- 4 days ago
A Ford Transit mid-roof AWD turned bare cargo van into a smart off-grid camper built for real full-time van life. Patrick from Patchworks walks through the build with New Jersey’s Outdoor Adventures, highlighting the Epic 460 Victron electrical system, 400 watts of shadow flux solar, and Starlink Mini for remote work anywhere.
The tour covers the practical details that matter on the road: a 25-gallon water tank in the garage, a Cuddy composting toilet, an induction kitchen, a huge drawer system, and a swivel front seat that opens up the living space. Patrick also explains the waterproof flooring, outdoor vinyl ceiling, magnetic blackout curtain, doorway table, and the way he uses Transit pockets and hidden spaces for storage, service access, and everyday convenience.
Built by someone with eight years of vanlife experience, this camper van walkthrough focuses on what actually works when you live and travel in a van. It is part build tour, part off-grid RV inspiration, and part smart layout breakdown for anyone researching AWD Transit conversions, stealth van life, and compact camper design.
Perfect for fans of camper van tours, Ford Transit builds, off-grid electrical systems, vanlife walkthroughs, RV conversion ideas, and remote work van setups. If you search for Transit camper build, stealth van life, Victron power system, Starlink van build, or off-grid van conversion, this tour delivers a detailed look at a practical, high-tech setup.
The tour covers the practical details that matter on the road: a 25-gallon water tank in the garage, a Cuddy composting toilet, an induction kitchen, a huge drawer system, and a swivel front seat that opens up the living space. Patrick also explains the waterproof flooring, outdoor vinyl ceiling, magnetic blackout curtain, doorway table, and the way he uses Transit pockets and hidden spaces for storage, service access, and everyday convenience.
Built by someone with eight years of vanlife experience, this camper van walkthrough focuses on what actually works when you live and travel in a van. It is part build tour, part off-grid RV inspiration, and part smart layout breakdown for anyone researching AWD Transit conversions, stealth van life, and compact camper design.
Perfect for fans of camper van tours, Ford Transit builds, off-grid electrical systems, vanlife walkthroughs, RV conversion ideas, and remote work van setups. If you search for Transit camper build, stealth van life, Victron power system, Starlink van build, or off-grid van conversion, this tour delivers a detailed look at a practical, high-tech setup.
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TravelTranscript
00:14This is Patrick with New Jersey's Outdoor Adventures YouTube channel. Very happy to
00:18have Patrick with Patchworks back on the show. You remember him, he builds all these awesome
00:23van creations. Well today he's going to give us a tour of a Ford Transit mid-roof and this thing
00:29is really cool so join us for the tour. Hi Patrick, thanks so much for having me. It's good to
00:35be back.
00:35I'm super excited to share this with all you guys. It's the newest, coolest van I've ever built
00:39and I'm stoked that you have a way to show it to all these beautiful people. I'll take you a
00:44walk
00:44on the outside first. Like you said, it is a Ford Transit van. It's a mid-roof, it's all-wheel
00:49drive
00:49and it's got like 100 miles on it so it's a sweet van and inside is quite a sweet build.
00:55There is
00:56an aftermarket dash cam that I added. It points forward and backwards and records while you're
01:01parking so if anything happens you have evidence of what happened. I added this window. When I first
01:07got the van it was a complete cargo van, bare metal, no windows, none of that and I added all
01:12that stuff
01:13in. On the roof there is 400 watts of solar, a max air fan and actually a Starlink mini. Back
01:20here
01:21there's not much to see besides the garage but the garage is kind of something to see so I'll let
01:27you
01:27peek in there. That is a 25 gallon water tank. It goes over the wheel well. You can check how
01:33much
01:33water is in there and fill on the inside. Sometimes I put the fills on the outside but it kind
01:37of feels
01:37weird to me and with the height we had here inside was better so you can open up and go
01:42to that.
