r/nextfuckinglevel • u/SmoothSun6676 • 17h ago

The Transformation of a Van

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41.7k Upvotes

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66

u/danimalinstnct 17h ago

So just 70k for the van and 10k for the upgrades? Zany!!

19

u/BigTomBombadil 17h ago

Not exactly generational wealth levels though. I’d guess people with generational wealth just pay for the upgraded van rather than do it themself.

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u/epelle9 17h ago

You don’t need generational wealth for that..

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u/BigTomBombadil 17h ago

Agreed, that terms getting thrown around lightly for someone building out their own van they could use to “live in a van down by the river”.

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u/0202_tihssitidder 16h ago

You guys argue and bitch about every word, letter, and number. Pedantic is not a personality.

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u/Zacous2 15h ago

Dude it's not even all that much money, the difference between having 70k to spend on something cool and true generational wealth is not pedantry.

Think of any time you see a nice car, this is basically the same

-6

u/No_Upstairs_811 13h ago

lmao "its not even that much money" when its a 150k build.

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u/travelmusica 12h ago

If you’re living in it like it’s a home then it’s definitely not that much money. 150k is well below the price of a house. Furthermore, after investing all that labor and time into this van, you’d be able to sell it for a profit. Doing something like this is very attainable for a middle class person it just requires dedication, energy, and focus, which are things most of the complainers here lack in addition to generational wealth

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u/WarbleDarble 9h ago

Neither is random anger and jealousy.

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u/Thorfax117 17h ago

I didnt say it was cheap, I said the build is relatively modest compared to other builds, as in the interior

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u/saxonturner 17h ago

Mate it’s Reddit most these people won’t have more than 5k in the bank at one time due to perso- I mean other peoples decisions.

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u/Acceptable-Drive3781 8h ago

Look at the /personalfinance sub. People are still struggling to save 6 months worth of expenses. Reddit is mostly kids in college.

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u/shorteningofthewuwei 15h ago

Majority of the population of the United States lives paycheck to paycheck. This is not simply a matter of personal choices, but a systemic reality.

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u/goodoldgrim 14h ago

It's both. Majority of that majority also make dumb choices on top of the system not having their back. Not everyone is in medical debt.

5

u/Jbladez 9h ago

Here is a fact: the no.1 reason for families declaring bankrupcy in the states is medical bills. Just think about that for a second? How on earth is that a choice?

I get that you're a pampered, special daddies boy with a trust fund and daddies credit card - but have some self-awareness or do a LICK of research before spouting off such awful, selfish, uncaring nonesense.

-1

u/Workman44 10h ago

Gotta have newer and newer phones, cars, clothes, etc. God forbid they sit a generation or two out and build capital

2

u/shorteningofthewuwei 6h ago

Don't forget avocado toast and lattes /s

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u/Workman44 5h ago

Well if you can't afford it 🤷‍♂️

2

u/shorteningofthewuwei 5h ago

Maybe question who our economy is actually serving if the majority of the population can't afford to literally participate in the market and be in their community by enjoying some leisure time in a coffee shop.

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u/Workman44 4h ago

Oh I agree with that, but fact of the matter is you're still shooting yourself in the foot for a small enjoyment until that changes. I'd love for it to be nearly free for people to go and grab coffee, I think it's good for community. That being said, until the economy allows that it's still fiscally stupid to continue to do something you can't afford

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u/oddcollins 9h ago

God damn poor people with their new phones, cars, and clothes!

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u/Workman44 9h ago

Well, it isn't a necessity, especially if you're poor

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u/willargue4karma 14h ago

man fuck off, something like 65%+ of americans cant afford a 1k emergency

14

u/GergDanger 12h ago

Yeah I’ve seen how the average American lives and them not having $1k saved is a personal choice in a lot of cases

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u/QuestionSnail 10h ago

It's crazy how despite making more than 80% of people in the world my coworkers still live paycheck to paycheck

3

u/callumjm95 10h ago

Well done, you've just discovered the Cost of Living Index. Your coworkers would be able to live significantly better on their current wage in the other 80% of the world than they do in the US.

