Young Couple Converts Ram Van into Luxury Class B RV
Ram Promaster van conversions are among the most sought after rigs on the road. They have proven reliability and lots of style.
The only problem…if you buy a Promaster from an RV manufacturer, you’ll be paying a load of money.
Today we have a solution. Build out your own Ram Promaster van conversion. That’s why we’re talking to Ethan and Katelynn Hunter.
This couple transformed a standard Promaster into a beautiful abode. They’re sharing their story with us and giving us some nuggets of wisdom.
Let’s dive in!
Meet Ethan and Katelynn Hunter
The Hunters built their home-on-wheel in a 2018 Ram Promaster, and have been living in it full time on the road. They say, “We discovered van life while searching alternative living on YouTube, a few months later we went to a van life rally in Asheville, NC and were sold.
With rising rent costs in Nashville, TN we were sick of throwing our money away. Basically working just to pay for a place to sleep.”
Both Ethan and Katelynn were working multiple jobs and barely had time to travel. Katelynn admits, “We knew we had to make a change so we could live a life where our hard work goes towards a fun and happy life; not a life filled with stresses like trying to figure out how we were going to pay for a place to basically just sleep and eat in.”
That made the Hunters take the plunge.
They sold almost everything they owned and bought their first van with all of the money left. Then they began building their ideal conversion van.
It took almost a year and a half to complete, but now the Hunters are living the life that they dreamed of, and have something to show for all the hard work they have done.
Ethan says, “We finally finished our build in June of 2020. On June 6th we immediately hit the road, and it’s been almost 8 months now full time.”
What type of Van is It?
Their van is a 2018 Ram Promaster 3500 159 extended. It’s the biggest Promaster you can buy, and it’s perfect for 2 people. It’s even great for entertaining up to 4 guests.
Pro Tip: We love van life, but it’s not for everyone. Here’s 5 Reasons to Avoid Van Life.
Here’s a video tour of their van.
The Promaster Living Area
The living area is a horseshoe-shaped dinette with a table in the middle.
It also easily converts into a bed which is just under a queen-sized mattress. The Hunters say, “We cut up a memory foam mattress into 5 different sections and upholstered them. Our living area is raised up a bit so we can have the dinette/ bed conversion and still have a lot of garage space under it.”
Van Conversion Bathroom
The Hunters have a full working wet bath with a detachable showerhead and a Nature’s Head composting toilet. This is equipped with a shower niche to store all of our soap, shampoo, etc. we have a retractable, self-cleaning door made by nautilus it’s great for privacy, and we don’t have to worry about mold or mildew since it’s self-cleaning.
We have a 2.5 gallon electric hot water heater and 33 gallons of fresh water stored inside the van in our garage.
Kitchen in a Van
Ethan says, “Our Kitchen has everything you need. We have a 15×15” sink, that’s pretty deep so it makes washing dishes easy, a dometic 3 burner gas stove and oven, and an 85 liter isotherm refrigerator.
We have lower cabinets where we store our pots and pans, silverware, plates, bowls, kitchen appliances, food, and on the other side our clothes. Our upper cabinets store our pantry items, coffee stuff, electronics, books, board games, vitamins, and toiletries.”
They custom built our cabinets and made countertops out of maple strips that they milled down from 1x8s. It’s a galley style kitchen so they have plenty of counter space.
Exterior of the ProMaster Conversion
The Hunters say, “We wanted to make our van as stealthy as possible so the only cut outs we made in the walls of the van were for our windows. Our water fill up is inside the van in the garage. We have two 300 watt solar panels that are mounted to a low profile roof rack that we made ourselves.”
And behind those is a Maxx air fan. Underneath the van is a 10-gallon grey water tank and a propane tank mounted.
At first glance, if the fan is down it may look like a regular work vehicle. This has allowed the couple to stay everywhere for free instead of renting a campsite.
Pro Tip: This type of camping is sometimes called stealth camping.
Here’s the Advice the Hunters Share
If your looking to build out a van or RV just keep in mind everything takes longer than you think it will. We recommend trying it out at first through a rental company like outdoorsy.
We 100% knew this lifestyle was for us but it’s definitely not for everyone. Plan out a layout and vehicle that fits your lifestyle best. Go through your budget – you could build out a van for $3000 or $20,000 it all depends on what you want. Research! YouTube and Facebook groups are your new best friend.
Don’t get too frustrated if you don’t meet your deadlines, you want to make sure things are done right
so you don’t run into too many problems while on the road.
Building out a van is hard work but it’s so rewarding. This lifestyle was the best decision we’ve made!
Pro Tip: The Hunters offer van conversion consulting, too!
Here’s The Most Important Tool They Used for the Van Conversion
“Each phase of the build has its own set of important tools.
I would say all of them are important. Anywhere from a t10 screw tip all the way to a table saw. Make sure you’re using the right tool for the job. If you don’t know what the right tool is look it up online and you’ll find out.
The most important thing you can use overall though is your mind. Think things through, and tell yourself you can do this.”
Follow The Hunters
If you want to keep up with us and our travels you can follow us on Instagram @thehuntersvanlife. You can also check out everything we used in our van at www.thehuntersvanlife.com.
You can shoot us an email there, and we even offer build consult calls too.
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