01:43The panels are bamboo edge to look nice and this is back so you can screw hooks and baskets or
01:49whatever
01:50you want and then a little slidey door in case you need to get to the lock. This electrical system
01:55is the nicest thing I've ever built. It's an epic 460. It's got all Victron. There's an Orion and a
02:02Serbo and a charge controller in there. This is all the fuses and all the breakers. It's everywhere where
02:10the Starlink plugs in. Solar breaker, shore power breaker, a nice plate to put your adapter, a screen in
02:17the back. There's also a screen in the front and then of course the multi plus. If you walk around
02:22here I can show you where that plugs into. You know close this. Of course a beautiful tree because if
02:28we're making something out of wood we ought to do our best to make it look beautiful. This is the
02:34shore power plug. Nothing you guys haven't seen before but it's nice. It's waterproof and it's easy
02:39access. I also added this window which is a big window. It gives you a big view and also when
02:44you're
02:44driving it opens up your blind spot over your shoulder which is a big thing. And then I'll show
02:50you inside. I'll start with the front because that's what we're doing. We have a swivel seat
02:54that comes all the way around. They're super nice. You can see the dash cam up there and then
02:59a brand new van. It's super nice honestly. There's all sorts of pockets and plugs and vents and
03:06controlling. If you're doing a lot of hours and traveling in a van having something this new and
03:11modern and all the convenience and comforts is something really nice. I've driven around
03:16the country many many times in much older vehicles and I'm sure this would be nice.
03:22This is a nice blackout curtain and I've actually been doing these a little differently.
03:27Between the last van you saw and this van I built another van and another van and figured this out.
03:33So it's magnetic in the middle. Instead of doing this and you have to open this all the way out
03:38to get
03:38through you can just walk through the middle and move on with your life. There's also little class
03:43and that kind of things like that. If you look at the floor you can see that it's beautiful. This
03:50is
03:50waterproof, life proof, scratch proof, all of that composite stuff. Super nice and easily enough to
03:58replace. In the doorway is what's a little bit of a signature for me. The client here really trusted me
04:05and what I've learned over all the years of me building and living in the van. And one of the
04:10favorite things about my van is the doorway table. I use it every day for all the things. Gives you
04:16a
04:16place to charge things. This is the dimmer light up and down for all that. And then of course
04:24water at the doorway. When you're filling up getting ready for adventure you want something that's quick
04:29and when you have the van and you're hanging out with all your friends they're going to want some water
04:33and now you have a place. It also lets you if you're filling up the water tank with water you
04:37don't necessarily trust to drink you can fill this with purified water that you're trusting and use
04:43that. Boom. Over to here is the main bench. It's set up in a way that's decently clever. This lifts
04:51up
04:51show you that first and locks up so you can get in there. It is a huge space. Lots of
04:58bulk storage.
04:59The cushion is really nice. Plenty of space to sit down. And if you are familiar with my van
05:05this is the same setup I have because you can sit like this as well and put your feet up.
05:10I won't do
05:10it now. Put a pillow behind you and you're big lounging. And then of course you also have this table
05:16that pulls out. Gives you everything you need to cook, eat, work. It has Starlink. He's going to be
05:22working on the road. This goes away. And then this kind of mixing things up here also comes out.
05:29So if you double this with this you got a full workstation and that's really good.
05:35Under here while I'm here is a Cuddy composting toilet. This is my favorite composting toilet.
05:40I think they really nailed the design of this. And it only gets better with every rendition.
05:45It pops up. It's ready to go. It's vented. It has an electrical plug. Moves out. There's no smells.
05:51There's no nothing. Peening up is as easy as could be. And then it slides in and hides away. And
05:56you
05:56don't have to worry about it. And now we step over to the kitchen. It's a really nice kitchen. In
06:02this
06:02space it was kind of hard. In these vans the driver's seat when you're driving is pretty far back
06:08into there. So that is why this counter had to be cut. But when you're driving it fills in that
06:14gap.
06:15And then when you're camping if you don't want it being so tight you can move it up. It's an
06:19induction cooktop. It's plugged into a plug down here that has a switch on it as well. So you don't
06:24have to leave it powered on the whole time. Underneath is a big old roll with the top that goes
06:29well with
06:29this swivel table. When you're sitting here you have a place to put things. Eating, drinking, all that kind
06:34of stuff. They're big, open, and nice. Under that is the fridge. This was the best way to put the
06:42fridge. I spent a long time designing this kitchen. And when it's done it can kind of seem like oh
06:46yeah
06:46of course that's how you would do it. But originally this fridge was going to go sideways and then it
06:51was
06:51going to go in that bench. But then it would have taken up all that bench. And if I turned
06:54it sideways
06:54here it would have taken up all the space so I wouldn't have drawers. So I wanted it vertical.
