Transcription
When I found out how much it cost to buy a camper van, I was like, "Screw that. I'm going to build my own."
We started with a completely gutted Ford Transit cargo van and covered the entire interior with some of these sound deadening sheets. We used a total of three boxes, which ended up costing us 70 bucks a piece. And I'll let you know exactly how much we spent on this entire build at the end of this video.
We ripped a bunch of 2x4s down the middle and lined the entire perimeter of the van. We used 3-in wood to metal selftapping screws to secure the 2x4s to the floor.
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For the insulation, we're using inch and 1/2 foam boards that have an R value of six. I cut the insulation down to size, spread some spray foam in between the studs, then fit the insulation into place. We ended up using four total bottles of this spray foam and 2 and 1/2 sheets of insulation. Some of the spray foam ended up expanding a little too much, so I just cut the excess off.
The next step was to install the plywood floor. So, we made a bunch of measurements and cut out this 3/4in plywood, then brought it into the van.
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Before installing it, I laid a bead of this construction adhesive on all the studs to make sure the floor doesn't squeak when you walk on it. We took our time cutting out these boards [music] because we really want them to fit nice and snug, and we really can't afford to mess them up because these plywood sheets are also really expensive. We used a total of three sheets of plywood, which ended up costing us 60 bucks a piece.
We got the subfloor finished up. Now, we're going to install these swivels on the passenger and driver seats. These are just basic swivels that we picked up on Amazon. And to install them, you basically just remove the seat, bolt the swivel down, then bolt the seat back onto the swivel, and that's it. We also connected the wires for the DC toDC charger before installing the swivel.
Once the swivels were finished up, it was time to install the insulation. We're using Thinsulate by 3M and some of this 90° adhesive. This stuff works great if you're building out a camper van because it has an R value of about 5.4. It's easy to install and ended up costing us $610 including the adhesive.
Once the insulation was finished up, it was time to start framing out the van. Because the ceiling curves in this van, we had to cut a bunch of slits into some 1x4s in order to screw them into the ceiling of the van. We then took our time using more 1x4s and 2-in selftapping screws and framed out the entire interior of the van. We had to insert the walls toward the back of the van in order to fit a bigger mattress. We ended up using 76 1x4s and a little over 400 screws, [music] which ended up costing us $362.
So, we got all the framing finished up. Now, we're going to run all this wiring behind the framing. So then we can work on the ceiling. We picked up these 2-in grommets that we're going to install right here. Then we're going to run the wires through so the sharp metal doesn't cut the wires. After drilling the hole, I filed down some of the sharp edges to make sure that the grommet doesn't wear out over time. We then ran wires for the rest of the day. And my wife had a notepad to help us stay organized, which really helped a lot. 90% of all the wiring in this van is going to run off of 12 volts. And we used a mixture of 16 [music] gauge and 18 gauge wires for most of the smaller appliances. And for some of the other things that are going to run on 120 volts, we used some of this 122 stranded wire. And we basically spent the rest of the night running wires until it got dark.
The next day, we started by taping the outside of the van so we can drill some holes for our shore power connection. We're drilling two because one is going to be for shore power and the other is going to be for a exterior outlet. after two long days of work, we finally got all the wires ran inside of the wall. Now, all of the switches are going to be located right here. And the Touch 70 from Victron is also going to be here, so he can monitor all his water tank levels and the battery percentage.
We picked up some sheets of 1/4-in plywood so we can install the ceiling. We took our time measuring and cutting out the plywood because each sheet ended up costing us $45. And seeing that we spent almost $200 on ceiling panels, we really didn't want to mess this thing up. We brought the sheets into the van one by one to make sure they fit nice and snug. Screwed them in, then repeated the same process over and over until all the ceiling panels were completely installed.
Once we finished installing all the ceiling panels, it was time to paint it. We just ended up using some cheaper paint because this entire ceiling is going to have slats, so you're barely going to see it. We measured and cut out a bunch of 2 by twos, then started to put together the framing. We brought the frames into the van, made sure they were plum and square, then screwed them [music] into place. Since this bathroom is going to be in a camper van, it's going to be small. But when you're camping in the middle of nowhere, this small bathroom will be super luxurious because you'll be able to take a nice hot shower when there's nothing else around.
