Building out a van yourself anywhere in the world is tough. Especially for those without a proper work space, tools, or friends and relatives to help out. That was my reality building out a van while travelling Australia.
When preparing to do my van build I found many great blogs in North America with tips on products to use. I didn’t realize until I had to do my own van build in Australia, that a lot of those good blogs couldn’t translate to the conditions and products available in the country. Australia is pretty unique when it comes to a van build.
I did what was best for a smaller vehicle—one without much headspace—along with a backpacker’s budget, tools, personal capabilities and workspace.
All of this content and posts are customized to my Ford Econovan, 1999. It’s a unique van build that could be used as a tool for other van builds or just as ideas. This van build was completed with under A$400 in materials and tools.
Check out my other post for the full cost breakdown of this under $400 van build!
I lived in the van for about five months before building it out. This gave me time to think about the potentials for a van build and what I needed.
Benefits of a proper van build:
- Increases the re-sell value of the vehicle
- Increases the livability of the vehicle
- Creates useful (and more) storage
- Better for different weather conditions
Here is the complete guide on everything that was done for the van build.
Table of Contents
Van Build Tour Video: Everything in the Van and How it Works
After two years of living in the van, I thought a video would be a good way to show everything that’s inside and how it works. This video is the most up-to-date reference for everything in the van. Read below for more information on how each part was done!
Van Build Australia: Before the Build
Before this van build, my vehicle only had a platform for a bed with space underneath for storage. I purchased containers for food and kitchen items that fit the measurements under this platform, along with water jugs.
The bed’s platform was placed further to the back. This left about half a meter of space in the middle section (behind the seats). There stored my solar equipment and more boxes for storage.
My partner and I still lived out of our backpackers and those were under our bed. So were shoes and a few other things. Hopefully this makes it sound organized, but it wasn’t.
The van’s metal floor was covered with a thick plastic cover. When sand or dirt got in the van from our shoes, it went everywhere!
A few priorities for the van build:
- Create better organization for living
- Specific area for cooking
- Better use of the middle section
- Couch which converts to bed—to sit upright
- Functional storage
Our initial plan was to build a custom foam bed which converts to a couch. We had to dump this plan when our regional job—yet again—failed. Meaning, we lost our source of income.
Instead we opted for a higher bed with drawers underneath.
Repair non-structural rust
Realistically, most van’s around 20 years old, built from steel and have been close to the ocean will have some kind of rust. The most important thing is how much and where it’s located. Rust on structural areas aren’t an easy fix, whereas surface rust is less problematic.
Fixing non-structural rust will prolong the integrity of any vehicle, it’s better to get it done as soon as possible.
Most non-structural rust doesn’t need to be fixed by a welder. Aside from putting you back hundreds, it won’t make a big difference for resale value. Instead pick up a rust repair kit online or at your local auto store to fix it yourself.
I had to fix several different areas on my van, this included some spots with holes and others without. In my guide for fixing rust I include how to fix basic surface rust and holes bigger and smaller than 25 mm.
Any holes bigger than 30 mm and the fix may not last as long time, but it’s still possible. Either way, it’s important to fix rust as soon as you can to prevent it from getting worse. It won’t go away and if it hasn’t already it can go through your vehicle to create a hole—which is a more complex fix.
For those travellers without a proper workspace, it’s easy to do these fixes anywhere. You’ll need at least a day for dry time between different solutions.
Check out my full article for repairing rust to see how it’s done and what you need.
Insulation
Deciding to insulate a van isn’t entirely necessary in many parts of Australia. That is, if you’re staying in an area with an all-year-round warm climate. For most people living the van life, you may end up somewhere cold eventually, which is when insulation makes a huge difference.
Aside from cold weather, insulation also helps with hot weather and noise proofing. When living in changing weather conditions and sleeping in different places, these are really important. The difference even a small R-value of insulation has made in my van has been incredible.
