Building a Wood Cabin Steampunk Van

There are many, many websites showing off #vanlife vans. We run into travelers every day with beautiful, albeit “standard” vans. Some look super polished, with crisp white lines. There are several professional after-market companies that create “perfect” vanlife vans…

You won’t find any of that here.

When I bought my Ford Transit 250 in late 2018, I knew almost nothing about carpentry or construction. I just knew that I wanted to do it all myself, from the insulation to the electrical.

Photo Gallery

A year and a half later, the result is what real estate agents would describe as “cozy.” The van was designed to look like a wood cabin on the inside. Touches include fairy lights and steampunk analog switches.

It is not perfect. Things still break more often than I might like, but at least I know how to fix everything.

Here are each of the steps that went in to the build process. I’ll share the materials I used, what worked, and what didn’t.

DIY Dashcam: Car Security Camera with a Raspberry Pi Zero W

Dashcams (video cameras in cars) are a great security and safety feature. As with the rest of the vanlife IOT, I built my own DIY dashcam that has some unique features — like motion detection and...

What I’d Change About my Van Build

Now that my van build is complete (photo gallery), I wanted to look back on what I'd change (and what I'd keep the same). Some day, maybe once vans are electric and self-driving, I'll end up building...

laptop computer monitor arm in a van mobile office

Mobile Office and Desk in a Van

To work from the road, we needed the van to also serve as a mobile office. It's hard enough to have an ergonomic work space at home or at an office. It was an even bigger challenge to make the...

steampunk van hardware clasps

Attaching Things in a Van: Magnets, Velcro, and More

Driving down dirt roads to dispersed campsites, things are always bouncing around in the van. We learned when building the sofa bed just how easily side-facing drawers can slide open. We thought it...

van kitchen sink

Kitchen Sink, Stove, and Refrigerator in a Van

Building a kitchen in a van means making trade-offs. Do you really need hot water, or can you just boil some when you need it? Does the faucet need to have an electric pump, or can it just be done by...

van sofa bed in couch mode

Building a Comfortable Sofa Bed in a Van

Most vans I see have a similar layout: the bed at the back, and the kitchen near the sliding door on the side. I don't like this layout because, even though the area beneath the bed is used for...

My parents helping me work

Cork Floors and Wooden Ceiling in a Van Build

With the walls up, my van was almost starting to feel like a living space. The ceiling and floor was all that was left to hide the industrial cargo shell. Wood Ceiling Time: 1 dayCost: Under $100 At...

installing plywood van walls

Plywood Van Walls: Gorgeous “Wood Cabin Look”

Plywood van walls were the thing from the van build basics which first transformed the way my cargo van felt. It went from an industrial/shipping vibe to... something vaguely cozy within just a few...

a swivel passenger seat in a ford transit van

A Swivel Passenger Seat as a Computer Workstation in a Ford Transit Van

There's not much living space in a cargo van. A swivel passenger seat can help fix that. As I built out the basics, I turned the passenger seat in my Ford Transit van into a mobile office, and a...

Insulating a Van for Summer & Winter Living

The first thing I did when building my VanLife van was rip out all of the factory-installed cargo gear to make room for insulation. Insulating a van requires understanding how (and where) you want to...