinets

There are a few key tips we can pass on about painting cabinets:

  1. Sanding is the most important part! Be sure you are sanding between every coat if you want that smooth finish! If you don’t sand between coats, or at the very least before your final coat, you will probably end up with that orange peel texture on your cabinets. Also that first coat of paint on bare wood is going to raise the grain and you’ll def want to knock that down with some sanding before moving to the next coat!
  2. Read the paint can! All that text on the back of the paint can? It has a ton of important information, like what temperatures/humidity the paint needs to cure properly. How long you should wait before sanding (see number 1). What should you use for solvents to wipe down your surface after sanding? All that good stuff! The paint company wants their product to look beautiful and last a long time, so they give you all the information to do a good job!
  3. Use good-quality brushes and rollers. I know it’s tempting to buy those $0.25 chip brushes by the bag but I promise you will regret it. Buy one or two of the nicer brushes and you won’t be pulling out your hair trying to remove 8234 bristles from your paint. My personal favorites are the Wooster Shortcut 2″ Angle Brushes. I use them for everything!

More than anything else painting is what is going to elevate the look of your cabinets from “homemade” to “professional” so it is definitely worth time and attention!

woman painting a camper van cabinet white with a paint crush
woman painting a camper van cabinet white with a roller

Van Cabinet Closures

Keeping your stuff where you left it while bouncing around on bumpy and rocky roads is a super important part of van cabinets. We used strong magnet closures for most of our cabinet doors but when it came to our drawers we needed something a little more robust because some of our drawers are heavy. Andy designed and 3D printed use the perfect closures which have been keeping our doors shut for over 20,000 miles. We are now offering those closures for purchase in our store!

Specialized Tools for Campervan Cabinets

Budget Breakdown

Previous Costs: $15,537.19

Note: All costs are as of April/May 2024

  • Countertop: $219
  • Paint: $102.94
  • Paint Supplies: $62.88
  • Edge Banding: $51.67
  • Drawer Slides: $78.58
  • Pocket Hole Plugs: $7.97
  • Door and Drawer Fronts: $991.06
  • Door Hinges: $43.29
  • Additional Lumber (We used some left overs from other projects): $277.31
  • Total Cost of Hardware (We didn’t separate hardware by area of the van but most of it was used in cabinets so I’m including it all here): $109.62

New Costs: $1,944.32

TOTAL RUNNING COST: $17,481.51

Check out our other Van Build Posts here!

Framing Our Campervan | The Van Life Diaries 7

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Updated on May 4th, 2025

Framing is the foundation of all the other parts of a campervan build. You must have a way to connect your cabinets, bed, and appliances to the body of the van so that your build will be structurally sound. Without solid framing things will wiggle, rattle, flex, and potentially fall over while you drive!

In the interest of transparency, please be aware that the following may contain affiliate links and any purchases made through such links may result in a small commission for us at no cost to you.   We appreciate you shopping from these links!

Key Reminders About Framing a Campervan

Before we get started, there are a few key reminders about framing a campervan. The whole point of framing a campervan is to attach the interior to the body of the van. That means that you will be working with the structural components of the body while framing!

  1. It is always a good idea to reference your vehicle’s build-out manual. This will include what you can and cannot remove, any important weight information, etc. For the Promaster, you can find it here.
  2. Before using any screws, double-check that the screw can’t go into the exterior panels of the van.You absolutely do not want to put holes in the van exterior!
  3. If you choose to use RivNuts like we have below, we highly recommend a step drill instead of a regular drill bit to make your holes. You are less likely to accidentally go too far and hit an exterior panel.
  4. This is the last step in a van build before your layout is cemented. Now is the time to double-check any measurement and make sure you don’t have any last changes you want to make.

Should We Skin It?

Many people choose to skin their vans on the outside of the ribs to make walls. While this does make for beautiful-looking walls, it adds a lot of weight and you will also lose inches in the width of your van. As much as 6 inches in some places! Yikes!

