The below guides encompass everything that isn’t the bones of your build, or a part of a specific system like electrical, or water. While this is a sort of “catch all”, a lot of these components are musts for you DIY van conversion.
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The best time to put up your camper van walls is right after insulation, subfloor, and pre-wiring/plumbing, and before you place any modules. Camper van wall materials generally fall into two categories: tongue and groove, and plywood. With tongue and groove camper van walls, you will need to install furring strips. Conversely, with plywood wall panels, you can use a much stronger anchoring method of plusnuts and bolts.
We have an entire guide dedicated to the ins and outs of camper van walls where you can learn more.
While there are several methodologies to converting a camper van, we have documented our Step by Step Campervan Conversion in this guide.
Yes, all camper vans needs a subfloor for rigidity and added insulation. The floor of an empty camper van has ribs that will make your top floor uneven if you skip the subfloor. The easiest way to build a subfloor in your camper van is to place a few floor joists (we suggest 10 series 80/20, but you can also use treated lumber). Then, in between the joists, place pink foam board insulation and a plywood base on top.
We document this process, along with other options, in our guide to Camper Van Subfloors.
It is not just about your layout. Take it from us, seasoned builders, that if you plan your layout past just a simple sketch and through the finish line of a build, your building process will be much easier. In order to plan your layout past just the initial design, here are some tips:
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