The next day, we picked up a bunch of 12t pine slats so we can finish up the ceiling. Hope went to town sanding and staining them, which we had to get a special color made to match the floor at floors that we're going to be installing in this camper. Later on in the video, we used wood glue and 18 gauge finish nails to secure them to the ceiling and used a 1-in spacer to space them evenly apart. And basically repeated the same process over and over until the entire ceiling was completely covered.
We next picked up some Cobb LED strips and use superlue to adhere them in between the slats to finally light up this van. We needed a total of five LED strips which cost us 17 bucks a piece. [music] But I love these Cobb LEDs compared to other LED strips that show a bunch of dots. These just show one continuous light, which looks a lot better in my opinion. Once they were installed, we connected all the wires to some lever nuts, then ran a positive and negative wire down to the batteries to make sure they worked, and that was it.
The Max Air fan came with the white cover, so we spray painted it black to match the rest of the black finishes that we plan on installing throughout the rest of this build. We next installed the divider and the cover to the air conditioner, which is also black to match the Max Air fan cover. And at this point, the entire ceiling was about 90% complete.
We picked up some of this cabinet [music] grade 3/4in plywood, so we can start to build the cabinets. I cut out my pieces with my rip cut jig that I got from Craig. Then edgebanded all the edges that would be [music] exposed. To connect all my pieces, I had to drill some pocket holes. So, we picked up Craig's brand new Ionic Drive Rebel pocket hole joiner to make our holes. It's completely adjustable and can drill holes and boards that are/ in thick all the way up to an inch and a half. It's got multiple adjustments for different size bits, micro adjustments for different wood thicknesses. It runs on [music] a 20 volt Blue ion Craig battery. The bottom has a grip so it doesn't slip. These extendable [music] feet allow you to work on smaller pieces, and you can also connect it to a vacuum.
After drilling all of our pocket holes, we used some wood glue and started assembling all of our pieces together. Once the cabinet frame was finished up, we spent an entire 8-hour day making all the cabinet faces. We had to drill holes in all the cabinet faces for the hinges. So, we used Craig's hinge jig, which works [music] really well. I then sanded the crap out of all the cabinet faces and we brought [music] the entire cabinet into the van to install it temporarily to make sure it fits, but we'll be taking it back down to paint it later on in the video.
So, I'm about to cut out the tow kicks for my cabinet, and I'm going to use this Craig jigsaw right here to cut them out. But what's cool is if you click this button, it'll blow air out the front, so it can move all the sawdust out of the way so you can see your line. It also has this attachment that clips onto the back like this. So, if you don't want it to blow air out the front, it'll suck it through a vacuum. This jigsaw also uses the same battery as Craig's other [music] power tools, which is really convenient when swapping back and forth. Craig also offers power tools and jigs to help simplify any woodworking project, like this track saw, and even its own impact drivers and cordless drills. I've been using these Craig products every day for over 3 months straight, and I got to say, I'm really happy with the overall quality of these products. I'm going to link them down in the description below just in case you want to get your own.
We spent about 7 days building out our cabinets and used a total of six sheets of 3/4in plywood, which ended up costing us $90 a piece. [music]
We then had to build our drawers. So, we cut a/4-in dado into the bottom of all the pieces, which will allow us to slide a piece of 1/4-in [music] plywood into the grooves, allowing us to make the bottom of the drawers. To assemble the drawer, we used wood glue and 18 gauge finish nails. Slit our 1/4-in plywood into the grooves that we made earlier. Then, before capping off the front, we had to make a cutout for our RV Labs locking latches. These latches are really cool because they lock the cabinets into place. They work as a handle and they look really nice, too. Since the latch needs something to grab on, we cut out these pieces of wood and installed this piece of plastic that it came with to allow the latch to have something to clip onto.
Before installing the latches, we had to install the drawers. [music] So, we went ahead and screwed on our soft closing drawer slides, then installed the drawers and repeated the same process over and over until all the drawers were completely installed. In one of the top drawers, we decided to install dividers because it'll work perfect for utensils.