2

u/QuestionSnail 10h ago

Or they could just not be idiots and stop spending theit money in stupid ways. I get that some people in the US literally can't save anything, but this is not true for them they are just bad with money.

-1

u/Jbladez 9h ago

You have no ability to have empathy or see life through the eyes of other people.

Here is a fact: the no.1 reason for families declaring bankrupcy in the states is medical bills. Just think about that for a second? How on earth is that a choice?

Please educate yourself before spouting such vile nonesense please.

3

u/QuestionSnail 9h ago

Your brain is cooked. You haven't met me or my coworkers and try to tell me you know all about them. Are you stupid? It seems so. They make 100k a year and blow it on dumb shit.

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u/GergDanger 8h ago edited 8h ago
Personal bankruptcy/insolvency
~21.8 per 10,000 adults in the USA
25.3 per 10,000 adults in the UK

Yeah bankrupcies in the US might be predominantly medical based but there's less overall bankrupcies than in the UK so by your logic the UK should be a worse country to live in right since more people go bankrupt?

Another example is that the median living space is 1,845 sq ft in the US vs 1,033 sq ft in the UK which is 78% bigger. So if Americans simply adjusted their rampant consumerism to how other countries live they would suddenly be spending quite a lot less money on larger living spaces, bigger cars, more frequent eating out and travel.

1

u/GergDanger 8h ago

They would be able to save money if they just lived at the same standard of living as other countries.

No need to have an apartment twice the size of other countries, financing much more expensive cars instead of a basic one. Eating out constantly versus occasionally.

Truth is Americans just consume way more than other countries causing themselves to be paycheck to paycheck and not a lack of wages or high prices.

2

u/benphat369 6h ago edited 5h ago

They would be able to save money if they just lived at the same standard of living as other countries.

Not even just other countries. As someone raised by grandparents, a ton of the "rich boomer" rhetoric in the U.S. is from youth who were raised middle class and are just mad that they can't live that lifestyle as adults. They only feel poor because Instagram shows them how rich people live. So they don't realize the fact that most of the old generation saved money because they will only eat canned beans and 3 other meals on rotation, or how "vacation" was a drive to the next town over to see our cousins. You aren't hearing from actual poor people in threads like these cause they've already been doing this shit for ages.

It's a huge elephant in the room when discussing this topic.

2

u/Jbladez 9h ago

You are horrible, and have no ability to have empathy or see life through the eyes of other people.

Here is a fact: the no.1 reason for families declaring bankrupcy in the states is medical bills. Just think about that for a second? How on earth is that a choice?

Please educate yourself before spouting such vile nonesense please.

1

u/TheNipplerCrippler 4h ago

What are you even talking about? You’ve seen how the average American lives? Really? From what? Videos like this? You don’t have a fucking clue lmao

1

u/GergDanger 4h ago

No, from statistics. Median living space is 78% bigger than even the U.K. for an American. Add in air conditioning, more expensive cars when a cheaper one suffices. Eating out a lot more regularly.

0

u/Dear_Inevitable3995 1h ago

Yeah the reason american homes are bigger isn't rocket science buddy, but if you'd like to find out in an easy way go punch a wall in a american home and then try that out in the uk.

from there go get you hand treated in the american healthcare system vs the uk and see how that works out.

Might not be statistics, but the results would certainly be interesting.

1

u/GergDanger 1h ago

Homes being made from timber doesn’t explain them being almost twice as big on average. Why wouldn’t they make a home the same size as in Europe and just have a cheaper home overall? Because they’re used to a lot of unnecessary luxuries as a baseline lifestyle.

