00:00For somebody who lives in the city, this is actually the easiest thing for me.
00:05I could park it anywhere. It's basically a car.
00:08It's not going to take any extra room.
00:11But also, I have a travel trailer that is 21 and a half foot in length.
00:15Welcome back to the show here in Brooklyn, New York, in Williamsburg, at Brooklyn Camper Vans Block Party.
00:20Look at all the vans. I just met up with Joe.
00:23Joe has a really cool DIY Ford Econoline camper van.
00:28It's a low-top van that he converted to inside for weekend travel.
00:31This thing is pretty cool. He's going to give us a full tour inside out.
00:34So join us.
00:36And I'm Joe from Jersey City.
00:38This is my camper van conversion.
00:42It's a 2009 Econoline 150, E150.
00:47And I basically bought it off of Facebook Marketplace.
00:50And I got an idea, or I had an idea, and I basically converted it into a camper.
00:56So if you guys could follow me around, I have 1,350 watt-hours of solar.
01:04The van has 900 amp-hours of battery.
01:11Come around.
01:14270 awning.
01:19This is where some of the batteries are.
01:21I actually have batteries on one side of the van.
01:26And then I also have, here I have 4 kilowatts.
01:30And under the bed I have 6 kilowatts of battery.
01:34And the batteries get charged from, again, 1,350 solar on top.
01:39I have the alternator charger at 800 watts.
01:43And also, shore power.
01:45So I have that here.
01:47And I have Starlink.
01:49So I did, decided to wire this thing for Starlink.
01:52So I'm able to use my Starlink Gen 3.
01:54Also my mini.
01:56I have the wire here.
01:58AC power.
02:00I have a diesel heater that I connect right in here.
02:05USB.
02:06This is a fan for, because obviously I have batteries and stuff like that.
02:10So you want to keep them cool.
02:11I have Alexa.
02:12And I have a wireless plan in the van.
02:16So I do have a modem right in here.
02:18The van, basically when I got it, there was nothing in it.
02:22I completely cleaned it out.
02:26And I added insulation to it.
02:29So it's actually insulated all around.
02:32So I have entry for shore power.
02:38And I actually put a hole in the side of the van.
02:41And this is where I vent my diesel heater.
02:45That actually works really well.
02:48But it's more for the vibes.
02:50Running boards.
02:51So just in case I ever get stuck.
02:53I have a custom built roof rack.
02:57Somebody from Jersey got it for me.
02:59Who actually made it for me.
03:01It's 100% aluminum.
03:02So it never rots or oxidizes.
03:06I have a shower tent.
03:09So all I have to do is basically just open this up.
03:13And I should be able to take a shower.
03:17Right from outside of my van.
03:23I added a light bar that I use when I am off-roading or when I'm going to places where
03:29there's like no light whatsoever.
03:32So let's go inside.
03:35I added a swivel seat or actually swivel to the regular passenger seat.
03:41I have a EcoFlow Wave 2.
03:45And this is actually a heat pump.
03:47So it produces heating and also it's an air conditioner.
03:53I have a 12-volt fridge.
03:55Works very well.
03:57Really inexpensive.
03:59I have a little TV that I also have set up.
04:0612-volt with a soundbar.
04:10I have, this is a, when it's open, it's actually a full-size bed.
04:16So it's actually 54 inches by 75.
04:19I think those are the measurements.
04:22Obviously, if I'm traveling by myself, I'm not going to open it.
04:26I actually have a ladder hiding under the bed because of, sometimes you have to clean the solar panels.
04:33So if I need to get up there, that's how I do it.
04:35So when I have a little table that hangs from the side of the camper, just some pillows and my
04:42longboard.
04:43Because if I get somewhere and when I want to move around, I can use my longboard.
04:57And as you can see, I have a part of the batteries.
05:01And that's an EcoFlow Delta Max 2000 with combined 6 kilowatts.
05:11It's really comfortable, especially for somebody who lives in the city.
05:15And I need to, or feel that I want to get away from the city.
05:19This is the perfect vehicle.
05:21All I have to do is just jump in.
05:24Also, it feels like I'm in a little cabin.
05:27Well, at least that's the, what I was going for.
05:30So basically I made it covered with wood and again, it's insulated, have an exhaust fan.
05:38It's open.
05:40I have curtains to basically divide the spaces or make for privacy.
05:47I have.
05:56And I could sit here.
06:03And I have a 2000 watt alternator here.
06:09At this point, I have never had to use my, the shore power because I have so much solar, my
06:17batteries are always charged.
06:19I have water to the van.
06:24Actually, all I have to do is turn on the, and literally.
06:37And I have a lot of junk.
06:45I have, those are lights and tools and things that I may need when I'm traveling.
06:49But, um, basically I'm all set when it comes to camping.
06:55For the counter, I actually used one of those husky, um, counter, um, I guess wood slabs from Home Depot.
07:06And basically it was too long, so I decided to cut it and, but I'm still able to use it.
07:12Um, basically this is great because it's, it's a durable material.
07:15You could basically throw anything at it and it stays, nothing happens to it.
07:22Um, also the flooring, uh, it's insulated.
07:26Um, actually it's, um, an inch and a half thick.
