# Repurpose cargo van into stealth RV?



## Grandmotherbear (May 15, 2002)

Well, I also hang out at some RV boards, but I was interested in finding out the homesteaders thoughts on this. 
I just keep these in my dreams..
A stealth RV wouldn't have to be put into a storage place between trips.
I found a cool inflatable bed/sofa/lounge on an RV toysite.
Today we were in Penneys and they had on special a min-kitchen- a small microwave topped by a grill with cover and with a coffee pot attached.
We have a great solar harvester with a xantrex power supply - and a coleman stirling cooler/freezer with an ac and a dc option.
and I've seen 19 inch combo TV DVD players ffor cheap.
The thing that concerns me is how to bolt or stick stuff to the flooring. Any ideas?
And, just so you know- the RVTravel.com board has shown in the past a variety of RV "gardens"..


----------



## dragonjaze (Sep 8, 2010)

why would you have to put an RV into storage between trips in the first place?


----------



## oth47 (Jan 11, 2008)

This can definitely be done and makes a fun project.I did this back in the 80s with a 76 Ford E150. I built a couch that folded down into a bed out of junk lumber,found a piece of cloth at a store for $5 and upholstered it.I built a cabinet out of scrap plywood,put a nice finish on it and installed an icebox,then made a sink out of a stainless steel mixing bowl,found the little hand pump faucet at Sears.A five gallon teat dip jug from the dairy barn where I worked was the water supply,another caught the waste water.I installed a table in front of the couch that was removable so the couch could be let down into a bed.Built an overhead console in the front with lights and a tape player,built a cupholder/ashtray table to fit on the motor housing.I had to do most of this on the cheap,we had no spare money.My son had a heart transplant at UAB in Birmingham and we were taking him back and forth regularly..that old van saved us a heap of money,it was a place to stay at night in the parking deck at the hospital.I kept a sterno stove for minor cooking and a bucket with plastic bags and sawdust and Lysol made a serviceable toilet.I wanted one of the portable flush toilets sold by Whitney,but couldn't scrape up the money.


----------



## Ruby (May 10, 2002)

Have you tried vandwellers in yahoo. They have 2 or 3 different sites. LOTS of good information. Any info you want to know how to build it, live in it what ever it's there.

Dragonjaze, some places you live won't let you park an RV in your yard, or on the street.


----------



## Ruby (May 10, 2002)

Was going to say we have a E150 conversion van we will be taking the back bench seat and the two middle bucket seats out of and putting in a queen size bed in the back and a couple drawers for clothes. We have a small cargo trailer to put all the other camping stuff in when we go to CO on vacation. Hopefully this summer.


----------



## Travis in Louisiana (May 14, 2002)

OTH47--You have it going on!! Yes you can make a van or any such vehicle into one. I have a 31 foot RV, but would love to get one and let me design the inside. For the electric, the hookups at RV parks are 30 or 50 amp - 120 volt. There is usually an inverter in the RV to switch from 110 volt AC to 12 volt DC and such. I would try to make most of the lights 12 VDC if possible. It is unlimited in what you can do, just remember to not go over the weight limit of the vehicle. There are places on "YOUTUBE" or searched on the internet where people take pictures of their proccess of building their own RV. You should see some of the school bus conversions.


----------



## clovis (May 13, 2002)

It would be pretty easy to convert a cargo van into a RV...but would that make good sense?

When you consider the cost of the cargo van, and making all the upgrades to it, wouldn't it cost about the same as a good used RV? 

As well, I'd be worried that it would be so hot in the summer that a person couldn't breathe.

Just my two cents.


----------



## MO_cows (Aug 14, 2010)

You can get a lot of RV accessories at campingworld.com. The van would get so hot inside, seems like one of the 12V popup power roof vents would be in order. The furnishings would be limited only by your craftsmanship, budget and imagination. But speaking as someone who has taken 2-week vacations in an RV, the first rainy day would drive me nuts in something that small.


