TINY ADVENTURE VAN - Tons of UNIQUE Features - Van Tour

[Music] hi this is my van i've been living in this van for two months now traveling the country and in this video i'm going to show you how i've converted this van for full-time living and everything that i bring with me in the van while i'm traveling so let's get started starting with the outside i have rain guards there are two 150 watt solar panels mounted to a custom roof rack i have a max air fan there are security cameras mounted on all four sides of the van there is a flood light for security and there is a rail that a tarp awning can be attached to i've got a hula girl to keep me company i keep my hat on the dashboard this compass is totally broken i don't know why i have it then i have a dash camera a hook to keep my kovid mask in place phone mount i keep my hair brush up here sunglasses apple i have a hacky sack and then this is a monitor for my rear view camera that i installed this switch disables traction control also installed that myself and then i have a knife it's handy for camping i suppose and then spare change and then back here we have a vent from my diesel heater this points right at the windscreen which is handy for defrosting in the winter time and then i have hand sanitizer ad20 a remote for my diesel heater and a radio all right so behind the driver's seat i keep my tow hook a lug wrench this is a blower for my boot dryer jack for the vehicle these are winter gloves that i don't care about anymore i have jumper cables a tow strap and hose clamps and then in this case i have a socket set and in this bin i keep a bunch of my tools and then there is one more bin [Music] and finally this is a monitor for my b2b charger so i can see how much charge current there is this is a switch that allows me to turn that on and off this turns on my phone charger when the engine isn't running and this turns on the backup camera when the engine isn't running and then this is probably the single best feature of my van and it is a remote for my window coverings i know it's kind of hard to demonstrate on camera but it really is dark in here right now up here we've got a bear can i have a down jacket inside the bear can extra paper towels i have two pairs of shoes this is a citronella candle those are wet swim trunks i have more shoes and then behind the seat i have poles for my awning this is a cover for my vent fan so it will block out all light so i can black it out in there i forgot i had these paper plates but i have paper plates for some reason and then this is a textbook for my avalanche education course and then my camp chair usually lives here but i have it out right now and then this is a bin that has a bunch of random electrical bits and bobs and then underneath the front seat i keep an ice axe a snow brush and the tarp for my awning and believe it or not i do also have my b2b charger underneath the seat since we're talking about the electrical system let's just take a quick peek back here in the electrical area got a whole mess of wiring i'll go into what all those do later and then i have this screen here which will cover up this frame here and it acts kind of like a window i can open the the door put a screen there and have a breeze which is nice then i've got some screwdrivers here this is a clip stick for climbing i have heavy duty zip ties these are light bulbs spare light bulbs a duster an air compressor and then all of my fuses live in here this is my solar charge controller you can see that's obviously the big agm battery 200 amp hours and then i have a cut off switch for my solar my battery my b2b charger and then this is a temperature probe and i will get into what that does later and then of course the fridge compressor is right here and then in the door card i have an aux cable a sewing kit packing tape and screens for the front windows the glove box contains a smorgasbord of items most notably the binoculars tire pressure gauge sunglasses safety glasses and i almost forgot i have a box of nitrile gloves right underneath the driver's seat held in with a couple strips of velcro did i mention that my van also is a home gym okay let's take a look at the living space now there's a lot going on here so i'm just going to talk about everything one by one this is my boot dryer it's uh just that blower pump these are vacuum hoses and then i have it on like a a pwm driver so i can decide how loud it is which is uh pretty important this is a control for my party light there's also an infrared remote this is where the resistance band attaches for my exercises then i have my diesel heater tank the diesel heater fuel pump is in this special box that i designed to keep it quiet and then i have extra resistance bands just tucked in there this is a trowel for you know what and this is a two and a half gallon gray water tank for my sink and then i have a sprayer up here which is nice for hosing off muddy equipment and boots and keeping my solar panels clean and then an umbrella and then moving on i've got this satellite communicator which i keep on this hook here for emergencies this is a tactical flashlight that i found on the trail and it's super bright so i figure that's a good thing to keep handy and then i have sunscreen bug spray i don't know why this toothbrush is here it does not belong there more sunscreen tripod just camera equipment i keep my microphone here when i'm not using it headlamp and the control for the party light and then i have a special holster here for the bear mace and this is my diesel heater control and then here is a hat and gloves i have a hoodie and this is a hammock then down here we've got my reading material this is my first aid kit