Stealth Van Tour | The Ultimate Cargo Van Conversion for Urban Living

what's going on you guys if you're new to the channel my name is brad and today i'm going to share my 1998 chevy express where i've been living for the last year and a half [Music] when deciding which van i was going to go with i really wanted to pick something that wasn't going to stand out in an urban setting because i knew i was going to be in the city for the most of the time so i went with this 1998 chevy express which is the 1500 model and because i went with the cargo van i really wanted to maintain the look of a trade van so i left the van white on the outside i also made sure to buy one that didn't have too many windows and the windows that i did have i would black them out from the inside i also added a roof rack on the top and on top of the roof rack i've bolted down these two by four planks which kind of add to the overall appeal of the trade van but it also doubles as a depth and on the roof here i installed two 100 watt solar panels and i didn't want these solar panels to be visible from the roads so i installed this barrier just around the side so when you're standing on the road you can't see them but it also hides the cables that are underneath but some of the cables underneath have to go into the van so those ones i wrapped in a white electrical tape to make it blend in with the van a little bit better and as for the front of the cab i really want to keep it pretty standard and stick to the whole trade van look so i made merry minor alterations and the only alterations i did make were the platform between the two chairs which holds the fridge also the passenger seat is on a swivel and then i added the curtains to divide the front from the back and behind the curtains is the back of the van now i designed the back of the van to look kind of as modern as possible but i had very little space to work with so i had to prioritize what was most important to me [Music] and here between the seats is my fridge it's a dometic cfx35 which runs off 12 volt which is nice because you can plug it into your vehicle cigarette lighter if you need to it's also a top loading fridge so after you've driven around for a bit you don't have to worry about your groceries falling out when you open it up and like i said before i usually store it between the seats but if i want to hide it i'll slide it into the back and it'll rest just on a carpet that's on the floor and the floor is also finished with a wood drain laminate and the walls and the ceiling are finished with a quarter inch pine in the ceiling i also have four recessed led lights which run off two separate switches so i have a switch that operates the back two and another switch that operates the front two then here in the ceiling i have my ceiling fan which is the dometic 1250 and it really is a lifesaver in the summer it lets me suck any heat out of the van during the day and in the evening i can pull any fresh air in that i need and as you can see in the back here there really isn't much space so i had to prioritize what i was going to put in here and as for the building materials all the white material is a white malamine board which is typically used for shelving units but i wanted something white that was pretty much finished when i used it so i didn't have to screw around by adding anything extra over here i have the countertops which is finished with a wood grain laminate and the backsplash here is a tile sheet which was very easy to install but it also gives the van a little bit more of a kitchen feel in this area which was otherwise lacking and underneath the overhead storage here there is a metal strip which has these magnetic hooks which allows me to use up any of this extra space that i'm not using it also allows me to hang this banana hammock that i made for myself and as for storage there's tons of overhead storage up here which it gives me quick and easy access to anything i need and underneath it gives me good access here to my dishes or dry storage and then i have some drawers which will come out with cutlery and i don't have to worry about anything opening while i driving because there's latches to hold them in place and over here we have dehydration station it was really important for me to have running water in the van i knew i wasn't going to use one of those pumping tabs so i installed a electric faucet that has a switch here which activates the water pump then it just sends it into this stainless steel bowl which i cut a hole in the bottom for the drain and it drains straight out to the road so i have to make sure that i use organic dish soap to help the environment but all the water comes out of two 20 liter jugs which you can see from in here but you can access them from the other side when the sliding door is open which makes it a lot easier to fill it up and then above the sink for on the sliding door really didn't have too much space to work with so just created these uh these brackets to have a little bit more storage and make use of the space as for the bed it was really important for me to have a fixed bed because i knew i was going to be spending majority of my time in the van sleeping so i wanted to be a decent size and i wanted to be comfortable that's why i kept these spaces empty just so i didn't feel boxed in on the sides here i just have these cubbies which allow me to store any clothes or anything that i need quick access to but these boxes also can lift off and you can access more storage underneath [Music] the bed is made out of a few different components underneath the bed is plywood which is broken into three different parts and they're on hinges then there's six inch foam