Cost Breakdown: Van Build for Under $400

Depending on your needs, a van build doesn’t need to be thousands of dollars. I did a complete van build for under $400 and I’m sharing the entire cost breakdown of what went into it.

Something I’d like to explain first is that this price doesn’t not include my solar set-up, fridge, or mattress (as I had this beforehand). This cost of under $400 is just the actual van build, such as insulation, painting, hardware and more. To see everything I did for my van build check out my complete guide. The extras costs will be added on the bottom after the initial $400 spent on the van build.

I live and travel in a ’99 Ford Econovan, which is a medium-sized. A year after owning it, I self-converted it into a campervan style layout with a mattress in the back, huge drawers underneath and a pull-out kitchen area. There’s also additional storage room in the middle section. It’s completely insulated and has plywood floors, walls and ceiling. This article goes through the complete cost breakdown of my van build for under $400 and features all of this construction and more.

While doing this van build, I was staying at a low-budget accommodation and had a shed and some tools to do the build. If I needed to, I purchased low-cost but quality equipment. All of the labour was done by my partner and myself, so after deciding on the layout and measurements we just had to purchase the materials and go for it. This cost breakdown includes what fit into our medium-sized van.

Cost Breakdown of a $400 Van Build Construction Materials

This section is the complete price breakdown of my $400 van build I did to self-convert my van into a campervan.

What’s not included here is the cost of my camp fridge, mattress, solar and dual-battery set up. This is simply because I purchased these items at a different time and so I don’t include it in my actual van build, though it’s definitely part of it. I will cover these extra add ons in the next section below.

• Angle grinder $39
• Sandpaper $10
• Measuring tape $5
• Drill tips pack of three, $8
• Hinges $3 x2
• Rubber Gloves $2
• Insulation Earthwool Space Blanket $90
• Foam floor mat tiles pack of 4, $10
• Decorative Self-adhesive Film $6
• Plywood
  • 1200 x 810 x 3mm, $19 x 3
  • 1200 x 396 x 12mm, $23 x 2
  • Off cuts, $2 x 6
• Paint
  • 4L Acrylic paint $19
  • Sample paint pot 500ml $9.50
• Screws
  • 15mm Wood Screws pack of 50, $4 x 3
  • 20mm Wood Screws pack of 100, $6
  • 30mm Wood Screws pack of 30, $4 x3
• Curtains
  • Insulated curtain material 5 metres x 120 m, $30
  • Magnets pack of 100, $13
• Total: $390.50

Optional Van Build Extras

A basic van build is perfect for weekend trips, or small journeys close to home, but if you’re planning on longer trips it’s good to get some extras. Most of these extras were a no brainer for my build as I was doing (very) long van trips, across Australia. I needed lots of comfort and equipment to make it around the country safely.

• Solar and Dual-Battery System Set-Up
  • 180 Watt Foldable Solar Panel used, $180
  • 250ah Deep-Cycle AGM Battery used, $250
  • 2000W 2-Plug Inverter used, $180
  • Dual Battery System Smart Isolator Kit $60
  • Extension cord for fridge $25
• Other Essentials
  • Double Stovetop Burner $50
  • 45L Camp Fridge $350
  • Double mattress $175 (As-is bin at IKEA)
  • Roof racks used $140
• DIY Rust Removal
  • Isopon Body Filler Hole Repair Kit $60
  • Auto paint $20
• Lights
  • LED Strip Light $15
  • Fairy Lights $8
• Awning 2.5 x 2.5 m $220
• Total: $1,733

How to Save Money on a Van Build

When deciding to do a van build, I knew I wanted to save money and do it as sustainable as possible. To me, this means purchasing less and repurposing more.

At the time of my van build I was living and working on a farm and the owners had leftover materials around from previous renovations, which they said I could have at no cost. I was also able to borrow certain power tools.

Aside from getting and borrowing materials for free from friends and family, there’s a lot of other ways to get building supplies either affordable or free. Check out these ideas for inspiration on saving money and doing a sustainable van build:

• Off cuts
  • Many hardware stores have extra materials around generally called off cuts. These can be literal off cuts of construction, or thin wood used to protect larger pieces during shipping. Unused, these pieces go to the landfill or turn into wood chips, but by asking to use these (often at a small price, or free) they can be useful construction material for an affordable van build.
    • Pro tip: call ahead to businesses in the morning, which is when the off cuts are generally available for pickup—it’s also before staff may throw them out.
• Buy used from the community
  • In regional and urban areas alike, people always seem to have scrap construction materials around. Whilst many are saving them for job, other people may be willing to clean up their yard by selling materials cheaply or free for pickup. Get creative with what materials you can use and how to repurpose them. Check online sites such as Craigslist and Gumtree for this, or ask your neighbours!
• Buy used from stores
  • The construction industry can be incredibly wasteful, and many resourceful new organizations are joining up to sell unused or lightly used materials, which construction companies can donate materials to. It’s kind of thrift shop for construction materials, and every day there’s new materials coming in. There’s options online and in-store such as Recycled Building Centre (Australia), Habitat for Humanity Restore (Canada, US) and more.
• Dumps (Tips)
  • Many dumps won’t allow you to just enter and teeter around to get someone else’s junk, however some dumps specifically segregate materials that can be reused such as for construction. They sell these materials at low costs, which works by lowering the amount of waste and giving materials a new life.
• DIY Options
  • Doing things yourself is always the biggest money saver. I made my own insulated curtains, seat covers, and all of the furniture in the van is DIY. The best tips to making something yourself, even if you don’t have experience, just start drawing and getting measurements. Having everything to scale written down means wasting less (material and time) during construction.

To learn more about this van build check out my full van build guide with links to every DIY I did for my van! And for a full list of everything I travel with, check out my van life packing list.