Only six have ever been made of this generation so it was pretty cool seeing one in person.

Long story short, I had to move into my 1980s rv this week and as you can see it needs a lot of work.. the refrigerator is toast, stove works so that’s good. Water is all good too. Ideally I’d like to change the bathroom into one single room and do a kind of Japanese style bathroom where the shower, toilet and sink and all in the same room and there’s just a drain in the middle. It’s kind of crammed in here but idk. I figured who better to ask than you guys! I don’t have any family anymore and all of my friends are states away so I’m kind of on my own here. I’m currently I’m sleeping above the cab.

Just a quick question, where do you fill your water jugs when you’re on the road. Trying to think, hose at a gas station? Sink somewhere? Get jugs of water at Walmart? Just going to get a couple of 5 gallon jugs and got to wondering where to fill them up when I’m on the road . .

I'm having a problem with my 12V 280Ah LiFePO4 Bluetooth battery and it's utterly ruining our trip right now. I've spent the first two days of it in a car park crawling around checking every part of the electrical system, but everything gives the values expected.

The battery app is permanently showing Standby, 98%, 0 A and 0 W. In two full days of testing and running differently loads from different places, these values haven't changed at all in the app. I have power but only when the sun is on the solar panels. Cover them and everything goes black, so nothing everything or night.

I found another owner who had the same issue and fixed it by getting into advanced settings in the app and turning charge and discharge off, waiting 10secs, then turning it back on. Didn't work for me though.

Any ideas how to get this brand new battery working?

Is this a software bug that could be updated so it doesn't happen again?

Any ideas where you might find a consistent charge at 12v 20a for 10hrs in Portugal?

I saw someone post some Honda Odyssey pictures today, and it got me wondering if there is a Ford Transit of minivans. What's your opinion?

What size should I get for a grey water tank? Its just me and my cat and I don't have a shower set up. I was wanting to be able to stay off grid for about 2 weeks. I saw a 26 gallon one and a 36 gallon one but I wasn't sure how much water is typically used for a 2 week span.

Hi,

I have a SWB mk2 ford transit connect and I'm feeling a little stuck with my build at the moment.

I'm building the van so I can go places when my dog. So far, she's been travelling in the front seat with a crash tested harness and the airbag disabled. But in the interest of her safety i've bought a crash tested crate.

The problem is, the crate is too high to fit under the bed (I have a standard sliding bed atm) and too wide to sit in the leftover floor space. I'm thinking of shortening the width of the bed so I can sit the crate next to the bed when it's in the bench mode but this means I can't extend the bed out. I could sit the crate on top of the folded down passenger seat at night - but that would mean the crate not being permanently fixed to the ground.

I've thought about rebuilding the whole bed and putting in a fixed small double in the back so the crate can be securely fixed underneath. The crates 66cm high, the max height of the van about 125cm so that leaves me with almost no headroom after insulation and panelling has been installed.

Any ideas? Really I need a bigger van haha but that's not an option. Open to any suggestions that don't involve changing vehicle or subbing dog crate for a harness clipped to the back. My primary goal is to keep my dog safe whilst also having a decent sized bed to sleep in.

I have a 2022 Thor Sanctuary 19L that I recently spent $83,000 renovating. My current GEICO policy pays the RV’s actual cash value if it’s totaled, so I’m looking for a policy that would account for the upgrades.

Has anyone insured a substantially renovated factory-built RV for an agreed value? Which company did you use, and did they require an appraisal?

I’m based in Colorado and would be looking to insure the van for around $173,000. Thanks!

Hi y’all!

I want to install my maxxfan but I’m encountering a problem, I bought the van with a roof rack and I would like to keep it.
The problem is the it’s in the way of where I want to put my maxxfan, I want to cut two of the rack beams and I’m not sure if it’s a good idea to cut the one that is connected to the mounting bracket.
My idea is to cut it 5-10 cm from the mounting point.

I’m afraid that it’s going to affect the rack in a bad way , my plan is just to put one big rigid solar panel on the rack .

I wanted to get some feedback from the experienced people here.

Thanks everyone!

P.s : it’s not possible to put the fan slightly below because I will need to cut through the cars structural beam.

I miss drinking tea but I don't want to have to pull my whole cooking setup out just to boil water.

I have a 500w portable battery so it needs to be able to run/ charge on that. I'd like it to last for more than one charge. And, I'd like it to be leak-proof (ideally).

What are your experiences with them? Are there any that I should avoid? Any and all experiences and recommendations are welcome! TIA!

I'm 62 and have recently started living full time in my 2026 Ford Transit extended high-roof van in Calgary, Alberta while still working corporate life.

I'm looking into heating options before the Canadian winter really takes hold and would appreciate recommendations from people with actual experience.

My Transit runs on gas/petrol, so I'm considering either a petrol heater connected to the vehicle's fuel tank or a diesel heater with a separate fuel supply.

I'd particularly love to know:

• What brand and model do you use?
• Petrol or diesel, and why?
• How reliable has it been in seriously cold weather?
• What was your total cost, including installation?
• How much fuel and 12V battery power does it use overnight?
• Would you buy the same heater again?

I'm looking for something safe, reliable and economical to run overnight while sleeping in the van.

Canadian winter experiences would be especially helpful!

Thanks in advance.