----------



## Harry Chickpea (Dec 19, 2008)

Done it, but with a hightop passenger van. For us it was absolutely worth it.

For those who don't understand the "stealth" part, it means you can go places where RVs are not allowed, stop when you get tired and take a nap, not be tied to fast food and public restrooms, drive or not as the mood strikes, and save on hotels. You also can avoid high RV park fees. "No matter where you go, there you are."

One of the better ways of handling the bolting stuff down is to make a plywood floor that fits over the existing one, and bolt things to it. That way you can dismount things if needed. In our case, we had holes from the bolts for the passenger seats I could use to bolt the birch plywood deck I made.

For the bed- use 5" of medium density foam, cut to the size of a single. It will fit right in if you do it right, and still leave room for mini-fridge, etc.


----------



## MO_cows (Aug 14, 2010)

Just thought of something else - there are RV salvage yards. A big one down by Carthage, MO. I was thinking of light fixtures, 3-way frig's, etc. You could get an inverter on the cheap and make it where you could plug in when available or be self-contained on 12V.


----------



## Grandmotherbear (May 15, 2002)

There is no city here that allows RVs to be kept on your property and the county ordinances also forbid it. 
Clovis-I can't live without a/c. It will be a trick finding a dc a/c unit but I know they are sold in India. The only distributer in the US dropped them a few years back. Also, I don't want the 4 to 6 mpg that a standard RV gets. I am trying to plan how to get things light as posssible for improving mileage.
A fridgefreeze (tm)is another option for the stealth rv.
Oth47- I saw an internet posting about turning a metal bowl into a sink complete w/pix. Yes, I had been wondering about that-but just might go with a dishpan. I know there are battery powered pumps for the 5 gallon water containers.
MoCows- speaking as someone who has lived for weeks at a time out of a backpacking tent, a van would be positively roomy. All I have to do next is scan our 12,000 book collection into an E-reader... 
And thanks for the tip about salvage yards!


----------



## oth47 (Jan 11, 2008)

Grandmotherbear,I wish you were closer,I'd love to help you do this.I've wanted to do another van,just never got to it.We put well over 100,000 miles on ours and I have no idea how many nights I spent in the parking deck in it.Took it camping several times,too.The sink I wanted was 22.00 in Whitney's catalog and I just couldn't bring myself to spend the money..I bought the mixing bowl as part of a set at the dollar store for $1.00 and I think the drain cost a little more.The drain hose came off an old shop-vac.The lumber and foam for the bed came out of the dump as did the plywood and vinyl flooring for the cabinet.The icebox was the most expensive part,I bought it out of a wrecked van and I think it was $20 or $25 bux.The kids helped me with the project and had a ball doing so..they all bring up the old green van in conversation every so often.Boy,what memories..


----------



## clovis (May 13, 2002)

Grandmotherbear said:


> Clovis-I can't live without a/c. It will be a trick finding a dc a/c unit but I know they are sold in India. The only distributer in the US dropped them a few years back. Also, I don't want the 4 to 6 mpg that a standard RV gets. I am trying to plan how to get things light as posssible for improving mileage.


I'd check into what some of the newer RV's are getting in MPG. 4-6 MPG? 

A good friend of mine drives his like it was stolen, and he gets 10 MPG. It is a BIG unit too.

What size of cargo van are you looking at? What year of make?


----------



## fantasymaker (Aug 28, 2005)

Your stealth will go out the window!
LOL ya see Ive done that been there You dont want a windowless cargo fan. I got stopped a lot, cops assume you are smuggling drugs or stealing kids.
My recomendation? Get windows in the back and sides that cops can see thru and then paint a good black cover for each window for when you park.


----------



## fantasymaker (Aug 28, 2005)

My E-350 Diesel gets about 19 MPG.
As for cooling how about dismantaling several of the DC cooler units ,the ice chest style DC coolers ?
A white van(the most stealty)will be fairly cooladd good sprayed in insulation to make it TONS cooler and quieter.Spray in asmany doors as you can and stop the rattles!


