Passenger Van to a Camper Van

ranoodle31
Jan 20, 2018
5 min read

Where I began, most people thought I was nuts and that is ok. The rest of them were so excited for me to do this and were as they always told me "living vicariously" through me.

I started a new career back in the fall of 2016 and loved where it was going to take me. I am able to travel all over the country and visit places I have never been and explore all that place has to offer.

I don't mind flying, and earning air-miles is always a good thing, but I also wanted to have the opportunity to travel somewhere else when I don't have a job. This is contract work, so one never knows after one contract ends, when the next will start.

So here is where a van comes into play..........

I did a ton of research before I started my project.

I looked into buying a used camper, buying someone else's used van they converted or doing it myself. I was on a tight schedule since my contract job at the time was ending at the end of Nov, and I was starting a new one at the beginning of Dec. It ended up that I found a really great deal on a 2002 Chevy Express 2500 8 Passenger van with only 67K on it. Of course people were hesitant as to why a van that was so old had so little miles. The short version is that the previous owners only used it to transport their dogs for training shows. So I bought this beast to use to drive from Mass to Cali for my next contract. I also have a cat who spent way too much time alone while I was gone, so this would also give her way more time with me. Win win, Right???

So in my 2 weeks I had to do this conversion, I had to get 2 rows of bench seating out and vacuum it to get rid of the dog hair and other jazz from over the years. I can't complain too much about that since it was pretty clean considering. Once I did this, I headed over to Home Depot (mainly cause they are close by to my house) and purchased a bunch of 2x4's and 2 sheets of plywood so that I could create a bed to place in the back. I did a bunch of drawings on graph paper before hand to try and maximize the space that I was using. I wanted to make sure I could bring my work clothes, clothes for different seasons, of course my cat stuff and other items as needed

My biggest thing is the silliest to most people but I don't care lol. I wanted my bed to stay down and always be made up. I didn't want to content with making it each day. I know it is silly but if I am making this my own, it was going to work how I wanted it.

I ended up making a bed the size of a full/queen where my head or feet could be at the rear of the vehicle. That would still give me enough room for the cat's litter box, and other crap that I had. I brought way more than most people would but I wanted to make sure I was prepared for any job and for any situation that may arise otherwise on the road.

I also had to worry about people being able to see into the van at night. That was a creepy feeling to think about, so I started with the idea of curtains, but then got the idea of window black limo tint for all of the back windows. This was the best $300 I think I spent on the van other than the couple hundred to get it checked up and fix a few things.

I could have created the bed all by myself but I made some modifications that I needed help with, so luckily I had my step dad who is wicked handy to help me. I made the height about 18-19 inches so that I could place plastic bins of all my stuff under it. I also created a sliding pull out that could go out the back or into the front to use as a table to cook food or prep it, especially if it was nice outside.

Even after getting the limo black window tinting, I decided to add some curtains to the back windows and hand one across the front so no one could see in that way. I went to the dreaded Walmart (not a fan but they do have good prices) and bought 4 curtain panels that were 84 inches long. I measured each of the windows and cut the panels accordingly. I can't sew for anything lol but I busted out my mom's machine and made hems so they won't fray and then a pocket for the curtain rod to go in. They came out pretty damn well I do believe lol.

All in all my van works great! The one last thing I had to deal with, which I did a whole lotta research on was how in the hell was I going to stay warm in this thing during the winter drive across country???!!! I looked into solar....that confused the ever living crap out of me lol. I have a portable battery that is a converter that I wondered if anything like a heated blanket or heating pad would run off of. In talking to a few people (especially my uncle) I decided that with the foam mattresses pads I had for the bed with a feather bed topper between them, and flannel sheets with a heavy comforter I would be ok. The comforter in the pictures below is NOT the one that I used while driving across country. this was to show some friends what the van would look like when it was set up.

I also wanted to make sure that I could keep any food or drinking items cold when it was warm outside or make it so they would not freeze. I found a great portable electric cooler made by Coleman that plugs into the cigarette lighter and run. It is amazing!!! (Coleman 40 Quart PowerChill Thermoelectric Cooler ) It can stand up like a mini fridge or stand in the traditional way like a normal cooler.

I also purchased small blind spot mirrors for my side mirrors so I could see better and an extended rearview mirror that slid over my current mirror. Probably some of the best cheapest things I have purchased for a vehicle lol

Costs:

Lumber for bed: $50

Van: $4700

Registration: Unknown (can't remember)

Black out window tint professionally installed: $300

Van check up and minor fixes: Approx. $500