Regressing Forward

He's a walk through of my recently converted 170" Sprinter van. The idea was to make the layout as open and simple as possible. I wanted to be able transform the space from a bedroom to a living room/kitchen with the dropping of a bed that could easily latch to the wall when needed. To finish the wood a natural recipe of 2 parts olive oil, 1 part lemon juice and a few drops of essential oils was used. Here’s a list of the features 1. Vertical racks at the rear for shortboards, tripod, beach umbrella, fishing rods and yoga mat 2. Solar shower and shower curtain that spans the two back doors to create a private shower area. 3. Sink and pump faucet 4. Propane stove with propane container mounted on outside of van 5. Clothing storage and hanging rack 6. Top loading compressor fridge (energy efficient) 7. Food storage 8. 2 Glass water jugs with pumps- padded and secured 9. Clothing and backpack hooks 10. Fold up third seat 11. Ventiline vent with 12v high power fan 12. Fold up bed- underside is a white board and cork board for storyboarding, planning and note taking 13. Hammock mount and hammock desk- my most proud invention (game changer when working) 14. Longboard sling on inner roof 15. First aid kit 16. Kitch towel and paper towel rack 17. 2 sets of 32’ LED Christmas fairy lights 18. Compact wood stove 8” x 8” x 14” (yet to be installed) 19. Rear exterior mounted propane cylinder and diesel gas can My solar list 1. 2 Renology 100w 12v solar panels with voltage regulator ($330) 2. 2 100ah AGM marine batteries ($240) 3. Krieger 1500 watt inverter ($140) 4. 8 outlet energy saving power strip ($35) 5. LED christmas and white copper wire fairy lights ($40 for both) 6. A Whynter 45 quart electric top loading compressor fridge ($445) Tools used to build out the van

1. Circular saw- for cutting clean, straight and long cuts 2. Jig saw- for cutting rounded edges 3. Table/angle saw- for making short, precise cuts that need to be a specific angle 4. Cordless drill- for drilling and screwing 5. Drill bit and screw bit set 6. Tape Measure and chalk line for marking cuts 7. Angle measure- to check angles and mark for cutting 8. Clamps for holding wood together for drilling 9. Vise grips 10. Pencils 11. Ear and eye protection 12. Right angle 13. Hammer In total the build cost around $8,000 for solar, lumber, hardware, accessories and my friend Glen’s time. This wasn’t the most complicated build out but we used high quality materials and wanted to get it done quickly. The entire conversion would have taken nine solid days start to finish with two people. I took a few breaks during the finishing of the wood and installing the remaining features so it’s taken two and a half weeks. You could save a lot of money by doing it all yourself, using cheaper wood (only using plywood for the walls), and not having full-on solar system. A full history of my experience living in vans and a detailed account and exclusive photos of this project can be seen on reef.com/blog