and that just kind of lives there and my kindle and then this little pass-through is actually one of my favorite things uh i can access it from the front of the van and then even when i'm in full stealth mode with the shades closed i can get to what's in there and right now i just have my wallet keys and chapstick a broken memory stick and a handful of hair ties moving on we have this which is a door into the electrical dungeon there's a thermostat on it so that i can set this to whatever i want but i have it set to 85 so if it exceeds 85 degrees in there this little fan turns on and it just circulates air in this compartment because we do have the ac compressor and then deep in there the solar charge controller both that could generate a good amount of heat so we want to keep it cool and ventilated in there and then this is the switch for the ski light whoa so this is my bed it's about 24 inches wide six foot three inches long it is a latex mattress topper so it's three inches thick and it's plenty comfortable for me when it's time for bed i just flip this up latch it in place and it's sort of like a regular bed i have a comforter a top sheet and then a fitted sheet and a mattress cover all of which were sewn by my mom so thank you mom for doing that for me and my mom also sewed up this curtain back here which is soft and uh kind of gives me extra space so like if i move my passenger seat forward more i get more space if i want it and then yeah sometimes i hit my head on this thing or this thing which is a little annoying but i've gotten used to it and it's a worthy compromise to have this which i use all the time pretty much every day above my bed i have this space which is the biggest storage space in my van and basically all of my bulky items go up here there's actually a lot of extra room up here right now and that's because i did laundry yesterday so this is my laundry bag and it's basically empty so once that laundry bag fills up this space it pretty much is completely full so let's see what we have up here this is my laundry bag we already talked about this this is an ultralight day pack this duffel bag has lots of my warm weather gear jackets shells gloves that sort of thing and a hydration bladder this bag has all of my indoor climbing gear so shoes harness and chalk bag this bag has assorted backpacking gear in it this bag also has assorted backpacking gear this bag is full of stuff i use for physical therapy this is a mixing bowl and this is a climbing helmet i have a wetsuit this is a rope bag with a 70 meter climbing rope this is my backpacking tent in this bag i have a 20 degree down fill sleeping bag for backpacking this is a mixing bowl this is a ski helmet this is a big duffel bag this is a dry bag with other dry bags inside of it this is a backpacking pillow this is a backpacking sleeping pad this is an 18 liter backpack this is a 35 liter backpack this is a 75 liter backpack this is a backpack that is specifically used for snow sports and in here i have a beacon probe shovel glacier glasses and other snow sports specific items and finally this is my canyoneering backpack and i also have clothes that i use for canyoneering in here because they get torn to shreds so yeah it's hard to believe all of this stuff fits in this space up here but it does okay so this is my electrical control panel so to speak we have the solar input monitor and the battery monitor as you can see we're not getting a whole lot of solar right now because we're parked in the shade and then i can turn both of these off so i can take a nap whenever i want and not deal with that blue light from the monitors and then this controls the overhead lights this is the warm dimmer and then i have a cool dimmer also so i can very precisely control the the temperature and brightness of the light in here and then this allows me to roll up and down the front windows from the back which is very nice if i want to get a breeze going and this switch turns on and off my security monitor and all of the footage from the security monitor is saved to this micro sd card if i were ever to need it this is my carbon monoxide alarm and again this is a remote for my window coverings same as the one in the front of the van and this is my snake plant moving right along i have my clothes in this cabinet and it's pretty straightforward i have socks underwear leg layers top layers shorts pants and t-shirts and that's all i wear because i am a minimalist so this area is where i keep all of my hygiene and cosmetic stuff there's not a whole lot going on here i the only interesting thing is that both my shaver charger and toothbrush charger i figured out how to run on dc because i was determined not to run an inverter in my van so this is just part of that and this switch controls those chargers and this drawer has a bunch of random things toothpaste leather treatment floss and my air pods for for some reason so it's just kind of like a random junk drawer okay so this is just a computer speaker i actually have the subwoofer for it down there and the other speaker up there but we'll get into that in a little bit that is a smoke alarm there's the paper towel holder my dad created this on a scroll saw and i think it's pretty cool i have a hook up here to dry things like this hydration bladder and then a shock cord line so if i need to hang up more stuff to dry i can do that there there are my headphones dish towel and then that is a monitor that comes out on an articulating arm so i can watch movies or use it as a secondary monitor so i keep the majority of my electronics in this cabinet and in this drawer and they are locked as kind of like a little extra security measure but also