Matt Foley may not have glorified living in a van by the river, but that was before YouTube. Now it’s like the law requires anyone starting vanlife to start their own YouTube channel. No wonder you’re thinking about leaving it all behind and moving into a van full-time.
But what about the real van? Are you thinking about making a Ford Transit your new home? We can certainly see why. There’s a lot of room inside and it’s quite easy to convert. The 2023 Ford Transit Trail is especially good for van life. However, you should know that while getting a van will save you on rent or mortgage payments, the upfront costs can be high whether you move to a Transit or another model.
A brand new Transit, not converted, starts at $56,400 (plus a $2,095 destination charge). You may be able to find a used example less than 10 years old for around $20,000. Then there are the costs of building it out. If you let the professionals do it, you can typically expect to spend anywhere from $9,000 for an extremely simple setup to $120,000, depending on how many features you want. You can do a decent conversion yourself for as little as $3,000, or if you’re going crazy, you can spend as much as you would on a professional conversion.
The cost of the Ford Transit itself – converted and not yet converted
One of the most expensive ways to get into the van life is to buy a van that has already been converted. Contravans lists a fully converted Ford Transit High Roof Extended Body for $144,000. This van is equipped with an 80-by-72-inch queen bed, a stainless steel sink, 12-volt air conditioning, an awning, a heater, and more. But that’s new, and buying second hand is a different story. It’s not hard to find a converted 2016 or 2017 Ford Transit in the $30,000 to $40,000 range. Shop around, pay attention to the mileage and inspect each van thoroughly before purchasing.
What if you want to buy a blank van and have your own conversion done? A new, non-converted Ford Transit starts at $56,400 (plus the aforementioned destination charge). If you want to maximize your living space, you’ll probably choose the extended version, which is almost 3 feet longer. The van is also available in three heights. Do you want to be able to move into your new home? Then you can consider the option with a high roof.
Again, if you’re willing to buy used, you’ll save quite a bit of money, at least initially. It is not difficult to find an unconverted 7 to 9 year old Ford Transit in the $20,000 to $30,000 range. At that point, though, it might be worth it to find an already converted Transit of that age, as you’ll only pay about $10,000 more. We recently found a used converted Ford Transit Connect for $2,100, but that’s an outlier and sounds like it needs some serious repairs.
The costs of having your Ford Transit converted by professionals
After watching all those videos of seemingly ordinary people building their own vans, you may think you’re ready to make your own van. However, that is more difficult than the YouTubers make it seem, we can assure you. To convert your van, you’ll need to become a carpenter, electrician, mechanic and maybe a plumber. The possibility of making costly amateur mistakes is quite high.
Still, we understand why people want to build their own vans. Have your Ford Transit converted by professionals such as contravans can range from about $9,000 for a very basic remodel with almost no amenities to over $100,000 for a luxury remodel with a full kitchen, solar panels, a shower, appliances, air conditioning, heat, windows, water heater and more. Conversions through The Vansmid start with just over $40,000 and go up from there. None of these prices include the cost of the van itself.
Buying a Ford Transit and then paying for an expensive conversion does not seem like the most economical choice. After all, for the cost of the conversion alone, you can purchase a Class B camper, which is already designed for camping. On the other hand, if money is no object, buying a van and having it converted by a professional can be the best way to ensure you have a comfortable vehicle designed for you.
The costs of van conversion kits
The next step instead of having your van built by professionals is to use a ready-made kit for your Ford Transit. You’ll still need to use some construction skills, but installing a kit is easier than building it yourself from the ground up and cheaper than having the professionals do it. Although it’s still not cheap.
For example, do you want a bed system? That could be $4,000 to $5,000. A kitchen package from Serge offered can make you $2,000 to $3,000. Wall, floor and ceiling kits will cost you around $2,000 each, depending on the supplier. As you can see, conversion kits are sold as modular sections, which can be a good thing. For example, you may decide that cabinets need to be made for you, but you can also build the bed yourself.
Shop around for conversion kits. Not all stores charge the same prices. Wooden van setsfor example, goes even more modular than Serg Supply and sells smaller components such as single cabinets for a few hundred dollars.
The costs of converting your Ford Transit yourself
Converting a van is complex and requires professional skills and knowledge. We know what you’re thinking: if that YouTuber could build his van from scratch, so can you. And to be honest, your initial Vanlife setup doesn’t need to be that elaborate. You may even not have to build a building at all. But if you start living in your Ford Transit full-time, sleeping in a sleeping bag and using a soda bottle, your bathroom can get old very quickly.
How much will it cost you to rebuild your van from scratch? It all depends on how luxurious you want your Ford Transit to be. A simple renovation with a bed, kitchen and other basic amenities can cost as low as $3,000 and as much as $20,000, depending on the materials you use. Building a van that will imitate the comforts of a small home will likely cost between $25,000 and $50,000. If you really want to go crazy, you can spend up to $100,000. At that point you essentially have a luxury studio apartment on wheels, probably with enough solar power to power a small town in the event of an outage. Finally, don’t forget the cost of power tools that you may not have at the moment. That could mean hundreds of dollars, maybe even more.
The cost of Vanlife components
You may think that you can get by cheaply by converting your Ford Transit because you simply don’t need that much. After all, you may be doing this to simplify your life. We’ve seen YouTubers spend time in vans with nothing but a cot, a bucket (use your imagination) and a few plastic cupboards to store their clothes and a few other things. Maybe you’re a minimalist and that’s all fine with you.
But where are you going to shower? The inside of your van can get pretty funky really quickly. You may want to invest in a simple shower system. If you spend part of the summer in any of the 48 contiguous states, you can expect the van to get quite warm during the day. An off-grid 12-volt AC for your Ford Transit can easily cost well over €1,000. But how are you going to supply it with power? You’ll either need an array of solar panels, along with a slew of batteries, or a generator, which you can’t use everywhere. If you choose the solar route, Boondockers Bible recommends at least 1,800 watts of solar energy to run an AC for 8 hours. At $1 per watt, that’s $1,800, not including the cost of batteries and other necessary equipment.
It is not our intention to discourage anyone from realizing their dream on the open road (or along the river). Vanlife is very doable, whether your circumstances allow you to buy a conversion (perhaps even the new Ford Transit EV conversion) or build your own. It just takes some planning, budgeting and maybe some saving.
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