We then used our tracksaw to cut down a bunch of 3/4in pieces of plywood, which will end up working as our cabinet faces. I screwed the cabinet face to the drawer, then put the RV locking lab into the notch that we made earlier and screwed it into place. These locking latches are a little more work to install, but seeing they're the lock and the latch, it really makes these cabinets feel a lot more professional and heavy duty. They'll definitely keep the drawers closed while the van is moving around. and I'm going to link them in the description below just in case you guys want to get some for your own build.
I then had my son get off his video games and come help out with the cabinet because kids these days don't have much access to woodworking classes and I think it's important for him to learn a little bit about carpentry. Now that the cabinets were completely installed, we had to take the faces back off so we can prime them and get them ready for paint.
Once one side of all the cabinet faces was completely primed, we picked up these triangle drying thingies off of Amazon and stacked up all the pieces of wood on top of each other. These are pretty cool cuz they allow you to stack all the pieces of wood on top of each other to save a ton of space in the shop so you don't have wood laying around all over the place.
>> [music] >> The next day, we got straight to work. We filled our spray gun with some of the Sherwin William cabinet paint, mixed it with a little bit of thinner, brought the cabinets outside, and went to town painting all of the pieces. Now, we picked an off-white color for the cabinets, and since the primer was white, it looks like we're not even painting the cabinets in this video, but believe me, we are. We spent a total of $228 to completely paint these cabinets, which does include the primer, the paint rollers, spray gun, masking tape, and all the paint. We had to let the cabinets dry for a couple days before installing them. So, we moved on to the next step of the build.
I had to frame in part of the shower wall so we can install the water tank. This water tank is really cool because it has a cutout for the wheel well, which saves a ton of space when you're building out a van. To strap the tank down, we're using some of these airliner tracks. We screwed them into the floor and used the 750lb ratchet strap to tie it down.
We next unrolled some PEX so we can run it into the shower. Now, we're not installing all of the plumbing right now. We just decided to run the PEX into the shower because we need to install the cabinets and all the PEX is going to run behind the cabinets. So, it's going to be easier to do so before installing them.
We brought the cabinets into the van one by one and secured them to the framing to make sure that they don't move or rattle. We carefully brought the fridge into the van, wired it up, then carefully slid it into the cabinet. This is the 12vt fridge that can also run on 120 volts. And sliding it into the cabinet was really nerve-wracking because if the cabinet was built just a/4 of an inch off, the fridge wouldn't have fit and we would have been completely screwed. But luckily, it fit perfectly and we were able to move on to the next step of the build.
Since the microwave is going above the fridge, we had to install a 120 volt outlet inside of the cabinet. To secure the microwave, we had to get creative. So, we screwed these ring hooks into a piece of 3/4in plywood, put the microwave in between it, then screwed through the ring hooks into the microwave so it doesn't move.
We wanted to install an LED strip onto the upper cabinets that we made. So, we picked up this LED track that we can install onto the bottom of the cabinet. We drilled a hole for the 12vt wire to come through, then put the track into place and screwed it down. We slid the positive and negative wires from the LED strip into the hole, then stuck the LED strip on the inside of the track. Once the LED track was installed, we brought the cabinet into the van and got it installed.
>> [music] >> We next had to install the Touch70 screen from Victron, which will allow us to see how much battery percentage we have left and how much water is left in the tanks. I'll come back and wire it up later on in the video. So the cabinet doors can stay open, we had to install some struts. So we picked up these adjustable struts that are pretty simple to screw on. And we installed one onto each door.
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Once the upper cabinets were installed, it was time to install the bottom ones. So, we brought them into the van and screwed them directly to the framing and to the floor to make sure they don't move and also don't rattle. We next drilled some holes into the cabinet so we can run all of our PEX plumbing, which will go [music] to the sink. I also installed a 120 volt outlet under the sink, which will be for the water filter that we'll install later on in the video. Once that was done, we went ahead and installed all of our cabinet faces and our RV Labs locking latches. At this point in the build, it had been 3 months since the start of the project, so getting the cabinets installed was a big relief.
We next wanted to install some of the interior walls to the shower, but first we had to install the mixer valve. We got all of our plumbing products from plumbingell.com, which we'll talk about later on in the video, and wrapped all of our fittings with Teflon tape before [music] installing all of our PEX fittings. We used PEXB and brass fittings for all of the plumbing in this camper, which will allow it to be a lot more durable over time.