When choosing insulation, the R-value stands for the resistance in which heat can penetrate through the material. A higher R-value means it’s harder for heat to move through.
The problem with most materials is the higher the R-value, the thicker the material, and the more space you loose in the van.
Australia doesn’t have the largest insulation selection. Especially compared with what’s available in North America and to what Gnomadhome has on their insulation page—which is incredible!
Instead, Australia’s main insulation is glass wool (which has natural-ish alternatives), styrofoam and reflective insulation. The first two are the thickest for R-value. Styrofoam isn’t bendable which limits where it can be placed in a curved van.
The conventional reflective insulation that’s available doesn’t have an R-value at all, it’s just meant for floors. Otherwise the best reflective insulation can only be purchased in large quantities (and for over A$300).
With this in mind, I decided to go with a natural-ish glass wool, called Earth Wool. The one I chose comes with a moisture barrier which also made for an easier installation.
Check out my full article for how I insulated my van for Australia’s climate and with products from the country.
Ceiling
After completing the insulation, I moved onto a better ceiling for my van. Not only did this hold up the insulation, it also creates a cozy feel for living in the van.
It was also the first plywood installation, as it required more work doing things upside-down. It’s also a tricky job as the van’s ceiling is curved in some way. For this, a slightly curve-able plywood works best, I used 3 mm thick.
To prevent mold, and make it easier to wipe up messes on the ceiling (aka killing mosquitos) the plywood was painted. I used both a white acrylic undercoat and top coloured coat.
It’s a durable paint, the same that would be used for a kitchen or bathroom. This paint was used on all sides of the vehicle, including the flooring and walls as well.
Adding coloured paint also means there’s more creativity when it comes to a van build.
Instead of drilling into the ceiling, my partner and I re-used the metal beams that held up the original cardboard-like ceiling. Pre-drilling the holes is essential to preventing the thin plywood from cracking. It also helps the screws last longer—without pre-drilling many screws were quickly galvanized. The layers went: van’s metal ceiling, insulation, metal beams, then plywood ceiling.
Check out the full article of how it was done here.
Walls
Next to the ceiling, the focus of the walls is also to cover up the insulation. Also similar to other sides of the van, walls have curves and it’s difficult to affix anything to them. The plywood walls I installed don’t cover any windows, this means they’re only on one entire wall and partial on other sides.
For the walls, we used a 3 mm thick plywood board and painted them. The paint helps to reduce mold, and makes it easier to wipe off messes. Although the bed frame or shelving unit covers most of the walls, it completes this van build in Australia.
A tip for cutting thinner plywood—in addition to pre-drilling holes—is using the metal jigsaw blade to cut it.
Previously, using the wood blade the result was a bit rougher. And, using sandpaper to reduce the chips only goes so far. The metal blade was the best way to prevent the plywood from splitting apart as it did.
Check out how I installed plywood walls for my van build on the full article.
Flooring
To complete covering the sides of the van and make it altogether feel more comfortable for living in, next step is to install floors. Most of the research I had done previous to the build recommended vinyl or some type of covering after the plywood.
For this van build in Australia I opted towards just doing a plywood floor. Then, I added a comfortable foam mat to protect and cover the plywood.
Aside from making the van build look seamless by connecting the sides together, it’s a stable place for everything to sit on top.
Different from the walls and ceiling, we used a thicker plywood for the flooring. This was to prevent it from cracking as it holds to most weight over other plywood.
Though most of the flooring is covered by the bed frame, we still covered it completely with plywood to have a separation from the insulation. This helped with maintaining the insulation’s structure and function.
To cover up the ends of the flooring that was raised from the insulation and wood beams, we added loose ends of beams for a flawless finish.
Check out all of this and more in the article.
Bed Frame with Drawers
Building a functional bed frame with drawers was the biggest goal for this van build in Australia. Previously, the mattress was just on a platform with minimal and non-functional space under the bed. Using some containers helped, but it wasn’t ideal for living in.
