Compromise & multifunction are the operative words. It is a very functional storage closet for 1425 minutes each day and a functional but not so comfortable shower for 10 minutes per day and a convenient toilet for 5 minutes a day. When you are sweaty and dirty and feeling gross, a not so comfortable 10 minute shower insures many hours of comfortable existence until you get dirty/sweaty/gross again. If you are squeamish and/or a germaphobe the system is not for you...actually camping in a van is not for you. Your limiting sensitivities buy you all sorts of inconveniences like driving 30 minutes or an hour or ??? to find a land based toilet or shower where who knows who last sat on it or bathed in it and what did they leave behind that has now been transferred to you?...now that's gross. So remember to bring your cleaning kit to sanitize that public toilet and shower before you use it and enjoy the drive back to your campsite. Pat, I think you have a brilliant set up.

Extremely impressive build! Those that comment negatively do not understand the purpose or the genius that went into this creation. I have wanting to do something like this for creating a mobile office/work shop. Having the ability to use it also for multi-day excursions would be a serendipitous extension. Thank you for sharing this!

I agree, maybe not for everyone..... In my opinion, it would be way easier to simply heat up a pot of warm. Use a washcloth and some soap. This is how I get clean on road trips and camping.

Great build! I enjoyed the tour.

Pat. You're gonna get negative comments even if you built it out of solid gold. What you've done here is pretty much the definition of genius. Great build.

If you need any of the Cad drawings or other information just use the web site (ortontransit.info) email. I assume you got the large amount of files for the build. Be glad to help.

Your a good guy and you did a great job on +he van thanks for sharing your baby.

You've done a fantastic job Dave! 👍 You thought of everything. Hope to see more...

Sir, you obviously bought something ready to go anywhere...... Starting from scratch is sometimes a bit daunting.......I wish you many many years of fun .

Do you live in IF? I swear I've seen this van before lol

That forum is where?

Cool

he's on the transit forum too! many thanks dave...

where can we meet him

I agree, love the aluminum framing work and not having cabinet doors all over.

You can still see fan and solar panels clearly

I agree

I was going to say the same thing!

Him being an ex engineer, that's what I expected

exactly! can't imagine a world without engineers!

@@Osiwan960 I deal with them daily at work. Sending us designs that don't work. Why? They've never even seen the equipment we work on. So I usually end up sending them changes to their work which pisses them off cause they are smarter than us in their eyes. Then when they find out us high school educated guys are getting paid more than them they really hate us. I love it!

@@freighter109ha4 LoL....obviously, there are azzholes in every field...but yeah it takes a whole team to make a machine work, engineers may have good ideas but it takes someone great with their hands/materials to make it a reality. my hat's off to you sir!

@@freighter109ha4 And yet, when we need somebody to build a bridge we don't go to guys with high school education. You sound like a typical smartass.

@@corb5654 Sure ya do. They're the ones out there building the damn bridge. They're the ones out there building things. Not the other way around. At least in every job I've ever worked that is how things went.

In a tribute to life seeming to always go full circle... I own Dave's 2008 Sprinter now, and I watch your videos to help make modifications and changes to it :)

AND he has a PBR if the fridge!

@@ChadLowers Nice! Richard appeared to have done some nice modifications to it as well.

@@Madmun357 - PBR in the fridge? Yes. Someone should send him a case of Blue Moon.

@@logmeindangit Ha, ha, ha! I agree. Blue Moon is the best. But then I am part Belgian!

Like put the Electrics in the shower. Not very smart if you ask me.

Is a retired structural engineer with a degree in architecture I can assure you that you don’t have to sacrifice aesthetics for function.

@@GOLDVIOLINbowofdeath hey im 18 no education looking into vanlife myself and i agree to a extent depending on what your doing i think it applies to other aspects of life not everything practical has to be ugly sometimes beauty comes from a perfect design that was built from practicality

@valleywoodworker ......Sir, you are obviously some expert on building other people's weekend getaway vehicle's........That being said, I don't believe that you actually converted and own your own self-made campervan.

@valleywoodworker Not really, it was a labor of love for him, and those are the things he wanted it to be, to have. It covers aboout all the bases, with versatility and simplicity of use, while making the most of the limited space.

I like it too. He has really done the work to figure it out.

@valleywoodworker whatever that's supposed to mean..?..... We're all not you.

If they’re brilliant then he should be taking out patents

Floor ventilation is so obvious now that he said it! Air is cooler under there. Brilliant.

I agree, Rachel. I took copious notes. If and when I get another rig, I am going to use some of his ideas. Hopefully my electrician brother and mechanical engineer son will be able to advise. I think it's genius to multiply shower uses! Haven't you ever looked at your bathtub and thought about building a bench seat over it? My dad designed and built towel storage over the one in the house I grew up in. It was minuscule bathroom for family of 6!

Installing an industrial caged door to the cockpit would completely cover the cargo area, and make it look like an industrial cargo van

@@04dram04 I have always thought that was what I would do also, but this particular van does not really look industrial to me. It might even draw more attention to it. I think it would have complicated the build unnecessarily. It looks like a passenger van. Maybe I am wrong. I still like the idea of those caged doors, though.

