This Man’s Brilliant Minivan Camper is the BEST I’ve Ever Seen!

Thanks for stopping by!Check out my biggest dispersed camping trip of 2023 here: https://youtu.be/BYzMB0cR3IQ

I lived in my beloved, adored 2005 Mazda 6s with 3.0 engine for over 2 years. I'm now 63 and a lady invited me to stay in her spare room. We did become friends but 2 months after I moved in ,she died suddenly. She was 60 years old . Her family begged me to stay in her house since they all live several states away and she had no will. So for almost 9 months now, I'm living alone in a house ,paying the utilities ( least I could do since they are paying the mortgage until estate is settled. But my Mazda was killed by a repair shop and I'm saving money to buy another car.

I would recommend adding a lip all around the edge of the cooktop so that if something spills over, it can remain contained and not get all over the mattress.

This is gold for travel nurses. Ganna take the leap and try this.

"using a minivan for more than one person, can be tight". This makes me crack up, thinking back to a couple of years back, we were 3 guys working and travelling for 5 months straight, in this old toyota estima. We never stayed at any real camp sites, just on parking lots away from town or in the middle of nowhere. No fridge, no electricity, only 2 seats so 1 guy always had to lay in the bed whilst driving. Hard work outdoors during the day, no showers after, just beer, joints, and lots of laughs. It was extremely tight, i still don't have a clue how we got through it for that long, we only met a month prior to that, so we barely knew each other. How fucking beautiful life can be.

I have the very same Sienna and really love your videos. so tired of the kids of the uber wealthy and their parents tricking out an already expensive rig, and then pretending how rugged and frugal they are. To each his own, but I really appreciate you and others who produce the "everywo/man" mods. Since I do not have the cabinet making skills, tools, or facilities that are required for other builds, your videos are most inspiring. I am slowly growing my Sienna in the same directions as you and appreciate the small bites scenario. I also have noticed how more smooth and sophisticated your videos have become as your skills and confidence have grown. I wish you much success and look forward to more videos

Love the video and all the clear info you give! I have searched the comments real quick and didn't see anything, but if someone has said so already, please disregard... I wanted to point out that carbon monoxide is approximately the same density as air, just a touch lighter, and so detectors should be kept at breathing level or higher. They should also be kept clear from objects that can stem air flow around them. It is a common misconception that CO detectors need to be kept low (I'm a firefighter and fire prevention officier... if that helps with credibility 😉). Thanks again for the great video!

I cook most of my food in the Aroma mini rice cooker. Oatmeal, grits, boil eggs, ramen, etc. It’s small, easy to clean.

I always think of the minivan campers as ‘self-contained mini-teardrop campers’. That’s what I tell people when I tell them I want one to turn it into a camper van.

I have a 2009 Pontiac Montana, without the bells and whistles. I have bought a Ezetil 12 V cooler, a camp cot and 3" foam mattress, a butane stove, cook kit with kettle and a Luggable Loo. I have ordered a Jackery 1000 and will, eventually, get a 200 W solar panel for the roof. I'm buying things a little at a time as my pension money allows. The hardest part is getting those darned middle and back seats out. Once I get it set up, I'll camp close to home, as my old cats get angry if I'm gone for too long. I'm not sure if they'd adapt to harnesses for transporting from house to vehicle. They really hated being caught and stuffed into carry crates when we were evacuated during the wildfires. Thanks for showing me how it's done. :) Jon in rural BC, Canada

I am so excited to see a NO BUILD option!! THIS is exactly what I need! Thank you for sharing this!

Love this guy! Doesn't waffle on, just gets to the point!

Two years old, but somehow, still updated and functioning!👍

I just bought an ‘09 AWD Sienna and didn’t even know about using as a camper until I saw these YouTube videos. Now I’m planning to go stealth camping in Moab. Cheap, reliable fun!

I’m 60yrs old, and I’m looking for a van. I’m GONA use it to live in. And I’m looking for ideas that are simple and easy. I’m on a very fixed income. VA Survivor benefit. I’m familiar with camping. So I can be outdoors as well. It’s kinda scary going into this. Thanks for ur video

Harbor Freight, Dollar-type stores, Walmart, and truck stop stores are your friend. Try an elastic net for the top shelf for extra storage and to prevent launching them at every twist and turn. You might also consider this for the entire shelf face for the same reason. I have the same window reflective panels setup as yours but store them in an overhead netting secured from four interior perimeter roof handles. It's perfect since the panels don't have much collective weight and frees precious floor space.

Here is a hint: Think outside of the box instead of buying high cost items. You can make many things yourself for little money. We use plastic screen and magnets over our windows. Works great. We have an ecoflow for power and solar panel from SanTan Solar, Arizona. Fire maple Stove Sleeping Bags Tarp from Walmart and paracord for sunshade, folds up easy peasy For washing up ourselves and dishes we use a plastic spray bottle with pump from Home Depot We bought a car tray from Harbor Freight that we put on the hitch in back of our vehicle. We have a Chevy Spark. We found a used cargo carrier and mounted it to the top of the car. We keep our tent chairs sleeping bags solar panel snorkel gear etc. up there. Black Friday sales and yearly sales, Facebook Marketplace, and eBay, local garage sales, Goodwill and Habitat for Humanity have lots of good deals. Also go to the wealthy areas where they throw out lots of good things on trash day. Those are free.

Well done - an excellent version of this "genre" of RVing. As mentioned elsewhere, Bob Wells, HOWA & Company use the no-build minivan a lot in getting people started and on their feet with boondocking -- "spreading hope". Thanks for making.

There is someone behind you looking in your mini van at 4:57 seconds into the video.

Those fold out beds are UNCOMFORTABLE!!! I drove Minivans as a taxi,,,, i would go get a thick Foam Folding Chair that makes up into a Bed,,, I slept on them before. You usually find them in Mattress stores or online they are usually about $80- $130 and up,,,, I think they are called Stuffed Flip Chairs,,,, Builds installed into your Van can cause your Insurance to not cover any accidents. People that do builds in their minivans usually do not know that till its too late,,,, Build plus all your stuff can all be to heavy and affect performance of the van,,, it might not brake well because of weight