to keep the drawer and door from flying open when i am driving so up here i have a mouse mouse pad keyboard this is my camera bag for my mirrorless camera this is the bag for my drone i have a gaming mouse because i'm a nerd i have some nintendo switch accessories a portable hard drive and a usb hub now this is a drawer for my laptop i need to send a quick email or whatever i can type it up really quick this is on 100 pound drawer slides so it's very sturdy and then there is a cooling fan underneath which i can turn on with this switch and i actually get enough circulation with this cooling fan that i can close the laptop close the drawer and just use this monitor so if i'm watching movies or whatever my laptop can be tucked away so this scary little cabinet is where the charger for my laptop lives the dock lives and then i have a a step down converter for the usb hub because again i don't have an inverter and that is designed to be an ac product and then this switches between my laptop and my nintendo switch in this cabinet i have some more electronics i keep my gopro and gopro accessories up here and then i have my nintendo switch and then if you look back here i have one of those third-party dc chargers for the switch and hd mic cord and i have one of those third-party docking stations that you're not supposed to use with the switch but the only approved switch dock works with ac power so i decided to risk it so i could play switch on my nice monitor over there and then this is the hangboard it's actually more functional than it looks although i still almost never use it this is my sink i have no complaints it does sync things really well this is the switch to turn on the pump and then there are lights there when the pump is on so that i absolutely cannot leave the pump on on accident this is my flame king cooktop and for what it is it works okay enough so down here below the sink i have this little cabinet where i keep some soap some cleaners and laundry detergent and then my water tank lives in here i've got a little filtrate filter to keep my water tasting fresh and then i keep my bath towel in here and here underneath the countertop there's a lot going on so let's go through this one by one this is a switch for my phone charger this turns on the audio system and this is the volume control master volume control for those just cheap computer speakers i have and then i also have a volume mixer so that my computer is always plugged in i have a bluetooth module hidden under the countertop that's always plugged into this and then i can plug in my nintendo switch into this mixer so i'm not switching inputs all the time this is an rgb dimmer control for these lights so i can have any color of the rainbow on my countertop with this control and then this just turns on these usb chargers and this 12 volt auxiliary plug this is the pull out countertop in case i need some extra counter space so really quick i wanted to show you how i have the bungees arranged when i'm driving to keep everything in place and then when i get to my destination i just quickly undo all of the bungees so now i can get to my stuff all right so continuing on we have more of these shoebox plastic containers these two bins act as my pantry space and then these four bins are my outdoor climbing gear [Music] and i can show you what's in my my pantry bin it's kind of embarrassing it's basically just candy and tea and there's i need to go grocery shopping but all of this stuff has just kind of built up over time and i haven't been able to throw any of it out yet but like i literally don't have any food that i want to eat right now and my pantry is full so i'm going to have to throw something out unfortunately and then behind these bins i have a 12-inch non-stick frying pan that i have not used yet and then i'm down to my last wag bag but i wanted to talk about this really quick because there are a lot of places where it is just not acceptable to dig a cat hole read the regulations where you're going understand where you can and cannot poop in the back country it's very important i see all kinds of toilet paper in the bushes everywhere i go and it is disgusting so i just wanted to mention that moving right along i have a frying pan down here i use this almost every day to make eggs and then i gave myself a generous space where i can stick my foot so i i don't feel constrained when i am sitting here working at my desk and then this is of course a cutting board so these two guys are tie organizers i think i got them at bed bath and beyond and they are invaluable and wow there's a lot of random stuff in here so i have grape seed oil nutritional yeast this is in microfiber cloth coffee cup salt pepper got that backwards peanut butter sun-dried tomatoes this is a wrist exerciser thing more kt tape battery bank secondary phone got a bunch of random charging cables that's an avocado garlic bowl playing cards knife sharpener harissa seasoning i probably said that wrong chili garlic sauce i use this to heat up water for tea this is all of my silverware that's a reusable shopping bag this is a measuring cup and this is to keep my soda cold and i use this to measure things and to drink out of i know you should never drink out of labware but i bought it new so don't don't do that behind the thai organizers we have more food that i'm not eating i got really into oatmeal and then as soon as i bought that big bag i got sick of it i've got tupperware which i use and then this is like my arts and crafts kit in case i want to color with some pencils or something i can do that and then here i have my van life journal where i'm recording everywhere i've been and my private thoughts on