>> [music] >> We next cut out a few pieces of plywood and sheathed the entire interior of the shower. At this point in the project, we still hadn't received the PVC shower board walls in the mail, so we just moved on to the next step. We cut out a piece of 3/4in plywood and slid all of our wires through it because this is the wall that's going to hold all of our electrical components. We then installed the divider that will separate the bed area from the rest of the van and screwed it into place.
Before continuing on, we had to install the flooring. So, we picked up this luxury vinyl plank that's made by Fuette. Measured, cut them down to size and started installing them into the van. If you notice that I'm installing this flooring directly on top of the subfloor, that's because it comes with its own built-in underllayment, which makes it a lot easier to install. For this build, we chose the color Auburn Signature, but they also offer many other colors that come in their sample kits, which makes it a lot easier to pick which color floor you want. If you guys have been watching this channel for a while, you know that we only use floorings in all of our builds because of how durable and affordable they are. This flooring is pet friendly, [music] scratchresistant, it's super easy to install, and it's 100% waterproof. Since the footprint of this van is so small, the flooring is going to have a lot of in-n-out traffic. So, this flooring comes with a 40 mil wear layer, which is made just for that. These planks are 9 in wide by 72 in long, which is massive compared to other flooring options. We chose a micro bevel option to make the planks look seamless, but they also offer an enhanced bevel option. It took us about 3 hours to install all the flooring into this camper with literally no hiccups. This flooring is no joke. I stand by it 100%. If you guys want to get some, I'm going to link them in the description below with a 50% off discount from your sample kit.
It was next time to install the electrical system, and I really wanted it to be a show piece, so I picked up these white peg boards so I can install all the electrical components to them. I screwed on bolts where each component will connect to, then screwed the pegboards into the back side of the van. Once the pegboards were connected, I started by installing the link distributor, which is basically a big bus bar that also has fuses built in. I then connected the 12volt fuse panel, the DC/DC charger, and the lead time solar controller. I left enough space in between the components so I can fit the wire organizer tracks because all the wires are going to run inside of these tracks to keep things looking nice and aesthetically pleasing.
I then started organizing my wires one by one and connected the first wires to the lead time solar controller. These wires are connected directly to the solar panels and I just cut and crimped them with these fererals. then connected the negative and positive wires to the input on the MPPPT solar controller. I then ran an additional negative and positive wire from the solar controller to the links distributor which will hold the fuse for the solar panels. [music] I added ring terminals and shrink wrap to the other end and connected them to the links distributor. [music]
Once that was connected, I installed more of these organizer tracks so I can get all the wires from the other side of the van to this side of the electrical system. [music] I used zip ties to try and keep everything as organized as possible. Then connected the track faces, which I really love the way they were looking. Once this massive braid of wires was on the other side of the van, it was time to connect every wire to the 12vt fuse panel. To install the wires, I'm using these 16x4 AUG ring terminals and connecting each wire to [music] the fuse panel one by one and writing down where they go so I can come back later on in the video and connect labels to them. This was really timeconuming to do, but I really wanted this electrical system to be almost like a showpiece for this van. So, I took my time to wire up every single one and keep them as organized as possible.
Once they were all connected, I capped off the wire tracks and went ahead and started installing the DC toDC charger. This thing basically takes energy from the alternator of the van and charges the van batteries. [music] To connect all the ring terminals to the wires, I'm using these crimpers right here that I bought on Amazon, which I'll link in the description below with everything else that I'm using throughout this entire build. I ran wires from the alternator to the DC charger. Then from the DC charger to the links distributor.