----------



## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

We did it, used an E-250 Ford extended cargo van as our stealth RV. We didn't actually install a kitchen or bed (which could have been done easily) but we made it work. In between camping trips we used the van for hauling or regular transportation. Never had any problems with cops thinking we were stealing kids or smuggling drugs. It does get mighty hot in the back with 4 people sleeping in the van. We opened the back door a little at times. You could always use a portable generator and fan or roof mounted ac unit made for RV's. If you pull off the side panels you will find metal "ribs" on the sides which can be drilled for anchors for any accessories or permanently mounted fixtures you wish to add.


----------



## Jan Doling (May 21, 2004)

GMB:

Just take the emptied van out for a few weekends to determine what you need and where the best location in the cargo area is for that need. You probably have a ton of equipment from FTA and Boy Scouts already. For instance, I use a backpack stove, which boils water for tea and coffee quite quickly but takes up very little space. I also use a propane table-top grill and make tin foil packets to warm food on it.

I remove the back seats to my RAV4, push the passenger seat forward and the back portion of it down toward the dash. Then I can fit an aluminum camping cot along that side and my camping cooler on the other side toward the rear and have access via the door behind the driver&#8217;s seat. For curtains I use the solar windshield screens from the dollar store and use painters tape to post them over all the windows with the silver side facing out. I made magnetic screens for the two rear windows and have a battery / electric fan that hangs from the handle above the window.

If I stay at a campground I use their shower. If not, I also have a garden or deck sprayer that holds 2.5 gallons of warm water and does a great job. For our camp cabin, I bought a bed-side commode and line its bucket with 2 plastic grocery sacks and put kitty litter or sawdust in the bottom of the sack. After each use, the inner sack is double tied and disposed of with the garbage or buried (sans sack). Then another sack is prepped for the next use. A 5-gallon bucket with a camping toilet seat serves the same purpose in the van. I have a canvas closet shelf system that hangs from a ceiling handle that stores clothes, towels, blankets, books, and a reading light.

I do my cooking and eating at the picnic table or on a trays on my lap or a mini side table with my camping chair. I have a two-drawer storage bin that holds eating and cooking utensils and it stays right on the picnic table. I also have a pole that clips onto the picnic table that has a hook for a lantern, a place for paper towels , hooks for cooking utensils, and several wire mesh shelves for spices, etc. I do dishes with a collapsible bucket., dish brush, and dishpan for rinsing. Dishes drain dry on a towel. 

The stealth part is great. I can pull into an all night Walmart and be asleep in a few minutes. If it rains, I don&#8217;t have to worry about a tent leaking or waiting for one to dry before I can stike camp. Wild animals and 2-legged predators don&#8217;t worry me as much as they would if I were in a tent. I even use this arrangement for day trips to a swimming hole or picnics in the park. I can get away from home, read a novel, and nap, eat grapes and almonds and not have to cook if I chose to. Best of all, I can be repacked and gone long before folks in tents and big RVs seem to be able to.

Google "convert van to camper", vandwellers.com, or cheapRVliving.com.


----------



## roachhill (Jul 8, 2009)

I am planning a camper because I spend a couple nights a week out of town for work. Currently I'm shopping for an appropriate vehicle. I'm thinking that a minibus would offer more bang for the buck. Older ones have low resale and good long lasting diesel engines plus the bonus of enough headroom to stand up straight. I have a futon lounge chair that folds down into a twin size bed that should serve for bedroom duty also I have a spare inverter so a couple golf cart batteries will take care of power for lights, fan and laptop. I have a small propane heater to keep things comfortable in winter. Now it's research phase to pick the right vehicle and learn how others are making the conversions. I'm getting pretty excited about the project.