06:59But if I made it vertical and made this cabinet as wide as this it would have been too big.
07:04So this was the solution. It's now as easy as it could be. It also gives you room at this
07:09seat.
07:09You can put your feet up as well. And then of course gets all your stuff. And when you're camping
07:15and cleaning and all of that it's easy to pull out and deal with it. Because that is the reality
07:20of life on the road. This is a full rack of drawers with lots of storage. They all have latches
07:27built in.
07:28So they're on soft close. And then at the end you just push them in. It latches and it doesn't
07:33open
07:33when you're driving. That's something new that I've been doing. And it works really well. Really
07:38simple. Takes away steps. You can see that's a pretty big one down there. All very nice.
07:45Under here is the gray water. So here's a big fresh water tank in the back. And gray water is
07:51something you can take out and dump. It makes the reality of where you're going to dump a lot easier
07:55when you can move it and you don't have to find an actual dump station. There's a lot of space
08:00under there for other under sink storage things. The water pump is there is two connections between
08:07the water tank and the water pump. So there's very few failure points and they're all in strategic
08:12places. So if they do fail they're easy to work fix and catch and notice that something is going wrong.
08:18The water pump has a switch as well up here. And then I can move this. This absolute giant sink
08:26for this little van. But when you're talking about what's really useful for what you want on the road
08:34this is that. Oh honestly the water tank might be a little frozen. So I'm not going to push that.
08:40There is really good water pressure out of there when everything is functioning
08:44at a normal level. Like I said before I added this window in. This is one of my favorite windows.
08:52It's a little frozen as well. It's cold out here. Has a screen. The screen opens. And this is something
08:58the client wanted. This swivels out there and has a long hose on it. So if he needs to wash
09:05off things
09:05back there. He also has a rinse kit. But that gives you another option. There's also a USB port here
09:11to keep things charged up. And the little medicine cabinet for your toothpaste, toothbrush, and other
09:16little things. This fits a bunch of seasoning. Too wide. So a lot of seasoning. And then another big cubby
09:24for oil, vinegar, and that kind of stuff. Up top is more storage. There will be a handle on this.
09:31But that
09:31decision is to the client of what kind of nice little handle it's going to be. And then some more
09:36storage
09:37up here. This curves a lot in this van from over here to over here. So the headspace gets kind
09:44of
09:44goofy. And these keeping in. Those are designed to work with the airbags. And in a brand new van
09:50I didn't feel comfortable taking those out and messing with how it was manufactured to work.
09:55People do take them out. But I felt more comfortable leaving them like that. This light is actually pretty
10:01cool. There's a switch on it. And it's connected to the factory wire harness. So when you open the doors
10:06this light comes on. Which I think is really neat. And you can order. But there is a switch. So
10:12if you
10:12don't want that to happen. Then you don't have to worry about it. While we're up there. You can also
10:17see the ceiling. And the ceiling is actually outdoor vinyl. So it is waterproof. It is super lightweight.
10:26It's very thin. And it's very pliable and malleable. So it can go with the curves. He's actually
10:31five eight. And at this point here is five eight and an eighth. To get a little bit more headroom
10:37where you're standing most. I actually bowed the ceiling up into the gaps. It's kind of hard to
10:43tell. But if you look. You can kind of see it in this line. So that you have more headspace
10:47in the
10:47main area of where he's standing. And of course it makes a little. So if you're hanging out with your
10:54friends DJing. Hitting the record scratch. You can. This big cabinet is huge. It's got a big old
11:02shove spot up there. Big old thing in there. This will have more shelves if he wants to add them.
11:10All his clothes and that kind of things. We saw this drawer. But I'll show you again.
11:14They lift up. This is like this. So if you're cooking and using this as counter. And you put
11:19something on it. But then you need to get something from the drawer. You can move it to the other
11:23side
11:23and only open half of it. Which is pretty slick. These open up. Again just big old drawers.
11:33Lots of storage. And then a shoe slot under there. And behind that wall is an S-bar gas heater.
11:41This is a
11:41gas vehicle. The vent comes through. You can see the controller over here. And if you ever need to work
11:48on the S-bar heater. You can take out these three drawers. And the wall that's back there super
11:53easily. And have big access space to work on that. A lot of people put them under the passenger seats.