uh for the bed and that's also in three different pieces and then i have a bamboo protector on top of that just to keep any moisture off of the foam the bed is in three different pieces to make it easy to access the storage that is underneath it also gives me the ability to fold up the bed into a couch and to access the storage underneath all i have to do is fold over the mattresses so i'll fold it over once and then i can flip it up a second time which allows me to get it out of the way and this platform is just on a hinge so i can fold that over and then i can access the storage in the front section and in the back okay so in the front section here on this side is just storage i usually put my laundry in here and then over here is my electrical system now it's pretty messy at the moment because i'm working on getting a new battery in there but it holds everything like the battery the charge controller and the fuse box which the lights and the usb ports around the van are connected to i also have a 2000 watt power inverter just outside which i use to charge my laptop and anything that requires a little bit more power then for the back storage here it's a little bit more i have access for my clothes underneath here which gives me a lot of extra room to put any seasonal clothes that i'm not using all the time just because i don't want to be having to go in here every single day then on the middle one here this is where i keep my uh my stove and it's just a woods two burner propane stove which allows me to either cook inside if i want to if it's raining outside or i can take it outside on a picnic table and do some cooking out there but yeah like i said underneath the bed there is just tons of storage there's actually more storage than i actually need okay brad we get it you got lots of storage but when are you going to show us how to turn your bed into a couch i'm glad you asked because i'm going to show you how to turn this bed into a couch next but before i do that i just want to remind you to hit the like button for the youtube algorithm it really helps out my channel a lot and i appreciate each and every one of you for doing that and let's get on with the bed conversion so in order to change the bed into a couch there's just a few steps that i need to take the first one is i need to remove the cushion here at the foot of the bed and get it out of the way then i can fold over the plywood underneath on itself and i have a little bit more space to work with then all i have to do is reach to the head of the bed on each side there is a piece of rope with a hook on it i just have to pull that all the way up pulling up the the plywood underneath then attach the hook onto the eyelet which is underneath the overhead storage just on that metal strip we talked about earlier and once it's all hooked into place on both sides then just like that you've got yourself a couch and to change it back into a bed it's just the same steps but you follow them in reverse so as you can see it's pretty simple just to fold up and fold back down but there's one section of the bed that you haven't seen underneath but it can only be accessed from the outside so let's head on out there and check it out [Music] now if you guessed there was storage underneath the other side of the bed then you would be correct because there is more storage if i flip up the back of the bed here i also have it on three hinges which are load bearing so it actually helps me keep it up and i don't have to hold it for so long i also keep stuff in here that i'm not using on a regular basis that way i have it but i don't really need it all the time then under here just created a net just to have anything for quick easy access like ratchet straps and stuff like that and over here on the doors we use cedar paneling which is really nice because it able to form to the door instead of using a single sheet and then on the windows they're blacked out from the other side like i showed you before but they're made out of corrugated board which is removable so i can just pop it out and change it if i want to i also put these decals on the side here they're actually made for a car but i just cut them in half to give it a more scenic look on the inside the only thing this fan doesn't have is a bathroom and i knew i was going to be in a city most of the time where i would have facilities readily available but just in case of emergencies i have a container here which is good for number ones and i also have a bucket which is used as a seat normally but i can take that off and put a toilet seat on and just in case of emergencies i have something like that it's not something i plan to use on a regular basis i'd rather have one then not have one [Music] van life is not without his sacrifices and i feel extremely fortunate to be able to use this van as a tool to reach my personal goals if you are able to gain more freedom and avoid financial hardship in exchange for some small sacrifices would you make that trade let me know in the comments section down below consider subscribing and i'll see you in the next video

Channel: Boundless Brad

Views: 198,459

Keywords: Stealth Van Tour, Cargo Van, cargo van conversion, Van life, stealth van living, stealth van build, stealth van camping, stealth van conversion, chevy express van conversion, van tour, van conversion, stealth van life tour, urban stealth camping van tour, chevy express van build, chevy express, ultimate cargo van conversion, van life tour, van life tour full time living, van life canada, van life conversion, urban camping stealth, urban camping van, full time van life

Id: 0dPfjMFLewY

Length: 11min 26sec (686 seconds)

Published: Fri Jul 16 2021