Finally, a tour of my very small, self built, minivan camper van

i would like to welcome you to the tour of my very small camper van build as you can see from the outside it is a very ordinary looking grand caravan minivan which is ideal for those times when we want to camp overnight somewhere that we aren't supposed to we've been camping in it for two years now both for weekend trips staying in campgrounds and on longer trips in the summer the camper is mostly a bedroom on wheels and that's what i wanted when i started all this to be able to drive to a spot and just stop and have everything be already set up to sleep we have a small fire extinguisher mounted near the side door it has a distinction that the holes for its mounting bracket are the only holes drilled into the van itself everything else can be removed without a trace while the van is mostly bed that bed does have a few extra tricks it can be folded up into a couch for those times when we want to sit around inside the van either because it is raining or there are too many bugs outside we don't do it often but it is a great option to have when we really need it our small folding camp table can even fit between the couch and the bench the third row armrests act as our bedside tables i use one of these kitchen bag closing clips to keep the seat belts out of the way these are our lights they are three watts which is almost too bright at night the second hand van i found had manual back windows which was what i wanted as it meant we could open and close them easily from in bed these simple usb powered fans are from canadian tire they plug into the double usb sockets i installed by the bedside the usb sockets are also good for charging your phones i made these side pockets from part of an over-the-door shoe organizer they really free up the armrests and keep things like glasses safe we have some simple ripstop nylon grocery bags that we use for extra storage usually for things like towels and swimsuits the bags can be swung around to the front seats to make more room for your feet while sleeping i came across this front fan on amazon and thought it was a great improvement over the clip-on ones it is made to fit snugly onto the posts of the headrest and locks into place this one has three speeds and swivels our bedding consists of a duvet and sheets in the summer and our mattress is a japanese style futon under the futon mattress we store the window covers these are the summer ones they are made of black chloroplast with the same reflective mylar on one side to reflect back the heat in the colder months of spring and fall we used thicker felt window covers and a double sleeping bag the front section of the bed is a bench and under the bench there are drawers for our clothes there's one on each side and generally all our clothes fit into them they're most easily accessed from the outside when the doors are open but they can be opened part way while inside which is good if you need something in the night the size and shape of the bench was designed around the large solar panel but i've since decided to mount it on the roof so we now store other things in its slot on this side we keep our small folding table the area deeper end of bed is used for other storage the drawers can be completely removed to access the storage under the floors here we have our extension cord and some tools and further back we have our 90 amp hour deep cycle agm battery and all the other electrical components we have a battery isolator with 150 amp breaker which allows us to automatically charge the house battery while we drive we also have the fuse box and the solar charger which is linked to both the panel on the roof and a socket to the auxiliary panel which i'll show you later there's also a genius battery charger which can be used to charge the battery from 110 volts i did an in-depth video of the electrical setup when i installed my battery monitor and i'll put a link to it down below to really access the battery we would need to remove the bench and slide the seats forward but things are set up in such a way that i rarely need to get in there most of the wiring runs up to the console where all the plugs and the battery monitor are the front seats of the van are completely standard here between the front seats is the console the van didn't come with its own which was good because it allowed me to make my own the black storage bags blend in with the front seats and are very discreet if we want to park on the street or in a parking lot when traveling the front seats just look like an empty van and the curtain hides everything behind it the black curtain is attached with magnets to a length of metal strapping on the ceiling and it is quick to put up and take down the strapping is shaped to fit the curves of the ceiling paint it to kind of match the interior and it fits into the top of the plastic housings of the side columns and is completely removable if we want the main section of the console is used to store things like the first aid kit as well as vital tools like the wrenches to remove the solar panel on one side i added some elastic cording to organize maps and stuff the top surface can be used as a driver feeding station little snacks like grapes and crackers to keep me awake on long drives on the lid for the back section i've installed a bullseye level which is really helpful when trying to find a level spot to park for the night the back of the console is where all the inputs and outputs of the electrical system are here we have the socket for hooking up the genius charger and the input for the auxiliary solar panel these are two more usb charging sockets a 12-volt socket and a second one just for the cooler when i first bought the cooler before i had the deep cycle battery i bought a battery saver cable it will cut out if the charge drops too low which protects the battery i have a really old inverter i think it can handle about 150 watts or 400 peak we don't really have anything that runs on 110 volts in the van but it's good to have as a backup i see lots of people using their inverters solely to charge their laptops but most laptops can be charged with 12-volt travel chargers either from the manufacturers or from other sources this one is from amazon but works well with my dell laptop this way we can avoid stepping the 12 volts up to 110 then back down to 19 volts my auxiliary 50 watt solar panel fits into the slot in the bench it has about 25 feet of cable having an extra panel allows me to take full advantage of the sun since i can move it around and adjust the angle to get the sun striking it full on i fitted it with an sae plug which prevents me from reversing the polarity when i plug