- 25 minutes ago
Curtis, a health and physical education teacher, gives a detailed tour of his custom 4x4 adventure van and matching camping trailer on the road in New Jersey. The setup centers on a 2001 Ford E350 with a 7.3L Powerstroke turbo diesel, four-wheel-drive conversion by Salem-Kroger, and a rugged overland build made for travel, storage, and comfort.
Inside the van, Curtis shows how a former 15-passenger passenger van became a practical camper with a bed platform, swivel seat, fridge/freezer, organized storage, cooking gear, safety items, and space for his dog. Outside, the van carries off-road tires, bumpers, a winch, roof deck, kayak racks, and camping accessories designed for real-world van life and long highway miles.
The trailer adds even more flexibility: a lightweight WeeRoll aluminum mini travel trailer with awnings, roof racks, a Road Shower, bunk-bed style sleeping space, and room for gear, chairs, tables, and an air conditioner. Curtis also shares how he built the setup over time, what it cost, and why organization, simplicity, and freedom matter most for van life and overland camping.
Great for fans of van life tours, custom camper vans, overland travel, adventure trailer setups, and DIY camping builds. Searchers looking for van conversion ideas, 4x4 camper van walkthroughs, lightweight travel trailer reviews, or practical road trip rigs will find plenty of inspiration here.
Inside the van, Curtis shows how a former 15-passenger passenger van became a practical camper with a bed platform, swivel seat, fridge/freezer, organized storage, cooking gear, safety items, and space for his dog. Outside, the van carries off-road tires, bumpers, a winch, roof deck, kayak racks, and camping accessories designed for real-world van life and long highway miles.
The trailer adds even more flexibility: a lightweight WeeRoll aluminum mini travel trailer with awnings, roof racks, a Road Shower, bunk-bed style sleeping space, and room for gear, chairs, tables, and an air conditioner. Curtis also shares how he built the setup over time, what it cost, and why organization, simplicity, and freedom matter most for van life and overland camping.
Great for fans of van life tours, custom camper vans, overland travel, adventure trailer setups, and DIY camping builds. Searchers looking for van conversion ideas, 4x4 camper van walkthroughs, lightweight travel trailer reviews, or practical road trip rigs will find plenty of inspiration here.
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TravelTranscript
00:00Hello, this is Patrick with New Jersey's Outdoor Adventures YouTube channel here in Caddis Island, New Jersey.
00:06I was hanging out, I was doing some hiking, and I bumped into a gentleman here named Curtis,
00:11and he's going to give us a tour of his awesome adventure vehicle here today.
00:17And as you can see, it's a four-wheel drive, and he's got a really cool custom trailer behind it.
00:24Hello, Curtis. Welcome to New Jersey Outdoors.
00:26How's it going?
00:27All right. Hey, tell us a little bit about your setup in the van.
00:31This is a 2001 Ford E350. It has the 7.3 liter power stroke turbo diesel engine in it.
00:39They say it goes for like a million miles if you take care of it, which I plan on doing.
00:45It also has an AMSOIL bypass filter system in it. I guess it also works much better with this engine.
00:51It keeps it lasting longer and whatnot.
00:53I mean, as we go around, this thing is just, it's unbelievable.
00:56I found this on eBay. It has a luminous front bumper.
01:00It has the winch already lined, you know, wired in and whatnot.
01:04As we come walking around here, it has 33-inch tires on it.
01:12We just replaced the shock with Monroe shocks in there.
01:16We went with the 33-inch because we didn't, you know, it was going to be mostly on the road
01:20probably, not too much off-roading.
01:22But at the same time, we still want the off-roading capability, so we did go with, you know, we
01:24thought the 33-inch tire was probably going to be the best fit for this.
01:28We added these little awesome little screen nets, keeps the bugs out, skeeter beaters.
01:33I got these off Sportsmobile, actually, website.
01:37We built a deck up top, which is awesome, a little novelty hanging up top there.
01:41I've slept up there. My friends have slept up there.
01:43I also have a cot tent that we set up up there, you know, set up up there, kind of
01:45like a rooftop tent idea.
01:48I got both, we got the Thule kayak racks in the back here, so I could be able to carry
01:53two kayaks with me, just with the van by itself, which is awesome.
