Van Life Kitchen - Part 3: DIY Camper Van Plumbing System w/ Foot Pump

Van Life Kitchen - Part 3: DIY Camper Van Plumbing System w/ Foot Pump | Van Build Ep. 20

Рет қаралды 2,368

Күн бұрын

Van Build Ep. 20: Couple with no experience building a camper van kitchen including sink, cabinet, and simple plumbing configuration with foot pump. // WATCH VAN BUILD SERIES: • VAN BUILD SERIES
We're on a time crunch so we're trying to get the kitchen ready before we get back on the road. Nothing is straight or square in a van so it's challenging to design cabinetry that is straight and fits in the van! We are using salvaged wood as much as possible to keep costs down. We also chose a plumbing configuration that is low cost and will help us conserve energy. This has been the most stressful stage of the build and we are trying to see the big picture instead of allowing the details to stress us out!
MATERIALS USED:*
- Logmey 17x17 Sink: amzn.to/3z3b4DI
- Aolemi Cold Only Water Kitchen Faucet: amzn.to/3z6f46K
- Whale Foot Pump: amzn.to/3TAbEAW
- 6-gallon Water Jugs: walmart.com/ip/Ozark-Trail-Desert-Patrol-6-Gal-Water-Jug/16537207 (Similar on Amazon: amzn.to/3VR2TnN)
- 1/2 in Faucet Supply Line: amzn.to/3F2QS8Y
- Camco Flexible Camper Drain Tap with Hose System: amzn.to/3z1JZAQ
- Clear Tubing: amzn.to/3gulAO2
- 1/2-in x 1/2-in Adapter Fitting: amzn.to/3DkbY1i
*As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
VAN BUILD TIPS:
- Use a Kreg pocket hole jig when framing
- Use templates to design & determine your configuration
VIDEO SEGMENTS:
00:00 Unboxing the van sink & components
01:11 Camper van sink & plumbing configuration
04:11 Figuring out van countertop height
05:16 Framing using plusnuts
06:00 Kitchen design challenges in a van
08:39 Framing the camper van kitchen cabinet
12:43 Frustrated with van build challenges
14:10 Face pieces for van sink cabinet
16:43 Handling the stress of a van build as a couple
20:28 Temporary van countertop
21:50 Cutting out the holes for the sink
23:14 Placing the sink
24:26 Van sink faucet & plumbing configuration
33:55 Van kitchen reveal & build plans
SUBSCRIBE TO FOLLOW ALONG ON OUR BUILD & ADVENTURES ► bit.ly/2XvSth7
Connect with us on Instagram: / steveandaudra
Connect with us on Facebook: / steveandaudra
ABOUT US:
We're Steve and Audra, DIYers from South Florida that share a passion for travel and adventure! We've been working on converting a 2019 Ford Transit cargo van into a campervan and are sharing our build and adventures with you! We've started traveling the country with our two cats. We invite you to follow along on our journey! If you have any questions, we’re happy to answer! Comment below or send us a message on Facebook and we’ll respond as soon as possible. And please don’t forget to subscribe to our channel!
MUSIC CREDITS:
Ice Flow by Kevin MacLeod
Link: incompetech.filmmusic.io/song...
License: creativecommons.org/licenses/b...
Also Sprach Zarathustra (feat. Richard Strauss) by Sascha Ende®
Link: filmmusic.io/song/5730-also-s...
License: filmmusic.io/standard-license
------
#vanlife #lowbudgetvanbuild #fordtransit

Пікірлер: 50

@fbr65 Жыл бұрын

It’s so nice to see another couple who builds their van like we do … kinda as we go along. Great job and thanks for all the ideas!

@SteveAudra Жыл бұрын

Thanks! Initially, I thought we'd build it out quickly but now I'm glad we've taken our time. It's helped us figure out what we need and don't need!

@jshenderson Ай бұрын

Excellent plumbing skills.

@SteveAudra Ай бұрын

Not so sure about that but we got her done! 🙂

@donthonkpush9105 3 жыл бұрын

Even without paint, cabinet doors, or the counter, it looks terrific. Functional is all you are looking for at this stage. Testing it out during your trip is an excellent idea so you can still make any final adjustments. Please tell me Steve's pun was intentional...."I have a sinking feeling...." (after the first water test). I laughed because I don't think he realized the humor in his statement. The cooking and hair washing pantomimes were great. I love how you took this difficult and frustrating build segment and still found a moment to laugh together. We hope all is well during this trip and with your family.

@SteveAudra 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you, as always!!!! It's been so nice to have it installed for travel, even if temporary. We're actually glad we did it that way as we have discovered that we will indeed need to make some adjustments! Too funny, Steve did not even realize the pun he made! LOL! I probably was laughing so hard because of stress and exhaustion! But yes, we really try to keep everything in balance and to enjoy it all despite everything. Laughter certainly helps with stress relief and overall wellbeing! We have so much to be thankful for so we try to constantly refocus on the positive and not get bogged down! Mindset is so important!

