Building our van is one of the most ambitious project we’ve ever done, but one of the most rewarding as well! We built ourselves a home and we’re proud of that. We’ve been doing the Vanlife full-time since August 2017… from the cold Canadian powder highway to colorful hot Mexico, our van has taken us to places we always dreamed about.
Below you’ll find all the details about our van conversion, but also extensive resources on how to build your own van: Guides, Tools, Calculators, Diagrams, Plans and more!
Happy build! š
– Isabelle and Antoine
Features
- Ford Transit 2016
- T-250 (3500LBS payload capacity)
- 3.7L Gasoline Engine
- 148ā³ Wheel Base. Extended Length, High Roof. (Body Code R3X)
- LSD (Limited Slip DIfferential)
- Magnetic Grey
- Fixed rear windows with flip-opened side passenger window, Power Heated mirrors with turn signals, 230amps Heavy Duty alternator with dual batteries and modified wiring, Heavy-duty tow package (includes hitch), Remote keyless entry keypads, Cruise control.
THERMAL & SOUND INSULATION
VENTILATION
HEATING
INTERIOR FINISH
FLOOR
BEDROOM
KITCHEN
HOT WATER / SHOWER
WATER
LIGHTS
AWNING
SWIVEL SEAT
- Total Conversion Cost: $20,150 USD
- Total Conversion Labor: 640 hours
See Cost And Labor page for detailed breakdown: faroutride.com/cost-and-labor
- Transit Empty Weight: 5450 LBS
- Conversion Added Weight: 1800 LBS
- Payload Weight: 1700 LBS
- FarOutVan Total Weight: 8950 LBS
Full breakdown: faroutride.com/weight-summary
Build Journal
Our Build Journal is aĀ BIG DEAL! We obsessively documented the entire conversion process of our van: products, materials, build techniques, lessons learned, etc.Ā Our Build Journal is presented sequentially and chronologically (pretty much in the same order as we built our van).
We're honored to be featured in
"The 9 Best Camper Vans of 2018"
Alongside OutsideVan , VW California , Winnebago Revel , Sportsmobile , and more. Wow! We're Speechless!
Learning and Knowledge
In-depth, fact-based guides.
Build your knowledge and make informed decisions.
Tools and Calculators
Created to make your life easier.
Made with 
from our van!
from our van!Van Electrical Calculator
- Size your battery bank, solar, alternator, shore & inverter automagically or manually.
- The calculator generates an items list that entirely defines your electrical system! Simply add the items to your Amazon cart.
- Download, customize and wire all your items per your wiring diagram.
Wire Gauge Calculator
- Using the correct wire gauge is essential for SAFETY and PERFORMANCE of your electrical system.
- The correct wire gauge depends on LENGTH and CURRENT carried by the conductor.
- Our wiring diagram already has a built-in gauge calculator. But for anything outside the scope of our wiring diagram, use this:
Insulation Calculator
- A simple tool to find out how much insulation you need to buy!
Diagrams and Plans
These are the plans we followed for our own van and that we've been using full time since 2017. Save time and take the guesswork out of the equation.
Build your van around systems that are safe, reliable and perform as they should.
STAY IN TOUCH!
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about us
Nice To Meet You.
Hello! Weāre Isabelle and AntoineĀ 
Ā In 2017 we sold our house (and everything in it), quit our engineering careers and moved into our self built campervan. Weāve been on the road since then and every day is an opportunity for a new adventure; weāre chasing our dreams and hopefully it inspires others to do the same!
Salut!
Je vous suis depuis quelques temps et j’aime vraiment toute la documentation que vous avez produite.
En ce qui concerne le systĆØme Ć©lectrique, j’ai achetĆ© vos diagrammes et je les ai pas mal suivi Ć la lettre (Ć quelques exceptions…)
Je me demandais, avez-vous eu des problĆØmes de surtension avec la MaxxFan? Ou Autres composantes par le fait mĆŖme?
Je viens d’installer mon panneau solaire et le voltage monte jusqu’Ć 14.6V et je crois que ma maxxfan aime pas trop Ƨa…
Un gros merci!!!
Pas de problĆØme de notre cĆ“tĆ©!
antoine
Hi Antoine,
I’m coming back to Canada from overseas and looking to build a van with similar ski goals to yours. Thanks for the inspiration. I’ll be based out of Ottawa while doing the build and have been searching online to try and find a good used van. Wondering if you could give me a few tips on where to find a great vehicle as my searches have been less successful than I would hope.
I’m open to traveling a bit to find the right van, would it be worth expanding my search into Montreal, Toronto, upstate New York?
Any websites you’d recommend for more options than kijiji autos?
Should I just wait until I arrive and will have better chances in person?
Thanks for any advice! Can’t wait to make use of all the work you have done creating this website!
Okay. When you have a foot of snow on the roof in front of the maxair fan, and you stop on a moderate down hill, the avalanche coming down covering the windshield still scares the shit out of you.
Don’t lie.
Is this a question?