01:57The four-wheel drive was done by Sal and Kroger, so I'm the third owner of this van.
02:03Back in 2001, the gentleman that bought it bought a brand-new straight from Ford from the factory, had it
02:08shipped to Sal and Kroger right away.
02:09They put the four-wheel conversion in it, and he had it ever since, from 2001 to 2015.
02:14And then another gentleman bought it, actually, then Ford the River, and that's who I bought it from.
02:18He had it for about three years. He did some different things to it, too.
02:21But Sal and Kroger, you don't see too many of these anymore.
02:24You know, they were a four-wheel drive company that converted the vans.
02:27They went out of business, I think, about ten years ago.
02:30But there was a very well-known company that did quality conversions on these vans.
02:40We've got the Aluminous rear bumper here with the tray.
02:44All right, all my hitch setup.
02:47There might not be too many people familiar with Aluminous, but I have the same bumper setup in my van
02:53over there.
02:55And what's great about it, it's made out of Aluminous, so it's lightweight, and they powder-coat it.
03:00Very lightweight, yep. Strong as can be.
03:03We have the fuel rims, awesome fuel rims.
03:06Nice, tough, strong, gives it a nice, tough, rugged look.
03:15We've got two latches. We'll latch each side.
03:20Again, we have more storage in the bumper here.
03:24I have different extension cords and diesel additive and whatnot here.
03:30This is the same thing as a front bumper, too. It has the same storage.
03:34I have jumper cables and whatnot in there.
03:38As we open up the back doors, we were able to build this bed in here.
03:42So this was originally a 15-passenger extended van.
03:45It has the bench seats in it all the way through the back.
03:47So we pulled out the remaining rows, and we built this platform bed in here.
03:52So I have a futon mattress, some memory foam and whatnot.
03:56We have all kinds of storage in here.
03:59Different storage. There's where my cot tent is.
04:01I have an outdoor carpet rug.
04:03I have water weights for the awning.
04:06So instead of you have to tie down the awning, I have these jugs where you fill with water,
04:10and they're just weights.
04:11You attach them to the feet of the awning.
04:14Do you use your awning a lot?
04:16Not on the van.
04:17I use it mostly in my trailer.
04:21And these drawers here, all kinds of camping stuff here.
04:24There's a rain fly for the cot tent, sleeping pad, first aid kit,
04:28extra one-pound propane canisters.
04:31These are the refillable ones, which are great.
04:34When you refill them, you take them to, like, exporting goods?
04:39No, actually, it's this company, right here, Flame King.
04:44They sell this kit that comes with one extra canister,
04:47and it's a hose and a little adapter that you put to the propane area,
04:52and they just refill it.
04:53It's awesome.
04:54It's great.
04:55It works out great.
04:57We have just for some cooking stuff, grilling stuff, cutting boards,
05:03all different cooking utensils.
05:06These are marshmallow skewers.
05:09All kinds of stuff in here.
05:10Anything you used to, you know, you need to cook.
05:12Got to be organized.
05:13Got to be organized.
05:13Limited space.
05:14That's it, man.
05:15You got to be organized.
05:16All kinds of different stuff here.
05:17The cooking pots and pans are in here, pot holders and whatnot.
05:26So behind this, there's more storage.
05:30So you just lift that out.
05:31All back here, I have some more camping chairs.
05:35This is the jump starter.
05:37God forbid the battery ever dies on me.
05:39We have an air compressor there.
05:42If we get a flat tire, if we do want to go off,
05:44and I need to let the tires out in the air,
05:45I can actually fill them back up as well.
05:48Another camping table.
05:50Just a little, you know, random stuff in there.
05:52But we want to be able to fit as much stuff as we can
05:55because when we're on the road, we travel a lot.
05:57We're driving a lot of hours,
05:59so sometimes this is, you know, much beneficial when we're driving
06:01so you can take a...
06:06You're going to take a nap as we're driving.
06:10That's pretty cool.
06:14This is a little tool chest we built on the trailer.
06:18Now, who makes this trailer?
06:20Is this something you made on your own?
06:21This trailer is actually done by a company called WeRoll.com.
06:24They have their website here.
06:26This is about three years old.
06:28It's a 2016 model.
