Our story
In March 2021, Katie and I purchased a van to convert for camping and road trips. Our goal has been not to build a full-time live in van, but something that will keep us comfortable while driving and sleeping on multi-day trips.
We explored different vans, including renting camper vans and even renting a minivan and building a temporary bed platform to use for a trip. The Ford Transit van seemed to be the best option.
After a bit of searching, we found a 2016 Ford Transit 350 XLT with 42k miles on it. The roof height is standard, but it’s as long as they come. The price was higher than we hoped for, but it seemed to be a good van. We opted for a passenger van over a cargo van.
As it turned out, we bought just in time. The “van life” phenomena escalated during COVID-19, and the Kelly Blue Book value for our van (without counting in our modifications and including the the 20k miles we have put on it) is now about 75% higher than our purchase price. Sometimes you get lucky and buy at the right time.
Why this blog?
My posts are designed to provide folks with insights to our conversion and modifications. I’ll include details of all the conversions, tips of our successes as well as lessons from mistakes we made. I’ll also include links to YouTube videos that I found helpful—there are so many to look through I’ll try to save you some time by sharing the ones I found most valuable.
Modifications
As I generate posts of our modifications, I’ll add links below.
- Insulation
- Roof rack
- Solar panels
- Electrical improvements
- Folding bed
- Insulation and fan installation
- Sink and counter
- Keeping foods cold: Refrigerator and cooler
- Water plumbing
- Toilet
- Heating and cooling
- Passenger seat swivel
- Remote rear view mirror
- Fuel efficiency
- Navigation system (Android tablet based).
Selling the van?
At some point, we may opt to sell the van, and if we do these pages will document all the modifications. I’m 6’3″ (190 cm), and would love to eventually have a van I can stand up in. If you fall in love with our van and want to make us a high offer, you might be able to convince us to sell to you (we’re near Sacramento, CA if you’d like to see it).
So, no, we’re not currently looking to sell it, but could be convinced to do so if the offer is high enough 🙂
