r/nextfuckinglevel 17h ago

The Transformation of a Van

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u/funky_diabeticc 17h ago edited 16h ago

What’s the miles per gallon like after all that extra weight is added?

Also, I’m not hating by asking this, what’s the advantage to this vs an RV?

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u/LinkingForces 16h ago

15-22 mpg depending on weight and engine. 

My little 23ft motorhome gets 6.5 mpg and is chonky enough to be a little challenging on narrow roads and smaller parking lots... But only cost me $30k used, +$8k in parts over 6 years of use. 

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u/WindupShark 5h ago

If you had to do it over again would you go this route again?

I’ve wanted to convert a 30ft pusher BlueBird but man just getting it the way I want would take a few years best case scenario + any future headache of doing it for the first time and getting things wrong makes me wonder if the build quality trade-off of buying a premade wouldn’t just be worth it…

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u/LinkingForces 5h ago

Premade is usually cheaper and you can make all the modifications you want over time. We added a cat litter box tray, accessible from the outside, modified the exterior a little to add storage ammo cans for flammable stuff. Replaced the water heater, upgraded the bed frame, the storage insulation, reinforced the cargo hold, improved the suspension.

I'm not smart enough to outsmart the layout nerds for optimizing space/functionality. 

Using standard equipment makes it easier to troubleshoot too because other users have the same stuff. 

You can start using the premade right away and modify to fit your needs and preferences that you probably won't develop until you use it more.