Hello from new member, Beka

[Beka]

Hello from South Texas,
I am interested in outfitting a van as a "mobile motel room", not a place to live long term. I want a bed and full bath, plus coffee bar with a small refrigerator in it, but no kitchen, no work space, and no dining table area. In other words, the same things one will find in an average motel room. I would use it for vacation trips.
Curiously, I haven't found any such setups on any of my searches on the Internet. I'm here to look for information on best vehicles for my purpose, and most efficient and cost effective ways to design and build my "mobile motel room". 
If anyone who reads this intro has advice for me, please share!

 

[RvDreams]

Welcome Beka to the CRVL forums! Modifying a van to fit your needs is what happens here. Find things that will work for you (bed across the back or lengthwise), kitchenette, etc. Implement what you need and leave out the things you don't.

To help you learn the ins and outs of these forums, this "Tips, Tricks and Rules" post lists some helpful information to get you started.

Most of our rules boil down to two simple over-riding principles: 1) What you post should provide good information (like your introductory post), and 2) Any response to someone else's post should make them feel glad they are part of this forum community.

We look forward to hearing more from you.

 

[highdesertranger]

first off welcome,

by full bath do you mean a flush toilet and a shower with hot water?

just trying to get an idea off what you want.

highdesertranger

 

[bullfrog]

We also need to know what size van and how tall you are as size matters when dealing with limited space. Even in the smaller motel rooms you still have more space than a van so unless you are really short or your van is really big compromises (transforming/moving thing to get them to work)will have to be made most cases. Another consideration is how long(days) you will need to stay places without water and sewer. Water is heavy and takes up space when stored. If you are going to stay in places with full hook ups that will make a major difference as well. Welcome and let us know about you and your needs so we can give you some ideas to think about.

 

[gslanm]

Yeah a lot of people are interested in, like, make-shift RV's to travel in the form of a van etc. For me, the biggest complexities to an amateur (like me) would be trying to figure out plumbing or electric, or even the installation of the fan. Even solar panels would be easy to put up with "eternabond tape" etc, but the next question I'd have to figure out is how to run the wire down away from the rain without drilling holes etc.

Long story short, turning a van into a modest "motel room" is really easy but installing the hard parts I just don't know. I'm currently contemplating Promaster 2500, Nissan NV 2500 cargo, Ford Transit Cargo and a few others. Those seem like the most used/cheapest, easiest to stealth.

I haven't figured out the fridge or things like that. 12V fridges seem super expensive like $700-$1000 for a good one. The electric part is hard too. Installing a good one with cheap parts is best, but if you have no clue like me you're kind of stuck with a self-made "yeti 2000" type one that's overpriced but very effective.

I dunno but it's easy to make most of the stuff. Like others have said, start one thing at a time, pick a good van first (cargurus) then think about each thing you want to put in and where.

 

[Cammalu]

FULL BATH? In an RV that means a toilet with a separate shower. Many Class B vans do have wet baths. That would be a tiny room with a toilet and a drain on the floor so you shower standing up next to the toilet or sitting on the toilet.

Full bath would take half the van.

Something like this pic would be doable space wise. I think that’s a cassette toilet too. Sink folds up and down.

 

[maki2]

I suggest you rent a camper van for a weekend and see how you like it before you commit yourself to making a mobile motel room. It is better to try it before you buy it as you seem to have no experience of what will best suit your needs.

 

[tx2sturgis]

I am interested in outfitting a van as a "mobile motel room", not a place to live long term. I want a bed and full bath, plus coffee bar with a small refrigerator in it, but no kitchen, no work space, and no dining table area. In other words, the same things one will find in an average motel room. I would use it for vacation trips.

Full bath? As in 'bathtub'? In a van? Plus all the other stuff?

Not gonna happen.

 

[LERCA]

I think she meant toilet plus warm water shower.

 

[becida]

Hello from South Texas,
I am interested in outfitting a van as a "mobile motel room", not a place to live long term. I want a bed and full bath, plus coffee bar with a small refrigerator in it, but no kitchen, no work space, and no dining table area. 

Look for a used Pleasure-Way or Roadtrek class "B" camper, everything you want already there & ready to go.  Plus you'd have the "official" RV label on it if you want to stay at a picky RV park.

 

[user 423]

Here's a pic of the 'full bath' that was in my old Dodge Falcon Class B.

It had a 2' by 3' tub with a built-in raised seat. You could sit down in the tub or take a shower.

Space was tight, so for a large person it would fall short of what you would find in a motel.