@@TrekkerPlanet really glad you found my videos useful for your own purposes. Thanks for watching!

Thanks for commenting!

Hahah I appreciate it friend! Thanks for watching, cheers! 🤠

It’s a nice set up! Thanks for watching 🤠

That sounds like a great plan! This lifestyle is becoming more common everywhere. Thanks for watching

Thank you! 🤠

Thanks for watching! 🤠

Yes I do!

I’m glad you enjoyed it, and thanks for watching! 🤠

Hello Sam! In this build I was using a jackery 300 to power my fan, lights, and charge any devices. The sink is a rechargeable water pump off of amazon and a mixing bowl with a sink strainer cut into the bottom. The bed in this build was approximately 6ft long allowing me to fit perfectly with little room to spare. There may be an extra 5in or so available to accommodate your height. With that being said I wouldn't suggest an Astro at your height. They are quite small and considered to be a minivan. It may work for short periods of time, but in the long run you may feel too cramped. Id suggest checking out my most recent build videos of my 97 Dodge. In this van I have a complete solar set up, massive queen size bed, and overall much more space while remaining a small initial budget. Hope this reply helps your decisions, and thank you for commenting!

Really glad you enjoyed this one friend!

You gotta love the pull out bed! Efficient on space with maximum comfort. For power I am using a jackery portable generator. I can charge it while driving. These systems are awesome because they are all in one units for solar. I plan on mounting two 100w flexible panels to the roof of the safari, and hooking that up to my jackery next summer. It’s a good option for someone who’s a beginner to solar. Thanks for your kind words, and for watching! 🤠 Email stadventureonline@gmail.com if you are in the pnw and want to do a van tour video of your Astro!

The plastic sheet that I got for my build is simple cabinet liner. It’s typically used to protect the interior of a cabinet from moisture etc. I picked this up at Home Depot and it was a 8x4 sheet. I hope this helps, thanks for watching.

Insulation will keep the temperature of the van consistent. For example if you are running A/C the van will remain that cool temperature for longer than if there was none. With that being said it will also keep heat in and take longer to cool down. So it can work in both directions. My advice for you would be to lightly insulate, but to not worry about it too much because Hawaii has pretty warm consistent weather. Definitely installing a roof vent would be in your interest for air circulation. Thanks for watching

@@SeizeTheAdventure I got my van this week! I went to Home Depot but I wasn’t sure about insulation what do you think? How do I insulate the floors to make it level before I put the plywood on top? Or can I put the plywood just right down?

@@zachs2807 a lot of people frame out their floor with 2x2 and then fit the spaces with foam board. This provides some structural integrating to place the plywood on and secure to. Hope this makes sense.

It really was an awesome spot for dinner with a view! I found the van on offer up. It was up in Vancouver, WA and originally from Bend, OR. Thanks for watching, cheers! 🤠

Thanks friend! I think the Astro is the smallest vehicle I would consider traveling with two people. I wouldn’t go any smaller then this. My girlfriend and I feel like there is plenty of room for the both of us. We have a full size bed that sleeps us very comfortably. We can change clothes and do all of the necessary things inside of our van. Now with that being said we were frequent campers before we even had the luxury of this van. We have spent many nights in the Rocky Mountains camping out of a small two person backpacking tent. So you can say that we are used to being together in tight spaces. Our van feels like a luxurious mansion compared to all of the tent camping we have done in our past. So I guess it’s all perspective. In my opinion I believe the Astro is plenty of space for two adults to sleep and travel comfortably in. I hope this opinion helps. Thanks for watching, cheers! 🤠

You would think it would make a ton of noise but everything is SOLID. The cedar planks and furniture are mounted to my framing system that is mounted directly to the actual “ribs” of the van with self tapping sheet metal screws (Go back to my previous videos to see how I did this). So this essentially provides a ton structural support. I’ve heard stories of peoples “ceilings” falling down going over bumps in the road, but nothing like this has happened to any of my woodwork. I hope this helps. Good luck on your build, and if you have any further questions I will gladly answer them! Thanks for watching, and cheers! 🤠

Hey Kurt I spent some cold nights in this van here in Oregon with a buddy heater. It’s possible but there is better ways to achieve your goal. Check out my current build where I use 3M thinsulate and install a diesel heater. The diesel heater has been a game changer for winter camping. It is a much more efficient and safe method. The buddy heater requires ventilation and also propane burns very “wet” creating a lot of condensation in your van. The diesel heater ventilates out from under the van and is a much more dry heat. Hope this info helps you. Thanks for commenting!

Thank you, I appreciate your interest in my van builds! Shoot me an email: stadventureonline@gmail.com We can discuss what you are looking for, and I can help you out. Thanks for watching.

Yeah the astros are a very small platform to work with. Probably one of the more challenging parts of building these vehicles out . Do you have a full build out in your 99? This was located in the pacific coast range between the willamette valley and the Oregon coast. Beautiful country. Look forward to more Van camping and exploration of this area! Thanks for watching 🤠

Hello! Unfortunately I don’t have a video of this part of the build as I completed during a move, but regret it greatly. Essentially I have framing attached to the rib located in the center of that side of the van. I created a box to the dimensions that I desired. I built this out of 2x4 (would probably use 2x2 if I were to do it again). I then used metal U brackets to fasten the box to the floor. I covered the box with plywood including the top to act as a counter top. The height is right up to that rib I mentioned earlier. I hope this helped. Feel free to ask any questions. Shoot me an email and I can supply you with some photos if needed. Thank you for watching!!

