VAN TOUR + CONVERSION COST: Self-converted 170 WB Sprinter with a full bathroom!

We are Adam and Catherine also known as Adventures of A plus K and welcome to our van We are so excited to finally give you the grand tour of our sprinter van named brisket But real quick we wanted to share a few stats about our van. First of all, it's a 170 wheelbase 2019 Mercedes sprinter. It's mostly the same as previous years, but a few slight differences here and there mainly like the back windows We used 40 hours of freedom also just known as Sarah and Alex James van build guide to plan our layout and to help us with Our build so if you follow them, you may notice that our van looks very very similar to theirs We honestly just thought their layout was perfect for our needs and there's tons of ways to build a van But it was just perfect for what we were trying to achieve and working on the road and everything So we followed that we also use dynamo Ultima's van build guide to help us out a bit So most of the time while building the van we flew back and forth from Seattle Which is where we lived to here in Austin, Texas, which is where Catherine's parents live We used Catherine's dad's help a lot to build the van without him. It would have been tough to do dad So yeah, he had the space the tools the know-how to help us out So in total it took us about seven months to build it and that's flying back and forth working on it on the weekends when We're here. We traveled a little bit. It had some hiccups along the way things just take longer than you think So in working full-time, so it wasn't like a full 100% focus on the van for seven months. There was a lot of back and forth So in total it was probably like three and a half months. Yeah I mean, we hope to be on the road about a month ago. But again with it's so hot here hundred degrees every day yeah, and It just made it kind of a struggle at times but seven months to the day. We are done. Yeah In the grand total of our van conversion and this only includes like materials Supplies tools any labor that we hired out. It does not include the actual van 23 374 dollars whoo, which sounds like a lot but to put it into perspective That's about how much we spent on rent for an entire year in Seattle And we plan to be on the road for longer than a year So we think you know, it it makes sense a little bit. It's not too too bad You can build a van for less. So we just wanted to make that clear. Like this is definitely like a more Luxurious van I guess you could say we wanted the comforts of a home We wanted to have some higher quality products and items So not everyone's van will be this expensive, but that's how much ours was It's kind of scary to say it out loud to all of the world But we actually have a very detailed blog post that we will link below which we're where we break down all the costs We link to products we use talk about all the mistakes we made along the way or most of the mistakes So check that out if you want to see kind of what areas of the van cost us more We also film basically our entire van build So do you want to see kind of the progress to get from when we bought it to now check that out, too? and lastly something we're adding in the description is something that I thought would have been helpful along this journey and some of the other videos that we watched is We're doing a timestamp for each of the areas of the van So if you're just here for one part or you need to rewatch something something like that look below you can click and go right To it. Awesome. Well, I think we got all that out of the way now, so let's get started and show you the van So the first thing that you see when you enter our van is our closet So while we followed a van build guide We tried to think really hard about like what specific items we wanted to bring in the van and where we would put them So we tried to maximize the space as best as we could to make every inch of this place provide some sort of value So the closets a really good example of this So when you open it up We have the top part right here Which stores all of our backpacking gear a few items for Kona our bug curtain? It's kind of a little bit of a mess. There's a lot of things in there right now Maybe we'll organize it better later behind this door here is our some of our plumbing So we put this there just so you can't see it right when you open the door in the lower part of the closet Is where we tried to really maximize the space the best we could so right here We have a slot to put our dog Kona's crate So whenever we're not using it, we can tuck it in here and it can stay safe right here We have a slot that fits our away suitcase So I have a full-time job and I travel a good amount for work So I needed to make sure we had a suitcase in the van at all times The nice thing about this is I can store stuff in it while it's in here So it has like kind of a double purpose and then below you don't see anything here besides a drawer right now But this is where we plan to store our laundry just so we can keep like our bathroom clean like the hallway clean We're trying to reduce clutter as much as we can. It's a very small space So we want to make sure everything kind of has a place that way we could try to keep this place a little bit neater We'll see another thing we did to give ourselves more storage is we built this headliner shelf So in a normal Sprinter van the ceiling goes up like the roof goes up all the way right here We're in the driver area But we built a shelf because we didn't really need all of that space and it's a great way to store more stuff So we have a headliner shelf and one thing we did that we haven't seen a ton of people do but we really wanted was a door on here because We want to be able to kind of throw stuff in there and not have to look super neat and kind of make our van Look a little bit cleaner. So when you open this door You will see some window covers and then the main reason we built this was to store some of Adams golf clubs and also our Backpacking gear so we love to backpack and it's kind of hard to store like those massive backpacks in a small van So this is kind of the backpacking Backpack home and then the closet stores more of the stuff that goes in the backpacks. And lastly one thing in this area That's worth mentioning