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Not Luxe ☼ Travel
  • ABOUT NICK & RAYCHEL
  • WHY “NOT LUXE”
  • Cambodia
  • Australia
  • Travel
  • Teaching ESL
  • Move Abroad
  • Travel Insurance

van life tips

    the interior of a budget van build

    How to Save Money On A Budget Camper Van Build

    by Nick & Raychel February 17, 2022

    If you’re looking to build a van on a budget, you are probably overwhelmed with layout ideas, what wood to buy for a van build, and so much more. When we were building our DIY camper van out of a retired ambulance, we were deep in information and had no idea what to do. So these tips are for first time van builders with no experience looking to understand how we built the interior of our van for less than $5k USD. 

     


    Prefer to watch, not read? Find our in-depth video on YouTube here!

    Using low-grade wood

    Some people would argue that you should use the best grade plywood when building out a van. We think that using a high grade of wood sounds like a luxury! Simply put, we couldn’t afford to buy the best of the best wood, and we opted for low-grade plywood to build the budget van build of our dreams.

    There are definitely downsides to using a lower grade wood in your van build. First of all, plywood in general is not very light and can weigh down your budget van pretty quickly. Then, the lower grade you’re working with will likely have more knots and ugly cut-offs… but that brings us to our next tip.

    Tile stickers instead of tile 

    We used tile stickers from Amazon instead of actual tiles in our ambulance conversion. Our kitchen is probably our most-complimented part of our van build, and that backsplash was one of the cheapest elements. 

    Remember the low-grade wood we talked about? We covered D-grade plywood with those tile stickers, as well as contact paper in the kitchen to give a sleeker finish. Another coverup that we did was slapping wallpaper over the ugly plywood that we used to build our bed. 

    If you want to buy the same stickers as us, you can shop our van build here! 

    tile stickers in diy van build

    Baskets vs. Shelving 

    One of the biggest money saving tricks we used in our ambulance tiny home build was to use baskets in place of shelves. We didn’t spend much time building cabinetry, because let’s admit it, it wasn’t our forte. That said, we saved significant money on wood by using baskets in the place of shelving.

    Installing a foot pump

    In our budget van build, we don’t have an electric water pump. Some electric water pumps are not too expensive, but the installation was not something that drew our eye. Instead, we installed a foot pump, which saves us money on water in the long run because the water is so controlled. Also – we didn’t invest in a water heater. Would we recommend it? YES! We love our foot pump and would recommend it to anyone who doesn’t want to install a water heater & electric pump.

    Using fabric pieces instead of throw blankets

    It’s obvious that you can’t do this for every blanket you have. That said, we used pieces of fabric to brighten up or accent certain parts of the van that cost us less than $2.00. It saved us money on spending $15+ per throw blanket and added the pop of colour we needed in the van. Consider buying second hand fabric! 


    We use Bookaway to compare and easily book bus, ferry, train or private transfer rides all over the world. Click here to try it!

    Consider a stationary layout

    Nothing in our van build flips, swivels, folds, flies down from heaven, nothing. If you’ve done any research into building a van (which obviously you have, and that’s why you’re here) then you would have seen the layout we have. We decided to stick with a very standard budget van build layout to avoid spending any extra money on hinges, wood, hydraulics, or other bells & whistles. We love the layout of our van and would recommend it to anyone just starting out with van life.

    budget van build

    Propane is cheaper than induction

    When I was first doing research on all things van life & van building, I had no idea what I was doing. Neither of us understood much about van build electrical and I was buying items before I understood how they’d really work out for us. We ended up investing in and installing an induction stove to later find out that we’d need to upgrade our battery bank to use it.

    Many vanlifers use propane to cook with because of the affordability of propane stoves and the lack of electrical pull it takes to utilize. I would highly recommend looking into the pros & cons of using propane in your van build – but will leave you with this: our induction stove was a huge waste of money, because it just drains our batteries and we can’t even use it.


    If you want to know three things that we DIDN’T do that we could’ve done, they’re up at the end as a *bonus* in the YouTube video above. Otherwise, I hope that these budget van build tips helped you think outside of the box on ways to spend money on your van build?

    Any questions? Let us know below!

     

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Nick & Raychel
Nick & Raychel

In 2018, we sold everything we owned and moved to Cambodia to teach English.

Let’s make this clear: this journey didn’t start with money. This journey started with a desire to see the world and to do something different for a change.