Once that was done, it was time to connect the wires to the shut off switch, which basically shuts the entire system on and off. I connected larger 02 gauge cables to it because these cables are going to run from the batteries to the links distributor and will carry the heaviest load. I also connected a class D fuse in between them for some extra safety. I then ran the 02 gauge negative and positive cables to where the batteries would go. [music]
For the batteries, we're installing eight of these 100 amp 12vt smart complex lithium batteries from Letime. You can connect up to 16 batteries in parallel. And the allnew 5.0 BMS has over 20 protection features like low temperature cut off and overload protection for extra safety. They also have high precision Bluetooth to check the battery system in real time. To connect all the batteries together, I used one gauge wire and shrink wrapped and crimped every single one, which ended up taking me a really long time, but it'll be totally worth it in the end. These batteries are a plug-and-play system that connect directly with Victron components. And the [music] lead time app also gives you precise battery information like battery voltage, temperature, and even a remote on andoff switch. What's really cool about these lithium batteries is that you can connect them to a Serbo GX, which is basically a smart control hub that allows you to connect them to a screen, which will give you all type of information about the batteries and other electrical components that you have in your camper van. I connected this blue Ethernet cable to the batteries, then connected the communication cables to each battery so they can talk to each other. The other side of the blue Ethernet cable is going to connect directly to the Serbo GX. And I installed a terminator to the other side of it for a good connection. then connected the USB and HDMI cable that connects directly to the screen to let you know exactly how much battery percentage you have left. I'm going to link these lead time smart complex batteries in the description below along with the Serbo GX monitor and everything you need to build your own system.
I next installed the 120 volt breaker panel which basically connects to all the 120 volt outlets in this van. And the other side is going to connect to the inverter charger. [music] Once I finished wiring it up and installing the breakers, I screwed on the cover, then added another two lithium batteries to the top of my system to equal to a total of 800 amp hours of lithium power. I strapped them down, finished wiring them up, then started capping off all of my wire track organizers cuz this electrical system was almost done.
>> [music] [music] >> I then tightened everything down, installed the cover to the links distributor and the 12vt fuse panels, but I had to figure out a way to protect this electrical system without covering it because this was meant to be the showpiece of this van. So, I picked up some plexiglass so I can make some small sliding doors to allow the electrical system to still be visible.
>> [music] >> I basically made a frame with some dos so this plexiglass can slide in between it so it can open and close just in case the electrical system needs to be worked on. I also installed an LED track on the inside of it to light up the entire [music] system if we need to. I then brought it into the van and screwed it into place.
So, I just finished cutting out this piece of wood that I'm going to install on the battery box. And what is basically going to happen is that we're going to put two computer fans right here and a switch right here so we can turn it on when it's really hot outside to help cool down the battery system. These are 12vt fans that I picked up on Amazon and they're actually really powerful. In the summertime when this electrical system is charging and discharging, it's going to get really hot. So, these fans are definitely going to help keep the entire system nice and cool.
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All right, so we just finished installing all of this electrical right here, and I love the way it looks. Now, we're going to install this monster of an inverter. It's going to go right here like this. So, this is not just an inverter. This is an inverter charger, which basically means that you can charge all the batteries with the inverter, and it will invert the energy from 12 volts to 120 volts. This specific unit has a dip switch to let you know what type of batteries you have. It also has overload protection, over temperature protection, a flow charge, and it also lets you know if you're on grid, and if the inverter is on as well. To install it, you basically connect the 120 volt wires from your shore power connection and the other side will go to the breaker panel that we installed earlier.
We next crimped ring terminals and shrink wrapped the wires, then connected them to the inverter. This inverter requires you to connect it to the chassis of the vehicle for grounding. So, I just drilled a hole through the floor and connected a wire from the ground of the inverter to the chassis of the van. Lastly, I connected the remote control to turn the inverter on and off. And that was it. Now, for the price, we ended up spending $6,598 on this entire electrical system, which in my opinion isn't too bad.
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We wanted to make some nice headboards for both sides of the bed, so we picked up some sheets of quarter-in plywood and cut them down to size. We wanted them to be padded, so we picked up some batting and some vinyl. [music] We cut the batting down to size and used some of this 3M adhesive to stick the batting to the plywood. At the time of filming, it was cold as hell and about 19° outside. And this adhesive smells terrible, so we took turns going outside so we can breathe, so we don't die from breathing in the fumes from this wonderful adhesive. We wrapped the vinyl around the wood nice and tight and used these small staples so they won't go through. Cut off the excess and repeated the process a couple times till we had two of them. Before installing them, we stapled on this Velcro to allow them to stick to the wall. We then installed them into the van, and that was it.
