Hello! My name is Eric. In this video about
minivan conversion, I will present 11 designs
that I would not recommend, and I will tell you why. The motivation for this video is to help you choose
wisely your van design. When you haven’t
really spent time and traveled in a converted van, it is not obvious to figure out which designs and features make sense and which do not. My reflection is based
on years of experiences. Nowadays, we can see lots of laboratory van
conversion development. What I mean by that is that those developments
are more oriented on design optimizations and the look, rather than based on
real van life experience. And when I say
design optimization, I mean optimization
of volume rather than optimizing
for practicability! Here are some designs that I really would not recommend: First layout mistake: An exclusive outside kitchen. It is easy to picture
yourself with a perfect view, on a perfect day, cooking outside, barbecuing with a full kitchen, taking your time
cooking a nice meal. However, the reality is
usually quite different! Those situations do occur, but it is not that
often that all elements are in place to cook outside. You will often cook when it is dark, cold, raining, with mosquitoes, down town, parallel parked, or in a service area. Just think about rainy days: It is quite surprising
how often it is raining... I mean, this is a lot of rain! And there is the sunset which occurs very early a
good part of the year. Think also, for some countries, the mosquitoes season! The bugs that you don’t
want in your cooking area or entering your sleeping area! Often you have
to cook in the dark just because you
were not hungry and didn’t feel
like eating early! Your van must be like
Arcadia in Resident Evil, which should offer
you food and shelter, safety and security...! Obviously to me, having only an outside
kitchen does not make sense. You must have
access to your food to prepare your meal inside. You need to easily access, from inside your van: water, fridge, food storage, etc. Sure, the option to cook
outside is interesting, but only as an option, not as an obligation
because of your van’s layout! Do you really picture yourself deploying long drawers in town, parallel parked, or in a paying parking lot
downtown...?! Personally, I would not adopt
such a concept. I much prefer this one! Second layout mistake: Reducing driving visibility for cabinets or other features. I really would not reduce the driving visibility
for 2 reasons: The first reason
is obviously safety! You will have to drive
sometimes in dense traffic area. I really think that
you will appreciate having optimum visibility! I think that depriving
yourself of driving visibility is a really bad idea. Hence, I would not block any windows except the far rear left window, which you cannot see
through while driving, or parallel parking. When you look
at a van tour video, you picture yourself
living in that van, but you must also picture
yourself driving the van. You probably do not
want to deliberately deprive yourself of visibility. Therefore, this should be a
constraint to respect in your layout development. Driving only with side
mirrors is a handicap that you really
should try to avoid. Just think of
parallel parking... When driving through
highways that have more
than 5 lanes, you want all the visibility
your van can offer. The second reason
why I really would not reduce the driving visibility is that I would not deprive
myself of a nice view. Isn’t it one of the objectives
of enjoying van life...?! It is quite enjoyable to have an almost 360-degree view. With the use of
window insulation, having lots of windows
is not a problem. The principle is
explained in my video about managing
temperature in a van. Third layout mistake: Storage planned
only under the bed. Having your clothes
under the bed, or needing to go outside and open a door to access it, is really not practical. There’s nothing worst then setting up the bed to realize that you need a
piece of clothing that is under the bed. Or worst, to be cold in
the middle of the night and needing to undo the bed, get the piece of clothing, and have to redo the bed... Again, in the morning,
still in the bed, you discover an
unexpected cold weather, but you do not have
access to your clothes that are under the bed! Of course, you do not want to leave your sheets
without your clothes! It is quite an advantage
to have access to your clothes
storage from your bed! Such a set-up may optimize
the space under the bed, but when it comes to use, it does not make
that much sense. Napoléon used to say “Nice words, nice
thoughts but no good facts.” You want to enjoy van life, make it easy and effortless! Fourth mistake: Not using Reflectix, or
a similar, as effective, isolation product
for your windows. Using Reflectix in your widows makes such a difference
for comfort in the van! To have an idea
of the efficiency of Reflectix
isolation for windows, test removing a panel
on a sunny morning! You will definitely feel the
heat entering the van fast! Once, on a warm
morning by the beach, I opened my door
for a friend visiting and he felt fresh air from
the night leaving the van. He taught I had AC. It is very efficient! I talk about this