We are choosing not to skin the entire interior with paneling for both weight and width savings. So all of our framing is done with that in mind. We will add wall paneling in those places that are still exposed after the cabinets are installed.

Ceiling Furring Strips

We started framing our campervan on the ceiling. We used 1/2″ furring strips that are rivnutted to the ceiling ribs. This will give us plenty of places to screw our ceiling into and get a great “bite”. Each strip had three rivnuts that helped us get the furring strips to sit flush with the slight curve of the roof.

Later we will run screws through our ceiling wood and into these furring strips to keep everything nice and secure.

Cabinet and Bed Framing

We decided to do horizontal cleats around the middle rib as our framing for both our bed and our cabinets. Our original plan was to use rivet nuts here as well but when we realized that my (Gwen’s) fingers were small enough to reach inside the rib we opted for the easier option of bolting through the rib cutouts and using large washers to spread the load.

It worked well, but if you decide to do something similar we highly recommend wearing gloves while you do it because the openings can be sharp and my knuckles were pretty scrapped up in the end!

The last thing we needed to consider was how would we secure our upper cabinets and the tops of our floor-to-ceiling cabinets. For our floor-to-ceiling cabinets, we were able to use the ceiling furring strips and some angle brackets. And for the upper cabinets that will be going over our bed, we will be using a combination of the ceiling strips and a pretty ingenious way of hooking the cabinets onto the upper horizontal rib. But more on both of these when we talk about building cabinets!

Tools for Campervan Framing

Budget Breakdown

Previous Costs: $15,130.48

Note: All costs are as of April/May 2024

New Costs: $433.71

TOTAL COST: $15,537.19

Check out our other Van Build posts here!

Campervan Insulation: The Van Life Diaries 6

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Updated on May 4th, 2025

Campervan insulation is one of, if not the, most important step. Have you ever gotten in your car on a 75-degree day only to find that the interior is 95? Or have you had to scrap the ice from the inside of your windshield? Of course! Cars, or vans, are very poorly insulated against the elements. To make a metal box a comfortable home, we have to do a lot to insulate it from temperature extremes.

Plan First!

For us, this started with mapping out our interior layout. We needed to know where all of the electrical and plumbing would be on and in the walls, as well as where the cabinets would be. Laying this all out before we insulated allowed us to run conduit where needed before we blasted some of the ribs with spray foam.

Choosing Between Campervan Insulation Options

Once we had our layout confirmed, we could start putting up insulation panels on the walls and ceiling. Remember, we already insulated the floor before we laid the subfloor on top! There are several other options out there for campervan insulation, and they all have pros and cons:

For this van, we decided to go with a combination of a few options. We used extruded polystyrene on the floor because of its great compression strength. We used expanded polystyrene foam on the walls and ceiling because our Home Depot was out of 1-inch XPS. But, it turned out to work very well because of the EPS’s flexibility.

Andy installing expanded polystyrene foam as campervan insulation.

We used spray foam in a few ribs where we knew we wouldn’t run wire, and we filled the rest of the ribs with Thinsulate. We also used spray foam in gaps around the EPS panels. In the rear and slider door we used Thinsulate as it wouldn’t obstruct any door mechanisms.

Gwen installing Thinsulate in campervan rib over sliding door.

Choosing your insulation can be daunting but every van is different and everyone uses their van differently so thinking about your build, the locations you will travel, and your budget is a great place to start.

Campervan Insulation Installation Tips

Spray Foam Can Be Used as an Adhesive

In our first campervan, we struggled to use spray foam as an adhesive, but we are redacting that statement. Spray foam can be used as an adhesive for foam panels and a good one at that, but it does require some patience, and you’ll need to brace the panels for about 24 hours while the foam cures.