Now, we're going to install this WBasto heater right here underneath the bench. And we need to drill this 4-in hole right here. Not sketchy at all when you're drilling into a $100,000 van. This little heater has an exhaust, intake, and exhaust fan. And what's really cool about it is that it runs off of the gasoline from the van, so you can run it for a long period of time. To install it, I just drilled a 4-in hole through the entire van, and I made my own custom heat shield from a dryer vent to protect the floor from the exhaust of the heater. I then slid the hoses through the floor with them pre-connected to the heater, bolted the bracket down, and wired it up. We next crawled under the van so we can lower the fuel tank so we can connect the fuel line from the heater to the tank.
So, after two long miserable days being underneath the van, we finally got the Wabasto heater installed. Now, I'm going to climb under there and show you guys how this thing turned out. So, the reason this was such a pain in the ass to install is because we had to run the exhaust through all of these chassis rails all the way to the back over there because this is where the water tank is going to be mounted under and we didn't want the exhaust to be in the way. So, we have the heater completely installed and wired up on the inside of the van. Now, we're going to go ahead and mess around with this thermostat to make sure that the heater works properly. Then, we're going to shiplap this wall right here because this is where some switches and the thermostat is going to go.
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So, I'm installing the ship lab and I realized that if I put the thermostat on this wall right here, [music] the exhaust from the heater is going to come out in the same spot. And basically the heat's just going to rise into the thermostat. So it [music] won't be able to properly heat the van. So I had to just rearrange everything and take apart the shower boards. And I ran the wire through there, up through there, and out [music] through there so the thermostat can be on this side of the wall right here, which will allow [music] the van to properly heat up. Once I made sure the thermostat was connected and worked, I spent the rest of the day shiplapping the rest of the wall.
We wanted to [music] make a bench that can not only work as seating, but also cover the wobbasto heater and work as some storage. [music] We used wood glue and Craig pocket screws to put it together to make sure it's as sturdy as possible because this thing is obviously going in the van and we don't want it to fall apart over time. The top of this bench is going to open like a chest. So, we added a panel hinge so it can open and close. We then sanded, painted it, and brought it into the van to get it installed. [music]
We slid the wires into the bench that connect the thermostat to the Wobbasto heater. Then connected the pipe for the exhaust. And on the outside of the bench, we connected the plastic vent, which you can twist to angle the air in different directions. We didn't want to just install a bench with a flat back, so we cut out some triangle pieces to make the back of the bench angled so it's a little more comfortable to sit on. We finished it off by cocking all the edges, painting it, and that was it.
Now that the bench was completely installed, it was time to install some plumbing. We're installing PEX B and brass fittings in this entire van to make sure this thing doesn't leak and can withstand colder temperatures. We made sure everything was crimped and fastened down properly so the pipes don't move around over time. And we got all this PEX and plumbing products from plumbingell.com, which is a lot easier to just shop online for everything that you need and it just shows up at your doorstep. So you don't need to take a 100 different trips to the hardware store to get what you need. They offer PEX, brass fittings, copper fittings, ball valves, PVC valves, dishwasher hoses, tool accessories, and pretty much anything that you need for a plumbing project that you have going on right now. I use them for all my camper van builds, and I'm going to link them in the description below just in case you want to get your own plumbing products.
To pump the water from the freshwater tank to the shower and sink, we're installing this 3.0 0 gpm water pump that runs [music] on 12 volts. We installed the shut off valve in between the freshwater tank and the pump. Then finished connecting all of the pecs. We then brought in the water heater and got it installed. We got this extra tank that goes where the spare tire goes. And what's basically going to happen is that we're going to take this pump right here that's going to suck the water out of that tank to then pump it into this tank. So then this pump right here can pump the water from this tank into the water heater and he'll have water. That's kind of complicated. So in other words, there's going to be two freshwater tanks and two gray water tanks. That's a lot of tanks, huh? [music] This is the spare tire. So now when the tire pops, there'll be a water tank to replace the tire with. After removing the spare tire, we mounted on the second fresh water tank, which was pretty easy to install. We got the water heater and both of the water pumps installed. Now, to be able to find out how much water is in the tank, we're going to use this this sea level sensor right here that sticks right here. And then this black wire is going to send a signal to the Serbo GX monitor, which will let us know how much water is left in the tank. After sticking on the sea level sensor, we wired it up and all the plumbing was completely finished up.
