The Vansformer
FOR SALE: Adventure van with 100% modular + customizable furniture.
This van is perfect for a part- or full-time vanlifer who wants the flexibility to be able to change their furniture orientation easily as their needs develop, or for someone who wants to use the van as a cargo/work van, but also wants the option to easily add and remove the RV furniture.
TLDR:
High roof, 7.3L Transit 250
37,500 miles - Runs great, no issues, new tires.
Clean title
All modular furniture that can be easily moved into any configuration or removed.
300W of solar, two 200Ah gel house batteries
Extendable bed/bench with stowaway dinette table
fully insulated
tons of cabinet storage
foot pump sink with expandable 10 gal clean water storage
propane stove
Dometic 3-way fridge (propane/AC/DC)
cassette toilet
Zero Breeze portable AC included
MaxxAir fan with remote + removeable window vents
Asking price: $72,000
Location: NYC Metro Area, northern NJ, lower Hudson Valley NY
If you’re interested, please read this whole post to find out how to contact me.
The Design
My genius designer friend designed and built this one-of-a-kind “vansformer” conversion because I wanted a fully liveable van but wasn’t ready to commit to a specific furniture layout.
All furniture is attached to the wall via a French cleat system, which means cabinets and other furniture/accessories can be hung at any height, and in any configuration throughout the van.
Why I’m Selling
I’ve made tons of additions since we did the initial build in 2019, preparing to live in the van full time. Unfortunately due to health issues I’ve had to move into an apartment, so I decided to see if I could pass it on to someone who would be able to use it for its original purpose.
Because of plan changes during the pandemic, I didn’t end up using it very much, so it’s still very low mileage. This thing is my baby and I’m not in a rush to sell it, just testing the waters since if I’m honest with myself, I can’t really use it very much in my current situation.
It’s currently basically complete and liveable, though I’m constantly adding new features. Can sell it in its current form, and am also willing to add custom features.
*Please note, I’ve already made multiple improvements since these photos and videos were taken, including adding a modular dinette table, additional insulation and cosmetic upholstery on the interior, and refinishing cabinets.
UNIQUE MODULAR BUILD + FURNITURE
The most unique solution to a completely modular van conversion.
A fully furnished RV where all furniture and cabinets can be rearranged in any way you can imagine on the unique french cleat system, and all cabinets are multi-use.
Two people can empty the entire van of furniture in less than 15 minutes, converting it back to an empty cargo van.
You can hang the cabinets easily in whatever configuration works best for you. The 3 large cabinets are at counter height, or can be turned on their side to be at bench height.
The current dinette bed/bench configuration can be replaced with a storage garage style system (all the parts for this are included, though not currently pictured).
I built the current bed system so that there is an extendable bench on one side, and a storage bench on the other, and it’s been working great for me. Three 4.5-inch memory foam couch/mattress leaves with custom upholstered covers are almost queen-mattress size (there are 3 additional small memory foam cushions as well).
CONDITION
Drives perfectly, no mechanical issues.
I’ve maintained it regularly since I bought it in 2019 and only put a few thousand miles on it per year. Just had brand new tires installed.
Some small dents, dings and small scratches on body from its time as a cargo van, but nothing massive. I personally think it adds to the stealth aspect of the van because it looks like a boring work van on the outside.
Much of the furniture has been in fairly regular use over the last 3 years, so there are some imperfections and scratches, though I’ve been refinishing most of the wooden cabinets and cleat rails on the walls to get rid of superficial scratches.
KITCHEN
The sink is deep and spacious, with a foot pump faucet and all tanks inside the cabinet, which allows the sink cabinet to be modular and moved anywhere in (or out) of the van, without any plumbing or wiring. (Though you could easily add an electric pump if you prefer).
The sink cabinet fits two 5-gal fresh water tanks, and a 5-gal grey water tank.
You can keep additional 5 gal tanks in other parts of the van if you want additional fresh water storage capacity.
The 2 burner propane stove installed above the fridge is not currently hooked up to propane as I’ve been using a coleman stove (which I can include).
I can finish hooking up the installed stove to your specifications (either to run off of a mini propane tank, or an onboard tank in a propane locker).
The fridge is a Dometic 3-way fridge that can run on AC, DC, or Propane. It’s currently installed to run on AC in the van (to run it on propane would require additional ventilation that is not currently installed in the van), but you could pretty easily wire it into the current DC system if you want.
INSULATION
Fully insulated with 3M Thinsulate and a layer of foil-covered foam; the floor has a layer of foam board as well.
You can also add a french cleat to curtains or other insulation layers for additional modular insulation (I can explain this further if it doesn’t make sense).
DIMENSIONS AND HEADROOM
I’m 6’2” and can stand comfortably as there is ~6ft 3in headroom after floor and ceiling insulation was put in.
The high roof is 109.4 inches tall, plus 5in for the MaxxAir fan when closed.
Length: 263.9 in. Overall width with mirrors: 97.4 in.
Overall width without mirrors: 83.7 in.
Height (not including 5 inch vent fan) 109.4 in.
Wheelbase: 147.6 in.
SOLAR/ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
This is a robust system custom designed and installed by a licensed electrician, and house batteries can be charged by solar, shore power, and alternator.
Solar Panels: Three flexible ultra-thin (0.08in thick, stealthy) 100W Renogy panels on roof (~$600 value)
Inverter/Charger: 2200 W, 100Amp Samlex Solar EVO-2212-12A Evolution Series Inverter/Charger (~$1650)
House Batteries: Two 200Ah Renogy Deep Cycle Pure 2, Gel 12V Batteries (~$900)
Charge Controller: Outback Power Flexmax 80AH MPPT solar charge controller (~$540)
Regular 120v household outlets installed throughout.
Shore power charger in front if you want to charge batteries that way (it’s also stealthy, looks like a block heater plug)
House batteries are set up to charge while van is driving (via original alternator).
A favorite feature: includes additional solar panel hook up: in the front, you can hook up additional - solar panels to expand capacity when parked.
VENTILATION
Roof Ventilation: MAXXAIR 0007000K MaxxFan Deluxe Fan with Remote and White Lid (~$359)
Window Vent Inserts: metal air vent inserts for both front windows (~$159)