in my video about managing temperature in a van. The fifth mistake: Not having a hard floor. When you have a small van, you spend more time outside than inside your van, which is a good thing. But doing so, you carry a lot of
sand inside. What is more annoying than having sand on a carpet and having no vacuum? Also, how often have I
spilled liquid on the floor? Pretty often! Seriously, if I didn’t
have a hard floor, my carpet would be a mess! Another thing is how uneven a minivan’s floor or carpet is. It is really uneven! Hence, it is much more pleasant to have a hard floor. Since you will choose the finish of that hard floor, it is also going to be much
more beautiful in your van! Having a nice and clean space is important when
you live in a van. The sixth mistake: Not having an easy and
functional bed and table set up. Here’s how easy it is in my van to do and undo the bed, including the sheets, and to install and
uninstall my table which can be put inside
and outside as well! If it’s not that easy
and you have to play LEGO or Tetris each time you have to go to bed or have a meal, you will feel you’re
on a camping trip. Van life should
not feel like that! If so, you will get tired
of that lifestyle, as you would with
setting and folding a tent every night. Having to go outside
to set up your bed does not make sense
if you want to be stealth! The reality is
that to be stealth, you need to be stealth! You have to park slowly. You keep your
inside lights closed and you set up your bed quietly from the inside. You are in ninja mode! You really do not go outside! I have been stealth van lifing for more than 20 years. I can tell you that
this is the way to go... and I have never been kicked out of any of my
selected night spots. I really cannot picture myself being stealth when
opening the doors and playing LEGO with
module compartments! Also, what about the weather...? When it is raining... or, when it is cold you want to keep the heat inside, not opening all doors to
set up a bed or a kitchen. Again, it is
important for comfort, to have a set-up that is easy and lets you enjoy van life. This kind of modular layout was developed with the idea of optimizing space but may not be as practical when actually living
in a van for a while. Seventh mistake: Not having a nice
inside looking van. Open shelves are
not quite beautiful, using rubber containers does not improve anything either! This statement is kind of weird, but it is not to me, because if you want
to enjoy living in a van, you cannot feel like you’re in a storage room or a backyard shed. You must enjoy looking and being in your van as you would for your home. Plus, your van is
your vacation toy! You want it to
be fun! Inspiring! I am not a fan of open shelves where everything may fall down on quick driving moves, to avoid accidents. How many times do I take a moment and smile with joy and satisfaction when I
slide open my van door! This worth something to me! Eighth mistake: The use of too
much heavy material for your van conversion. Yes, your van should look nice, but you must also
consider weight! Too much weight
will have an impact on your suspension, your breaks, fuel consumption and a loss of agility
in your driving, which is quite dangerous! As an example, using a lot of heavy
wood for wall covering, may significantly increase
the weight of your van... and that may not
be a wise choice. Ninth mistake is
a no-brainer to me: Carrying propane, or
any other compressed gas, inside the van. Such a decision, without having a
proper and legal set up, is searching for troubles, and lethal trouble that is! I don’t have to add anything
more about that one... Tenth mistake: Not transferable conversion You can convert your
van without modifying it, like mine. I converted my van without drilling any holes in it! If you do so, you will save lots of money on the resell value of your old van and save by
transferring your bed, cabinets and table
in the new one. To learn how to do so, look at my playlist on
van conversion technics. Eleventh mistake: Thinking converting
a van is cheap. If you want to enjoy traveling, you do not want to waste money, you want to spend money on something that
you will use for years. That means investing a minimum of money to make your van
functional and enjoyable. In my video about
cost and steps, you will learn how
to invest gradually. The cost presented
in my video includes money spent on
trials and errors. Since I made a
playlist of videos, and should continue to do more, following my technics and steps should allow you to save
on those trials and mistakes. You should be able to spend less than I have on your van conversion. There are a lot
of people out there that are presenting really
low van conversion cost to attract viewers. It seems to me that the
realty is quite different... Look at my video! If you want to encourage
me to produce more videos, share this video! I am sure that you
have fellow van lifers, future van lifer friends and Facebook groups that
might be interested. It is really more
stimulating for me to produce videos
for more people than fewer people. As long as there’s
a volume of viewers, I will continue
producing videos... Support me by
helping me increase the number of subscribers! Experienced based
Van life and travel tips are also on the menu! Stay tuned even when
your van is finished! See ya, my fellow travelers!
