Benefits of a Dodge Grand Caravan as a Minivan Camper for VAN LIFE + Hidden Gems | Van Conversion

hey y'all welcome back to adventuring with Amanda thank you so much for being here in this video we are talking about the benefits of a Dodge Grand Caravan and why I believe it makes an incredible minivan camper for Van life I'm going to show you some hidden gems and talk about all of the reasons why I have owned two Dodge grand Caravans now and why I absolutely recommend it with that being said be sure to like this video subscribe to my channel and let's Jump Right In the most well-known and probably popular perk of the Dodge Grand Caravan is the stow and go seating so as you can see here I have my third row single passenger seat up and then I have recessed floor space in the bottom now under my shelf over here the seats are folded in the other two passenger seats so I have the Shelf sitting on top of it and then of course I can I can put my bed in it now all of the seats do Stow in the floor and I did in my 2011 red Dodge Grand Caravan completely remove all of the seats which allowed for in-store um in-floor storage space excuse me so I didn't remove all the seats in this van because I wanted the option to use them just in case but also I noticed that even though I had that storage in the floor I had my bed in my fridge and things on top of it so I didn't really use it but it is a tremendous option both of my Dodge grand Caravans have had this little switch or these switches up here I should say so it's right above my center console and what these do is they'll open all your doors from inside but you can also switch off your manual door opening so that way your doors won't open automatically and you can leave them like halfway open or just cracked so that's a really nice feature of the Dodge Grand Caravan that I take advantage of a lot normally I have the automatic door switch flipped off that way like in the summer or like in the winter if I just want to block the wind have my door halfway open whatever I can open it as much or as little as I want to and here is a quick example of the automatic door versus the manual door so I have the automatic switch flipped off so I can just leave my door halfway open if I want to it is really an incredible perk another factor that makes the Dodge Grand Caravan so wonderful for Van life is really just the ease of use in terms of maintaining your battery maintenance things like that so I can easily keep my doors open all the time without draining my battery and a lot of people ask about uh Amanda how do you keep your doors open without draining your battery because the interior lights come on well with the Dodge Grand Caravan at least newer models I know my 2011 had it as well there are these interior dials and you just have to make sure that they are turned all the way off scroll them all the way down so they're off then your interior lights won't come on when you open your doors and you don't have to worry about draining your battery now not every model and trim of the Dodge Grand Caravan comes with this roof storage in the cabin but it is really nice if you do have it all of these swing down so you can put items inside furthermore mine actually has an entertainment center so I do have a DVD player and remote my 2011 Dodge Grand Caravan had that option as well plus you have a lot of different auxiliary plugs that you can use including USB outlets and a regular Edison Outlet so you have lots of options for charging and using Electronics in this model of van now unfortunately they do not make the Dodge Grand Caravan anymore 2019 was actually the last year mine is a 2018 but what I really like about the dash as opposed to like brand new Vans is it's very simple no no huge screens not a ton of buttons just very simple mine even has a heated steering wheel and seats which is nice but I love this Simplicity because it's just not over done now there is also storage right here which is great oh there's my lint roller stuck to it that's funny you also have storage right here your center console storage your cup holders there is storage underneath I keep like sandals my umbrella a curtain in there also behind the center console you actually have a drawer right here and cup holders of course I cannot get mine out because my bed's there but they are there if you need them and then there's also a sunglasses holder so lots of nice simple storage this one I just keep uh like napkins and things in but I love the like I said the Simplicity and the options that I have and this does not come with the van this is actually it's a phone holder like for GPS or whatever so that is aftermarket from Amazon overall the Dodge Grand Caravan is a very simple but efficient and reliable minivan I have had Dodge grand Caravans twice now and I grew up with Dodge vans and I just love them so much they are also very easy to work on so you can take this van into any shop in the entire us and have them work on it and you can trust most likely that they will have parts available because it's such a common engine van and um just simple to work on and also inexpensive to maintain the interior of the Dodge Grand Caravan is very spacious and big there's no like crazy angles or anything it's nice and symmetrical on the sides there is storage and just little Cubbies to put items in so again going with the theme of Simplicity it really is nice and minimal inside with just nothing crazy to deal with it's one thing that I really like about it it's been incredibly easy to outfit some Dodge Grand Caravan trim packages already come standard with a roof rack which is so helpful of course is a huge benefit if you're like me and want to take advantage of a rooftop box or even like a rooftop tent or an awning anything like that that you may want to accessorize your van with is it's necessary to have a roof rack for those things so both of my Vans the 2011 and this 2018 came standard with the roof rack which is a big money saver and it's just made everything so much easier my rooftop box offers me 18 cubic feet of storage space piggybacking on the rooftop box and accessories for the van the Dodge Grand Caravan is very easy to purchase for for example my heat shield window coverings from heat shield store are incredible I highly recommend making the investment and this van is easy to accessorize for because it is a common and it is popular even on Amazon you can type in your make and model of van and the year and it will match accessories to go with your van now forgive my dirty window but some Dodge Grand Caravan trims come with this incredible Hidden Gem that I am absolutely obsessed with built-in sunscreens for the windows I love them I just think it's like really fun it's such a camper thing it makes me so happy I put up my magnetic curtains and then I put this over the curtain that way they stay in place how cool is that my 2011 didn't have it but this one has it and it was uh really freaking cool for me this fan is great for tall people because I am five eight and I have a full length caught bed plus a lot more space behind my shelf so even if you are well over six feet tall you can still fit in this van and I even have my bed on a platform and still have plenty of Headroom so this van does work for tall people which is not something that a lot of people would think about but if you were you are tall it can be a problem in smaller vans so the Dodge Grand Caravan is great if you are tall so here's one that I bet a lot of people don't know about the Dodge Grand Caravan actually comes with a mount for tow hitch already so you don't need to get them out for underneath your vehicle all you need to get is the tow hitch and that's a really excellent Hidden Gem both of my Dodge grand Caravans have had an eco mode button which does make a difference I have gotten up to 28 miles per gallon in my Dodge Grand Caravan the rooftop box does not slow me down does not affect my gas mileage and since I've had a Dodge Grand Caravan with and without the seats in the stone go I can also say that that does not affect the gas mileage as well thank you so much for watching this video I hope that it was helpful and informative if it was be sure to give it a thumbs up subscribe to my channel and I will see you next time

Channel: Adventuring With Amanda

Views: 30,877

Keywords:

Id: DXhr5F6-lEI

Length: 10min 52sec (652 seconds)

Published: Fri Feb 17 2023