06:29I had it custom made.
06:31This is 6x9x6.
06:33Most of them come 5x8x5.
06:35But we needed some more storage than this thing,
06:37so we came up with this little storage box in the front.
06:39We built on it.
06:40We attached it, bolted it down to the floor there.
06:42So this is something you could just buy, like, a toolbox at a home center?
06:45Yeah, because I bought this at Lowe's, actually.
06:48Okay.
06:51Put all kinds of stuff in there.
06:52More extension cords, fire pokers, you know, random string,
06:57all kinds of stuff.
06:58Head stakes, gloves.
07:00Folks are going to be curious about the trailer.
07:04What is it made out of?
07:05So WeRoll.com is basically a custom manufacturer
07:10that specializes in lightweight trailers.
07:13All right, so this one is kind of like the Illuminus.
07:15This is all built all aluminum, so it's very, very lightweight.
07:18Originally, when I took a trip three years ago,
07:20I had to tow something with a Wrangler.
07:23Not too many things can tow stuff with a Wrangler.
07:25So being this being aluminum, very lightweight,
07:28Jeep was able to handle that situation.
07:30That's why I came up with this trailer.
07:36Part of the package was this, the off-road rugged tires.
07:39They call this the Overland model.
07:41So, you know, this is part of the package
07:42with these tires here with this trailer.
07:44We added the awning on the side up here,
07:46the RB awning, the 8x8 one.
07:49And we had custom-built these brackets
07:50because it was too high to sit up top,
07:51so we had to custom-built these brackets
07:52to drop it down a little bit.
07:54I have an awning on each side,
07:56so it's based on how the campground is set up,
07:58you know, based on where we want to put the awning.
08:00We also have this road shower up top here.
08:02We have roadshower.com.
08:03This is a five-gallon model.
08:04This is one of the first models they came out with.
08:06They now have a seven- and eight-gallon model,
08:08which is much bigger for more water.
08:09But it's a solar-powered.
08:10Basically, it's pressurized water.
08:11You fill it up with a hose.
08:12You could add a bike pump to get the pressure in there.
08:15Or you just did one of those female connectors for the hose.
08:18You connect it, and that would also add pressure
08:19as well as the water.
08:20And then the sun just heats up.
08:22It's a great little shower right there.
08:26Also has the roof racks.
08:28Right now I have my stand-up paddleboard up there.
08:30I've had kayaks up there, different things.
08:33But the roof racks are just great.
08:35Great to have any kind of additional storage,
08:37any kind of toys you want to bring with you.
08:38Now this trailer is awesome.
08:40It has a hitch.
08:41So you put a little bike rack system in there,
08:43whatever you want to do.
08:43Bring your bikes, your mountain bikes, whatever you do.
08:45This is great too, because the door flips up this way.
08:50And now you have a little bit more of another awning kind of area here.
08:54Inside the trailer, it's just an empty box, basically.
08:56It's a metal tent.
08:58So we added everything in here.
08:59We built that little shelving system in the front,
09:03all kinds of stuff here.
09:05We have my TV up there.
09:06I'll show you that.
09:08So this could be a toy hauler.
09:10I mean, you could outfit it whatever way you want once you get it.
09:14It's just an empty trailer.
09:15Exactly.
09:15Empty trailer, you can do whatever you want with it.
09:17Your imagination.
09:19Yeah, so we made it look a little trampled.
09:21So originally, I've had three people, three adults,
09:24and a full-size, basically, Great Pyrenees dog sleep in this thing at one time.
09:29So we had, this is great.
09:30This is a disco bed.
09:33This is a cot right now.
09:35It's a bunk bed cot system.
09:36So right now, it's like a futon, like a couch.
09:38We can hang out here.
09:38And that's also, there's a, the back comes up,
09:41attaches up here, and makes a bunk bed system.
09:43And we had this pad on the ground here,
09:44so someone slept on a slot on the floor there as well.
09:48Underneath, a ton of storage.
09:49You have extra gas, water jugs,
09:51these are just seat cushions to keep your butt warm at night.
09:54More camping chairs, another mattress pad,
09:57a little game system.
09:58I have a big, a big shelter that we,
10:00that we set up on the camping sites.
10:01That's stored under there.
