Types of passenger vans1/17/2024 ![]() To give you an idea of typical price points, we’re sharing the current buy new MSRP costs (Manufacturer Suggested Retail Price) for the base models of each of the vans we’re suggesting below. If $20,000 is your absolute maximum you can spend in total, you probably don’t want to spend much more than $13,000 on the vehicle itself. That way you give yourself some wiggle room in the budget for unexpected costs that may come up in the conversion process. We purchased a van for $20,000, and got all our conversion expenses to be right around $10,000 total. Medium Budget: For our second conversion, we had a bit more money to work with, but we still tried our best to follow the ⅔ to ⅓ rule. We lucked out and found a van for $2,000, and we spent just over $900 on the conversion costs. We were absolutely broke, so the total we could spend on the vehicle AND the conversion was $3,000. ![]() ![]() Small Budget: Our first campervan conversion was done on a TINY budget. Related: Find out just how much a campervan actually costs, from budget to luxury builds with our detailed breakdown. But it is a good formula to use as you start thinking about your budget in a holistic way and to be smart about where your money is going. The two-thirds to one-third ratio isn’t by any means scientific or something you have to stick to completely. It’s going to be a super nice vehicle but a pretty basic conversion. Your conversion is only going to last as long as your vehicle runs… know what I mean?Īnd on the other hand, it would be kind of strange to spend $35,000 on a brand new Sprinter and then only have $2,000 to turn it into a home. It wouldn’t make much sense to spend $5,000 on a cheap van, then put $20,000 into the conversion costs. A cheap van might only run for a few more years, so why pump a ton of money into it? Our reasoning for this is that unless you find an incredible deal on a vehicle, you more or less get what you pay for. You should expect to spend about two-thirds of your total budget on the vehicle, and around one-third on the conversion costs. Total Budget = ⅓ conversion cost + ⅔ vehicle cost We’ve come up with a general rule of thumb that seems to make a lot of sense when determining your van build budget. The cost of buying the van itself is just one part of turning it into a home. You’ll want to come up with a number that you feel comfortable with before you start looking for a van to purchase.īe sure to think about it in terms of total cost for your entire conversion. ![]() This is the kitchen set-up in our second campervan build, which was done on a much larger budget than our first. We are proof that you don’t need tens of thousands of dollars saved up before you can start.Ĭheck out our two very different builds in the photos below. We want to start this section off by saying you can absolutely do a campervan conversion on just about any budget. (You can click the links below to jump around to each section, or you can simply continue reading to go over them all.) Things to consider before choosing your vanĪs you’re making the decision about which types of vans to look for, here are all the things you’ll want to consider. We’ve broken this article into sections, so feel free to jump around to get to what you’re looking for. We’ve built out two (very different) vans on our own, and we’re sharing the many things we’ve learned along the way.Įven if you already have a van in mind, it might be a good idea to go through this checklist to make sure it’s the best model for you. There are a lot of things to consider when deciding which van to go with, and the best van for us might not be the best van for you.īut don’t worry, we’re not going to leave you hanging to figure it all on your own from square one… In this article, we’re going over some of the best types of vans for conversions, along with things you’ll want to consider as you make this (very important!) decision. It’s a very personal decision and will essentially come down to your priorities and budget. One of the most common questions we’ve been asked is, “What vans are best for a camper conversion?”Īnd like pretty much every other decision in your van build journey, there’s no correct one-size-fits-all answer. It might sound obvious, but the first big decision you’re going to need to make on your #vanlife journey is choosing a van.
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