As of today we have been living in our self converted 2017 RAM Promaster for 15 months and life has never been so exciting and adventurous. Honestly we don't see an end to this life anytime soon.
Our build is a custom DIY conversion with an open floor plan. It took us 5 solid months to build and we finished THE day our lease ran up on our apartment. It was a grind. But it was fun. The completion of our build was bitter sweet.
Now after living in our new home on wheels for 15 months we can truly say that our handy work has been put to
extremes and withstood the test of time (and of course 4 wheel drive roads we probably should have no business being on but are the most fun). We wouldn't change a thing in our home. Although there is always room for upgrades. We understand that this is a labor of love and will always be a work in progress.
Hopefully, if this is an endeavor you want to explore, we will help inspire you to take the first step to follow your dream. It is a life your imagination can only begin touch.
So, here is the video of our home. This was filmed at the 2019 Florida tiny home festival in Orlando by our good friends Dave and Carrie @oneadVANtureatatime. Thanks guys!!! Maybe you can get some ideas out of it to create your own home:
As we promised in the video, here is a list of some of the major appliances and hard to find objects we used in our build:
Kitchen:
Dometic Fridge - Make sure you find the right size for you. There are many different sizes to choose from.
Dometic Sink/Stove Combo - This is a link directly to Dometic.
ShurFlo Water Pump - This pump works awesome. We have never had a problem with it and it has great preasure.
Electrical:
Goal Zero Yeti 1400 - This is a link directly to the goal zero site. From what I've heard, too, they are coming out with the next generation 1400 really soon (I think October). You may want to hold off for that one if you're not in a rush.
Goal Zero Yeti MPPT Controller - This controller boosts your Solar intake charge by around %40. It's awesome!
Bestek 400w Inverter - This has optional hookup to a car outlet plug or heavy wire directly to the car battery.
Renogy Flexible 100w solar panels - These panels work awesome! They are easy to mount. We used mounting tape and it works perfectly. Especially if you're going for stealth. We used two of these panels and one 160w. (See Below)
Renogy Flexible 160w solar panel - See above
AC to DC Transformer - We ran this at the end of our AC circuit and continued out with our 12v circuit with the lights and electronics.
Switch Panel - This control panel is really cool. It just adds a cool element to the electrical.
Double Pole Double throw switch - This switch is for AC voltage. We used it to fully disengage the battery and reengage the sure power when we are hooked up.
Lighting:
Puck Lights - These are the lights we installed for general purpose lighting.
LED Light Strip - We installed these above our bed for ambient lighting. They are much easier on the eyes. Especially at night. Plus they change color which is really cool. I also installed them under the van. The waterproofing makes them very versatile.
Dimmer Switch (touch screen) - This is a really cool switch to use. Especially if your a total nerd with electronics like I am.
Dimmer Swtich (turn dial style) - We went with this style dimmer on our main lighting because we installed a three way switch to give us the ability to shut off the lights from our front living area and our bed.
Heating:
Webasto - This is a gasoline heater that taps directly into your vehicles gas tank, so, as long as you have gas in the tank you have fuel for your heater.
Electronics:
WeBoost Drive Cell Booster - This cell booster works awesome! I'm actually using it right now as I write this. We've been to some pretty remote areas and have had cell reception to work. It is a total game changer.
Hardware:
500 lb Sliders - These are the sliders we used on the clothes drawer/couch conversion.
Marine Latches - These are the latches that we put on every drawer. They work amazing! We've been down some crazy ass roads and they haven't snapped or damaged. They are perfect.
Misc.:
Storage Organizer - We use the storage maniac 12 pocket hanging organizers to organize everything from shoes to tools, etc. It works out great. They are light weight and easy to install.
Zinus Memory Foam Mattress - We went with Zinus because it was cheap and it had great reviews. We haven't had any complaints what so ever. It is super comfortable.
Wood Grips Hang Board/Finger Board - This is great for upper body strength training. You can do pull ups, finger strength training, etc. especially if you are training for rock climbing.
Awning - We use a sun shade from Kijaro. What we did was used Thule base mounts mounted on our roof with eye hooks attached to them. We use Carabiners in each corner of the sun shade and attach them to the eye hooks.
Thule Base Mounts - Here is a link to the Thule roof rack base mounts made for Promasters. If you aren't using them for the awning, Thule makes a great roof rack that you will need these for.
This list is something that I wish we had going into this project and also the things that people most commonly ask us about. If for nothing else you can use this list as a jump off point to other things to customize your rig to your own tastes and desires.
Hopefully this helps and inspires. See you on the road!