Here is the post I’ve been meaning to do since before we took off – a camper van tour!
I thought it would be fun to show you our current set up in our van (aka Marlene). It’s certainly cozy quarters, but it’s been working out really well for us. We’re looking forward to making some minor changes as we go. More on that later.
First, here’s Marlene!
She’s a high roof 2014 Ram Promaster 1500. We love this size because it drives pretty easily and it’s not much different from a typical passenger car. For us there were three major factors into getting this vehicle in particular. 1) It was available in our price range and was already built out by the previous owners. This made it easier for us instead of trying to do all of the work ourselves. We didn’t have the space, tools, or time to dedicate to doing it for this van. 2) She can fit in a regular parking spot. This was so important to us. It’ll make it much easier when we stealth camp or have to park in general. 3) She’s tall – which allows Travis at 6′ tall to be able to stand up fully in it. We can also sit up in bed which is definitely a plus.
This is the back of the van before we moved our things in. You can see there’s a ton of space underneath for storage which definitely comes in handy. The only thing we did here was switch out the mattress. Travis and I spent a morning before we left cutting down our own memory foam mattress to fit the size specs. We wanted to be as comfortable as possible when trying to sleep on the road.
When you open the doors to the van – you see some covered shelves, the tile backsplash, the sink & countertop and some cabinets (covered by the towel in the second photo). There is also some space underneath the cabinets where we currently have our freezer & fridge. The sink is operated by a foot pump which helps us save on water. Additionally, we got creative and added spots for our toothbrushes & cooking implements. This definitely opens up some space in the other cabinets and drawers. We also have a hidden compartment for extra storage underneath the mini dust pan. The cabinet underneath the sink holds our camp stove, fuel, cutting boards, and some pots/pans. During transit we always have a bungee cord securing the doors shut so things don’t come flying out on sharp turns.
To the left of the counter top is our bed, along with some storage underneath. We have an extra drawer you couldn’t see from the backside view that holds other belongings.
Next to our bed – we have some light switches that operate lights above the bed and the sink/countertop area. We also have the ability to charge things using USB. To the right of the bed is where we have more storage & where we keep out most things we need to get to. Packing cubes are amazing and helped us get much more organized with our clothes. Since this photo was taken – we also got another set of packing cubes to hold our towels, our sweats, and our journals. It’s much more organized now with a lot more space to play around with.
Honestly, while we had to pair down things quite a bit, it hasn’t been as hard or as difficult as I thought. There is a lot of moving things around to get to what you want to get to – but it’s been manageable.
A curtain separates the driving area from the rest of the cabin. It helps it feel like two separate rooms when one of us has a video call we need to make. It’s also helpful for not feeling like we are living in a van at all times. Our map lives on the back of the side door. We use it both for keeping track of our route and planning out where to go next. It’s been super helpful and is a nice personal touch.
Coming soon – we are getting an awning to hang off the side of the van. This will provide us with some much needed shade. We ordered it a few months before we left, but things have been on backorder. So far we have managed to get by without it. Once we start heading west – I have a feeling that’s going to change.
And that’s it! It’s cozy, but it feels a little more like home every day. We would like to add some more personal touches and hanging photos at some point, but that’ll be a bit down the line.
Let’s Discuss! Comment Below:
- Would you rather buy a camper van already built, or build one out yourself?
- Do you name your vehicles? If so, what did you name it?
- What is one feature that’s an absolute MUST for you to be comfortable?
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