I followed you on Instagram recently. Is it cool if I shoot you a dm on there?

@@josepliego5514 yes, go ahead!

I would love to build the same countertop side, could you help me with the dimension you used? @@SeizeTheAdventure

Thanks friend! The van was formerly a FedEx fleet vehicle. I’m assuming that these mirrors were installed this way specifically for FedEx at the factory as there doesn’t seem to be any sort of modifications done to the mirrors. I wish I could provide you with more information about them, but it’s pretty much a mystery. Maybe if you look into how different fleet vehicles are set up you can find a place they sell a similar kit. I really enjoy these mirrors as it gives the van a unique look compared to other Astros out on the road. I would like to paint them black in the future to give them a clean new look. I hope this makes sense and possibly helped. Stay tuned for some massive projects coming to my channel. Feel free to ask any other questions you may have. Thanks for watching, cheers 🤠

Thank you for the kind words friend! I’ve designed this build around a small budget so simplicity was a major focus of mine. I use the Jackery 300 which is a very small portable solar generator. It does the trick for my style of short camping trips, and I can charge it with the cigarette lighter in the van while I’m driving. All I use it for is to power my 12V RV vent as well as charge devices so it is plenty. I have recently found a method to wire it up to just about any solar panel and I can’t decide between a roof mounted panel and a foldable panel. In the future I would probably go a full solar set up, but for the time being this is more than enough. Feel free to go back and check out the Adventure Van Build Series playlist on my channel as this is my first ever build. Stay tuned for some HUGE projects coming to my channel in 2022. Thanks so much for watching, cheers!

@@SeizeTheAdventure Thanks for your quick response. I myself, am currently designing my own small camper and have decided, after watching so many videos, to go with an Eco flow river pro. Believe me, I have done my homework. I've also decided to go with cedar although we over the pond don't have as much a problem with bugs as yourselves. I'm not a great cook so I don't need a huge refrigerator. Just a cool box will do. I do like my gadgets though, so that's why I'm deciding on 'ample' for my battery adding 100watt solar plus split charge. I look forward to watching many other vlogs you have produced and will keep in touch. Thanks again for your reply.

@@christate590 sounds like a great approach, cheers to you and good luck! 🤠

This is something that I contemplated during my build also. I even looked into buying the futon mechanism and installing it some way. There is a few reasons why I stayed away from doing this. First off space. Futons tend to lean back quite a bit, rather then sitting flush against a wall. The Astro is a tiny platform and I needed all the space I could get. Futons also need to be pulled away from the wall to be able to fold out in a bed typically. So I guess another “space” consideration. Another reason is aesthetic. I didn’t want to just throw a futon in the van and call it good. I was looking to do a completely custom job to provide a custom aesthetic. So by building a bed into my van I could optimize on space and accomplish the nicest look. Everything in my van is wood and I was going for a log cabin style layout. Now these are just my opinions and if you think a futon will work fine for you I say go ahead and do it! It will save you time and effort. I just did a video on re-designing my slat bed. It’s AMAZING now and I’m sitting on it as I type this message. I suggest going over and checking out this video before making your final decision. Thanks for watching, and I wish you luck with your build. Cheers! 🤠

@@SeizeTheAdventure Thank you so much for the input.

@@vridlon I’m here to help! Cheers! 🤠

@@SeizeTheAdventure I just watched your video and I agree. Wish me luck, I'm going to try and do it in my Sienna.

@@vridlon that’s great! Thanks for watching that one I tried to make it as thorough as possible so you can follow along with me step by step. You’ll do great! 💪

There’s a few things that are common with these vans that people have to invest in. Overall the 4.6l vortec engine that is in these things is considered to be one of GM’s bulletproof engine. They are incredibly reliable from a general standpoint. With good routine maintenance it isn’t uncommon for these vans to last up to 300,000+ miles. With that being said with any old vehicle there will be problems. On the flip side if anything goes wrong there’s a plethora of parts out there for these vans including engines, and most mechanics can work on them with no problem. Feel free to ask any more questions you may have. I hope this helps your decision. There’s a massive following for Astro vans on the internet for a reason, they are awesome! Thanks for watching, cheers! 🤠

Good ol Mr buddy heater in this build, but my most recent build I had a Chinese diesel heater. Would recommend cutting the hole in your floor for a diesel heater the thing was AWESOME.

Seems like you found it before I could Get you a link. Like I said works great and rarely needs a charge. Thanks for commenting!

Here is a link to the exact faucet! amzn.to/3LIRfHy

You’re right! Simplified things recently @stephanfogsi

@seizetheadventureyt for the channel insta. Cheers friend!

To each their own, I love it but definitely know folks who HATE it.

That all depends on what exactly you want in your build. You can get away with building it for 1k with the very minimal basics. If you decide to put solar, plumbing, etc this is where the price begins to increase. Hope this helps Stuart. Unfortunately I don’t have a cut dry dollar amount for you. I probably spent closer to 2k on this build when including mattress, fan, jackery, etc. thanks for commenting!