CampMaker Van Building Principles
The End Goal
There is a natural excitement about purchasing a van and the avalanche of ideas and things to consider. What really matters is that the finished design meets your expectations after you have been on many trips and used it regularly.
Simplicity
It is helpful to keep things simple. A camper van is an adjustment in size from a larger RV. We work hard to keep the van systems simple so they are easier to understand, use and maintain. Nearly every aspect of the build is designed so it can be easily taken apart and repaired if necessary. This is uncommon in the van industry.
Insulation
All vans need insulation to handle both hot and cold weather. Here are the tried and tested techniques used at CampMaker. We installed rigid sheets of polyisocyanurate foam glued in place with foam from a professional spray gun. Between R7 to R14 insulation value. Thinsulate batting is installed in some regions of the van build. The R Value ranges from R6 to R12.
Crash Safety
Everything in a van should be designed to be safe in a crash. A crash will likely produce a force on each item in your van and propel it forward with a force 30 to 50 times it’s weight. If you have 50 pounds of gear in a cabinet, in a 30 g crash it will pull itself off the wall with 1,500 pounds of force. Many van cabinets are not designed for a crash and don’t protect you from flying debris. A lot of cabinets will have more than 50 pounds in them. CampMaker cabinets are well constructed out of plywood where we screw and glue every joint. Glued joints are much stronger than just nailed or screwed joints. The cabinets are bolted through both the floor (for floor cabinets) and to the wall frames.
Accessories, like magnetic strips holding kitchen knives in the galley, may be fine while parked, but the situation changes when the vehicle is in motion. Look at what is in the van and how is it secured, so no harm comes to the passengers of the vehicle.
Cabinet Latches
When you fill your drawers with contents, it is important that the drawers will not open in transit. There are many options, but I this is the latch we use. https://www.amazon.com/Southco-M1-64-Flush-Thickness-Non-Locking/dp/B00GM5H27G/
Electrical
CampMaker vans have solar power, shore power and a connection to the van’s starter battery to charge the “house” batteries in the conversion.
120 volts versus 12 volts
Many van buyers and builders assume a 3000 watt inverter is necessary, but we have found a 1200 watt inverter meets the needs and significantly reduces the safety risk and complexity of the system. It also improves the reliability and function. If you only use the 120 volt inverter when you need it, you save a lot of unnecessary battery power. We use efficient 12 volt refrigerators. Our vans use a externally vented heater using propane.
Water
RV plumbing is known to have problems. One of the goals for CampMaker vans is to create plumbing systems that basically never leak. We mount a 20 gallon fresh water tank. This has a small submersible water pump inside the tank. When you turn on the faucet at the kitchen sink, it starts up the pump and provides water. It has only two water connections, versus other van plumbing systems that often have more than 25 connections.
Shower
If you want to shower in your van, the layout becomes more crowded and complex. Under-mounted black and gray water tanks, hot water heaters using the engines heat, propane, or electricity are possible but much more complex. These amenities often mean you have to stay in RV parks where you have access to water and dump stations. One common goal of camper vans is to get away from RV parks and enjoy dispersed camping away from other campers, therefore, CampMaker vans don't have showers.
Toilets
Very few van builders build a standard flush RV style toilet. For many RV toilets, urine and solids are combined. The odor from the toilet is extreme and the process to dump the black and gray water tanks is unpleasant. 50% of the products sold at RV stores is just to deal with the mess of dumping RV septic tanks.
The urine diverting toilets have a simple urine separating design. It does not require a heater or complex mechanical rotating mechanisms. This is the type we build at CampMaker. Here is an excellent article about dry toilets and why you need one.
https://www.kildwick.com/urine-diverting-dry-toilets-and-why-you-need-one
Inclement Weather
Winter camping or bad weather creates long nights so you will be in the van for hours after dark before you retire. Campfires are great, but you will be inside due to insects, darkness, cold, wind, and wildlife. Rainy days happen, bring a book, video player, or your computer. The CampMaker van layout is ideally designed to allow space for this.
Beds
A good bed is essential for any camper van. The goal is to sleep as well in the camper as you do at home. We use memory foam mattresses that are cut down to the custom size needed for each van build.
Seating
The most common way to install additional seating in a camper van is using a Ford Transit bench seat . These seats have the 3 point seat belts built into them so all you are doing is properly bolting the seat to the floor. Our seat bases come from Fenton Mobility.
Insurance
A cargo van is initially insured as a commercial vehicle. After the camper conversion is completed, it can be insured as a recreational vehicle. The criteria for a motorhome or a recreational vehicle is usually a bed, kitchen and a bathroom. For more information see this article: https://www.godownsize.com/rv-parks-allow-van-conversions/
ProMaster Specific Issues
Suspension Modifications
All ProMaster vans ride a little too stiffly. We have modified the rear suspension to get a softer ride and removed the second "helper" leaf spring.