-2

u/NobleN6 9h ago

Most cases lmao

1

u/Jbladez 9h ago

Here is a fact: the no.1 reason for families declaring bankrupcy in the states is medical bills. Just think about that for a second? How on earth is that a choice?

Please educate yourself before spouting such vile nonesense please.

2

u/Workman44 10h ago

Most of those people also spend $1k on a vacation they can't afford pretty easily... Or new clothes they can't afford... Or a new phone they can't afford... Point being is most of it is self inflicted

0

u/Jbladez 9h ago

Here is a fact: the no.1 reason for families declaring bankrupcy in the states is medical bills. Just think about that for a second? How on earth is that a choice?

I get that you're a pampered, special daddies boy with a trust fund and daddies credit card - but have some self-awareness or do a LICK of research before spouting off such awful, selfish, uncaring nonesense.

2

u/Workman44 8h ago

I love it when people assume I'm a rich kid, far better than the reality lol. My family is from bum fuck poor Appalachia in WV, just means we know what is worth spending on and what isn't, and 9 times out of 10 it isn't worth it

1

u/Diablo_Advocatum 16h ago

I would be surprised if they had up to $2k in the bank. Such a nice video too that shows amazing work, ingenuity and passion. And of course, redditors have to shit on it.

3

u/hyprgrpy 16h ago

Insufferable assholes, really! I’m truly impressed by what they did, let alone with 2 kids. And they complain about generational wealth. Pure hatred and jealousy.

1

u/Jbladez 8h ago

Here is a fact: the no.1 reason for families declaring bankrupcy in the states is medical bills. Just think about that for a second? How on earth is that a choice?

I get that you're a pampered, special daddies boy with a trust fund and daddies credit card - but have some self-awareness or do a LICK of research before spouting off such awful, selfish, uncaring nonesense.

2

u/saxonturner 16h ago

Exactly, not once did I think about the money involved, it was just a cool video. Most Redditors have their emotions rotted out by envy and jealousy. I cannot imagine how sad their lives are made through their own fault because they look at the world through a lens of hate and distaste.

1

u/Jbladez 8h ago

Here is a fact: the no.1 reason for families declaring bankrupcy in the states is medical bills. Just think about that for a second? How on earth is that a choice?

I get that you're a pampered, special daddies boy with a trust fund and daddies credit card - but have some self-awareness or do a LICK of research before spouting off such awful, selfish, uncaring nonesense.

0

u/Jbladez 8h ago

Here is a fact: the no.1 reason for families declaring bankrupcy in the states is medical bills. Just think about that for a second? How on earth is that a choice?

I get that you're a pampered, special daddies boy with a trust fund and daddies credit card - but have some self-awareness or do a LICK of research before spouting off such awful, selfish, uncaring nonesense.

2

u/Diablo_Advocatum 7h ago

Lmao if you knew anything about me, just a little bit about me behind the screen, you would laugh hard at that your second paragraph. I know I’m dying of laughter

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u/Jbladez 17h ago

Shut up, lol.

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u/saxonturner 16h ago

I could say the same to the „generational wealth“ bullshitters.

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u/Jbladez 9h ago

So people passing down massive amounts of land and assets to their family is just a "Myth" and "bullshit". lmfao.

capitalist moment. redditors i s2g lol

0

u/Joverby 1h ago

Yeah man you're totally right everyone can be slanging out 200k van builds they are just eating too much avocado toast. The fact wealth inequ6is the worst it's ever even is just a coincidence to the sentiment.

-1

u/real_cool_club 9h ago

My favorite thing in the world is when people make broad sweeping generalizations about the people on Reddit while.they themselves are also commenting on Reddit.

What makes you so much better than everyone else, mate?

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u/porkavenue 17h ago

It’s probably 25-30 in upgrades, plus your time. Cheaper to buy a motor home

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u/RammerRod 17h ago

And not a Mercedes one. Those cost extra.

