DYI Custom Build estimate

Tux wrote:
I will likely hire my friend to work it and teach me as well.

I guess then this is not strictly a DIY? Hope you remain friends after the experience.

To sum it up in two words, "FORGET IT". If you have to depend on a friend, he/she will lose patience very quickly and since you obviously don't have the skill sets to act alone your best option is to purchase a used RV. I have seen way too many such attempts fail losing money and time. Who was it that said that the road to Hades was paved with good intentions? Anyway, you don't want to travel this road in my opinion. If you insist on this attempt get the word Dodge out of your vocabulary unless you buy a new diesel.
Yes, I'm harsh, but honest.
Marvin

Consider looking for a used Pleasure Way, Road Treck, Liesure Travel or ERA. IMHO, it will take you years of trial, error and expense to end up with what you can. Uh and improve. Check RVTrader.com and sunshine staters.com. Good luck.

Tux wrote:
I am trying to get an idea of how much I should plan to spend for a conversion (ballpark figure). I plan to buy a used high top long bed empty cargo van. I have a place I can do the work and the tools (at a friends house). The estimate I am looking for is for parts only. I will likely hire my friend to work it and teach me as well. Here are the two builds I am looking at.

Build 1 (ideal): sleeps 1, internal shower + toilet, a/c + heat, microwave, stove, sink, lights, power receptacle, dry dockable with solar (7 days).

Build 2: sleeps 1, external shower and portable toilet , a/c +heat, microwave, sink, lights, power receptacle, dry dockable with solar (3 days).

estimates without the van cost. Storage is not important because I plan to pull and convert a small cargo trailer which is a different project

I'm a little surprised that someone has not suggested going to the Sportsmobile website. You have a choice on picking your brand of van and then picking your floorplan. They have some sample pricing here.. They do what you are asking about doing. The only difference would be what profit they are expecting - you would not have to spend that amount. And...you might buy a lesser expensive van than the one they order for you.

There is a reason a Class B sells from $60,000 to $140,000 new. Go out and start shopping for a used B - you may find something that is 25 years old for around $20,000 - maybe. To that you will add several thousand in repair or replacement parts and components - if you get your friend to do that work for you. Go out looking for a small C and you can spend a lot less. Go out for a travel trailer without the car or truck to tow it and you will be in your price range.

It sounds more like you will undertake this DIY project and lose a lot of money trying to put together something that you - or your friend - don't know enough about to complete. Not being negative - just realistic.

This is not the place to ask about DIY vans as should be obvious by now. I think most here are correct about buying a pre made class b but a DIY build is not as hurculean a task as described. I would suggest looking at forums where this is more common like www.cheaprvliving.com or www.sportsmobileforum.com. Lots more people with DIY experience there. Good luck

Horizon170 wrote:
To sum it up in two words, "FORGET IT". If you have to depend on a friend, he/she will lose patience very quickly and since you obviously don't have the skill sets to act alone your best option is to purchase a used RV.

I guess a lot depends on a person's finances. A good used B checked out by both a garage and an RV place, in good to excellent shape and purchased at market value can always be resold if needed without loosing much. It isnt like all that brand new shiny exercise equipment that people buy and dont use after the first burst, then sell cheap cause they are moving or need the space.

But there is also the motivation for tackling something like this, of creating something from almost nothing. Of dreaming about it, making plans and working on something. In my RVan I have not tried to recreate a RoadTrek inside which would have been a really expensive big mistake. But what Tux wants can be achieved with imagination and "work arounds". No, he probably wont be able to have built in cabinets, built in shower and flush toilet, built in generator, water and sewage tanks with his and friends skills. But he could have much much less expensive workarounds for nearly everything plus the pleasure of having done it himself with a little help from his friends. No one is too old to learn these skills and learning is itself challenging, empowering and life affirming if not a welcome change from earning a living.

I say he goes for it.

I'm picturing a van built in stages... start with the bare, hopefully new, van. Add a few amenities (mattress, ice chest, porta-potti, extra battery, etc), try it out on a short weekend trip. Secure things so they aren't 'flying object hazards' in a wreck, but keep the means impermanent. Figure out what you want next, repeat.

The reason? I really doubt you could get a complete camping van right the first try. You don't want too much work, and loss of previous work, when you find that something already 'permanently' installed is in the way of something you really, really need, or forgot. For instance, that one wiring circuit for that one essential item of gear, that _has_ to go behind the wall covering that you glued in place with really goooood glue last month.... Oooops!

I know pretty much about these vans, having owned two B's & a class C, and being both 'how's it built' curious & a tinkerer. I have many tools, and moderate DIY skills covering the gamut from plumbing to wiring to mechanics. I still expect I'd have a few 3 steps forward, 1 step back moments.

Yes, visit web sites of as many B makers as you can find. Study floorplans, look at details in photos. Go to RV lots, crawl all over B's, take notes and photos. You can stick a digital camera or phone under a van to arm's length and snap away, aiming by guess. Lots of pics, and lots of time studying them and the catalog I mentioned.

Jim, "What you are experiencing is not a problem. It is an undocumented feature. Thank you for calling Microsoft."

I've been thinking along those lines, and have a little experience. I helped one of my troops do a camper conversion of his second generation Econoline in the early '70s (no bath or cabinet work) and have looked at some used DIY conversions that included beds, seating and cabinets only (no bath, no power systems, nor RV kitchen equipment).

I can see spending anywhere from a couple thousand dollars to more than $20K for the parts, not including carpentry and cabinet work, and a couple weeks to a couple months labor (some DIY projects go on for years).

The labor is hard to figure, but you can't ignore it, as it represents the bulk of the cost of a conversion (or an up from the ground RV build). Do you charge it at what your time is worth? What a RV tech would cost? If you hire someone to show you how to do it, you'll pay for that time too. You can say "not counting labor because ... " but you really have to figure it as a cost.

The shower/toilet is one of the more difficult options, because of the systems that need be built to support it: water supply and pumps, waste tanks, water heater, usually LPG supply for that heat. For reference, a popup camper (about the only thing that now comes minimalist) adds about $800 cost to go from cold water to hot water unit, and another $3000 to add a one-piece shower/cassette toilet unit.

I've not estimated the options you've asked about, because I'm thinking of something more basic and convertible in use, like the pop-in camping systems made for MPVs and minivans in Europe.

I'm late seeing this, but my first thought on this was "go build just what I want on Sportmobile's site, and use that estimate." I'm guessing you are looking at a $15K to $25K ballpark for what you describe, which is way short of today's typical B motorhomes, which tend to put $50K to $80K of RV inside of a $25-30,000 bare van.

Pleasureway's Traverse is about as basic a camping conversion as you find today, and the fittings are somewhat more expensive than the base van, yet do not include a bath inside or out.

In my opinion no matter what is done will be Jerry Rigged. Between your time and 15-20K plus the van that no one on earth will purchase when you're done with it - I would just buy something used.

Here's an example; I bought a Huge class A 7 years old with 17K miles on it ( not a typo really 17K miles ) and I only paid 17K for it. I drove it for years and sold it for 25K.

So go buy a used something that fits your needs for less that the van and conversion. It's cheaper to fix a few things on a used anything that convert. The plumbing and electrical will make you go crazy - not worth it.

Right now I searched CL and found plenty of great buys for less than a conversion.

Here's an example
CHEAP RV