10:03As well as an air conditioner.
10:04So this thing is great because the front part there,
10:07a little latch system cut out,
10:09that's for an air conditioner,
10:10like a house, a window air conditioner.
10:12It's great.
10:13It keeps this thing ice by.
10:14It's an ice box in there.
10:15So this thing, does it have its own power system?
10:19It does not have its own power system.
10:21Okay.
10:21No, so no solar, nothing like that.
10:23It has the electrical surge protector plug,
10:26so if I do go to campsites,
10:27we do have to try to get electric if we want power.
10:30It depends how long you want power for.
10:31Sometimes people can last without power.
10:33Sometimes you can't.
10:35But it gives them a little more convenient.
10:37This side as well, another awning.
10:40The same old brackets here,
10:42the stand-up powder board.
10:43You got the side door.
10:46I'm going to come in here.
10:47That's where I store the air conditioner
10:48for the front wall unit right there.
10:51And that just slips right in.
10:52It just slips right in, yep.
10:53And this is a little latch.
10:55It just comes right out.
10:56You just slip it right into there.
10:57That's pretty cool.
10:57You plug it in right there.
10:58And the manufacturer made that specifically
11:01for a certain model?
11:02Yep, for a certain model.
11:02So the Tom from WeeRoll told me
11:05what specific air conditioner to get
11:07that's going to fit that cutout.
11:09So it worked out great.
11:10And then as for ventilation,
11:12you got just a vent up top?
11:15Yeah, just a vent up top.
11:16No fan or nothing, just a vent.
11:18And the two side windows open.
11:19Yep.
11:23Got an insect screen here.
11:25Yeah, a little inside screen.
11:26So you got a little cross breeze as well.
11:32Looks like it's got a rubber
11:34torsion axle system.
11:36Exactly, torsion axle system.
11:37Exactly.
11:38The ground clearance is pretty impressive.
11:39I would say approximately 13, 14 inches.
11:43Yeah.
11:43So you could take this off-road
11:46right on the back of the van.
11:47Yep, definitely.
11:49I know our viewers here
11:51are dying to know price point.
11:54What does something like this go for
11:56before you outfit it?
11:57Before I outfit it,
11:58just as it shipped up,
12:00the metal structure alone
12:02was $5,800 I paid for.
12:04All aluminum.
12:06Came with a roof rack, everything.
12:07Everything, basically,
12:08just the outside structure.
12:09So $5,800 is what I paid.
12:11Which, I mean,
12:12I think is pretty fair price
12:13for small trailers
12:14in this category.
12:16All aluminum.
12:17Now, do they have dealerships
12:18throughout the country?
12:20As far as I know,
12:21there's two dealerships,
12:22one in Florida
12:23and I think there's one in Texas,
12:24I feel like he said there is.
12:26So I actually had to meet,
12:27the gentleman that I got shipped up from,
12:29I met him in West Virginia.
12:31So he drove this up to me
12:32in a Camaro,
12:33tied to a Camaro
12:34and I picked it up in West Virginia
12:35and that was a long day,
12:36I'll tell you that.
12:38But we picked it up from him
12:39and it's been great ever since.
12:40And since then,
12:41Reroll has come up with different models
12:43and so on and so forth,
12:44which is pretty impressive too.
12:46If you go on their website,
12:46they have a lot of cool different things
12:47going on right there.
12:53Now, inside this van,
12:55when you bought it,
12:57from what I understand,
12:58it was just a regular passenger van.
13:00Correct.
13:00Regular passenger van
13:01that had the bench seats.
13:03So again,
13:05when you travel a lot
13:06and you spend a lot of time on the road,
13:07you want it to be comfortable.
13:08So we wanted as much space
13:10as we could use
13:11to lounge out
13:12and so on and so forth.
13:14So what we did
13:16is we added the
13:17the Sportsmobile swivel seat.
13:21You can swivel this around
13:22and we'll face the back.
13:23I'd have to move that
13:24out of the way right there.
13:25But this turns around
13:26and face to the back.
13:27And then we took the benches out
13:30and left one bench in there
13:31so you could sit.
13:35All right,
13:35so we left the one bench in here.
13:36We took this bench that was out
13:38and we cleared out the other benches.