One thing I do wonder about: what about the issue of human breath steaming up the windows from the inside?

@@IHateKZfaqHandles615 You can tell from the inlet and outlet how the air flows. Virtually none of their breath will find its way into the cab.

Me too. More More ha ha

wish she would make vids more often lol or point us to similar youtube channels

Y'all can always go back to the beginning. She's got hundreds of videos!

@@ryefry I know I started with her First documentary about the Tiny House People. I so like the way she does her videos.

Wise old mans teaching is blowing away younglings!

It's far from a masterpiece, the shower is one of the worst implementations I've seen on a van build.

@@flybeep1661 in particular, electrical appliances in the shower cabin that are not even tight - a few drops and this may be the last bath. Poor performance, inaccurate and anyhow.

@@flybeep1661 Actually the shower and shelving are excellent ideas. Since he has the long hose, he should just turn around and use the sink to wash his hair in. I often wash my hair in the sink.

Vs. "navel" shower? Well it wasn't a "waist" of time. Okay I'm all no half wet. Great video

As soon as I saw the pabst blue ribbon in the fridge 😆

Like a little Lego.

@@williamstewart7399 like a life sized Lego!

There should not be a need for a heated sleeping pad if you use the proper camping accessories: insulated sleeping pad underneath and properly selected sleeping bag.

80 years old but still active.

@@patorton7045 That was my Nana she kept going until she passed. My Mom and Dad kept going until mom passed. My Dad drove back east from AZ to NY and stopped to visit along the way. I have a first Grand baby so I slowed down to babysit. lol I think we should all keep going as much as our health allows and maybe a little more. Oh I forgot to say Good for You keep Going.

I was given the same set up about three years ago. I still use it today. It works really well for me as I often go off fishing by myself so I only need one small bed but need storage space for the fishing tackle.. I also use the heating pad set up..... Works for me.

Yeah, he said he didn't think anyone else did that. But I've seen it done by others, too. : )

@@nojnoj3069 - so, the heating pad setup - 120VAC, or 12VDC? And does it cover the area of a sleeping bag?

@@logmeindangit , I imagine it's only necessary at the foot area. If my feet are warm, I'm usually able to sleep if it's still cold in the room.

Sadly the U.S. has not been free for a LONG time.

Why is that ridiculous? The United States is the epitome of a police state. Just take a loan for more land than you need, build a bigger house than you require on that land, hook up electricity from the grid at an unreasonably high price, then let your neighbors dictate what you do on your land and in your house. The police will leave you alone since you're contributing to the unsustainable system of capitalism.

Decompyler unfortunately this country hasn’t been free for a long time 😔😔😔🥺

Policing for profit is what they do best

That’s California for you

Ya the Carmel comment got me as well. If one has never been to Carmel it doesn't mean a thing.

I can't resist adding my own 'flipside' opinion pertaining to hygiene in Carmel🎈I've called Carmel my lifetime home..and since the mid 70's. At times I've rented, yet the majority of these decades my homes have rested over 4 tires..VW Westfalias, a 49 Chevy. panel,& the more recent 20 years a Ford Econline tricked out interior similar to a sailboats. My solar heated shower seldom gains a heat level exceeding 65 degree's F, yet coping measures & a hard ass attitude, have allowed outdoor showers ..streetside in Carmel😉

Hoosier here watching too! lol

Hoosier here too!

I love 80/20 I use it a lot at work. We keep a bunch of it in our material crib. Most of it has been recycled many times for different uses. I will say it can get pricey. I can't imagine how much he has invested in rails and fittings for this van.

@@bg45420 : Looks like several thousand dollars to me. Aluminum extrusion (8020, Bosch...ect) is an excellent product though.

I need to figure out where to buy it. I have an 84 Toyota Bandit with a sagged fiberglass roof. Dave just showed me the light, in solution, weight, and material.

Starting my first Sprinter and counting on making mistakes.

Exactly not like other youtuber's who believe they need to be funny or spend so much unneeded dialog on spewing B.S. I need the Baby not the labor! No stupid music. I have 100 other videos to watch! I'll watch your content if you stop spewing bullshit! Otherwise you will become irrelevant quickly.

@@johnwayne2103 Does your name refer to the great American icon?

Very clever sir.

He is an engineer....that's how they roll.

that comes with age and maturity

K H I couldn’t agree more!

Michael Seemann The double side rack idea is old. Boats have used it for decades & I’ve seen it in other diy vans.

N ssns

Yeah at this point you might have to get the fake business magnets for the side of the van.

Hi, would you know, how he attached the 80/20 to the floor? The video shows the polyiso, than fiberglass and gymmat. The 80/20 should not be screwed onto the floor?

Definitely a bit more stealth then the usual builds.

There is a web site with a lot of information on the build. Go to: ortontransit.info

1hourOfLove lmfao

Now that would be a real ''sham-poo''

Double use!

@ 1houroflove & Aika: Here's the thing: I did too and because he was an Engineer I was waiting for him to say "I press a hidden button turning it into a whirlpoo! !!! For a "quick rinse" and less water consumption. I kid you not AND: After reading your GREAT comment it's good to know I was not alone in my thoughts, plus I can't stop laughing my ass off! Thank You! (lols forever)!