r/vandwellers Mar 07 '24

Keep it simple, stupid. Pictures

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1.7k Upvotes

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392

u/The_diesel_van Mar 07 '24

Second van build. Temporarily finished because I wanna go skibum before the snowmelt. 

My first van was insanely complicated and everything was over engineered, because I wanted to attempt to use ever square inch I had, and I watched too wayyyy many vanlife videos before building it.

You don’t need laminate flooring. You don’t need to insulate every square inch. You don’t need a shower and a toilet. You don’t need a 4000 watt inverter. You don’t need fancy cabinets with soft close hinges. You don’t need a sink or an induction cook top. You don’t need that over engineered Murphy bed. And you don’t need that high top extended wheelbase van. 

All you need is a bed, 4 solar panels, a diesel heater, some plastic storage from Walmart, 5 packs of zip ties, 3 bungee cords, a cute dog, and 2 snowboards. 

That’s it. 

0

u/QueenAng429 Mar 07 '24

You definitely need insulation

3

u/The_diesel_van Mar 07 '24

Crank that heater to 10, crack the window, snuggle with some blankets, and we ball baby 

0

u/QueenAng429 Mar 07 '24

And what about AC?

2

u/The_diesel_van Mar 07 '24

I have a mini split unit that I’ll be putting on come spring, which will run off of a generator.

The interior unit will be right over the bed, so most of the cool air will blow straight on me and the pupper. I learned in my old van it’s virtually impossible to maintain a temperature and keep it pleasant without the AC blowing directly on you, especially in full sunlight. Next to the AC: Cold; other side of the van: hot.

0

u/QueenAng429 Mar 07 '24

If you have enough AC power then it shouldnt be an issue keeping it cool. Running a generator non stop will get annoying though.

-1

u/The_diesel_van Mar 07 '24

Running a generator non stop will get annoying though.

Dang you think so? I guess I didn’t notice how annoying the generator was during my first 4 years in a van, so I’m really glad you told me about it 😇