The bed frame completed the build by providing more and functional space. The drawers are deep and big. In the back of the van, they hold food, kitchen equipment and other living essentials. On the left back drawer, we also installed an additional plywood flap which can be used as a cooking counter.
This brings together our goal of having a designated cooking area for the van.
The front drawers hold our clothings and other belongings. There’s also more space on the shelving unit for this.
Developing, building and installing the bed frame for our needs was also the most complex part of the van build. Mainly because, unlike some of the plywood floors and ceiling, the bed frame was made of multiple pieces. This required more labour and planning to get it all right.
Installing drawers with sliders is essential for holding heavy loads. With sliders, you must add a hook or twisting block of wood to hold the drawers in while you’re driving. Otherwise they can slam out and quickly break the sliders you worked so hard to build.
Check out how we did it all on my full article for building the functional bed frame with drawers.
Shelving Unit
The final part of this van build in Australia is designing, building and installing a shelving unit. It was a quick and fun build that serves as a useful spot for storage, including a permanent spot for our solar power set-up.
The shelving unit fits perfectly in the narrow middle-section of the van. It was necessary to have more space here and a shelving unit like this was a no-brainer.
The best part of building a custom shelving unit (rather than buying one that fits the space) is it can be completely designed for your needs.
Our shelving unit was tailored to our needs, by as providing an open, large space for the battery and inverter on the bottom shelf. The two shelves above this has to be a correct size to house containers.
Then, the top shelf has an extra ledge for holding taller items, and with a hole for a cable. This works perfectly for using my essential oil diffuser, for stress-free sleeping.
Visit the full article to learn more about building and designing the shelving unit.
Van Build Australia: The Completed Build
The end result was amazing compared to our experience, tools and ideas. Somehow everything came together with two weeks of labour, and under A$400 worth of materials and tools.
We never had a specific budget, we just wanted to keep it as cheap as possible. During the van build we used our previous employer’s workspace and stayed in a cheap accommodation.
For our sleeping and kitchen area we utilized the pre-van build mattress and platform. We lifted the platform and added drawers to the front and back for extra space. The kitchen area is the back drawers, which has an added counter that can flip up.
The middle section is much more useful now with a full shelving unit. This has a permanent spot for our battery, inverter and additional storage. The front two storage drawers are for clothing, among other things. Overall the vehicle is much more functional for travelling Australia long-term.
In addition to all of these upgrades, we also installed insulation, floors, walls, a ceiling and fixed some rust spots. Aside from buying most things, we salvaged used timber from a local tip (dump) and borrowed tools whenever possible, instead of buying our own.
Optional Extras
There’s lots to add onto a van build after it’s completed. These personal touches can make the van build extra conventional and comfortable. A few extra things to consider are fairy lights and bug nets.
Fairy lights bring a dainty and cozy feel to any vehicle, or van. Especially when you’re living or travelling often in a van it’s important to make it feel comfortable and somewhere you enjoy being.
I love fairy lights, but after installing them the first time and subsequently breaking them, I’m sharing tips on how to properly install fairy lights. These tips help to prevent breakage, gives guidelines on where to hang them and other important details of installing fairy lights.
For full the full article on how to properly install fairy lights, check out the article with this link.
There’s lots of different options for mosquito nets, such as one for the front windows, the back and even the side. After looking online and seeing the prices, I opted to make my own for my van. I made front window bug nets that go over the door and cover the window. This helps so I can leave my window slightly ajar for fresh air on hot nights—when it’s safe of course.
These mosquito nets were made with under A$50 of materials. They’re also helpful for opening the windows during the day and keeping out flies when I’m parked. This is the best in Australia where flies are everywhere!
Learn how to make your own custom front window mosquito net, it only takes a few hours.
After checking out the full DIY pages for this van build, I have more helpful van life tips such as storage hacks, general van life hacks and how to live an eco-friendly van life!
