You can’t sleep in it if it doesn’t have a bed…

In a minivan conversion, you really can’t do anything until you decide on the bed situation. The bed is the dominant use of space. It seems like most folks build something custom, and that’s fine — but it isn’t everyone’s cup of tea.

I’m not sure what size electrical system I need. Back of the napkin, and with my personality, I feel like 200W of solar, a DC-to-DC Charger, and 400Ah of usable battery banks would suit me well but… That also is an extremely expensive solution that I haven’t demonstrated I need.

When I sit down to think about what I’m going to do with the van, and what my demands are it paints a different picture. The things I want to run are:

I wanted, for both me and you, to sit down and write out what the goals in the first build out were. I talked briefly in Buying the Van about how the idea is to be a starter van to find out what I need and don’t need in a build.

The first step in any van build adventure is picking and buying a van. I’ve been waffling for over a year on what the best van to use would be, and I decided on buying a ‘starter van’ if you will.

So, what did I buy? I snagged a used 2019 Grand Caravan GT from Enterprise Car Sales, well equipped, in good condition and at a significant discount from new. This van has some nice features for a small build, including Stow and Go seating to provide a nice flat floor to build on. Also, as a tall person (6'1") the cargo length of 7' means I can still comfortably lay down.