It was finally time to install the shower. So, we spread some spray foam, which will work as an adhesive so we can glue down the shower pan. I next picked up a few bottles of this Max Strength Gorilla Glue adhesive, and spread a [music] thick bead on the entire back wall so we can install the back shower panel. I used the foam roller to spread out the adhesive evenly so that when we install the shower panels, it gives a nice strong bond and doesn't come off over time. We slid the 12vt wire through the panel before gluing it on. And we had to make sure that these cuts were made perfectly because these shower walls weren't cheap. We then glued on the other two panels and let them sit overnight.
The next day, we cut out a piece of 1/2-in PVC board that we're going to use as the ceiling. We glued it on, then added some PVC trim around all the edges, nailed them in, then added some cocking to give it a nice finished look.
>> [music] >> It was next time to install the LED strip, but we first screwed on an LED track, slid the wire through it, then crimped down the LED, and got it installed. Woo! That is beautiful. Looks great. Once the LED track was installed, it was finally time to connect the shower head and mixer valve. [music]
So, instead of installing a shower curtain for the shower door, we picked up this Nautilus retractable door that's really cool because when you open and close it, it comes with a built-in squeegee to dry the door. This thing weighs less than 10 lbs and the screen is made out of an antimicrobial material to help prevent mold and mildew from growing. You basically just send the measurements to the company and they cut the height. Then you can go ahead and cut the width and you have yourself a nice retractable shower door. The door comes with this heavyduty adhesive strip that you stick directly onto your shower wall. Then you just install the other side which basically keeps the door open. It came with these side rails that you cut to size and you install it at the top and the bottom so the track has something to roll along against like inside of this little track thing right here. You'll see in a minute. So, this thing right here goes inside of this little track so it can slide back and forth when you open the door. So to install it, you just put this little piece of plastic in [music] the track. Then put it into this piece right here. And then this side just clicks into place like this. I got these stainless [music] steel screws that I'm going to go ahead and screw in like this. That'll help keep the uh screen together. The shower door comes with this built-in squeegee, which basically dries the door every time you open it. It can also be easily replaced just in case it breaks. And for some of the final touches, we went ahead and used some of this [music] waterproof cocking around all the inside edges. I then trimmed off the outside of the shower. I'm going to link this Nautilus retractable door in the description below just in case you guys want to get your own.
I have this water tank on top of me that we're now going to install underneath the van like this and it came with these brackets right here that basically hold up the tank. So now we're going to drill some holes and get it installed. Now that the water tank is mounted, we're going to connect this valve right here that opens and closes with the click of a button so we can dump the gray water tanks automatically from the inside of the van. This was pretty straightforward to do. I just screwed it onto the tank, wired it up to a switch, and that was it. While I was down there, I stuck on one of these sea level pads to find out how much water is inside of the tank. I wired up that pad to the other water tanks, and all the tanks were completely installed.
We cut out some pieces of 3/4in plywood so we can cover up some of the electrical components that are going to go under the bed. I also installed a second battery monitor underneath the bed so that you don't need to go all the way around the van if you're working on the electrical system and you need to know any battery information. We also cut out some panels so we can cover up the water heater and some of the plumbing. This will make sure that anything that gets stored underneath the bed doesn't interfere with any of these components. I wired up the water heater switch, water pump switch, and the water inlet onto this back panel.
Once that was done, we installed the trim pieces on the back door panels, which took us a long time to figure out the measurements. If you guys want to get these measurements, send us an email and we'll send you them. As soon as the Cory and countertops came in the mail, we wasted no time and got them installed. We fitted into place, screwed it into the cabinets, then immediately started installing our shiplap wall. We also took our time to make a spice rack that's made out of black walnut to match the ceiling and the floor. We finished installing the shiplap, then wired up all of our switches for all the exterior and interior lighting. We then wired up and installed the kitchen outlet, painted the walls, and installed the inverter charger controller.
We're now going to install this water drop water filtration system in the camper because when you're on the road, you get water from some sketchy places. And what's cool about this thing is that it has a water pump and a built-in UV light to give you 99.9% clean water. The front has a built-in screen to let you know when to replace your filters. And the top has a built-in pump and UV light to give you constant water pressure and clean drinking water. It's pretty straightforward to install. You just mount it onto the inside of your cabinet. It comes with all the hoses that you need to install to your freshwater, sink, and wastewater. It comes with three different filters that offer a nine-stage filtration to get rid of things like chlorine, heavy metals, PFOAs, bad odors, and other harmful contaminants from filling up at random spots when you're traveling. [music] It's also really compact, which is perfect for when you're fitting it into a small camper van cabinet.
