Ok! I have a first version of my van on the garage floor. The next steps are to run a few more in-wall cables, install the assemblies (fuse box, switches, blower pots, etc.) that fasten to wall panels, and then button her up.
Once that's done, it's time to start building furniture! Right now I have only a bed and everything else is in stacked bins. It'll be wonderful to have a work surface, drawers, a water faucet, and mounts for the van LAN boxen.
#vanLife #vanBuild

It's custom cable day here so out comes the terminal hardware assortments, the weird crimper tooling, and the general fear that everything will catch on fire forever.
#vanBuild #vanLife

The year is 2025. I am stringing cables in my camper van, mostly for power but also one run of Ethernet, a tech invented (not by me, obs) in my old lab in the 70s.
It's a funny ol' world.
#vanBuild #oldFart

I wonder why more solo van builders who are short enough to fit in side-to-side beds don't use cab bunks that fit over the front driver and passenger seats. The cab is often wasted space when not driving and putting the bed there opens up the cargo area quite a bit. The A and B columns can support the weight, I think.
I'm too tall so I have a front-to-back bed / bench seat. The front passenger seat swivels to create another place to sit when it's raining and cold.
#vanBuild #vanLife

My current van build is not so much a camper conversion as a pod hotel transition.
- no shower
- emergency-only toilet
- too short to stand
- comfy bed
- capable kitchen
- relatively low cost
- best for one human
#vanBuild #vanLife #vanPod

You may not like it but this is what peak productivity looks like.
#vanLife #vanBuild #nowWhereDidIPutThat

I watched a van conversion video in which the builder installed a two meter by half meter granite countertop. It's a solid thirty centimeters thick and they could barely lift it during installation.
Also, every other surface is 20mm hardwood ply.
The builder lost their home and so was making the best of it. I do understand the urge to make the van feel like a "real home" by reproducing house construction.
That said, I couldn't deal with the extra fuel costs and wear on the engine.
#vanBuild

My van's roof rack arrived this morning, destined to hold a couple of solar panels, a couple of traction recovery boards, and a box to hold dog poop bags so when I'm in "pack it out" locales the s don't ripen the atmosphere where I sleep.
Also, it's funny to think of someone checking the box for stealables.
#vanLife #vanBuild

An old timer telling my whippersnapper how it goes. Know when to hold 'em and all that jazz.
#vanLife #vanBuild

I sketched the interior of a Ford Transit low roof 130" wheelbase cargo van and how I'm thinking about building it out as a living space. There's a long benchseat slash bed (in blue), a work surface (also blue, but higher and shorter), and a garage area in the rear that also provides shelving inside the living space.
The second image shows the rear garage area with a power bank, a heater, and an air conditioner.
The third image shows two smol dog beds in green.
#vanLife #vanBuild #FreeCAD

So, Dad bought this van for me, putting me on the hook for $3500 back to him. It wasn't quiet what I wanted and didn't want to ourchase. But Dad has always been one to do something anyways.

It's how we ended up learning to Scuba dive in junior high.

So here is the exterior of the 1999 Chevrolet Express 1500 van. I am starting gathering information.

#Vanlife
#VanBuild