is we have a velcro strip right here And then we have a blackout curtain that basically just attaches right into it and we wanted to have the blackout curtain even though we have window covers for the front just to make sure we have lots of Privacy at night and if we have to stealth camp at all to make sure no one can tell that we're in here We also have a bug curtain that goes on the front sliding door area as well as the back doors And we use velcro to attach those as well We just got those off Amazon super cheap. They make really nice custom ones, but we were over budget. So we went the cheap route So one of the comforts of home that we have is an s-bar d2 heater. We installed this underneath the passenger seat That's a pretty common location for vans with that. We have a high altitude kit So when we're in Colorado or a mountainous area, I think it's above 5,000 feet You need this altitude kit so that it can work properly. So we have that another thing We added to the van is the max air fan. This is the pricier of the van fans that people get But it has 10 speeds. It has a rain cover. It can blow out it can blow in in hindsight We wish we could have placed this in the back more above us when we're sleeping But if you think about it now, it's gonna help with cooking getting the air out from there and also from the bathroom We also installed five windows in the van. This is kind of the most intricate one. This is the T vent window so this is gonna help with Ventilation along with the fan. So you turn this here and it opens the window there in the back on the sides We have two regular windows and the back doors are just regular windows as well in hindsight again We wish we would have added another T vent or some kind of opening mechanism on the window But those were about twice the price and again, we're over budget. So Welcome to the world's smallest bathroom. We really wanted a shower in the van as you can see, it's pretty small So it's gonna be perfect for just rinsing off after a hike things like that We also plan on having a gym membership for when we want to get the full cleanse The other necessary item we needed in the van is a toilet So this is a nature's head composting toilet The cool thing about this is your number one goes in this front tank here and your number two goes in the bottom tank here After you do your business you turn this knob here and it kicks around the composting material that's in there and every three weeks You need to change that out We hear great things about this and it keeps the smells down as you can see the toilet is a pretty large piece here So it didn't really sit inside the shower pan very well So we have this wood slat platform built for it and it attaches right here So when we need to change it out, we just unscrew that pop it out and pop it back in So probably my favorite part of the van is our kitchen We love to cook and make a lot of home-cooked meals despite what all of our travel vlogs show We don't eat out all the time We actually cook most of our meals in so having a kitchen that had enough space to prep food cook food as well as store Food was really important to us. So the first thing we have right here is our sink and our faucet We have a farmhouse style sink as well as it's like a really beautiful black faucet And what I love about this is that the doors right here and it opens so we can you know Do dishes while looking out that might be like the most fun way to do dishes I don't know We also have a butcher block countertop, which we tried to keep the weight down on this van as much as possible But we really liked butcher block. So we tried to sacrifice in some areas. So we have this we also Basically like put a bunch of holes underneath the butcher block to take some of the weight out We have this in another one of our van build vlogs But hopefully that kind of lightened the weight of the butcher block a little bit and then we have this gray Subway tile right here. So this actually is not tile. It's like a sticker. So it's adhesive You basically put a bunch of pieces up and kind of work them all together And if you quickly glance at it, it looks real if you look closer, it looks a little fake, but that's okay We also have some fake succulents here to just give it a nice little homey feel I wanted to note that these do not stay on the van while we're driving. So don't worry We're not gonna have like fake succulents flying everywhere. It's just for some nice decor right now So we have a handful of different cabinet spaces drawers in the kitchen area The first one being these two doors underneath the sink So when you open these up, we have our cleaning supplies on the right side and then on the left side We have a pull-out trash can and recycling bin which we're really excited about because we were able to fit such a big trash can in here and when we're on the road and if we're in the Middle of the woods, we don't know when we'll find a trash can So being able to have enough space to put any trash that we have was really important to us And it's also important that we can still recycle on the road. So we're really pumped about this I this is one of my favorite things in the van Adam was like cringing when I told him how much it cost but it's just really neat and handy and it fits so well in This cabinet and then in this cabinet is where we're kind of storing all of our cooking supplies So in this first drawer right here, we have some spices. We have like a little zoodle maker our measuring cups and Then in this drawer we have like our bowls some ziplocs and cutting boards in This space right here. We have our plates. We have like our Pour over for our coffee some Tupperware and then at the bottom is where we're storing our two induction stovetops So as you may have noticed we did not put like stovetops in the counter space and that's just because we wanted to have as Much counter space as possible So sometimes we may need to use both stovetops if we're cooking boiling water and also cooking veggies other times We might just use one So we wanted to have the flexibility to be able to put the stovetops on the counter Whenever we need them because some days we may not even need stovetops. So they do take a lot of power So we're gonna be really conscious of that But the nice thing about