Planning a Van Conversion

Updated on September 29th, 2020

Planning for a van conversion is probably the most important step in the van build process! Like most DIY projects good planning and prep will save you time and money, while not planning leads to headaches and in our house a lot of yelling. We bought our van on September 29th and did not touch it until October 26th, that month was spent planning. We are happy to report that we had a very smooth build that probably would have only taken us 8-12 weekends if it weren’t for filming.

Make Amenity Lists

Make a list of everything you’d like to have in your van. We are talking ideal scenario.  Mark each item as a want or a need. We recommend if you have a partner that you each make list individually and then bring them together. Compromise on the items that don’t match. Realign expectations if necessary. We all get a little crazy with our wants list. Mine included auxiliary A/C. “On our budget? Yeah, right” was Andy’s response. Of course, he was right (hear that Andy, you. were. right.) but there were a few things on his list we firmly put in the “want” list as well.

Our need list included: a queen size bed, refrigeration, running drinkable water, storage for clothes, food and camera gear and lastly interior lights. 

Our want list included: cooktop, indoor seating, a table, and solar panels. We originally did not work a single one of these into our plan but in a roundabout way have ended up with all of them!

Use Your List to Create a Budget

You need to make sure your list matches up with your budget.  Try to estimate costs for each item on your list AND it’s installation.  It is easy to figure out how much a fridge cost but that is not the full extent of how much the installation costs. Include in this list the cost of any tools you might need to buy perform the installation. If normally DIY isn’t your jam, ask friends if you can borrow. There are companies that you can rent tools from as well!

After you see estimates for cost, you may have to adjust your amenity list again. We found we had an extra $200 so I decided to splurge on a new comforter even though we had one in the house we could have used, and we added the roof vent fan. We decided to use some hand-me-downs from the boat and house, including left-over paint, dishes, pots, pans, and curtains. Repurposing household products is great for your bank account and the environment!

Our budget for this build, including purchasing the van, was $4000. Our initial estimated costs when we broke it down came to $3970. Our total spent? $4121.36. Only 3% over budget????? Planning rules!!! To put this in perspective, we had budgeted $0 for solar and spent $196.24 on the system. So in reality, if we had stuck to our original plan we would have been under our original estimation by $45! If you are on a strict budget, you cannot miss this step.

Measure

Take measurements.  ALL of the measurements. If we’ve said it once, we’ve said it 100 times, vans are not square!  They have curves and measurements are different at different heights! If you happen to really lucky and have a friend or nearby shop that has a cheap measurement scanner use it!!  If not take measurements the old fashion way but just take a lot more of them than you think you’ll need!

While you’re planning a van conversion, write them all down and draw diagrams. If you are planning to use the next step you an entire it directly into your CAD software.

Computer Modeling

If you can, use computer modeling!  This is great for people who have a hard time visualizing spaces. Andy can perfectly see the end result in his head, I, on the other hand, need drawings.

We used Autodesk Fusion360 to model our initial thoughts and made adjustments to our want/need list after we realized how much could fit or really couldn’t fit.  This is how we decided to go with a queen short instead of a full-size queen bed. It is also how we decided on counter heights and depths, and bed height.

Tape It Out

Tape out your computer model in your van.  If you didn’t use computer modeling, tape or cardboard modeling will be your best friend.  This is a good opportunity to find any flaws, we actually lost a whole design element here because we realized how cramped it was going to make everything.  Seeing it on the computer was one thing, seeing how it it looks in real life is another.

Ask for Help

Ask for help when you need it. We had several people; friends, co-workers, and even a Sub-reddit look at our CAD drawing before we started building. Their questions were really helpful in finding problem areas before we started. We didn’t take all of their advice or critiques but we did put serious thought into most of them. Also, our friend Andy helped with some of the more “finish” carpentry because that isn’t our Andy’s strength. We learned a lot and now could do similar projects without help.

If you’d like to use to take a look at your plan we’d be happy to offer an opinion! Just email us at info@abroadreachtravel.com.

Project Management

Once you’ve decided on what is going on your van, then you’ll need to figure out how you’ll get it all done!  We used modified agile or scrum boards while planning our van conversion. We broke everything down to post-it notes and then put them in what seemed like a logical order.  You can use apps like Trello if you prefer digital, but there is something so satisfying about moving those little post-it notes!

Be Flexible

Be willing to be flexible after you’ve finished your initial planning for the van conversion.  Everything will not go exactly as planned.  Readjust timelines, budgets, and attitudes as needed. We ended up adding a roof vent fan and solar panels late into our build.  Sometimes you might have to backtrack a little but starting with a solid plan and knowing what your goals are will make it much much easier.

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Next Step: Van Subfloor Installation

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