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u/Acceptable-Drive3781 8h ago

Cheaper to buy a motor home

I lived in a motor home for a few years. If I had to do it over again, I'd either get a sprinter van, or a Class B, or a 5th wheel. This van would be more versatile than a motor home.

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u/porkavenue 8h ago

Sure, but why? what's your reasoning

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u/Acceptable-Drive3781 8h ago

There were several times I needed help from a mechanic. You can't just go to a regular mechanic anymore, because they don't have a lift that can lift the motorhome. Or they'd flat out refuse to even look at it when I called them. Even when I'd tell them "I need help with xyz, it's a 350 small block chevy engine, can you take a look and see if it needs to be lifted at all?" Nope, it's an RV, won't touch it.

There were many times I needed to drive into a city to purchase something. Parking a 24' motorhome in a busy city is very difficult to find a space, whereas if I had a cargo van or a truck separate from my 5th wheel, it would have been a piece of cake to pop into town, get supplies, and get back on the road. This caused me to avoid cities altogether for the most part. I got a nice stack of tickets for even parking the motorhome on some neighborhood streets while I visited friends, for the sake of being an RV parked on a public road (Burlington, Vermont: I'm not paying your tickets, you can keep them).

There are some roads I wanted to access that I just plain couldn't drive to. This one is more personal, but I spent a few months base jumping in Moab, UT and there are some trails that I had no problem driving a small car to, but the motorhome just wasn't going to make it. And it's not like I could turn the motorhome around on the trail / road, nope, I had to back that bitch up with very limited sight. It was a nightmare.

1

u/formernonhandwasher 7h ago

Family of three. We go everywhere. Slept in it in downtown areas parked in the street. Every time I see the bigger rigs at campgrounds they have so much stuff. Stuff they have to set up and tear down. We rarely stay at campgrounds but if we do it’s a one minute plug in. Up and gone just as quickly. We can go places the bigger rigs can’t. Like down the narrow winding road to the site on the 200ft cliff overlooking the Atlantic in Newfoundland. It’s just a van and people don’t give it a second look. Pull over in a neighborhood for the night and sleep. No biggie. Our kid is seven and been to 47 states. Because it’s not a hassle to set up and tear down we don’t have to commit to one place for a few days to justify the set up and tear down time. Lastly, it’s not a bad daily driver if you need it to be.

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u/ReallyBigDeal 15h ago

That's not crazy for an RV build like this.

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u/dijkstras_revenge 17h ago

The average cost for a car in the US is $50k now. That’s not that much more. And compared to the cost of an RV, this is significantly cheaper.

-1

u/thegreatbellyflop55 17h ago

This is an RV

1

u/Lifekraft 14h ago

It is already 10k in tools alone

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u/Thog78 12h ago

You find most mechanical tools at like 15-70 bucks nowadays, if you look a bit around for cheap options. I understood spending 1k to have a cool collection of everything a van builder could dream of, but 10k, come on.

I had a friend who got into this tiny home thing with her boyfriend when we finished our studies. And another one recently, on his own first then got his girlfriend in with him. These are people/students with very little money I can tell you that, nothing from their parents and just little jobs that pay poorly here and there.

These particular people obviously have a pretty nice van, not entry level crappy second hand vans like my friends, but people here still vastly overestimate the price of the handiworks part. Probably subconsciously looking for an excuse to justify not doing some cool creation of their own.

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u/NorCalAthlete 14h ago

More like double that

1

u/Southrn_Comfrt 7h ago

The vans 100k and the mods another 40-50. These up fitted vans run around 220 on the lot.

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u/onichanny_p 2h ago

Lol 10k, maybe in 2010 all that shit would cost 10k. Would say its closer to another 70k on top

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u/0202_tihssitidder 16h ago

Cheapest you can go is a 20 year old van and a mattress. $5000.

I just looked at a decked out van for $350,000.

None of the stuff that looks great is cheap. Everything is up 50% in price today.

Thanks, Obama. /s