@giveyandmyla1859 3 жыл бұрын

Steve I just want to say thank you for the good reminder that the van is just a tool. I (Myla) tends to be perfectionist and that costs hahaha. Now as long as it functions and some could be better ideally. But yes, the van is not the destination but a vehicle to get to our destination🤩

@debberkebile4396 3 жыл бұрын

Yes great advice

@SteveAudra 3 жыл бұрын

I passed along your comment to Steve and he appreciates it! It's a good reminder for me as I am a perfectionist as well! I think it all comes down to balance. We want it to look nice but not go overboard and get lost in the details. And we especially need to make sure it doesn't stress us out!!!!

@giveyandmyla1859 3 жыл бұрын

@@debberkebile4396 thank you Deb🙏

@Christina0623 3 жыл бұрын

Good morning! Loving the color of the countertop. What a difference, having water will make. Looking forward to your next trip. Have a great rest of the week guys!! 🚐💙🍻🏞

@SteveAudra 3 жыл бұрын

Yes, having the sink and the water has made such a big difference!!! We think you might enjoy the next video (depending on if we have time to get it edited and posted for next week!). You might see some spots that are familiar! :)

@Christina0623 3 жыл бұрын

@@SteveAudra can't wait to see!! 💙

@jkandkiminthecamper Жыл бұрын

Thanks for sharing this. We are quickly approaching this part of our van rebuilding!

@SteveAudra Жыл бұрын

We hope it's helpful! We really like the simple set up.

@Max-wd8ox 3 жыл бұрын

good luck you guys can t wait to see the final product. Don t obsess over little things just get it done so we can see adventures :)

@SteveAudra 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching, Max, and for commenting! Good reminder to not focus too much on the little things. We've been trying to be balanced about that and also to just enjoy the van and traveling during the build process, which explains why it's taken us over a year to build it out! LOL! We hope you'll keep following along on our adventure!

@roxannek1551 3 жыл бұрын

Great job on the sink and counter. I admire your patience and ingenuity. We are still working on our van build. We installed our composting toilet a couple of weeks ago and used it for the first time on a camping trip 👍🏼😊 We don’t have the patience or skill set to build our kitchen area so we bought a small kitchen cart/island to use as our kitchen. Hopefully, we’ll be able to make it work. We plan on using a foot pump for our water supply to the sink so your video was very timely. Have a great time on your trip. Looking forward to your next video.

@SteveAudra 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks, Roxanne! A van build certainly does require a lot of patience! We don't really have the skill set either - which explains why it's taken us months to make this latest progress! LOL! We are really happy with our foot pump. It's working really well and we like that it uses less water than a motorized pump. I imagine you'll be able to make the kitchen cart/island work! That's a significant milestone to install a toilet and congrats on the inaugural use! 😊

@VanHaulen 3 жыл бұрын

Sink came out great! Enjoy your trip.

@SteveAudra 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks so much! What a difference it has made. It's been SO nice to have it this trip!

@OurRetiredLife 3 жыл бұрын

We've planned (someday) a sink with footpump too! I had to laugh when you were talking about the crookedness of the counter - it reminded me of last week's video when you were in that house of confusion! haha

@SteveAudra 3 жыл бұрын

Hopefully that someday will be here before you know it! We are so happy with the foot pump and glad we went that route! That's funny - the comparison of the van to the Gravity Hill house. That's about right! LOL! Maybe we should start charging admission to our van! 🤣

@OurRetiredLife 2 жыл бұрын

@@SteveAudra Someday is here! We re-watched this morning as we're having a bit of a puzzle with the connections in our setup. We're almost there!

@SteveAudra 2 жыл бұрын

@@OurRetiredLife Awesome! Let us know if you have any questions. We show a little more of the connections in the video after this. We didn't cover that as well in this video because we were running out of time!

@elyorlinausa7740 3 жыл бұрын

Nice video, Good job! we had trouble in our sink last month.beautiful couple and stand by for twenty minutes.

@SteveAudra 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for continuing to follow along! Sorry to hear you had trouble with your sink! Did you figure out the problem? So far we are happy with ours. It's been so nice to have it now that we are back on the road!

@DaphneLowe 3 жыл бұрын

We did a basic, "no build" as the first iteration of our build out. It took very little time and very little money (other than the cost of a new Sprinter passenger van). We'll figure out exactly what our needs & wants are based on our experience and address the pain points as they arise with more time, money and sophistication. For the kitchenette, we chose an Ikea sink base cabinet and mounted a battery powered water dispenser faucet to the countertop. The plumbing is super simple: one end of the tube is connected to the faucet the other end in a jerry can underneath the sink. Water flows at the push of a button, albeit slowly (~0.5 gpm), it's fast enough for washing hands and rinsing dishes. The faucet is charged via USB, so once a week we plug it into a small portable charger for a couple of hours.

