Us: We bought our unicorn 2015 diesel Ford Transit in January 2021 and converted it ourselves. Ford only made the diesel Transit for one year in 2015, we were lucky enough to find one with a high roof and mostly highway miles. This van gave us the high roof Kyle needed (he’s 6’4) and the longevity of a diesel engine without the high maintenance costs of a Mercedes. Kyle was a carpenter’s apprentice for 6 years and since we had lived in a van before, we knew exactly what we wanted and how to do it. We designed it to be as self sufficient as possible while maintaining a homey feel. While we don’t have a toilet or shower, we never had a problem finding them on the road, despite never paying to stay in a designated campsite. We lived in this van full time for about a year, which gave us plenty of time to work out all the kinks. We would love to keep traveling with her but have stationary jobs now and don’t want her sitting around waiting for us.
Vehicle: 2015 Diesel Ford Transit, high roof, 148in wheelbase with 178,000 miles. Being the same length as a large pick up truck, its the perfect size to live comfortably but still easy to drive and park anywhere. 6’5” ceiling (highest roof available). Transmission replaced in 2021, has a 5 year/ 100,000 mile warranty. Great gas mileage, average 22 mpg. Backup camera, heat, AC, lots of cupholders, etc.
Bedroom/dining area: An 8 inch memory foam mattress easily pulls out into a queen size bed or pushes back for a dining area with 2 benches and a large table with a lagoon mount, takes less than a minute to set up/ break down. Full access to the kitchen either way. Upper cabinets along the full length of the van, storage under benches and bed. Door for easy access to under bed storage from inside the van.
Kitchen: 110L Dometic fridge with a freezer compartment, propane camp stove to cook inside or outside, lots of counter space and storage, a large sink with a retractable faucet. Kyle loves to cook and cooks most of our meals in the van so it was very important for us to have a good kitchen area.
Electrical: 2x 200 watt Renogy solar panels, 400 ah AGM batteries and a 3000 watt inverter/charger. Plenty of power; running the fridge, blender, water pump, lights and charging multiple devices we rarely dipped below 90% charge. We get all of our power from the solar panels and the alternator while we drive, we could plug into shore power as well but have never needed to. Battery monitors in upper cabinet for discrete yet easily accessible access to inverter switch and battery/ charging info.
Plumbing: 35 gallon water tank and 7 gallon gray water tank. Fill up about once a week and empty the gray tank every few days. Easily removable gray tank for easy dumping or option to drain straight from the sink out of the bottom of the van when camping. Automatic water pump.
Other: Maxxair fan, Sirocco 360 fan (game changer!), dimmable lights across the whole ceiling, secondary under-cabinet lights, cedar shiplap walls and ceiling, engineered hardwood flooring, combination of 1 inch foam board, rock wool and spray foam insulation, blackout curtains, 20lb propane tank, trailer hitch, propane heater, 1 other owner (part of a well maintained fleet with mostly highway miles)