I'm very interested in the low mileage and pricepoint of these vans in my area, most are high roof and extended, some are only 5 years old with 70k miles for ~$12,000. Are they trashed due to the nature of the work performed in them? Curious for other opinions.

Hey van life community! I’m in the early stages of van life planning and just got some advice from an experienced van owner friend: keep the build simple and low-tech until you really know how you want to use the space. His point was that complex systems break, repair costs add up fast (especially at dealerships), and you learn what you actually need by living simple first.

So I’m thinking about a really stripped-down approach and would love your thoughts on how to do this without overcomplicating things.
Here’s what I’m working with:

With a low mileage van, possibly finding one with some of the Bear bones that I’m looking for.

Toilet: I know a bucket toilet isn’t for me, but I’m open to either a removable composting toilet or something similar that I can actually maintain and empty myself. What’s the simplest reliable option that doesn’t require plumbing?

Cooking: I already have a Coleman two-burner propane stove (with the small bottles). I’m thinking this covers my cooking needs — any red flags on running this in a van if I manage ventilation properly?

Water & Sink: Simple hand pump with a 5-gallon water jug for washing. Gray water goes into another bucket or container. Does this setup actually work day-to-day, or am I missing something?

Bed & Storage: Looking for a solid bed frame and basic cabinetry — ideally something I can buy ready-made from an aftermarket company rather than building custom. Suggestions on companies that do simple, quality builds?

I’m not looking to go totally spartan, but I want to avoid bells and whistles that’ll break. What am I missing? What low-tech solutions have actually worked for you?

Also looking for advice on solar and batteries. If you had to do it over again starting with current technology, but not wanting to spend too much what would you do?

Ty !!!

Hi all, I am just starting to build out my first van. I was thinking of using vertical uni-strut to support walls shelving etc but could find any videos of anyone doing this. Has anyone try to use uni-strut, what are the issues you may have ran into. Another option is extruded aluminum like 8020 but its more expensive, please let me know your thoughts.

Hello I am looking for help with my 2014 sprinter. I am looking at an anker c1000 gen 2 with the alternator charger. How do my lights in my van connect to the power bank. I really don’t know anything about van life or camping. I use the van mostly to hold my dirtbikes but we do camp in it from time to time and want something that we could charge or use a microwave eventually. Please help me understand how the system works. Thank you!

Just me and my Astro at the top of the world :)

Going into winter has me thinking about cold temp preparation. Has anyone used

I can't find anyone who has done this. That makes me question doing this. I would like to build my kitchen upper cabinet into the sliding door open area. Besides that it might get wet and need to be fastened properly to the van, why don't more people do this. It would be floating above the kitchen base cabinet, and not in the area above where I will be walking in and out. Seems like a good use of the space. Thoughts??

I had to take off my roof insulation (sika polyiso board) for a project I’m about to do, and I saw these black marks. They don’t *look* like mold, but I wanted to see if anyone had any idea of what it is? And what I should do differently?

Super appreciate any insight and help!

Edit to add: this is an aluminum trailer, with the shiny side of board touching the roof (which is 1 piece aluminum roof).

Retiring my old friend Vanthony: 1999 Dodge Maxi. Welcoming my new build and adventure van- Vantoinette: 2023 AWD Tranist T250

She was an empty shell when I got her, but now she is coming together nicely. A few more installs and we will be hitting the road for a year.

I have a 2013 Sprinter that has always had a mystery draw. A couple of mechanics have looked for it unsuccessfully - one was even at the Mercedes dealership! I figure if they couldn't find something they could charge me to repair, well - I'm just going to deal with it this way.

AAA just came out to my home and gave me the rundown on what to look for, but if anybody has a favourite I'm all ears.

I'm also going to get a NoCo jump starter for redundancy.

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for tips and inspiration from people who've already been through a build. I'm planning a full-time solo van life setup, and the van will be an L3H3 or L4H3.(I'm 1,88m tall)

What I need inside:

A proper home office workspace (with a second monitor)

Kitchen

Shower area (not sure yet whether foldable or fixed walls)

Bed

A big garage for climbing and highline gear, plus other bulky stuff

I want everything to be practical and clean, no fancy gimmicks. Every element should have a clear purpose.

1. Bed layout

Most builds I see use a fixed transverse bed across the back with the garage underneath. I like that and it's the obvious choice. But I'm also considering a lengthwise 100x200 Murphy-style bed that folds up against the wall, which would free up a large open area for daily living.

Has anyone here lived with a Murphy bed in a van? How does it hold up in daily use, and how did you combine it with a practical, large storage setup? Any regrets either way?

1. Shower

Does anyone have experience with a collapsible shower? I mean something like just a shower tray with a detachable/mountable curtain or enclosure around it. Does it actually have advantages, or is it more of a gimmick, and are fixed walls simply the better choice?

1. Planning process

What did your planning workflow look like when you started? What did you think about first, which things were secondary, and which ones did you end up adapting around the first decisions?

Thanks a lot for any input, photos and layouts are very welcome!

I got a tiny van that's insulated on the ground and on the walls and roof with armaflex.
Made some custom panels to go on the back windows with insulation.

i have hardmounted a 2kw diesel heater i had lying around but as i dont have a battery system, i can only use it when im plugged in. And even that, 2kw is too much for that small van.
Will eventually put solar and buy a battery but right now, money is short.

What could be used to heat up a space that tiny ? Im talking about low tech things more or less, no electric heater.

A propane heater seems overkill too

Thanks