Okay so this is just a quick overview of what needs to be done to get on the road fast. I am be no means an expert, except I do sometimes think I know everything. Anyways, I could not find a guide to building a van so here is what I learned. I wanted to do a nice simple van build just to get started traveling as soon as possible.

So I graduated college last may and am ready to hit the road. I am taking this year to make some money and then leave to go in my van. I live with my boyfriend in Chicago at the moment. Living in our 700 sq ft has begun to prepare us for living in such close quarters in the van. He’ll be traveling with me for a couple months in the beginning of my van life, then he’s heading off to medical school.

Van Build

Alright, so buying a van is so hard if you aren’t a mechanic and know nothing about vehicles. I tired to learn what to look for on Youtube, but couldn’t really get a feel for what looks like a good engine. So I found a 2012 Ford Transit Connect on Facebook marketplace and drove out to Detroit to get it. That’s like an hour from my house. I bough the van for a whopping $3,300 and it was totally not worth that. The engine did not work properly, and the guy who sold it to me did not disclose that. I also looked at the van in the dark so I couldn’t see that there were more problems than disclosed. Then I was on the search for another van that actually worked. I found one that my neighbor was selling and knew it had to be fate. I bought that one and got to work asap because I was kinda running out of time. I now had two 2012 Ford Transit Connects, one working, one not.

But anyways, I had a van and could start planning. I built a prototype out of cardboard just to visualize what I wanted in there and also what I could fit. After building a couple layouts I went with the most simple. I really just tried to think about where I would be spending the most of my time. Whether I wanted the space to be for relaxing, cooking, or hosting. I went with a focus on relaxing and making the space easy to be comfortable in.

Time to get to work. The actual build took about a week, in a garage, in Michigan, in below freezing temperatures. We had to get it done though. I started with cleaning it out, and taking off anything I wasn’t using. There was a big metal cage between the driver and cab that I ripped out. Once it was prepped I started from the bottom up. I laid the floor down, made the bed, put up some walls, and then the ceiling. I insulated the whole thing because I wanted the temperatures to be pretty manageable wherever I am. My bed takes up half of the van but can be converted to a full size bed for two people. So let me know if you want to visit.

What I Learned

That is a brief overview of my van build, and I’ll have more in depth posts on how to do everything. At least, I will tell you how I did everything but I am not a professional. I hope that you follow along with my adventures and are inspired to have an adventure of your own. I eventually sold the other van and got some money back. I was honest to the guy that I sold it to and told him everything that was wrong with it and that it was a big project car.