As Tempting as it is, Don’t “Snap” Foam Panels

A sharp box cutter or razor is your best tool for cutting foam panels. I know it can be tempting to score and snap, but you are way more likely to end up with jagged edges or run perfectly good foam. Scoring and breaking the panels is fine for very short cuts but learn from our costly mistakes on this one!

Gwen cutting expanded polystyrene foam with a utility knife.

Wear Protective Clothing

Spray foam is permanent. It will not wash out of clothes or hair. It will not wash off your skin. A Tyvek suit is a great idea or you can go Andy’s route with a ratty old hoodie, gloves, and some painter’s tape. He has ended up with more than one haircut because he ended up with spray foam in his hair.

Andy wearing protective clothing while using spray foam insulation over his head.

Use Smooth Cuts for Trimming

You don’t want to saw at foam panels or spray foam, as this will create a huge mess. Your best bet is slow, smooth cuts with a very sharp knife.

Real-Life Results

As I finish writing this post, the thermostat in the van says 75.6F, while the outside temperature is 18 degrees and snowing. The insulation we chose has kept us cool during 95-degree days and warm in temps as low as 5F. We have certainly put it to the test in the last few months and we are extremely happy with the job it’s doing!

Tools for Campervan Insulation

Budget Breakdown

Previous Costs ($14,874.16) include the floor insulation.

Note: All costs are as of April/May 2024

New Costs: $256.32

TOTAL COST: $15,130.48

Check out our other Van Build posts here!

Putting in Van Subflooring: The Van Life Diaries 5

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Updated on May 4th, 2025

When we built our first van in 2018, the most controversial thing we did was to not insulate under the van’s subfloor. We still stand by that decision because it was a standard height van, and every inch we could eek out mattered. Choosing not to insulate the floor gave us an extra inch of height. Also, as we’ve talked about before, we built our first van as a weekend adventure van. This new van is going to be our home about 30% of the year! So the internet can rejoice, we have decided to insulate the floor!

Even though we decided to insulate the floor, we didn’t start with insulation. We started with cutting the plywood subfloor pieces. Foam insulation may be easier to cut but it’s also easier to break when you are moving it in and out multiple times to test fit. So, we decided to cut the wooden pieces first and then use them as a template for the foam pieces.

We used scribing for the mostly square pieces and we used a tick stick for the more complex cuts around the wheel wells. Never heard of using a tick stick? You aren’t alone! It’s a technique that Andy learned from a boat building book written in the 80’s and we’ve used in several projects over the years! Check out 07:25 of our Van Subfloor Video for a full explanation!

Once all items were cut, we did a dry test fit of the van subflooring. Immediately we noticed a lot of movement at the gaps and decided that we would need to add in furring strips where the pieces came together to add strength. We put everything back together again and we were happy with the results and ready to start gluing and screwing!

We didn’t screw but rather bolted the floor in place using the tie-down anchors that are in the metal floor of the van. These anchor points allowed us to bolt the floor without having to add any additional holes to the floor of the van. So we glued the insulation to the metal floor, and the wood to the insulation and then bolted through both layers to the metal below. This floor isn’t going anywhere!

We will wait to install the pretty flooring until after we have installed the cabinets. It will be a pain to have to cut it around the cabinets but it also will be a significant weight savings as flooring is heavy.

Running Cost Breakdown

Note: All Costs are as of April/May 2024

  • Insulation for Floor: $56.91
  • Plywood for Floor: $135.66
  • Adhesive: $25.92
  • Bolts: $0 (Left over from a previous project)

New Costs: $218.49

Total Costs: $14,874.16

Check out our other Van Build posts here!

Cutting Holes in Our Van: The Van Life Diaries 4

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Updated on May 4th, 2025

The scariest part of a van build has to be holes into the body of the van. It isn’t particularly hard, but the consequences of doing it wrong are VERY high. And on top of that, it happens super early in the build and so you haven’t quite gotten into the rhythm of the work yet. We knew we had four major holes we needed to cut and they all should be done before we insulate, but some shipping delays meant that we could only cut three of the holes before we started on the interior.