07:30Um, I decided to add a little bit of like that, um, AstroTurf stuff, um, to give it a little
07:37more of a, um, camping outdoorsy, um, look and feel.
07:44Um, also, um, in here I have a ice maker, a microwave, two induction cooktops, and actually food.
07:56And on top of that, then also there's other stuff in there.
07:59So I could, oh, before I forget, um, if I need to use the bathroom, what do I do?
08:04I actually do have a toilet in here.
08:07I'm not going to show it.
08:09It's a little personal, but I do have it here.
08:11And it's, um, actually hiding under the bed.
08:14So in case nature calls, I have a way to answer.
08:18Joe, this is pretty cool.
08:19I love the fact that, you know, you built this yourself.
08:22You were able to do it on a very decent budget, right?
08:25I did.
08:26I did.
08:27I actually had one of my neighbors, I actually bought the van and I came to one of my neighbors
08:31and I said, hey, I want to do this.
08:33And you want to help out?
08:34And he's like, oh, I'm bored.
08:35You know what?
08:35I'm going to help you out.
08:36So basically for about three months, every Sunday, he was in front of my house helping me put this thing
08:44together.
08:44And fast forward and this is it.
08:48This is basically the combination of three months worth of not going out on a Sunday.
08:54It's good to showcase, like, what you do with not like a super huge budget.
08:59People are going to question, you're 6'1", 6'2".
09:02Why'd you go with the low top van?
09:04So, so for somebody who lives in the city, this is actually the easiest thing for me.
09:11I could park it anywhere.
09:13It's basically a car.
09:15It's not going to take any extra room.
09:17But also, I have a travel trailer that is 21 and a half foot in length.
09:21So, where am I going to park a trailer in Jersey City?
09:25Nowhere.
09:26That's impossible.
09:27So, I keep my trailer at a campground.
09:30And this is basically parked in front of my house.
09:33So, the trailer is like a destination thing, right?
09:36It's a seasonal at a campsite.
09:38You could hook it up and take it across.
09:39I could definitely do that.
09:41Interesting fact is that if I pair the trailer with the van, which actually has a tow hitch,
09:49I could use this, I could use the van to power the trailer.
09:53Being that I have 900 amp hours of battery capacity, I could basically go boondocking.
10:00And all I have to do is fill up the water tanks every so often and then I'm good to
10:04go.
10:05And that's cool about it.
10:06You got the best of both worlds.
10:07Because a trailer is great if you want to leave it set up somewhere and go out and do stuff.
10:11But what if you want to leave it set up somewhere and go out on day trips from that location?
10:16You could take the van out on those day trips too.
10:19So, I have a trailer and a van.
10:22I don't use them both.
10:23But I could.
10:24And it's appealing to me.
10:25Yeah.
10:25Because I don't have to break camp every day if I want to go drive somewhere if I have the
10:29trailer just set up.
10:30One thing that I was taking into consideration when I was putting this together is that,
10:34okay, so I'm two miles away from Manhattan.
10:38Where am I going to park?
10:39Okay, where am I going to put things?
10:41So, when I go west, I'm in the trailer.
10:45When I go north, meaning upstate New York or down to south Jersey, I'm in the van.
10:51So, it's like, again, there's a level of comfort of me being in the van or think of the van
10:55as being a glorified tent
10:57that happens to have electricity, that happens to have running water, that happens to have a fridge and a microwave
11:04and other chassis.
11:07And it's conditioned too.
11:08And it has an air conditioner as well.
11:09And people are going to be like, why the heck are you not running that thing today?
11:12It's 90 degrees here.
11:13I'm dying here.
11:15Great show.
11:16The doors have to be open.
11:17People want to come and take a look around.
11:18This is a block party.
11:20I'm sure you guys all heard, oh, my God, I turned it on.
11:22There you go.
11:23I turned it on.
11:24Leave it running.
11:25This power here is not going to go anywhere.
11:28We're on a block party.
11:29So, you guys heard all the commotion in the background.
11:31Well, Joe, I appreciate you taking some time out of your day to showcase this to an audience.
11:36Because I love the fact that it's a DIY build and you're out there doing it.
11:40You're not thinking about it.
11:42You're doing it.
11:43Technically speaking, I could, like I did, drive into the city.
11:47And if I needed to spend the night and I have the van, nothing is really stopping me.
11:52Because at the end of the day, it is a vehicle.
11:55And you could park it pretty much anywhere.
11:58Yeah, that's great.
11:58And I love these older Ford Econoline vans.
12:01They're bulletproof.
12:02I have one that's 29 years old.
12:04And this is a 2009.
12:06This is much newer to mine.
12:07But it's basically similar technology.
12:09Yeah, yeah.
12:10This thing is not going to, this thing is going to outlive most of us or most vehicles.
12:15So, I mean, it's a tank.
12:17It's basically a...
12:19Well, I appreciate it.
12:21I'll, uh...
12:23I'm not putting links to it.
12:26Well, thank you very much for coming on the show today.
12:28And I'll see you around.
12:30Definitely.
12:31And let me turn on that air conditioner before I die or get cooked.
12:36Yeah, and you've got to close the doors.
12:37Yeah.
12:38All right, man.
12:39All right.
12:40Sure.
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