Conversion Van Layout Questions

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bipolar express

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We started over a year ago looking at Class B vans (Roadtrek, Pleasure-Way, etc) and after looking at a few we decided they are actually too big & heavy for our needs.  I accidentally saw an Eclipse Chevrolet G20 conversion but it was sold before I had a chance to actually see it. 

Eclipse, Turtle Top, Jayco and others made "weekender" camper vans in the early to mid 90's based on the Chevrolet G20, Dodge B250 and Ford 1/2 ton vans.  These conversions are exactly what we want, but are scarce.  In a year of looking I have seen less than 10, and none in the Southeast (Tennessee), so I am thinking of getting a passenger conversion van and building it.  Think VW camper only with a toilet in an enclosure.  I have attached a couple of pictures of a 1994 Coachmen for visuals. 

I have not seen one of these vans in person, so I am imagining/fantasizing how these are actually put together.  My ideal van will have a small kitchen with a sink using 5 gallon supply/waste containers; a stove (can be a portable butane stove), 12/120V refrigerator; microwave; toilet with enclosure, and a hanging closet; plus all the storage I can cram into it.  Roof A/C  no generator.

My questions:

1.  Can a build out be done on an existing conversion van without removing the side paneling? 

2.  Has anyone moved the rear seat/bed to the side of the van?  Most of the factory conversions have a lengthwise bed, and it would be nice not to have to toss a perfectly good electric seat/bed.

3.  The factory conversions have a porta-potti in the rear with some partial side walls and a curtain enclosure.  Has anyone successfully installed partition walls in an existing conversion van?

4.  Finally, what do you do with the windows?  A kitchen cabinet will sit higher than the bottom of the side windows.  I would probably use limousine tint on the side windows but wonder about the space between the glass and the cabinet becoming a catch all for trash and hard to clean.  But I don't want to create a problem by attaching anything to the glass (with adhesive, for example).

Thanks for any experience you might have had with these issues.  Or if you can point me to one of these unicorns in Tennessee!
 

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The electric beds are pretty short and they are also uncomfortable to sleep on and you'd have to overlay them with some sort of mattress/topper to make it work at all.

If the bed is set behind the driver's seat, you'll most often see the cabinet/sink at the rearmost side door. This makes the sink accessible from both the inside and the outside (with the door open). This is how my van is set up.

When you say toilet, do you mean with holding tanks?  The center rear location makes sense for that kind of setup but installing a tank requires more work/expense. Are you both short enough to sleep on a bed set crossways across the back?  If you can get by with a porta-potti, you could store it under the bed platform at the rear. That is a good setup to utilize the limited space in a regular length van. Then you could put a kitchen cabinet behind the driver's seat.

Finally,you'll find a regular length van to be very cramped for 2 people unless your travel plans will mainly be shorter trips.
 
bipolar express said:
My questions:

1.  Can a build out be done on an existing conversion van without removing the side paneling? 

2.  Has anyone moved the rear seat/bed to the side of the van?  Most of the factory conversions have a lengthwise bed, and it would be nice not to have to toss a perfectly good electric seat/bed.

3.  The factory conversions have a porta-potti in the rear with some partial side walls and a curtain enclosure.  Has anyone successfully installed partition walls in an existing conversion van?

4.  Finally, what do you do with the windows?  A kitchen cabinet will sit higher than the bottom of the side windows.  I would probably use limousine tint on the side windows but wonder about the space between the glass and the cabinet becoming a catch all for trash and hard to clean.  But I don't want to create a problem by attaching anything to the glass (with adhesive, for example).

Thanks for any experience you might have had with these issues.  Or if you can point me to one of these unicorns in Tennessee!

1. Not effectively. The conversion vans have little to no insulation in them and the paneling used won't give you enough grab to anchor anything solid to. Typically, you're also losing almost 6 inches per side in useless space under the conversion wall panels.

2. Those beds were never really meant to be slept on...trust me! The seam down the middle means that one or both of  you are rolling to the middle all night. The underside is a nightmare of metal and wiring that eliminates just about all possibilities of using the area under the bed for any kind of storage.

3. See #1.

4. You can either lower the kitchen cabinets to match the bottom of the window or get creative with the space.

All considered, if you're planning on doing that much work to a conversion van, you're better off buying a cargo van and having whatever windows you want installed in it (or buy a window van). Then build out the interior to your own hearts' desires. You'll end up with something you're much happier with and without the added expense of paying for a conversion van and then ripping it apart.

A cargo van (or window van) can be had for less than a conversion van. If you're using the same amount of money to purchase the vehicle you can easily get more bang for your buck by not buying a conversion van. They're pretty to look at but looks ain't everything. Oh and if you're thinking that the conversion van has the high top, it's not tall enough for even me at 5' tall to stand up in. The conversion vans higher top was only meant to give the rear seated passengers more headroom.
 
Thanks for the responses. That's why I joined this forum - your comments are insightful, even though not what I was hoping to hear. I have asked this on Facebook groups and mostly just get drama and uninformed opinion. I confess I did think the high top conversion vans would have some headroom and that I could just toss in a kitchen cabinet, porta-potty & bed and be on my way. Your comments make a lot of sense. Thanks for saving me from the frustration and expense of figuring these issues out on my own.

Cheers and Thanks!
 
^
My van has a mid-high top and at the highest part it is 5'-3". I'm 5'-11" and can't stand up but it is still much better than a regular height van.

It's true that you can better insulate a cargo van starting with a clean slate but unless you're going to be in very cold winter areas, a conversion would be OK. I don't use the two rear windows in my van, so if I wanted to I could fill them with polyiso foam insulation for added warmth. The window behind the driver's seat is used a lot for ventilation (slider window at the bottom) and for viewing what's going on outside so it will remain uninsulated but with Reflectix at the top.

My van's mid-high top is similar to the one in your first post and after removing a rear storage compartment, I found that it is insulated quite well with fiberglass batts.

If you look long enough you can find a mid-90s conversion with reasonably low mileage. I bought my van 2 years ago from a couple whose kids flew the coop and they just didn't need a big van anymore. With gas prices high, I'd think there will be folks who would want to unload a gashog.

Just keep checking Craig's...
 
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