13:39So inside here,
13:40we have the winter dual zone
13:43fridge-freezer combo there,
13:44which is great.
13:46I have all kind of,
13:47you know,
13:47I have another grill under there,
13:48some lanterns and whatnot.
13:50That's my buddy,
13:50the my buddy heater system there.
13:53I have some crates under here
13:55with all kinds of lighting,
13:57headlamps,
13:58different lamps,
13:59mosquito repelling,
14:00different things,
14:00anything easy to get to
14:01I have right here.
14:02I like to see the fire extinguisher.
14:04Yeah, fire extinguisher,
14:04very easy to get to,
14:05you know,
14:05God forbid,
14:06something that does happen.
14:07And to another situation too,
14:09bear mace we have,
14:11God forbid,
14:11you know,
14:12some,
14:12yeah.
14:12Which I found out
14:14in New Jersey,
14:15you can't find it on Amazon.
14:16They won't ship it.
14:17They won't ship them out here.
14:17Yeah.
14:18Yeah.
14:20We built this floor
14:21because we wanted a harder platform
14:23to stand on.
14:24I also traveled with my dog,
14:25so he needed some area
14:25to,
14:26you know,
14:27to quality.
14:27Because we wanted to leave
14:28the brackets attached
14:29because if I ever wanted to convert
14:30to put the benches back in,
14:31I want to be able to do them.
14:33This is just a nice little thing here.
14:37Yeah,
14:37so this is the inside of the van.
14:39I have all,
14:39I have a backup camera,
14:41right,
14:41you know,
14:41it's loaded right there.
14:44You have a S-Pod switch system,
14:46I guess,
14:47for different accessories.
14:48Yeah,
14:48S-Pod,
14:49there's also a,
14:50the guy put in,
14:51he has a wire for the backup camera
14:52and also another,
14:53another support if I ever wanted
14:54to put the,
14:54the back lights in there,
14:55the backup lights in there.
14:56I guess that trailer was heavy enough,
14:58I see a brake controller up front.
14:59Yeah.
15:00Okay.
15:00Well,
15:00he,
15:00the gentleman before me
15:02towed a little,
15:02something a little heavier.
15:04And,
15:05mileage,
15:06how many miles do you have
15:07on the engine?
15:07Right now,
15:08there's only 97,000 miles
15:09on the engine.
15:10Wow.
15:10I bought it when I had 93.
15:12So again,
15:13it goes for a million miles
15:14is a steal,
15:15as far as I'm concerned.
15:16The viewers are going to be curious
15:17about the fuel economy.
15:19Not good.
15:20Not good?
15:20Not good.
15:21I was getting,
15:21I just got back from a trip
15:22out to Wisconsin
15:24and it took,
15:25I was getting,
15:26with the tow vehicle
15:28and whatnot,
15:28we got,
15:29for a full tank of gas,
15:30we got about 200 miles
15:31on the full tank of gas.
15:32It's about 20-gallon tank,
15:33I think around.
15:3420-gallon,
15:3522-gallon tank around the bow.
15:36So,
15:37mileage wasn't so good.
15:38I have the V10
15:39in my Conoline
15:41and I get
15:43150 to 160 miles per tank.
15:45So,
15:46you're getting a little bit better.
15:47Plus,
15:47you're telling a trailer.
15:48plus,
15:48you have the trailer.
15:49What powers the refrigerator here?
15:51Right now,
15:52I have a little inverter
15:54made by Best Tech.
15:55So,
15:55I just have this plugged
15:56into the cigarette lighter
15:57and then I have the cord.
15:57because this can run off
15:58DC and AC as well.
16:00right now,
16:00I have it just plugged into here.
16:01So,
16:01this only runs
16:02when the car is on right now.
16:05Again,
16:05there's all kinds
16:06of little controls here.
16:07That's where the other
16:08Best Tech part is.
16:09I have all kinds of stuff.
16:11A little Bluetooth speaker,
16:12puzzles,
16:13cards,
16:13went out from different campgrounds.
16:16Anything we've got to keep
16:18handy.
16:18Screen tape
16:19is always clutched.
16:20Little zip ties,
16:22little knife,
16:23batteries,
16:24you know,
16:24anything you need
16:24that's right at hand
16:25and it's going to be
16:26pretty quick and easy to get.