----------



## Grandmotherbear (May 15, 2002)

Clovis- we aren't seriously looking- I just quit my fulltime job that was killing me, but we saw a 92 cargo van for sale at our local garage that had rust eaten away part of the door-a little sanding and bondo- they were asking about 5-6K I think. I want an Aspen motorcycle popup camper myself, but GFB would prefer a van, and we used to camp in the Astro 15 years ago with all the doors opened and screening hung by magnets and clothespins. I think 10 mpg is pretty poor. I like that 19 mpg fantasy maker gets.
We went to an RV show in Fort Myers a few years back and no one wanted to talk to us- didn't look "upscale" enough, I guess.
Ah well, dreams continue..


----------



## taylorlambert (Jul 4, 2010)

Im considering a similar project. I work for a landfill that services a large Motor Coach plant. We get old tanks and stuff that we arent allowed to bury that have to be put in a house hold can or sawed up. Im going with an old cargo van as I like the windows in the front and rear only. I have an RV hookup that was tossed new on inventory day. I want to make mine as I like to camp and travel to tractor shows but some towns dont like RVs. 


Grandmotherbear I have a few roof vent fans with the tinted vents with the crank out handle. with reverse on it your welcome to. They get replaced with new units Theres a thermostat that goes bad with them. I use them on the dozer in the summertime.


----------



## roachhill (Jul 8, 2009)

I know you weren't talking to me taylorlambert but I'd be very interested in a roof vent if you could spare one for me. I love salvage savings. At the moment I'm looking at a Ford E-250 extended cargo van for the project and a vent with fan would be a necesity in the summer with a smaller camper. Too bad your not closer I'd would have loved to get together discuss camper ideas.


----------



## Jan Doling (May 21, 2004)

I think the roof vent is a great idea for stealth purposes. The less windows, the stealthier you can be.

GMB, don't worry about looking upscale. Those of us that can't afford all the bells and whistles are clever enough to jury-rig things. We still get to the same places and have the same adventures....just without paying and arm and a leg for the "image". In fact, I think we should get an extra gold star for using our brains instead of our bank accounts!

Start gathering what you already have and collecting salvage items along the way (like the roof vent you've been offered!)....sort of like a hope chest (remember those?) for van-dwelling dreamers. Read everything you can and don't be afraid to walk up to someone with a van conversion and ask them what they like the most and the least about their van.


----------



## fantasymaker (Aug 28, 2005)

Take a trip to a Pull-a-part pick-a-part, or You-pick-it those places have LOT of custom vans with very interesting interior pieces


----------



## oregon woodsmok (Dec 19, 2010)

I've camped out of a van. Instead of a kitchen, I had a folding table (sturdy dog grooming table) and a Coleman stove. Haul it outside and cook outside.

Probably windows could be covered with fabric covers that have magnets to hold them on. Uncover when driving, cover when camping.


----------



## taylorlambert (Jul 4, 2010)

Roachhill Your welcomed to a set or two if you like. Ill check some out this comming week. They work bothe ways but the thermostats are what fails them. Its easier to to replace them than to fix them. the power cranks even work and they have the manual handle to. They have the tinted covers. PM me with your address and phone number.


I have scroungeds a water tank and pump that were demo units and a new unused septic blackwater tank. Alot of this stuff is display units they chunk. We cant bury tanks or electric motors so its win win. 


My favorite memories as a 20 and 21 year old were a friend of mine and his dad ran a body shop. They took a 1995 Dodge extended van and added a 2 window sliding door off a passenger version and then took the same type of door and cut the windows out of it and put them on the solid side. That gave 2 windows on each side. Then left the back sides solid. Beside the door and the window was a captains chair taken from a wrecked RV. They bolted down plywood and covered it with house carpet we got from the Lanfill we run it was an end roll. One side had a carpet covered bench/bed with a covy hole type bed under it. The other side had a plywood shelf covered in carpet and had a walnut table on it to. About 6 of us would leave and take over night trips in it. THey had a DC roof air unit that was self contained. It was all well placed and cozy. I could sleep in it on the trips easily. 


