Carol, nice setup! Before you said the cost, I looked them up and see they also have a couple less expensive, smaller kits too. You made a very good point about having a smaller van and being able to park without being noticed. I might have to rethink what I buy. Thank you both for doing this interview, it was very helpful!

@pamreneick464

11 ай бұрын

For washing dishes buy a cheap bottle of rum or vodka much cheaper then rubbing alcohol👍

I love the kit idea. It's so versatile and well made. For only $4K it and the price of the vehicle are a lot cheaper than premade van builds.

The preassembled kits seem like a wonderful idea for those just starting out or the non builders. Cute little set up.

I love that it has everything she needs, is convenient, and still stealthy, at a low cost.

So proud of the ingeniosity of me fellow Montrealers! Go Vanpackers! go! 😊

Awesome job

Having previously owned a TC, I would have enjoyed a kit like this immensely. So clever! My homemade version didn’t serve me too well…. So, I switched to a minivan (sienna) and purchased a camper kit (by Riverleaf)--they offer quality conversion kits and I requested acouple changes to the model, it’s been a total joy! They ship from Kansas, included in the prices too. I picked up my kit (in GA) at my local FedEx facility on a pallet- it weighs 150# installed it well enough til I got home and leveled & anchored it. The cost was under $4k. I have added on some of my own special touches to make it more versatile and increase functionality- but the quality of the kit is top notch! Thanks for sharing this tour, I really enjoyed it and adore our community we have!! 🙌🏼🚐☀️

@carolyndonohoe-mather1557

Жыл бұрын

Wow! I hadn't seen the Riverleaf site before, but I found it just now. It looks great! I'm always happy to learn more in this process. Thank you! ~ Carolyn

I've seen the kits before and for a none diy person they are amazing 🎉🎉

👍👍👍👍👍👍

OMG I LOVE that idea of a conversion KIT. It’s like the perfect combination for those of us who don’t have the diy skills but also cannot or do not want to afford professional conversions. I love it. I bookmarked their site. Thank you for sharing!

Very organized and practical. I really love Carolyn's energy and personality. Happy travels.

Thanks for highlighting Carolyn and her set-up. We're only limited by our lack of imagination. A great kit for the carpenter challenged. You both stay safe and happy travels 😎

I had seen the kits somewhere and wondered. Seeing them set up shows how well thought out and practical they are. Going back to look again. Brilliant!

Very nice!

That’s genius, so simple and so functional! Thanks for sharing this!

Hi! My cousin and I both live full time (by choice) out of our Promasters in HB California. I work full time as a nurse and she’s retired USMC. If you’re ever in the area let us know we’ll give you a tour and insight into non nomadic vanlife.

@judyroth9449

Жыл бұрын

As non-nomadic do you rent a space to park permanently?

@user-a1.-_a1.-_

Жыл бұрын

Hello. I have a few questions. Where did you purchase your Promasters - was it locally in HB? Was it from a dealer or private party? For how much? Thank you for info!! 🙂🏖️☀️

@carolyndonohoe-mather1557

Жыл бұрын

@@judyroth9449 - Not sure if your question was for me or Saram1447, but I have a home base in NorCal.

@saram1447

11 ай бұрын

@@judyroth9449 I just boondock, it’s easy.

@saram1447

11 ай бұрын

@@user-a1.-_a1.-_ dealer and it was about $25k partially built out when I bought it and I’ve modified the rest for a few hundred dollars.

Love how it all fits together

Hey Carolyn! So good to see you on here, and at the nomad meetups :) Hopefully one day, it will be IRL. In the meantime, thanks for all you do for the community and safe travels!

I've never seen that kit before. It's brilliant, and a decent price to have it all engineered for you. Lovely lady, too. Thanks for sharing your little home away from home.

Love minimalist set up.

I love the VanPackers kits, so geeky cool!

@carolyndonohoe-mather1557

Жыл бұрын

@toddsnyder5135 - I love the geekiness too!

Hello, hello from Puerto Rico to all of us

@s.alphachica4301

Жыл бұрын

Hola from New Orleans

@errata101

Жыл бұрын

Hi from PA...