16:27Weather Tech mats.
16:28I got these seat covers
16:30from Cabela.
16:30They were on clearance.
16:31They were,
16:31I think,
16:32$15 a piece.
16:33It was great
16:33to keep the seats
16:35protected.
16:38You know,
16:38all kinds of stuff.
16:39A little,
16:40little thing.
16:40Here,
16:40here's more kitchen stuff here.
16:42Another drawer,
16:43old cups.
16:44Is there any type
16:45of water tank
16:46on board in here?
16:47I do not have
16:48a water tank
16:48on board in here,
16:49no.
16:49No,
16:49any kind of water
16:50we usually bring with me
16:51in our coolers
16:52and fridge
16:52and whatever else we need.
16:55We're usually in the road shower.
16:56Port-a-potty type.
16:57I do have a port-a-potty,
16:58yep.
16:58God forbid those
17:00accidents happen.
17:01Here's my port-a-potty
17:02right here.
17:03So it's the travel toilet.
17:05It's great.
17:05Basically,
17:06it's a seat
17:07with a toilet seat
17:08on top of it
17:08and you just put
17:09a plastic bag
17:09underneath you
17:10and you do your business.
17:12Hey,
17:12people need to know,
17:13you know,
17:13what people do.
17:16Most of the time,
17:17I mean,
17:17we have camped
17:19at different spots,
17:20you know,
17:20but most of the time
17:21where we go,
17:22we're at a campground.
17:23So a lot of times
17:23we use the bathroom
17:23at the campground
17:24and so on.
17:24So for a shower
17:25and that kind of stuff.
17:26This is really
17:27for emergency situations.
17:30What inspired you
17:32to get,
17:33why did you need
17:34to get into this
17:34van life?
17:36I just felt like
17:37our country is so big
17:39and there's so many things
17:41I have not seen.
17:42I wanted to see
17:42and, you know,
17:43I loved traveling
17:44growing up.
17:45I, you know,
17:45but every time I traveled
17:46I was always on a plane
17:47in the hotel rooms
17:49and that's great
17:50and all,
17:50but it gets a little old.
17:51You know,
17:52for me,
17:52I wanted to really
17:53experience what our
17:55country is going to be like
17:56in my terms.
17:58And, you know,
17:59for people that are
18:00interested in getting
18:01into this lifestyle
18:02for the first time,
18:03is there any tips,
18:05like things that
18:05you had aha moments
18:07like after getting
18:08into this that
18:09that you could share
18:10with our viewers,
18:11things that you might,
18:12and your research
18:12that you might not
18:13have thought of
18:14that you learned
18:15as you go?
18:16Every day,
18:17really,
18:17you learn something new.
18:20The ease,
18:20ease of,
18:21you know,
18:22making sure everything
18:23is where you need it
18:24when you want it
18:26and just simplicity.
18:28You know,
18:28you don't need
18:29a ton of things.
18:30You need minimal stuff
18:32to get you through
18:33what you're trying to do.
18:34You know,
18:34it's for your purpose,
18:35whatever you're trying
18:36to accomplish,
18:36whether it's,
18:38you know,
18:39mountain biking
18:40and trailing
18:40and going different
18:41or if you just really
18:42just want to go
18:42explore nature
18:43and you just want
18:44to go to a different
18:44campground
18:45and go check out
18:45different sites
18:46or,
18:46you know,
18:47gear it toward
18:48your lifestyle
18:48which is what,
18:49which I guess
18:50my best advice
18:51I can give.
18:52Now,
18:52when you're out there
18:53and you bump into folks
18:54with larger type RVs
18:56and they come over
18:57to check out the van,
19:01do you get the sense
19:02that they feel
19:03that you have
19:03a little bit more freedom
19:04with what you have?
19:05Definitely.
19:06Oh,
19:06absolutely.
19:07I was just at,
19:07again,
19:08I just got back
19:08from a trip
19:08out to Wisconsin
19:09and one of the gentlemen
19:10was next to us.