the road and then this is just a folder where i keep stuff and wait there is more kitchen stuff so we've got fire extinguisher refill for the soap i use this pot is my second most used thing a lid a plate another cutting board i usually have gallon bags in here but i'm out right now and then i have quart sized bags and then this is just like a bunch of random that's a water bottle cleaner by the way this is not used to scrub toilets it's used to grub water bottles and those of you who think this is a toilet scrubber you should clean your water bottle anyways yeah just random utensils can opener i've got chef knife paring knife and then of course trash and i use grocery bags and i just kind of stuff the spare bags in there and i forgot to mention i have the hatch for my propane locker so i can get in there and turn that off and on without getting out of my van something you should know is that if you're looking at this propane locker and thinking oh i'm going to build something like that don't do your own research figure out how it should actually be built and know the risks whatever it's a it's a can of worms next up we have this drawer which is sort of my pantry continued and then i've got water bottles some of these i pee in but some of these i don't the bananas always ride in the tortillas and that way they don't get bruised and i have crampons mountaineering boots and just random stuff in here next to that drawer is my 30 liter drawer fridge which has stuff in it um yeah and this is the final storage compartment this is a saddle brush which i use to sweep out my van and then i have ski boots which yeah also i keep my trekking poles in here i have a stunt kite in here this is a stick with a sponge zip tied to it which i use to clean my grey water tank and then i have two pairs of skis so uh yeah and they are very dusty right now holy cow unbelievable i love my skis okay it's getting dark but i just got a couple more things i want to talk about one is that my van is fully insulated so i have half inch extruded polystyrene underneath the subfloor and then pretty much everywhere else like in the doors on the walls and on the ceiling i've used sheep wool to insulate the van and these window coverings have foil inside of them so not only does that block out light but it also reflects heat so i did some testing last winter and staying warm in this van hasn't been an issue at least not yet and then these are flip out tables i use these mostly for food prep they are coated with epoxy resin and that just makes them durable and easy to wipe down and sanitize and then i can use the cooktop standing here at the back of the van which is really nice it is a little awkward though it's kind of tall taller than you would want a cooktop to be and that's just one of the compromises i had to make and that's kind of been a theme with this van is like i had to make a lot of compromises living in a smaller van and i have people asking me like max do you wish you had a bigger bed or do you wish you had a shower or a toilet or space to stand up and i think the answer to that is of course yes that would be great but i am actually really glad i chose to convert a smaller van because the benefits for me have far outweighed those minor inconveniences for one i've been able to take this van down really narrow winding paths and get to a lot of cool campsites that i wouldn't be able to get to in like a high top sprinter for example and then maintenance is cheap on this van it gets good fuel economy and i don't have a job right now so by converting and living in a smaller van i'm going to be able to travel for longer than i would be in a larger van and that alone is worth it to me and then i also feel like in a smaller van you just kind of fly under the radar i've had no problems sleeping in cities and honestly in places where i probably shouldn't be sleeping i feel like people just don't notice the smaller van it's not the most stealth setup but i think people just overlook it because it's small and then this might sound kind of weird one of the main reasons that i chose to convert a smaller van was to challenge myself i've always liked the idea of really small efficient living spaces and i looked at a lot of sprinter and promaster builds and i thought you know what i could do more with less space and so that's what i tried to do here and also it forced me to be intentional with what i bring with me i don't have a lot of unnecessary clothes or equipment everything that i bring with me gets used and so i'm not here to preach minimalism but i do think that there is something to that something to having less clutter in your life and i do feel like it brings you to a clearer headspace so that's it thank you for watching if you have any questions about my van build please feel free to leave them in the comments below and i will try to answer your questions and if there's enough interest i might do more videos on my van build because i know there's a lot of stuff that i kind of went through quickly a lot of stuff that i glossed over so there might be an opportunity for me to make another video about this build and then i'm going to continue uploading videos as i travel i'm planning to ski a bunch this winter so i'm going to be staying in mountain towns and in colder snowier areas and yeah that should be an adventure so hit the red button if you want to see more of that and then you know what else to do so yeah thanks for watching hello my name is is my charging card you

Channel: Max Out Fun

Views: 79,037

Rating: 4.9179955 out of 5

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Id: dMUawbqdSVI

Length: 26min 47sec (1607 seconds)

Published: Sun Aug 22 2021