We’re not going to fool you with photos of floating breakfasts and private jets. We know what it’s like to be on a budget. Although we like to take pretty pictures, we aren’t going to wake up at an ungodly hour to give you unachievable travel jealousy. We aren’t going to censor ourselves or lie to you.

What we are going to do is stay in cheap hostels, find ways to make money, give the advice that we would want to hear, and share our experiences with you honestly.

Are you in?

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ABOUT NICK & RAYCHEL

About Us Hi! We’re Nick & Raychel, the Canadian travel couple behind the brand ‘Not Luxe’. Far before we were married (and on a mission to see the world), we were working…

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  • Living rent-free in one of the worlds most expensive cities >>> 

… but also, anywhere we want 😉 

It’s been a while since we did a van tour on here so here’s inside of our tiny home. Van life apartment tour format inspired by @samandkellysvan (check theirs out) and the apartment tours on TikTok. 🫶🏼

Any questions? 

➟ follow @nickandraychel // full-time van life & budget travel 

__ 

Tags: #notluxe  #vanlife #vanlifemovement #vanlifereality #campervan  #vanlifegirl #tinyliving #vanconversion #vanconversionideas #vanbuild #camperlife #homeonwheels #vanlifers #vanlifecouple #travelcouple  #campinggirls #granolagirl #lifeontheroad #roadtrippin #vandwellers #yvr #vancouvercanada
  • We worked the whole time, we just left the desk. 

And turns out there was world out there full of opportunity, friendship, and love we had never quite experienced before. 

We know this lifestyle isn’t for everyone, but it’s for us - and we’re so glad we went for it. 🫶🏼

➟ follow @nickandraychel // full-time van life & budget travel 

—-

Tags: #notluxe #budgettravel #vanlife #traveldiaries #cheaptravel #gapyear #travelgirls #girlslovetravel #travelgram #getoutstayout #livetoexplore #travelblogger #homeiswhereyouparkit #vanlifediaries
  • How much does van life in Mexico cost?
The truth is, it’s going to be different for everybody.

But here is a breakdown of our budget for 4 months of van livin’ on the beach this winter. 

**Please note that this DOESN’T include our trip to Mexico City which was $497 USD. Full breakdown of that air travel trip can be found on our profile!**

Any questions?

➟ follow @nickandraychel // full-time van life & budget travel 

__

Tags: #notluxe  #vanlife #vanlifeshot #vanlifemovement #vanlifereality #campervan  #vanlifegirl #tinyliving  #camperlife #homeonwheels #vanlifers #vanlifecouple #travelcouple  #granolagirl #lifeontheroad #roadtrippin #vandwellers #vanlifemexico #yvr
  • Van life: Las Vegas ✨🫶🏼

I don’t even have to words to tell you how fun this evening was. We were almost not going to make it to Vegas this trip, but didn’t it was @cakin_bakes birthday - we couldn’t say no. 

This is what it’s like stealth camping on the Las Vegas strip. 🥂 

➟ follow @nickandraychel // full-time van life & budget travel 

—-

Tags: #notluxe #vanlifecouple #tinyhome #vanlifers #vanlifevirals #vanlifemovement #vanbuildout #vandwelling #vanlifediaries  #vanlifemovement #vanlifeexplorers #lasvegas #vanlifevlog #stealthcamping #travelblogger
  • Crossing the Mexico/US border: the end of van life Mexico 🇲🇽 

We have crossed a lot of borders in our lives, but only 2 in our ambulance conversion. 

The added stress of having your entire home with you, a stranger walking through your van, etc. isn’t the best feeling, but as you can tell watching this video - we were just fine. 

Anyone else get unnecessarily nervous at border crossings?

(thanks @geneandshay for the inspo to film the live interaction on our phones)

➟ follow @nickandraychel // full-time van life & budget travel 

—-

Tags: #notluxe  #camperlife #camperlifestyle #vanlifeproject #vanlifeculture #tinyhome #tinyliving #vanlifediaries #travelgram #livetoexplore #vanlifeculture #budgettravel #travelblogger #bordercrossing
  • Van life in Mexico: driving up the Baja Peninsula. 

We spent a few days in La Paz, Mulegé & Guerrero Negro before crossing the border from Mexico into California. This is what it was like. 

A moment of appreciation for Bahía Concepción - shall we? 

➟ follow @nickandraychel // full-time van life & budget travel 

___ 

Tags: #notluxe #vanlifecouple #tinyhome #vanlifers #vanlifevirals #vanlifemovement #vanbuildout #vandwelling #vanlifediaries  #vanlifemovement #vanlifeexplorers #vancouverblogger
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