I bought my van new 6 years ago w/no experience & now I have a full bed, a tv cabinet, a kitchen cabinet & now I am finishing a small cabinet over the wheel hump on the opposite side next to the bed. A really good manual helped me wire the van for 120 in the campground. The van is insulated & carpeted. I am living proof that you just need the desire to do it. No experience required.
david_42 wrote: Converting an SUV into a camper is far beyond the abilities of 99.999% of the population. Doing a minimal conversion of a commercial van is easy enough and not all that expensive. I think of my Sprinter as a steel tent with a porta-potty.
Just look locally for an Adult ED course in Auto Maint & Repair plus a welding course can help a lot. Much of the work can be done at the school where you get to use tools without buying them. If you can't do the job alone, someone there can help. Even some of the instructors will use the job to demonstrate to the class.
Bob & Nadine 1984 Allegro 23 feet, always at home!
Living Life With a "Golden Age Passport"
and Thousand Trails VIP Membership, Priceless!.
We often need a visual reminder of why certain ideas seem better than they really will be.
The nice Ford van conversion by Jason (the middle of Mr. Wizard's links) reminds me of such a case. Envisioning movement between the mattress top and ceiling was making me uneasy; then, reading the article all the way down, Jason, "you (UN)had me at 'Using the Bathroom!'"
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DIY, we might see more of it. Home conversions, at some level, probably outnumber commercial conversions already.
As a RV business trend: "bring us your old van, we'll make it into a camper," I don't think so. To do the job well, make a product comparable to commercial B's, and make a good profit, the price won't be that much lower. Only 1/4 to 1/3 the price of a camper van conversion is the wholesale price of the original van; knocking that down to zero isn't that big a savings.
tatest wrote: DIY, we might see more of it. Home conversions, at some level, probably outnumber commercial conversions already.
To do the job well, make a product comparable to commercial B's, and make a good profit, the price won't be that much lower.
Tom
My thoughts at the time of the OP were focused more at the ‘pimp my ride into a RV - on a budget’ And perhaps, it should have been titled ‘The Economy and Camper Conversions,’ allowing inclusion of big cars, SUVs, pickups, and all types of van trucks, small busses, even old RVs.
Ten years ago, you could bring your own vehicle to Sportsmobile, and for about $12k, they would do a minimum van conversion w/ but a few frills. If you were not too concerned w/ appearance, you might do a similar job yourself for much less. I was thinking along these lines, even to the minimal popout tent from an opened tailgate, or a camper shell on a pickup w/ innovative pass-thru to the cab.
As the new green cars come out, and gas likely goes up, there will be a lot of ‘pariah’ SUVs, trucks, and vans whose potential value outstrips their actual value as simply transport vehicles. It may be a good time to start a company like Sportsmobile and offer creative and inexpensive auto-to-RV conversion solutions.
burlmart wrote: Vern, I was only thinking about the interior appearance of the DIY work, but you make a good point that exterior appearance is important to consider.
The excellent adventures of Keith and Debbie. Observations about life, at home and on the road in our 2008 Sportsmobile Sprinter. (Warning: Occasional sharp turns to the right.)
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