Welcome to Team Downstream's Van Diaries.
We are in the very beginning stages of building a van... the planning stages.
It feels a bit like standing on the edge of a cliff and planning to take a big jump. In theory, we know what we are doing, or have some idea of what we are doing. IN actuality….. It’s all in the ether.
So what have we decided so far?
WHAT KIND OF VAN DO WE WANT
At the moment we are leaning towards a RAM Promaster with a 158 Wheelbase (non-extended). This will give us a nice compromise of having the room that we want, but not being so big that we can’t turn it around or that I get scared driving it through the city. Sure we would love a sprinter but Ballers on a Budget. You know…. In terms of the Transits vs the Promaster, both Adam and I seem to be leaning towards the ram because of its more square shape which would make it slightly easier to build. Our next step is to get behind the wheel and actually drive the things before we make up our minds.
LAYOUT
We are going with a typical permanent bed and large garage layout. I do not want to be making and unmaking the bed each morning and evening. And Adam wants to have his fancy-schmancy mountain bike in the van. So the garage makes the most sense.
We are still figuring some other things out…. Chest fridge vs traditional door fridge, should the sink be behind the driver or passenger, etc. In terms of other unique components, we want to include…. We need to have room for 2 kayaks, a raft, a mountain bike, and all of Adam’s music stuff. (Looks like Adam is going to have to pack light since all of his storage is being used for toys….) We are thinking now that we would like to keep most of those things on the roof, and have some kind of cabinet for his music
One thing we are sure of is that we do NOT want a bathroom in our van. We would like to have a space to shower, but this can be an outdoor or solar shower. I do not want a wet room built into the van. Also, we are recently leaning towards not having a permanent stove setup either. Controversial I know. But hear me out: we are thinking about having something like https://jetboil.johnsonoutdoors.com/stoves-systems/genesis-basecamp-system this. It’s more of a camping 2 burner stove. This would allow us to not have to deal with propane hookups in the van at all. Yes, we would need to carry the smaller canisters but we wouldn’t need a place to store a 20lb tank and all of the safety venting precautions that go with it. And when the weather is nice, we cook outside which is great anyway!
The important things to us are to have a comfy bed that is big enough for the both of us to sleep comfortably. So I think we will have room for either a full or short queen bed. Both of which will work for our needs.
WHAT’S NEXT
Well, now we are working on building a budget. Our plan is to budget for everything we want, and then scale back from there. We can cut back on the things that we don’t necessarily need but that we want.
We are continuing to try and decide on what we need and what we want, what will be overly complicated, and what we will regret if we don’t add right now.
We are not planning on buying the van until the early fall. I will be driving to Texas and back for a Cirque gig and then selling my beloved Subaru after that. Don’t worry it’s going to a good home (my mamma). And then we will be putting the money from the sale of that into the build.
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