We next installed the sink and made our measurements so we can install both of our faucets. The water drop filtration system came with a guide so we know how big to cut our hole. After drilling the holes, we removed the masking tape and installed both faucets. We connected the water line for the water filter, connected the power, then ran the plumbing from the sink drain to the tank that's underneath the vent. Since the water filter makes waste water, it comes with this bracket where you can attach the waste water line to the sink drain. This water filter puts minerals back into the water, which makes it healthier and tastes better. This is a water drop T3M450G. I'm going to link it in the description below just in case you want to get your own.
For the toilet, we're going to be installing this Cuy compost toilet that's going to live in the shower. This is a compost toilet and a urine diverting toilet. The solids go inside here, the liquids go in here, and it has a light right here to let you know when the liquids tank is full. Now, you can lift this right here to give you access to both of your tanks. You can remove the liquids tank, and it comes with this lid right here where you can close it. So you can take it to like a restroom to empty it. Then the front of the toilet has this lever that you can spin to aggravate the compost and you can remove the compost bin and easily bring it outside so you can empty it if you have to. Then inside of the unit there's this 12vt fan that pushes air through here up through this carbon filter to help dry out the compost to reduce the smells. And it also has a feature where you can vent it to the outside. The back of it has a plug where you can plug it in. And in this van, we went ahead and installed that waterproof connection right there where this can be plugged into. And then when you're not using it, you can just unplug it and take the entire toilet out of the shower so you can shower. Then you can just put it back in whenever uh you want to use it.
We picked up these brackets so that we can install a flipup countertop so that we can have the most amount of counter space. We got it made the same material of the countertops. And if you're wondering where we got these countertops from, I'm going to link it in the description below. And no, it's not sponsored, but might as well just give them the business anyways.
We wanted to make a nice backsplash in the kitchen. So, I picked up these tiles and cut them out. Instead of installing it directly onto the wall of the van, we cut out a piece of 1/4in plywood and stuck the tiles onto there. I framed it out with my tile trim, then used the triel to spread out all of the mortar. I then just installed the tile, let it dry overnight, [music] then grouted it the next day. We did let the grout dry over the weekend before installing it into the van. And to do so, we just used some good construction adhesive and stuck it to the wall. We then finished it with some cocking and that was it.
I picked up this piece of butcher block that can go along with the bench that we made earlier so it can have a small swivel table. I stained it the same color of the ceiling and the floor. Then installed the Lagoon table mount to the table and the bench. [music] We then did some trim work to match the slats of the ceiling and installed screens on the side and back door. [music]
We next wired up the wires to the Starlink router, and it didn't come with any mounting brackets, so I just made my own. We next finished framing out the bed frame and pretty much used some 2x4s for it. Then we installed some 3/4in plywood on top of it, which [music] some of it's going to be able to be removed so we can access the batteries and the plumbing system.
Before installing the mattress, we had to cut it to size. So, we took it out of the box and removed the mattress cover. >> [music] >> I triple checked all my measurements before cutting it and used this hot knife that I found on Amazon to cut it. This thing cuts through foam like butter, but smokes like crazy. So, wear a mask or hold your breath. And yes, I'm going to link it in the description below. But after cutting out the mattress, we installed the mattress cover back on it and fit it into the van. >> [music] >>
After installing the mattress, we gave the van a really good cleaning cuz it had been sitting for the past 4 months collecting leaves, dust, dirt, and a bunch of sawdust from the build. But then just like that, the entire camper van was completely finished up. [music]
We built this van out for a client and it took us just over four months to complete from start to finish. The client ended up paying a total of $81,000 including everything you see in this video. And we're currently building out a warehouse so we can build more camper vans like this. If you're interested in getting a custom build from us, send us an email and we'll get back to you as soon as we can. But thank you so much for watching and we'll see you in the next video.
[music] Hey. Hey. Hey. [music] >> [music] >> Heat. Heat. [music] Heat. Heat. N. Are you ready? [music] [music] Heat. [music] Heat. Hello. Heat.