@SteveAudra 3 жыл бұрын

That's great! We love hearing these kinds of solutions! We think it's smart not to rush the build - if it's possible. So much can be learned as you use the van. Our actual build is SO different than what we originally planned to do! We're glad we've taken our time. It will be nice when we finally get it done though!!!!

@HayleyandJake 3 жыл бұрын

Nice work getting the sink and plumbing installed!! It looks great! The foot pumps also a great way to be mindful of water conservation in the van 😊 enjoy your upcoming trip! 😆 H&J

@SteveAudra 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks so much! We are really happy with the foot pump so far! It's nice how it does conserve water, seems to be quieter than some of the motors out there, and an added bonus is to be able to use the sink hands free!

@debberkebile4396 3 жыл бұрын

The struggle is real!! I love this! I know how you can stare at something for an hour and still not get anything accomplished! Sometimes the solution doesn't hit you for DAYS! It looks great can't wait to see where you are going next. I am trying to get ready for my initial maiden voyage. Can you help a girl out and give me details on where you got the p-trap, black hose and the jugs? I. Going to try and get that stuff for this weekends hurry up and get some water in mine also.

@SteveAudra 3 жыл бұрын

Yes, the struggle is very real! LOL! It doesn't help that we figured out what we wanted to do and then let so much time go by that when we got back to it we had completely forgotten our plan. I think we did that twice!!!! We've added all the materials we used in the video description and hope that will be helpful for everyone! We hope your maiden voyage is a great success!!!!! How exciting!

@s.porter8646 3 жыл бұрын

I haven't seen that many commercials since watching noncable tv

@SteveAudra 3 жыл бұрын

I guess that's something we don't notice anymore we are so used to ads on KZfaq! I guess the good thing about KZfaq is that you can usually skip the ads - or pay for the version to have ad-free viewing. We appreciate you watching and subscribing despite the ads!

@MoniqueDolbin 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for keeping it real around just how challenging it can be vs a happy montage of progress! Looks great and will definitely be even better when you decide on the final countertop!

@SteveAudra 3 жыл бұрын

It sure was nice to make progress but it was a little painful getting there for sure! We're looking forward to getting it finished!

@megsauder1863 3 жыл бұрын

Looking good!!!

@SteveAudra 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks, Meg! It's getting there. We'll be glad when we can show you a finished van!

@PilotChris 3 жыл бұрын

Looks great!

@SteveAudra 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks, Chris! It sure is slow going but man is it nice to have the sink for our travels!!!!

@charlesmoman 3 жыл бұрын

Decision paralysis is real! : ) Where did you get the black flexible drain hose for the sink?

@SteveAudra 3 жыл бұрын

It sure is! Amazing how long it takes sometime before we actually start making progress. We ordered the drain hose from Amazon. Here is the link: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000EDUTPO/

@SteveAudra 3 жыл бұрын

We hope you enjoyed this video! If so, be sure to check out some of our other videos! VAN TRAVELS: kzfaq.info/sun/PL7bb1Ftno7hhNuHOo8SYSTsaPmFd7o1zp VAN BUILD: kzfaq.info/sun/PL7bb1Ftno7hhoqzCZ7kZUx2jL3pUVd6UZ

@karenwosilait9594 2 жыл бұрын

Just a comment about teflon tape: It looks like you're putting it on backwards. You want to wrap it in the same direction as what you'll be screwing on the fitting so that the fitting tends to smooth the tape down when you're screwing it on rather than tending to make it bunch up (and potentially cause a leak). Also good practice to redo the tape. My husband also pointed out that some threaded fittings are tapered and some are not, which might be why you ran into problems. Glad you got it working!

@SteveAudra 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the tip on the teflon tape. Wouldn't be the first time we did something backwards 😂.

@karenwosilait9594 2 жыл бұрын

@@SteveAudra So many new skills to learn in a van build! I know you're not alone. I'm so glad that I got some experience in building things when I worked in a physics lab in college.

@vtjp4ever 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks you again (I also loved your "shore power thru the D Pillar" video. Question, Did you buy a different cap for the Jerry Can's or just drill a hole in the white cap that comes with them ? Peace, JIm

@SteveAudra 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks, Jim! We're glad our videos are helpful! We drilled holes in the caps that came with the containers. We're sorry we didn't show more details of that. We were in a rush to get on the road when we were finishing up our sink. In the next video we posted (Van Life Travel: New sink, 17 year cicadas, & family celebration), we show a little more detail of how everything is connected. Also, we hope to install our permanent countertop soon and when we do that, we're planning to give a review of all the set up again. I've also included links to parts in the video description here. Let us know if you have any other questions!

@vtjp4ever 2 жыл бұрын

@@SteveAudra Thanks, I really appreciate your response