it in which could short the panel the main panel is 100 watts it is semi-permanently mounted to the roof meaning i can leave it on for highway driving but i take it off in the winter i added these curved wooden sections on the back and front to try to minimize the wind resistance the panel is bolted to one-inch aluminum bars which are shaped to fit the curve of the roof i did have to drill extra holes in the frame of the solar panel which voids the warranty so think about that before you try something similar these in turn are bolted into the threaded holes that are for the stone place roof racks the cables are tie wrapped to the frame and then run down the inside of the door i left enough slack at the bottom to create a drip loop so if water runs down it drips off before going inside the van the cable runs under this plastic floor piece and then runs to the console protected by some wire loom the whole van is fitted out with mosquito screens this one between the back kitchen section and the bed these on the back windows this one on one of the sliding doors the front window screens still need some work the magnets i used were not strong enough and i'm beginning to think the screen is too tight that i need to add a bit more fabric these are wind and rain deflectors less showy than some other components but they allow me to have the front window slightly open even when it's raining even less showing but critical for camping was tinting the windows the van i bought had zero tint on the windows and that was problematic i did it myself with tint i bought it canadian tire i chose the 20 visibility but i could have gone for the 5 limo tint i didn't do a great job it's full of bubbles and a few creases but it doesn't matter i won't impress the guys at the body shop but it blocks the light just fine which is all i care about the kitchen is in the back of the van accessible from the outside and protected from the rain under the lift gate its design was inspired by the kitchens on teardrop trailers notice the rolled up awning which is stored down the middle of the van under the bed i made two large drawers which slide in under the bed each is 32 inches long they have no rails or hardware they just slide on the carpeted floor of the van this one is where i keep most of the campfire tools extra canned foods and other things in each drawer i've put a checklist of what should be in that drawer this way if i take things out to wash them in the house i will remember to pack them for the next trip this drawer is more organized with all the pots and pans and plates in the upper part of the kitchen i have smaller drawers this one holds oil and other condiments that are best stored upright this one is for cutlery each drawer has a little latch to keep them closed while driving this one is the mini sink it doesn't have a drain you take the whole drawer out to dump it either on the ground or into jug for gray water if it's dirty this is our 10 liter water jug i put a light in the back of the cubby to help me see the water level the light only stays on while you push the button that way i can't forget to turn it off this is our pantry box for bread fruits and vegetables anything that doesn't need to go in the cooler our main kitchen counter just slides out again with no hardware just caught between two other pieces of plywood our stove is stored in his cubby it can use both butane and propane but we like the butane better because it's easier to set up since the canister can stay in the stove while it's stored and a lever disconnects it when it's not in use and it lights automatically i'm very proud of my pop out chopping board inside the box just above is my 27 liter coolatron thermoelectric cooler it was much cheaper but less efficient than a compressor fridge a thermoelectric cooler can only cool to about 20 degrees below ambient temperature so if it's 35 degrees out your cooler is 15 degrees and in cooler weather it will freeze your food i compensate by using ice in the hotter months but i have to be careful that water doesn't touch the electronics in an effort to up its efficiency i added insulation and wired in a digital thermostat i also wired in an on and off switch so it doesn't draw power when i'm not using it this switch runs up to these led light strips that i stuck to the bottom edge of the glass of the liftgate that way i have some light when cooking at night i keep some waterless soap wet wipes and tissues on hand for quick cleanups and here we have the emergency toilet facilities this is a pretty standard pee bottle it is simple and easy to casually carry to the washroom later good for late at night when you don't want to get out of the van to pee i wanted something very compact given how infrequently it would be used most of the time we camp at campgrounds or we stop somewhere like a gas station or restaurant if we're in the complete wilderness i have a trowel to dig cat holes but this toilet kit is for emergencies for example if we're parked in an urban area and nothing is open yet i've prepared double garbage bags with a powder inside which gels any liquids and reduces odors the potty is based on this kids one i bought online and i scaled it up to adult size it's made of chloroplast and i covered it with sticky vinyl the whole thing folds up small and is easy to store just behind the front seat while working out the details for the bed and the kitchen i had at the back of my mind to see if i could find a way to be able to use the third row seats when the camper setup was in the van i made a template of the space behind the seats and i tried to make sure the kitchen boxes would fit in the space behind the seats with the kitchen shelf and the rest piled on top in the front the bed can be slid forward and the bench and drawers fit on top the long kitchen drawers slide all the way under the bed this leaves just enough space on one side to slip into the back seats this is a pain to do but it is doable if there was ever a situation where we really needed to give someone a ride somewhere so that's it for the tour thanks very much for watching you

Channel: a very small camper van

Views: 445,509

Keywords: Camper, #vanlife, stealth, camping, a very small camper van, minivan camper, micro camper, self built camper, stealth camping, diy camper, rv, camper van conversion, dodge grand caravan, van tour, #minivancamper, bug screen, mosquito screen, awning, teardrop kitchen, kitchen, couch, bed, folding, van electrical system, wind rain deflectors, window tint, storage, potty, pee, toilet, butane stove, gas one, koolatron, thermoelectric cooler, curtain, window cover, drawers

Id: X57kqKfljgg

Length: 13min 37sec (817 seconds)

Published: Thu Apr 01 2021