She Built A Van Nicer Than Most Houses!

Hi, my name is Deanna and this is my 2020 2500 ProMaster van that I built out. Let's take a tour. So we're going to go ahead and start with the exterior of the van. On the outside of the van I did have to install the big slider window as well as two bunk windows on either side. The process was not as difficult as I made it out to be, however cutting huge holes in the side of your van can be intimidating. On the roof of the van I installed the Yunaka roof rack. It was really tedious to put together but the cool thing about it is they're made to the specific van and they connect right to the prefab hooks that already come on the van. Also connected to my roof rack I have 400 watts of solar and then I also have my AC and my max air fan up there as well. Alright, that's it for the exterior. Let's go inside and I'll show you guys around. So in the front of the van I didn't end up actually doing too much. I did install swivel seats on both seats so I'm able to turn them around and kind of open up the living space for if I have friends or guests over. I did utilize the front passenger seat since I am a solo traveler. All of Honcho's food and toys and such is stored up there and then he also rides right next to me. Above the cab this shelf actually came stock in the van but I actually love it because I'm able to store a whole bunch of things up here. Extra food, towels, things like that and I've just got them organized in some baskets up there. When you first come in to my van this space I use for a number of things, eating, working. So above me I did install some upper head cabinets that aren't very big but they do hold like things like my blender or Honcho's treats and such like that. I do have a small table and as I said I did install a swivel seat so I am able to comfortably sit with two people for dinner if I ever needed and my table is on a lagoon mount so I'm able to adjust that. I'm sitting on a dinette seat that has a bunch of storage underneath. It also has my diesel heater down there so I can stay warm when it's cold outside and then underneath the floor I put a pullout drawer that I store my work laptop, any cords or things like that just away there. I did install a little mirror last minute. It was in a little edition so I can view myself and get ready and it's also on a drawer slide so I can stand up and see kind of my full body. To start off my kitchen on one side I have my NovaCool 7300D model fridge. It is a fridge on top and then a freezer on bottom which is really nice and was super important for me to have and then utilizing every little inch of space in the van I've got just a little upper head cabinet that just stores a bunch of things over there. Also included in the kitchen just to help with ventilation and things like that I do have a max air fan that's on my ceiling and that really helps just move air through the van especially when you're cooking inside. On the other side of my kitchen to start off I did want to maximize countertop space as much as possible so I did install a little flip top countertop that adds an extra two feet almost and then I do have a sink that is also hooked up to my hot water and cold water so I can utilize both of those and then I also installed an induction cooktop. This is like the main thing that I use for cooking as well as below I do have the Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro so I'm able to do a whole bunch of different functions with that. In terms of storage down here I've just got a bunch of cabinets. I've got a large one that holds all my pots and pans another one that holds like silverware and cups and then just a bunch of cleaning supplies and storage underneath the sink. On the opposite side of the sink on the outdoor area where the slider is I do have a hookup for an outdoor shower so if I ever want to take a shower outside I'm able to do that as well. And then just to save some space here I did build in a inset spice rack so I'm able to hold about 10 spices here which is really nice because I do love to cook and then I just have some open shelving up here which was really important for me because I feel like it helps keep the space a little bit more open rather than closed in cabinets in here. For all my cabinet faces I had a very specific look that I wanted and so I went to a wood company and they found me some plywood sheets that were actually walnut and they actually cut them for me to size and I just installed them with some walnut trim around the edges and it turned out super nice. For the style of my van I really wanted the minimalistic look so for my ceiling and my walls actually they're all just quarter inch ply very plain very minimalistic and then also on the ceiling I did install the Nomadic X2 12 volt AC. Having air conditioning was really important for me just because Honcho would be left alone in the van at certain times and I wanted to make sure he was comfortable. Which then leads us into my electrical system so for my electrical system I have 600 amp hours of battery a 3000 watt inverter. I did choose to do all Renogy products aside from my batteries just because that's what I've used before and it's been really easy for me but everything in my van runs off that electrical system so I have a 12 volt fridge 12 volt AC and then also my induction cooktop is electrical as well as my oven. So 600 amp hours has worked out really well for me I have been able to pretty much power everything that I'm using more power obviously doesn't hurt but in terms of everything that I have in my build 600 amp hours has worked out great and I also have three ways to recharge up my batteries I have 400 watts of solar on the roof I have a DC to DC charger as well as a shore power hookup. Okay from my shower it is very small but for me living full-time it was really important to have an interior shower so that way I'm comfortable to be able to shower whenever I need to. With the shower I did install a Nautilus shower door which folds kind of up into itself and I don't have to worry about cleaning or anything like that. The way that I built my shower is I framed everything out with two by twos and then I have the half inch foam backer board and then over top of that I installed the SmartCrete micro cement it's a company from Spain. I really really love the look it was a very tedious project but it ended up working out because it's waterproof it looks really cool so I used it in my shower as well as all my countertops and cabinets in the build as well. And then for the shower having a handle that was extendable was really important just because it is a small space so I can kind of maneuver around in here a little bit better and I do have hot water in my shower I have a 12 volt hot water heater that is enough to heat up for one shower. Another question I always get is where do I go to the bathroom? I do not have a toilet in my van build so for the bathroom I'll just use public restrooms whenever I'm out and about and I do not regret that choice at all. I love not having to worry about a toilet and smells and things like that. Underneath my bed I wanted to utilize every inch of storage that I can. I do have a lot of clothes so it was important for me to find extra space so I did install kind of like a little hanging closet. It is stuffed to the brim but it has been really useful in storing like all of my bigger items like flannels and jackets and such like that. And then for the bedroom space I have a full-size bed back here believe it or not. I also have a little night light above my bed so if I want to just have a little reading light or something at night I'm able to have that without all the overhead lights on. In the bedroom space I also have those two bunk windows that are really great for a cross breeze at night as well as also a little 12 volt fan in the corner. And then the remainder of my clothes storage is actually in these two overhead cabinets that I'm able to utilize just for a bunch of clothing there. The other cool thing that people always ask me about is my floor. It's actually not real tile it is vinyl peel and stick with a vinyl grout in between the seams and it's been really easy to kind of keep clean. It hasn't messed up at all or started to peel up at all so it's been really great. Water storage in my van I do have a 33 gallon water tank that sits over the wheel well in the back and so that is enough for my showers and my sink usually about three weeks before I have to fill up again. So so far I've been in my ProMaster for almost nine months. I really really enjoy it. It's easy to kind of whip around in cities and find parking spots so I don't have to kind of think about those things. I used to have a bus so this is actually my second build so compared to that this has been a much more enjoyable experience even though I did kind of have to sacrifice some space. I've just really enjoyed being in the van. It kind of fits my nomadic lifestyle a little bit better as compared to the short bus that I used to have. The biggest difference between the bus and the van has definitely just been the lack of space that the van has compared to the bus but then again on the flip side it's just been easier to drive around to be a little bit more stealthy which as a solo female traveler that was something that was really important to me that I kind of learned after being on the road. To make money on the road I actually am a virtual special education teacher so I'm able to have a full-time job do the thing that I love and also travel at the same time. I did build this build 100% solo. As I mentioned I did have a bus before so this is my second build so things went a lot quicker. It took about four months for me to build. I 100% recommend building your own rig even if you've never built anything before just because things go wrong things break and having the knowledge to kind of fix those on your own has been really beneficial for me and it's just been a really beautiful experience to kind of learn new skills along the way. That's it for the tour. Thank you guys so much for watching. If you want to follow along on my journey you can find me at TheSchoolieTeacher on Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok but they'll be linked below. Bye!