You should always clear the roof from snow before driving, as this can block your vision (as you mentioned) and harden snow/ice can fly over and break windshield of vehicle following you…
Perfect answer, thank you!
Love the build! Do you have a link to the aluminum table hardware? I’m liking the idea of not being wedded to a langun mount. thanks!
We bought this table: https://amzn.to/3rwy5J8 š
*this.. is.. FANTASTIC! thank you! jg!
Nice Build. We bought a 2019 Transit and are doing our own build. I’m looking for premade window screens for both sides of the van-that will fit over the “pop” open windows. I can’t find them anywhere… any ideas? I had seen them on a brand that I saw at a dealer that had several diff brands of class B RV.. took a pic, but not the type of rig.. š
Thanks in advance!
Rosanne
Hi, nice build, do you have a better picture of the wiring diagram? It is not very clear and I tried a number of things to clear it up. I see it is very extensive and just what I need to do the job. thank you in advance for anything you can share with me. Or where I can go to get a better picture of it.
Tony Pietro
please feel free to email any info you would like to share, thanks,
pietro3352@yahoo.com
Hi Tony.
Our wiring diagram can be downloaded as a high-resolution pdf file: https://faroutride.com/wiring-diagram/
Cheers,
antoine
Hey,
Awesome van and amazing website! Thanks so much for the invaluable information! Quick question though: is your van gearing a 4.10 differential or a 3.73? I’m trying to source out a van and was wondering which ratio would be better for a campervan…
If you plan on being heavy and doing lot’s of mountain climbing, consider 4.10. If you live on flat lands 3.73 is probably fine.
We have the 4.10 as it was the only option possible with the 3.7 engine and extended-length van.
Been in a rabbit hole on the site all night and loving it!! I’m curious about your RWD choice and whether you have ever wished you went for the AWD, especially considering the terrain you tackle. Curious if I can go with RWD too (which certainly opens up the used Transit market!)
Hey! We have a discussion about that in this article: https://faroutride.com/winter-vanlife/
cheers
Whatās average price for lwb 2017 transit conversion
Hi Antoine & Isabelle!
Spent some time this week digging around your website and just wanted to let you know how fascinated I am with your workā¦
Donāt think I’ve ever been so gripped browsing through a Builders/DIY site. The content architecture is so neatly organized & easy to browse, your build diagrams – so detailed, legible, understandable, and even beautiful to look at. Also, the divergence from the āknow it allā attitude is a breath of fresh air when reading commentary.
My background is in both architecture and engineering ā so itās pretty easy to notice your all your hard work & and extreme patience…Mad respect mates!
Seems like you guys took a lot of riskā¦ no, calculated* riskā¦to end up where you are ā so just thought Iād try and emphasize the impact itās having (impact that extends well beyond subscriber counts & affiliate links)
I do have one inquiry for you guys and Iām not quite sure how easy is to answer, but first a little backgroundā¦
I currently work as a Production Manager/Design Engineer for a company that builds high-end Trade Show & marketing exhibits for Fortune 500 Companies. Our custom shop is outfitted for woodworking, CNC, metal extrusions, fabric finishing, lighting/electrical components, and visual graphic prints – as our clients come from a wide range of different industries (Loreal, Dyson, Bosch Tools, ClosetMaid, Skil-Saw, LiftMaster)
Given the times and current COVID-19 situation, we are considering pivot options for our shop. So my quyestion is…Any idea what the current market might look like for Custom Van Conversions? Is it saturated with tons of DIY builders / small custom shops? Iāve explored online and researched several different shops with varying size, scope, and scale but itās hard to gauge what demand might look like. Thought maybe, through your travels and just talking with people through your website, you might have some kind of general idea what customer demand looks like. I see some commenters asking you guys to build one for themā¦ Anyway, anything you can offer her would be a huge help.
-Taylor Wilmsen
twilmsen9@gmail.com
matrexexhibits.com
Hi Taylor, thanks for the kind words.
We frequently speak with van builders and van accessories sellers; everyone is either overbooked or overworked. The demand is huge and it looks like there is still room for more players š
Antoine
Do you have a floor plan
Layout for a Dodge Promaster 2500 159wb high roof?
Also , would I be able use your diagram for plumbing and electrical In a Promaster 2500 159wb high roof?
We don’t have floor plan for the ProMaster, unfortunately.
Our wiring diagram works for any van, really. ProMaster, Sprinter, Transit, etc. It’s all the same, except how you’ll connect to your alternator power. We provided a link in the tutorial on how to access auxiliary power for each van model.
Cheers!
Antoine,
There are many grades of Baltic birch. Did u use marine grade? as i understand it,the less expensive grades do not have an extra application of glue and may in fact not be birch on the interior. Marine grade is substantially stronger ..and substantially more expensive.
thanks again..
Not a wood expert, but I believe there’s no “marine” grade baltic birch; marine plywood is a different stuff. Grades of baltic birch are described here: https://wolstenholme.com/plywood-products/baltic-birch/grading/
Any grade of baltic birch would work since it’s only about the appearance of the faces.
Cheers!