Van Build - Adventure & Nature photographer

Custom Van Build

After living in my Jeep Wrangler for 2 years, I decided to expand my living space and bought a van. I went with the Dodge Promaster, found a used 2019 for around $40k, with 27,000 miles on it. I bought it in Ohio and then spent the next 3 months building it out at my parents house outside of Chicago.

The total build out cost $8,500 or so in parts. If you are interested in seeing my parts list, email (nate.stephens21@gmail.com) me and I will send you my spreadsheet with links/costs etc.

Overhead Cabinets

BAM! Upper corner cabinets above one end of the bed. Here’s the process & tools for making these…

Decide where they’re going and where the divider is going
Cut cardboard templates for the end pieces and (in my case) center divider. These will each be unique as the lines in the van are all different & nothing is straight or consistent.
Make sure those templates are the same height & width (in my case 11” deep & 13.5” tall)
Trace those templates on to 1/2” plywood and cut out with a jig saw
frame them together using 3/4” plywood ripped into 3” strips. Use pocket holes & wood glue to connect everything. I put the pocket holes on the back so you can’t see them when you open the cabinet.
Build a face frame out of 1/2” plywood cut to 2” strips. Mounted with wood glue & nail gun
Build doors… I did shaker style cabinet doors, which look GREAT and were a lot of fun to build. Learned a lot. You could always just do pieces of plywood or whatever, they’re your doors!
Paint (I used rattle can spray paint primer and spray paint. Lots of light coats)
Mount doors using self closing hinges & install hardware.
Screw into the corner 2x6s that you framed the upper corners with
Voila!

Framing

Back at it! When I got home a few weeks ago I thought I'd be all in on building the van... turns out I like seeing my community & doing a lot of other stuff too! 😂 Framing it was one of the bigger projects that I was slightly uneasy about, but it went pretty smoothly! This was a tough video to make because there were so many little steps in the process. I think I covered a lot of it... Next up is the insulation & prewiring, and then finally the ceiling & walls... It's really starting to look like something!

Solar Panels

Got a little behind on the video editing, but catching back up! I installed the solar panels on Sunday, 300 watts total. I am using the @renogysolar 300w kit, it came with brackets, the extensions & adapters to get started. Before mounting I also tested it with the solar controller to double check I got the wiring right. The 300 watts will go through a fuse, my solar controller, to a huge 200ah battery. I'll do a big breakdown of my electrical system once I get further along. But so psyched to get all of the "exterior of the van" modifications done in week 1. 🤙🏼
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Next up is the sub floor & framing/insulation! Been prioritizing seeing friends this week, so a tiny bit behind my goals, but excited to find the right balance.

Sub Floor

I’ve been working on the subfloor for the last few days. This one took a bit longer than the other projects, 4 evenings of work or so. Such a fun one! Lots of cardboard templates & fun woodworking.
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I used construction adhesive to hold 1x2s to create a frame for the floor to sit on. Inside of the frame there is 1” @3M Thinsulate insulation held in place with a spray adhesive. On top of that is 3 4x8’ sheets of 1/2” sanded plywood cut to the weird angles of the van. I also put a reflective tape on top of the 1x2s to help insulate a tiny bit more… Next week I’ll be putting the actual flooring in, and I’m PSYCHED about it, it’ll make the van look so much more like my home 🤍

Window Installation

Been a busy couple days with the van! This bunk window is made by CRL, it has a half slider with a removable screened in section. The foot of my bed is going to be below this window, allowing the roof fan to pull air in and up over the bed on warm nights. Intimidating project... but felt good the whole way, stoked that it's in!
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Shot on #sonya7iii
With the #sony2470gm
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MATERIALS | TOOLS
Drivers side CRL bunk window
DIY cardboard template
Drill with 1/8 and 3/8 bits
Philips driver
Jigsaw with metal blade
Tooth picks
Painters tape

Swivel Seat - Passenger

Passenger side swivel seat, done! This was yesterday's fun, gloomy evening project. This is a swivel seat adapter for the Promaster made by @scopema_rib, bought from @theswivelshop Total install time was about an hour and a half or two hours, super easy!
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MATERIALS | TOOLS
Scopema Passenger side Swivel Seat
5mm Hex key
T40 bit
Drill
13mm socket
Ratchet + extension
Wire cutters
Zip ties

I used this swivel seat from the swivel shop!
https://theswivelshop.com/products/promaster-scopema-seat-swivels-1?variant=37683830292639

Roof Fan Installation

Day 2! It feels SO GOOD to be back at it and making things happen! This is the roof fan install, really enjoying the process of these projects, but also making the mini-vids! I'm going to include the tools used below, in case anyone finds value in that. I kinda hope that these videos help break the van build down into smaller pieces that aren't as overwhelming as looking at a finished van and saying "there's no way I could do that."
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MATERIALS | TOOLS
Maxxair Fan 00-05100K
Promaster fan adapter
3M Window Adhesive
Caulk Gun
Butyl Tape
Lap sealant
Radial Arm Saw
Kreg Pocket Jig
Jig Saw with metal blade
Drill with 3/8 bit & 1/8 bit
Painters Tape

Fun project, took 6 hours or so!

I used THIS fan and an adapter piece to mate it to the ridges of the van roof.

Nate Stephens

Photography | Filmmaking | Storytelling

Custom Van Build

Overhead Cabinets

Kitchen Drawers & Cabinets

Electrical

Ceiling