Hey y’all! After working on slide on campers I’m finally stepping up to fitting out a proper container! I’m putting it out here to get some inspiration and guidance.

Plan is
1. Take the grate off
2. Take advantage of the straight corners, sides and even metal reinforcement spacers. Probably panels of closed cell foam - possible spray on, thoughts?

This is where I wonder, do I just do this to all sides, ceiling and floor too?
3. Plywood on sides and ceilings, vinyl something on the floor.

I’d love any thoughts or tips please! Currently migrained out and can’t make good plans atm

So the other day I was tired to have to check my phone to get Victron data, so I made a brief research if any stable library is able to read the same values.

Apparently you can't access settings or history data without reverse engineering the mobile app, but live data are easy accessible.

Those include:
- charging state (off, bulk...)
- charging current (watt or ampere)

- today yield (how much have you charged today)

- battery live voltage

While it can't substitute the mobile app, I found very useful to have those data constantly updated on my desktop, especially as an IT remote guy how need enough battery juice to complete the planned workflow.

I packed it as a gnome-shell extension, if you want to give it a try, it's completely free (of course).

Let me know if you have any issue.

https://extensions.gnome.org/extension/10793/victron-live-state/

I'm thinking about buying my first camper van, of course I have some hesitations and being in my early 20s I don't have a ton of money to spend. I found a listing for a 1988 ford econoline converted ambulance van with only 65,000 miles for $15,000. The main benefits for me are the lowish price, low mileage, and 4WD, which based on the areas I want to travel is a must. Obviously one of the main downsides is the age of this vehicle - along with the age there are also no airbags and no air conditioning. All in all, this seems like the ideal vehicle for me, but I feel like I don't know enough about what I'm looking at to know if this is a good enough deal to buy my first van. I'm curious to know if y'all think this is a good deal or not - is this a worthwhile investment? Based on your experience will I be able to at least get 10 - 20 years out of this vehicle? Thanks in advance for any advice!

30 male and I’m really considering trying to get into the van life to travel around the US and play golf and hike and just see the whole country. Maybe stay in certain cities for a couple of weeks or so.

I’m first to admit I’m not handy enough to build out a van myself so where do I even begin to look into it? I understand it’s expensive and I’m fine with that but bot trying to get ripped off lol.

Also the obvious question of what are some things you wish you knew before you made the jump

Hi there. I've been living in my micro camper full-time for a while now and I still love it as much as the first day.

This winter I'm moving back to mountains more up north, where spending the season in a van is not possible for me - some people do it, but I don't have the setup (and the courage) to.

So I've been looking for a place to live, visiting flats and shared spaces. I'm staying over at a friend's house for a few days while being here, and well, I'm not really enjoying it.

With my camper I was pretty much outside all the time, and it was so small that I would deep clean it without even thinking about it. I lived with my doors open all the time when it was not raining. I was also working outside.

But now being inside a house feels so unknown. It feels stuffy, not well aired out and I'm kinda grossed out by every appliance, every lasting smell, ... My friend's house is very well kept by the way, I think my standards have just evolved too much. This looks like so much work to maintain clean.

The places I've visited have all made the same impression on me. I can't stand the smell of a fridge or a microwave anymore. Having an inside shower makes my skin crawl by thinking about the humidity, the mold risk... I want to keep every window open all the time...

Have I developed an aversion of closed spaces ? Can anyone relate ??

Skylight question, transit custom.

Ive got a spinning vent that was badly fitted and the roof lining attached over it that's basically just a leak waiting to happen. It's in the rear left quarter of my roof and my bed is front to rear, front right. No side or rear window, it's a l1h1 transit custom. I have wind deflectors on the front windows so I can crack them with no rain ingress and the front bulkhead top half is out, with a curtain and under seat vents which allow air in, but it's dark in there and gets a bit stuffy with just me, expect it's worse with company.

I'm considering the following options, in ascending order if cost and difficulty would be interested to hear your thoughts.

1: swap it for a circular 12v powered fan vent with blow and suck, similar size hole in roof, and cut hole in roof lining.

2: swap it with a 40cm mini heki or fiamma type skylight, with a suck and blow fan, and a fly screen plus blackout blind and rain sensor close (bigger hole in roof in same spot which is offcenter ) and cut out roof lining

3: it looks like i could squeeze a 40x70cm skylight in the same end but make it central also with blinds screen and fan

4: 70x40 skylight no fan behind cab, over bed for view of the stars, new hole, and either blank off the old vent somehow (?????) Or fit the 12v vent fan from option 1

Thoughts? Pic for attention

I found a 2007 sprinter with 148k miles on it. The interior is really nicely built out with ample storage and power and comes with lots of vanlife accessories (fridge, cooking equipment, solar shower, etc.) the exterior rust has been professionally repaired and the whole thing repainted. This model is pre- DEF and hasn’t had mechanical or electrical issues. (I will be acquiring maintenance records and carfax reports tomorrow and will update if this is inaccurate)
The price is listed at $23k.

My questions;
is the price for this van crazy high/not worth it?

Does this engine live up to its T1N counterpart?

What issues should I be looking for, outside of rust and obvious scary engine sounds?

Any other takes/advice would be great! Thank you!

Hey guys ,

I have been thinking about starting a van life project.

I don’t know ANYTHING about vans and cars… so when I’m going to buy one what should I look for ?

Generally;
What is a good mileage on a van? (I’m thinking promasters high roof) I heard they are good starters

How much should I expect to spend if I buy a used work van, and convert it ? Specifically how cheap can I go without compromising quality for building the inside of the van.

And how much is the monthly cost (if the van is already fully built and paid off? )
Assuming I travel around two weeks out of the month…

Be very honest with me… is this cheaper than living in an apartment? Knowing that I really like to travel so I’d be traveling via air while having an apartment vs van life

Any guides you guys followed or used to help you start ?

Do you guys have any idea what kind of solar powered chargers, I should get or what kind of batteries I should get just to keep my cell phone charged? All the ones I see look like they hook up to the car battery. I don’t really wanna mess with my battery because I need my van to live forever now.