In the interest of transparency, please be aware that the following may contain affiliate links and any purchases made through such links may result in a small commission for us at no cost to you. We appreciate you shopping from these links!

Cut 1: Bunk Window Install

Cutting a hole for our bunk window was probably the most nerve-wracking hole we had to cut. Without the bed being built yet, it’s pretty hard to figure out the placement of a window that is supposed to be above the bed and centered. We had to rely on our taped-out measurements, the placements of the ribs in the wall and just a dash of gut feeling.

We decided to go with a Van Window Direct Awning Bunk Window. The awing style bunk window was important to us because we wanted to be able to keep it open in the rain. We’ve had a few thunderstorms catch us by surprise on the boat, and a wet bed is the worst. An awning style window would allow us to keep it open to allow a cross breeze even when it was raining. If rain gets inside with this bad boy, we have bigger problems.

The other positive of the Van Window Direct version was how easy it was to install. Campervan HQ provided us with a very helpful installation video and it was as simple as cutting the whole, painting the edges, and screwing the window in place!

Cut 2: Roof Vent Fan

During our last van conversion, we thought we didn’t need a roof fan and quickly learned that it is an essential piece of kit. That meant that we had to cut through our insulation and ceiling in order to install it much later in the build. We learned our lesson this time and cut the hole of our fan very early this time!

We have also decided to upgrade our fan to a model that is able to operate in the rain, is multidirectional, variable speed and remote controlled. This led us to purchase the MaxxAir MaxxFan Deluxe 7000K.

Our Promaster has a corrugated roof and Vanlife Outfitters actually throws in free shims to fill the gaps and make installation a lot easier! Kudus to them for being so thoughtful!

Cut 3: Cassette Toilet Door

We are installing a Thetford C223 Cassette Toilet in this van build. I’m going to talk more about the decisions we made regarding our toilet for a later post, but we did have to cut a hole for the cassette to exit the side of the van. This was by far the hardest hole to cut because we had plastic trim on the outside of the van in the way and we had to preserve the sheet metal to be used in the door itself. They only provide a frame for the door. Andy did an awesome job with the jigsaw to keep everything clean!

We also had to have the placement pretty exact for the layout of the interior. There was only about 1.5 inches of wiggle room with the design. So we used the tape out we did during the planning to make sure that the toilet would sit in the middle of the cabinet it will live in. We also had to miss the structural support ribs. We even brought in cardboard to double check that there was enough space on either side of the toilet before cutting the hole. This also led to us having to shorten the width of our bed by about three inches to make it all work!

Once we cut the hole, installing the door itself was easy and we are excited that we will be able to empty the cassette without having the risk of spills or leaks in the interior of the van!

Tips for Cutting Holes in Your Van

  • Measure three times, cut once! The old saying is measure twice cut once but the consequences of cutting wrong in this case are a lot higher so we typically have one of us measure and mark, the other one of us verifies that measurement/markings and then we measure a third time together. Using multiple sets of eyes has caught more than one issue for us in the past!
  • Using a step drill bit to make your pilot holes can be really helpful and will give you more control over the size of the hole than a hole saw might.
  • Use a sharp jigsaw blade! We suggest starting with a new metal cutting blade with fine teeth.
  • Cut from the inside when possible to protect your exterior paint.
  • Use tape to keep your saw from scratching paint if you can’t cut from the inside!
  • Make sure you wear safety glasses or face shield and ear protection! It’s very loud! Also long sleeves are a good idea because those metal chips will be hot!
  • Don’t forget to debur, sand and paint your cut edges! This is a great way to get rust if you forget!

We will have more holes to cut in the van, including one more large hole for our slider window but shipping delays have us waiting! No big deal though, it will be easy enough to do later on in our build.

Running Cost Breakdown

Note: All Costs are as of April/May 2024

New Costs: $1306.23

Total Cost: $14,655.67