the induction stovetops is we hear they heat up really fast and they work super well And then above our refrigerator we have our silverware drawer Which has obviously our silverware as well as some some knives Some spoons some spatulas all that fun stuff One thing we haven't mentioned yet is that we're using these latches to keep all of our doors from opening So we have these latches that will link below and they're working really great so far every time we've driven the van where nothing's flying Open keeps everything nice and safe. We also have like a like a Shelf liner in these drawers so things don't slide around as much and probably the most important part of our kitchen is our refrigerator So we have an isotherm refrigerator and it's 4.6 cubic feet It's probably one of the largest Fridges we could buy for this van and that was important to us because like we said we like to cook a lot and we Don't want to run to the grocery store every day, especially if we're kind of camping out somewhere more remote So when you open it up We have some spots for waters lots of spots So we have a lot of storage in here. We have a little freezer We actually chose a fridge with the smallest freezer we could find because we don't tend to freeze much stuff But we love it. We think it's gonna store a lot of good stuff for us So this is our nice dresser it has three giant drawers so this top drawer is mostly my clothes here Second drawer is Catherine's drawer hers looks a little more organized than mine And then this one's kind of a hodgepodge drawer we have our vacuum some of our shoes these are our shower towels and Just some hodgepodge things We also added butcher block to the top of the dresser just because it looks nice and it's also another kitchen prep space here So right here. We have another beautiful fake succulent add a little homie flair. This is our simply safe This is the alarm system for the van. It comes with a bunch of other pieces Camera so when we leave Kona in here at times running in the grocery store or something like that it has a freeze sensor Which also includes a temperature sensor, so if it's too hot or too cold There's a motion sensor also a glass breaking sensor and then comes with the keypad to control it all It was really important for us to have some kind of security system in the van So when we're out hiking in the grocery store coffee shop things like that We can keep an eye on the van and know that it's safe above our dresser We have an upper cabinet here opens up. We got the latches on there got some toiletries This is a random spot for it, but that's a backpacking lantern toilet paper another random spot for our coffee grinder And here's some of the simply safe stuff, and then this is also our we boost which is a cell phone signal booster So hopefully when we're out in the mountains We can still get some signal if we need to work be on the internet things like that One other thing to mention about the we boost is that we have two different hotspot options to connect to so we have a AT&T unlimited data plan on our phones, and it's not technically unlimited They do throttle it, but we do have an unlimited amount of data. It just may be slow at times We also got a Verizon jetpack because we hear Verizon's the best in more remote areas So we have two different providers that we can connect to in the van for internet So hopefully wherever we are will at least have one of them also our simply safe has to always be Connected to Wi-Fi, so it has basically cellular service in it, and I believe it's T-Mobile But then we will also always have it connected to our Verizon hotspot Which will just stay in the van? So we needed that to make sure we can always run our cameras and check in on stuff when we're away We do here it will suck the data out of this really fast So we'll probably be camping out of places with Wi-Fi or going to coffee shops to make sure we always have internet service And then above the kitchen we have another upper cabinet This is our control panel for all of our electronics so as you can see we have these switches here This is the cold water pump hot water our tank monitor Which is this thing right here, and then this lets out our gray water from under the van This is the battery monitor tells you how much voltage percent of the batteries. This is the Thermostat for the heater and then moving on to the right you have these are way too many coffee filters And then some other kitchen things these are all the manuals for the Electronical electrical things, and then this is the solar charge controller that takes the solar energy from the panels on the roof And charges the batteries and now for our office dining room and bedroom all in one So we chose the layout of not having a permanent bed for a couple reasons so one We don't have bikes or anything so we didn't need that garage space that most people put underneath their higher up bed We also just liked how open it felt to have Windows and like the headspace to kind of walk around the van it just made it feel a little bit more spacious and bigger to Us also we both have full-time jobs So I have a 100% remote full-time corporate job that I can work from anywhere So I'm gonna work from the van and then Adam has his own web design business So we are both working at least 40 hours a week and to save money at coffee shops We thought it would make more sense to have a workspace in the van So we can work here all day long if we want to and we have this large pretty large table to work from Yeah, it's a pretty good size table So this will be our desk and also where we eat our meals and the nice thing is it's on a lagoon pedestal So it can go back and forth and up and down and so it's flexible moves around We're not just like trapped in this space and then at night this turns into our bedroom So it's really easy to convert from our daytime workspace to our bed We just take the table off the lagoon pedestal the pedestal comes off the bracket there And we keep it in the dresser here And then we lower the table on to there is a lip edge around the edge of the benches here lower it there Then we fill in there's an empty space here with this part here, and then we push in the cushions and they fit perfectly So our bed is in between a queen and a king and width and it's like a