@carolyndonohoe-mather1557

Жыл бұрын

¡Hola! ~ Carolyn

Wow. Great ideas! I don’t have a transit- but I think I can borrow some for my SUV camper! Thanks for sharing

I used a Wayfarer kit for my Dodge Promaster. The great thing about it was that I had a functional camper in less than a day. Since then, I have extensively modified my rig with solar panels, swivel seats, and the like. However, I was able to gradually do these modifications, and I could still go out into the wild.

@carolyndonohoe-mather1557

Жыл бұрын

Wow! The Wayfarer kit looks really nice! Thanks for sharing what you decided on! ~ Carolyn

I keep my Dodge Grand Caravan simple. That way I can remove everything easily. Makes it nice to clean the van inside a couple times a year. I just have one of those fold up beds like you would have at home for when guests stay over.

Great job, Carolyn! Very clever.

I love the kit she has in there

That is the best kit I've seen. Thank you for sharing.

Very cozy!

Very creative. Thank you.

Lovin' the "Vanpackers" Kit / those Ford Transits are just so made for one person.

Wow! So neat and clean for this compact van! You have done a great job dear lady 👌👍👍!

I really like your kit and practical set up. I’m trying to decide between full size van and mini. Mpg’s are an issue but also general cost of maintenance as well. Minivans probably have half the cost when you consider gas, maintenance, tolls, and insurance and parking too. It could be a big deal. Also considering the ease of driving a minivan vs. full size.

@janet1744

Жыл бұрын

I drove a full sized van, backing up was a problem. I loved the height of the seat and window view.

@miriamhawkins7825

Жыл бұрын

This van is not rated for a heavy load. This set up is really nice looking but quite heavy. Larger vans are rated for more weight.

Love this! I cannot believe the timing of this video. I was just looking at these vans and trying to compare with my budget.

Excellent build! Very cleverly designed components.

I watched this (at the kitchen table) while my son is building a Lego kit house, there's similarities here: both (van build and Lego build) are well thought out, well constructed, genius level use of space, lots of hidden easter-eggs, and reconfigurable. And cute of course! Well done 😊🤗

Really like this!

Wonderful little van! 👍

Really nice set up..😊❤

Great set up! I am kind of impressed with the Vanpackers kit. I am not sure what it would cost to do it myself, but that seems to have a lot of value for the convenience alone! I hope that the folks at Vanpackers can give some feedback on how many hits their web sight gets from this video and fill us in. That is a really interesting product and they certainly have my attention!

Love that build kit! So versatile, sturdy, and beautiful

Really enjoyed seeing Carol's setup. The kit is simple yet really quite clever. She is very stealth as well so that is a real bonus, all in all a wonderful easy conversion.

Carolyn, what a nice job you did with your Ford Transit Connect. I know you purchased the nice set up inside but with your vehicle and the set up, you made everything so comfortable and practical . Your set up is great. If I was going on the road, I would copy what you did. Thanks to you and the nice guy who helped you show us your great set up. Have fun and enjoy your life which I wish I was also doing. God bless. JP

Very smart lady living a wonderful life and enjoying every moment 🎉

I didn't know these kits existed what a neat idea

Very nice build! I love how you 'figure it out' to make things work the way you want.

That van packers kit is amazing , saves so much carpentry , great idea

I had a 2014 Trans connect. Mad I no longer have it. Traveled a bunch with my mother. I now have a 2018 Ford Escape which I use for short camping trips. would go back to a trans connect if I was younger and not on ss so cannot afford. Love this one, thanks so much for the set up.

I'm not a "wood worker"! This is a great idea. Simple, easy, and affordable! Great fuel mileage so you can travel some. I'm liking it!

Hey first comment! Awesome rig 🙏🏾❤️

Looks almost perfect. A suggestion for the curtain. The pieces of flat bar that go at the sides of a chain link fence for a curtain holder behind the seats. Bend slightly to fit close to the roof and the ends tuck into the trim. Slide thru the hem on the bottom of the blackout curtains.

@carolyndonohoe-mather1557

Жыл бұрын

@normaevett - Thanks for the suggestion! I'm not sure that I completely understand, but I'm going to send your comment to my husband and hopefully we can figure it out together. It sounds like a good idea! ~ Carolyn

@mrwdpkr5851

11 ай бұрын

@@carolyndonohoe-mather1557 If there is bare metal then the 18" long tool magnets from harbor freight are very good at holding blackout curtains in vans . The same goes for the small round magnets .