They got the Idea from an old Mini truck and Van book from the 70s. I remembered the time spent on it was a few months on the weekends and about 2 000 in all. We didnt landfill for the RV plant at the time just a mobile home plant. We used to ride to the favorite bar 50 miles away each weekend.


----------



## dragonjaze (Sep 8, 2010)

oregon woodsmok said:


> I've camped out of a van. Instead of a kitchen, I had a folding table (sturdy dog grooming table) and a Coleman stove. Haul it outside and cook outside.
> 
> Probably windows could be covered with fabric covers that have magnets to hold them on. Uncover when driving, cover when camping.


that magnet fabric curtain idea is a good one!


----------



## Ruby (May 10, 2002)

Grandmotherbear, there is one on the vandwellers site that put a window air conditioner, the smallest one made in the back window of his van and mounted a small generator underneath it on the bumper. I was a pretty nice looking add on. 

Problem with using an airconditioner you have to have 110volt. It would take too many batteries to run one off a 12 volt system. 

We will be pulling a small 5' X 8' inclosed trailer with our generator in it. Will have one of those easy up type canopies to set up by the double door on the side. Will put our propane stove and table and chairs under that for cooking. For lighting we'll use the led type lights.

One of the main reason we'll be pulling the trailer is we are going to get one of those folding dog pens to take with us for the pouches so they don't have to be on a leash the whole time we're stopped.


----------



## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

Magnet curtain trick won't work if you have thick panels on the sides of the van. They won't work in my 15 passenger E-350. Velcro would work, for a while, unless the side panels are covered with some sort of cloth fabric. I haven't tried the 3M command strips on the van interior. I might do that for our next trip.


----------



## Harry Chickpea (Dec 19, 2008)

Old article, but might be of some interest:
http://books.google.com/books?id=m9cDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA148&as_pt=MAGAZINES&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=2#v=onepage&q&f=false
Pop Mechanics Feb 1971 pp 149

Can't say as I care for the wood-grain paneling...


----------



## featherbottoms (May 28, 2005)

Grandmotherbear said:


> ...Oth47- I saw an internet posting about turning a metal bowl into a sink complete w/pix. Yes, I had been wondering about that-but just might go with a dishpan. ...


Here's a pic of the stainless still bowl we turned into a bathroom sink at our last place in NM. Our neighbor was a welder and he cut the hole and pressed the drain in for us. I paid 25 cent for the bowl and he did the work for free. We got the faucet off an old sink.

​


----------



## oth47 (Jan 11, 2008)

Good sink.Mine wasn't that deep,but it was deep enough.I fastened mine down in the van with 4 little screws in the top rim.Probably not necessary to fasten it down,but I did anyway.Guess yours was cheaper than mine,whatever works.


----------



## featherbottoms (May 28, 2005)

oth47, I was just commenting that if one thinks outside the box, like you did, then all kinds of possibilities exist.


----------



## oth47 (Jan 11, 2008)

More like thinking outside the billfold..I couldn't afford Whitney's sink..or their cabinet or their couch..where did you get the idea to make a sink?


----------



## Grandmotherbear (May 15, 2002)

featherbottoms said:


> Here's a pic of the stainless still bowl we turned into a bathroom sink at our last place in NM. Our neighbor was a welder and he cut the hole and pressed the drain in for us. I paid 25 cent for the bowl and he did the work for free. We got the faucet off an old sink.
> 
> ​


That looks great!!


----------



## Bandit (Oct 5, 2008)

There are a lot of Forum post on doing exactly what You want , a few sites were mentioned .
We pretty much " Stealth Camped " in our Dodge one ton maxi window van two years ago across Az. and Nm. and traveling from Mass. and back .
Right now We are considering building a " Stealth Cargo Trailer " I would post the link , but I am using the lobby computer in a motel off I 81 in Pa.
Google " Teardrop Trailers and Cargo Trailer Conversions "
http://mikenchell.com/forums/ Look for Cargo Trailer Conversions Forum
Bandit


----------

