We do not live on the road full time. Maybe someday that will be in our cards, but for now the title of Weekend Warriors fits us just fine.

Two years ago a 2000 Chevy Express 1500 came into our lives. Knowing that travel would be a priority, we slowly took the time to figure out how converting this van into a home on the road would work best for us.

In all we spend 2-3 months each year in the van with our two dogs, Wings + Luna. We’ve gone from the Great Lakes to Key West, driven Route 66, explored the southern Rockies, and of course numerous trips all around the Upper Midwest exploring the beauty of our home base.

Since we were not heading out on the road indefinitely, we were able to do the conversion in phases. In fact, there are still things that we are working on to make better and every adventure in the van helps us figure that out. There have been many times we work on the van while on the road; our roof ladder came from a salvage yard next to our favorite New Mexico spot Hotel Luna Mystica and was installed right then and there. The best $10 add on yet.

No one needs to spend thousands of dollars on a conversion either. I’m sure we would put more into it if it were full-time traveling, but we have been able to accomplish so much with minimal spending. A slow conversion also helps spread the spending out as well and keep the budget happy. This should not be stressful experience, but a labor of love to enjoy while seeing our beautiful country. We’re gathering an approximate cost of our build up to this point for an upcoming post that will show that with a little saving you can do it too.

Dispersed camping outside Badlands National Park, South Dakota

First phase was getting the basics done; tearing out the carpet, installing wood floors and constructing a bed. If you have somewhere to sleep you can hit the road right away!

Flooring can take you in a couple directions. Do you want vinyl flooring or wood flooring? We decided on wood flooring since we travel with two dogs in all seasons and wanted a bit more durability. Vinyl flooring has seen some great improvements over the last several years so its still something to consider especially when thinking of overall weight of the vehicle.

The bed was very important and actually went through a few phases. The initial build worked to get us out on the road. After the first big trip, we needed to make the top of the bed open from the interior and from the back door. The weight of the bedding was too great for the starter cupboards. Once it was divided into four sections, it became ideal for our travel. The two interior cabinets became cedar lined drawers for our clothes, and the two rear cabinets became utility storage + adventure storage. Eventually we lowered the bed a few inches to have a bit more headroom while in bed. This van does not have an extended cab so having more space is better, but also keep in mind you are losing storage space (and height for gear) below. You have to take into consideration what gear you will be traveling with. Slowly things were finding homes and not as many totes and bags had to be packed freeing up a bit of our 80 square feet for humans and doggos.

Next was getting the van setup for solar so we could go off the grid and didn’t have to always rely on finding a site with electric. Even at established campgrounds, the best sites are sometimes primitive with no electric. Our first taste of dispersed camping near Badlands National Park sparked our interest for seeing places that not everyone is able to. Places you need to work to get to are always more rewarding in the end. Again, take into consideration how long you’ll be traveling for, and how many items will need power in your rig. We decided on a single solar panel to start with an inverter that will charge our batteries while driving. Kind of the best of both worlds. We have the option of adding additional solar down the road should we decide its needed, but this setup has been working great for some time now.

A basic cabinet was built to hold our DC powered refrigerator, batteries and control panel for our solar system. Two USB chargers and an outlet were added for our fan in summer, heater in winter and other electronics. We had a small amount of space on top of the fridge cabinet for storage but it wasn’t quite a table. After a few more trips we realized a table is something that is needed to make the place more comfortable. We needed a place to sit (fully upright) in the van for meals and for times when the weather wasn’t the best.

This year we updated the refrigerator cabinet to include storage for food and supplies as well as having an actual table with seating. Dining is always better outdoors when traveling, but we have an option if needed. The upgraded table area has been great for writing and editing photos and is always a guaranteed spot when traveling with 2 dogs that love the bed with their panoramic windows!

Most cooking is done outdoors—we setup a small camp kitchen with a Coleman two-burner stove just outside the van. A JetBoil is kept indoors for morning coffee as well as making backpacking style instant meals (just add water!) and reheating leftovers on the JetBoil skillet.

After much discussion, a roof rack was added with wood decking for an additional lounge space/yoga deck/stargazing spot and works great for gear while traveling. Its opened up our space inside while between destinations, and we’ve even traveled with the canoe up top. Adjustable mounting for our solar panel was added to the front of the roof rack. This way the panel can be readjusted to the direction of the sun, and when not traveling it is easily removed for storage until the next adventure.

Additional things will keep coming up. There are still renovations we are working on, but the main components are in and she’s ready to travel. Each trip brings a little tweak to what we’ve done so every adventure is a learning process.

Also while on the road talk with other van folks out there! Get inspired by their rigs and see how they put their mobile homes together. Eventually you’ll figure out what you what for your vanlife.

Van Conversion to a Home on the Road

“TRAVEL IS MORE THAN THE SEEING OF SIGHTS. IT IS A CHANGE THAT GOES ON, DEEP AND PERMANENT, IN THE MINDS OF THE LIVING.”

— MIRIAM BEARD