little over six feet long Which is perfect for me. I'm six foot and I have like an inch or two on each side So it's a little bit bigger than our bed that we had in Seattle Which is great because Kona's kind of a bed hog, so we have more space for all three of us So at night we don't want to sleep directly on the cushions because we want to keep them in really good condition So in these upper cabinets right here We have a mattress cover that we will put on the cushions at night We also have some sheets and then we have a small fan here that we will plug into the wall outlet at night Just to get some more airflow on us if it's a little bit warmer out and then in these upper cabinets We have a window cover some jackets and some toiletries, so it's very random We actually still have a lot of space left in these which is good because we feel like over time We will accidentally accumulate more things or need some more storage space So we have a little bit of extra storage space here. So for our electrical we have a 3,000 watt inverter We have two 100 amp hour lithium batteries that are charged by our solar panels on the roof Which will cover in a bit and we're adding a third 100 amp hour battery because with our fridge and our inverter We're right on the edge of needing more battery power another battery charging option We have with the solar is we have our batteries hooked up to our alternator So as we drive it can charge the batteries the other side of our bench houses most of our plumbing items So we have a 23 gallon tank on this side We have a 13 gallon tank on the other side and we actually connected them that way they act as one tank So we didn't want to have one really large tank on one side of the van because we're trying to distribute the weight appropriately So they are on different sides of the van, but they work together So when we fill up the tanks, they both fill up at the same time And what's really nice about this besides the weight issue is that we will never just run out of water in our sink But still have shower water will always have water in either both of them or no water in either of them So it works out nicely because one concern we had is that if we go through the sink water really fast We have tons of shower water that would just kind of suck at times So we did that for the freshwater tanks as well as the greywater tanks Which will show in a second and then we also have a 2.5 gallon hot water heater in here So we have hot water in our sink as well as in our shower We're holding it down with some bungee cords right now, but we're making a more permanent solution. That way it doesn't wobble as we drive So just like the freshwater tanks, we have two greywater tanks underneath here. We connected them So there's one spot underneath the van that was a really good fit for a greywater tank But to put a really large one in there, it would hang down a bit So instead we did two smaller ones and connected them that way they act as one greywater tank We can store more water by having two smaller ones and then we can empty them both at the same time and to empty them You just flip this switch and then water comes out and we did this So we don't to always go underneath the van to empty it It just makes our life a little bit easier and in the back We have this awesome tailgate that covers the back under the benches. So just pull the handle here It opens up and on the left side. We have a hose that will fill up our water tanks So we plug that in and it fills up both at the same time in the middle here We like to exercise workout. So we wanted to have some gym equipment with us on the road So these are some adjustable dumbbells. Yes, they're heavy. Yes, it might add some weight to it but we weighed the van after everything's done and Complete and we are under the payload a decent amount. So we thought hey, let's bring them We also have these are TRX type straps and then some bands And last but not least our roof so we added this a luminous ladder so we can get to the roof a lot easier and We just think it looks pretty cool So on our roof, we have our four 100 watt Renogy solar panels as well as our fan And then this is our we boost so we had a whole video about a lot of the items on the roof So if you want to check that out, we will link to that below But yeah, this is our little solar getup and then I guess we want to like go hang out and watch the stars We can show up here too. We have a little bit of space We are so excited to finally embark on our journey take off on our adventure make many memories in the van We really hope to enjoy the van tour If you have any questions, you can write them below and we'll be sure to answer We also linked most of the products that we used below But if you want to break down of all the costs go to our blog on our website and a big Thank you to everyone who encouraged and supported us along the way on the build Yeah, as those who've been following for a while now, it's been a really hard journey So we really appreciate everyone who sent us a lot of encouragement We are so happy to finally be done in real quick before we go We wanted to set expectations of what you can expect from our channel moving forward now that the vans done We've always considered ourselves travel vloggers not van life vloggers So we documented our build just so we can look back and maybe help someone along the way And it's a big part of our story But we do not plan to post a lot of van specific vlogs in the future We plan to instead keep on sharing all of our travels where we like to eat and we travel Coffee shops things to do all the stuff that we've been doing in like our Italy Mexico City Pacific Northwest videos So for those of you who've been following for a while, don't worry. The taco ice cream coffee content is not going away No, no, no We will mention the van of course probably in every vlog in some way because it's part of how we're traveling now But we really want to share like the adventures and kind of mini travel guides to destinations Not just about the van So we wanted to make that clear just so everyone knows what to expect moving forward, but we are home to hit the road So excited we cannot wait to share our van adventures in North America as well as our non van adventures abroad So we will see you on the road