11:58And to me. And the reality of when you got to work on them. Doesn't make sense. So I put
12:02mine in places
12:03like that. I'll show you this next. Oh. A little drawer that pulls out when there's not a lock on
12:10it yet.
12:11But that's good to go with this. Your chargers. Your little things. That kind of stuff can go in there.
12:16And then another little shot. Your main shoes. Or books. Or papers. Or whatever you need.
12:21And then even more. Cubby space. There's big old pockets in these transit vans. From where their
12:26seams are. To where the beams are. It's a big old pocket. I felt bad. Wasting that space. That's how
12:33these beds pop out. That's how this exists. And then this closet as well. Goes into that. So you get
12:39the maximum amount of depth. These cubbies don't go as deep as these. Because that's where the beam is.
12:46Anyway. Using space wisely. Some more storage up top here. And up here. A big old bed. This is just
12:53about a full size bed. Besides those cuts in those little corners. So lots of space. This is a Dunlap
13:00mattress. If he wants to add more thickness he will later on. Have some art back there. A reading light
13:05with a USB. So you can keep your things charged. And there's also a big wall on this side.
13:11That he'll be able to add hooks and shelves. And all of that kind of stuff. To make his
13:16life better. Also you can see the Max Air fan here. There is a remote. He'll figure out where
13:22he wants to put that. Blows in. Blows out. It's central. It also gives the standing height here.
13:27I'm taller than 5'8". So I'm scratching no matter what. But. And then a little control center here.
13:33Which is really cool. The Servo GX in Victron is pretty much a computer. And all the components
13:39of the computer all get plugged into there. It does all its math. And it makes sure that
13:44all of the charging and discharging and everything is just maximized. It's really nice when you're
13:48spending a lot of money on an electrical system. Adding those extra systems and being able to
13:53monitor them. You can turn everything on and off. Check all the specs and everything from
13:57one place. And make sure it's all done exactly as the manufacturers want it. It's pretty useful.
14:02It's pretty cool. I really like this. And then of course this little another little dividing wall.
14:09It's part of how you have to build with the pockets. This is the first piece of wood that
14:13went into this build. And yeah it's pretty cool. This is an awesome creation. Thank you. Thank you.
14:21It's got your style in it. But then it's also got some new technology. I know on some of your
14:27builds
14:27you use like a portable Jackery or Blue Eddy or something. Which that makes a lot of sense.
14:31Because you can pull it out and you can bring it into a restaurant and charge it up and bring
14:36it
14:36back into the van. But this is a complete off the grid system with what 400 watts of solar in
14:42a room?
14:42400 watts of shadow flux solar too. So those are the newest panels. They work better when
14:48they're partially shaded and that kind of stuff. Or when it's cloudy. Kind of like today.
14:52Yeah like today. And then of course charges when you're driving the engine. And if you need to plug
14:57in that multi-plus can take 50 amps. Or from here you can drop it down if you're plugged into
15:02your
15:03friend's house at 15 amps. You can mark it there and take that charge too. So it is super cool.
15:09Really I just try to work with what the people have. I love building these. I truly the truth is
15:14that I
15:15love the road. And I love what the road offers you. And all of that kind of stuff. So being
15:19able
15:19to help anybody get there with the level that they have is what I like to do. That's the puzzle
15:25for me. We talk. We chat. What do you have? What do you want to do? Yada yada yada. And
15:30I'm able
15:31to take my experience and expertise and create something that serves them the best it can with
15:37what they have. So yeah and you're one of the builders that actually lived in a van and traveled in
15:42the
15:42van. Definitely. Know what works. What doesn't work. Knows all the pain points. Yeah. You can share
15:46those experience with the people that you work with. Yeah absolutely. I still live in my van. I
15:52still love it to death. It was the key to me unlocking as much as I can out of this
15:58life. So
15:59doing it for other people is great. And people respecting that time that I've put in. I've spent
16:05seven years building and living in a van. Eight years now. It's a long time and I learned a lot.
16:10And the
16:11fact that I get the opportunity to do it for other people and share that and let other people
16:16figure out the beauty and magic of the road is really special to me. So I super appreciate the
16:21opportunities. Well that's awesome. I can't wait to have you back on the show because I can't wait
16:25to see your next creation. This is Patrick with New Jersey's Outdoor Adventures YouTube channel.
16:31I'll see you in the next one. See you guys. There will be another.
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