Other Vans
RAM ProMasters, Mercedes Sprinters and Ford Transits are all good vans for camper conversions. They all have repair issues and all of them need to be maintained. RAM and Ford dealers are more readily available in the USA than Mercedes. The total cost of ownership for the Mercedes is about twice as much as the ProMaster.
ProMaster versus the Ford Transit
The Promaster has a more boxy shape and is easier to convert into a camper van. The boxier shape means few curves. The lower deck height in the ProMaster feels about right. The high-roof Transit is unnecessarily high, the low is too low, the middle is too low for an average height person. It’s missing the Goldilocks moment of “Just Right”. The front wheel drive is better than rear wheel drive for many things. Unless you need serious off-road capabilities, the FWD is quite effective on “back roads”. The FWD is outstanding in the snow, but make sure you have real snow tires. The Transit is at least $5,000 more and the AWD Transit is about $15,000 more than a FWD ProMaster.
ProMaster Engine and other Mechanical Topics
The Pentastar 3.6 Liter gas engine is a good powerplant. Many engines can go between 300K and 600K miles before needing replacement. The diesel ProMaster engines are not made anymore and not recommended. The Ford and Mercedes diesels emission components can be very expensive to repair. Sometimes over $8,000! A Pentastar engine can be replaced for about $5,500. ProMasters Only in Ohio is an excellent resource to help people understand how to troubleshoot repair issues. https://www.youtube.com/@promastersonly1419
Under the hood is a ProMasters Only sticker with many of the fluids, schedules and common issues.
You can get good gas mileage! If you drive about 60 to 65 mph it is possible to get about 20 mpg on the freeway, if the van isn’t too heavy. Around town the gas mileage is often 15 mpg.
Change your oil every 5K miles not 10K. If you have a dealer or FCA warranty, it is helpful to have the dealership do the oil change. They will have good data on your van and be able to respond better if a warrantee repair is needed.
Use only the right kind of antifreeze, the wrong kind will damage the engine.
Weight
It is important to consider the overall weight of your van camper. You have about 4,000 pounds of payload capacity beginning with an empty van. It is very possible to use only 2,000 for the build and have about 2,000 left over if you are careful with weight. This reduced weight helps improve your gas mileage, brakes, transmission and engine life. It also allows you the capacity to occasionally carry extra heavy items like lumber, equipment, pull a trailer, etc. Many van builders are not concerned about weight and it is very likely that they use up all 4,000 lbs. and max out the vehicle weight capacity. Marble counters, full bathrooms and water tanks and too many cabinets add up quickly.
Traction
If you keep more than 50% of the weight on the front wheels, your traction will be greatly improved. When not busy with a trucking customer, weigh stations are available. It is good to weigh each wheel and determine your weight balance from front and rear as well as left to right. The current van when loaded with gear and people, has 3,700 lbs. (53%) on the front wheels and 3,300 lbs. on the back wheels.
The ProMaster has excellent traction with the right kind of tires. It is recommended to stay with the stock size (LT 225/75/R16) which is a load range E and 10 Ply tire.
The front wheel drive ProMaster does well on 90% of the back roads. The ProMaster has about 7 inches of clearance. The 4X4 Sprinters have 8 inches of clearance and the Ford Transit has 6 inches of clearance. The ProMaster is not as nimble as a four-wheel or all-wheel drive, but it does surprising well on nearly all the roads you should take a camper van on. It also costs at least $15,000 more for AWD or more for 4X4.
Tires
The ProMaster is sometimes referred to as the SnoMaster because of it’s excellent traction in the snow.
We recommend only using the OEM tire size on the ProMaster rather than anything bigger. The OEM size tires are designed for this 9,000 lb. vehicle. The tires must be a load range E and 10 ply tires. The Stock size is LT 225/75/R16.
Flat Tires
I would encourage everyone to practice changing a tire or two, if you have not done it before on the ProMaster. It is a lot easier to do when you are not on the side of the road, in the rain or a dark night. The jack lift point is easier to find near the front wheels, but the rear lift point is not as obvious. The stock lug wrench isn't ideal, so CampMaker vans include a 24 inch breaker bar to the tool set with a 21mm socket.
Multi-use Function
Don’t just park the van when not on a trip. It will last longer if you occasionally use it for everyday things. Consider these functions:
Emergency Supplies - A van build is a great emergency vehicle. A lot of stuff can be put in the van. The Oregon fire season has shown how helpful RV’s are when you need to evacuate.
Tool chest – It is helpful to have a set of tools and equipment that is readily available. The van can be a rolling tool-box.
To find out more details on CampMaker business build philosophy see this presentation.