Nice kit, thanks for sharing.

VanPackers! Thank you both for an interesting ideas video.

My favorite part was meeting the van owner and the way you out her at ease.

Quite minimalistic, and yet multifaceted. 🙌

Love this!! Thanks for sharing!!

Wow, I had no idea there were kit makers now. I'm interested in the Transit Connect for future, and LOVE your setup. Thanks for showing us!

Cool kit. I'll be looking into the Vanpackers site

Cool and cozy!

So good. Thanks for sharing

Just enough 😎💙💚💛

Almost done with my FTC build and needed inspiration for the curtains. Thank you😊

So glad for this review. I'd spied the Vanpackers units on another vanlifer's channel and just started research. So nice to see someone putting in place and to have more than one person's use for comparison. Thanks!

Fantastic!

❤ TFS

That gas mileage really caught my ear.. impressive!! I just purchased a 2005 tioga fleetwood class c. I'm still watching all of the van builds it's so interesting. Who knows maybe I might sell my class c and grab a van!! Thanks for sharing this video...

Nice! Love the "kit" aspect of this build! (perfect for someone like me who doesn't have ANY carpentry skills!)

Thank you. I am not in a van so far but I’m gonna be going into a car. Thank you for the simple ideas sometimes my brain feels like overwhelmed because I don’t know. Thank you for keeping it simple for me

Brian 🎉 Great video and Carol wow Beautiful home. Thank you both for your service to our community! ❤🎉🎉🎉

I love her build

Great!

That Vanpackers kit is wicked cool!

❤❤❤🙏thank you

Brilliant especially the table!

Fabulous build and great design

What a lovely young woman.very clever and independent.ad.lre you greatly Good luck trough you wandering Love that you take care of your vans engine.

That's an amazing kit! I am still in "the watching and considering" stage of van/camper/ anything but apartment life. Thanks for the tour 🙂

The kit makes it so easy @lifewithanthony went to Montreal and had his installed. Nice Company, Good find. Thanks Carolyn

Love it! Thank you for sharing!

Awesome build

Love this!

I love the kit.

Great kit. Some good ideas 🙂👍.

Very nice van set-up. She is really enjoying her travels. From Central Oklahoma

Brilliant, thanks!

That’s one of the nicest most versatile kits I’ve seen. I’m going to be definitely looking them up. Thanks for the video and information.

Very nice interview! Carolyn seem very happy with her build!

super!

Very nice kit.

Cute and compact.

Beautiful! I got a lot of idea’s from this tour.

I also love the kit as it takes all the guesswork to the builder

Loved it. Great job.

Very creative I love it!!!!!!!

It’s a cute setup. If she is comfy and happy, that’s all that’s needed.

I love all the neat different idea. The table is great. Building my own design into my conversion van has been a wonderful experience. So getting new ideas is exciting. Just built a platform for the passenger seat for my Lab Maddie. Thanks for all you do . Blessings, Hope on the Trail Teri Hope and Maddie in Virginia.

Love it

I had bought a transit connect 2012 that was already done, very beautifully done with a wood cabinet, a pop up table leaf and little drawers, sliding RV windows in back, cubbies with storage on the side walls with strong magnet system that didn’t rattle, as well as solar, full insulation, lights, and an inverter & house battery. The bench seat was traded out to a type that dropped down, although you lose a lot of usable space under it. It was 14k but only had about 89k miles. I only was able to take it on 2 little trips, but it was fun to go for drives and dinner in during Covid with my husband. I think I knew my daughter was going to get into a project too big for herself when she bought a beat up, old non-running shuttle van! I put new tires and a new battery in my van, had it checked out and sold it to my daughter for 12k. It kinda broke my heart when she ripped out the beautiful woodwork, but I could admit that she could get more space. I gifted her a 1000k LifePo4 battery and an excellent Warm and Safe electric blanket and I personally feel so much better that I know it’s a safe rig. It’s inexpensive (relatively) to get work done it, she can get work done at nearly any mechanic and the gas mileage is decent. People also don’t realize that if you convert a commercial rig into an RV the insurance is very expensive. She uses her van as her daily driver and enjoys her lunch in there every afternoon.

very interesting and usable.

I love. Her. Setup