19:11He said,
19:11this is probably
19:11one of the most
19:12rugged setups
19:13I've ever seen
19:14and he has a huge,
19:16it was an ice house,
19:17you know,
19:17I think it was
19:18a 27-foot ice house
19:19which was awesome
19:20but again,
19:21it's,
19:22you know,
19:22watching him try
19:23to trail the vehicle
19:24into the campground
19:25through some of these
19:26small roads
19:26and whatnot,
19:27it's tough.
19:28You know,
19:28some people like
19:29that glamping
19:30or glamping
19:31or whatever it is
19:32but for me,
19:33I want something small
19:34that I can get to
19:35anywhere I want to get to
19:36and have everything
19:37I need to do with me.
19:38You know,
19:39the van I felt like
19:39it was a great setup
19:41for me
19:42and the trailer
19:42just adds to it
19:43and I wanted that idea too
19:46because I want to be able
19:46to set up my campsite
19:48somewhere
19:48and be able to travel
19:49somewhere else
19:50and do some other hiking
19:52and whatever we need to do
19:53and leave the trailer behind.
19:55Now that you have
19:56some experience
19:56in this lifestyle,
19:58you know,
19:58there's always a work
19:59in progress
19:59so you're always doing
20:00improvements
20:01and adding things to it.
20:03If you were to do
20:03another one
20:04or make one big improvement
20:06to this particular one,
20:08what is like
20:09that number one thing
20:10that you're like,
20:11I wish I had?
20:13Man,
20:14probably I would say
20:15the headroom.
20:16I mean,
20:16I love this van.
20:17I love this van.
20:17Don't get me wrong
20:18but there's not much
20:19headroom,
20:20you know,
20:21but I would have to give up
20:23my accessories
20:23on top of the van
20:24meaning the kayaks
20:25and my deck
20:25and stuff up there
20:26so I'm torn
20:28but I go back and forth
20:29with that.
20:30I do like the
20:30awesome four-wheel drive
20:32that they're doing now
20:34and the Sprinter vans
20:35and all these other
20:36the Dodge Ram,
20:37all these people
20:37are doing some cool stuff
20:38with these other vans
20:39but they have the headroom
20:40which I like to be able
20:41to stand up in.
20:41That's probably my biggest,
20:43I guess, want.
20:44Now,
20:45overall investment,
20:46I know you told us
20:47approximately
20:47what the trailer cost you
20:49but someone that just
20:50wants to buy
20:51a good van,
20:55whether it's four-wheel drive
20:56or diesel or gas,
20:58what part of the conversion
20:59part of this,
21:00it looks like it's
21:01mostly stuff
21:01that you could buy
21:02over-the-counter.
21:04What your overall cost
21:05would someone expect?
21:08That's a great question.
21:09You probably did it
21:10over time.
21:10Yeah,
21:10I built this,
21:12everything I've acquired
21:13has been over
21:13about two years,
21:15three years.
21:15I've gotten a lot of stuff
21:16off Craigslist
21:17and Let Go
21:17and Facebook,
21:18Marketplace
21:19and I've come to find
21:20buying things brand new,
21:23not too much point,
21:24there's not a point to that.
21:25You could find
21:25really good stuff
21:27used that people
21:28didn't really use too much,
21:29especially camping equipment.
21:31So I mean,
21:32So it looks like
21:33the most expensive item
21:35would be a refrigerator.
21:36This winter fridge
21:37I think was,
21:38when I bought this,
21:39I bought this three years ago,
21:40has the dual zone.
21:43I think I paid,
21:44I mean,
21:45$500 for it maybe,
21:46$5.50.
21:47These are different magnets
21:48and whatnot,
21:49we've collected
21:49from different camps
21:50like in the states
21:50we've been in.
21:51We try to grab something
21:52from everywhere we go.
21:54So here's the core,
21:56here's the size,
21:57so this is the winter fridge here.
21:59Has a little spin out,
22:00why not?
22:01Right from there like that.
22:03And then you have
22:03the other side
22:04is the freezer as well.
22:07It's a pretty nice size.
22:08Yeah,
22:08great size
22:09and low energy.
22:11Low energy.
22:13So someone could do,
22:14you know,
22:14I know you bought
22:15a lot of accessories for this,
22:16so maybe a conversion
22:17like this could cost someone
22:18say $3,000?
22:20Probably.
22:20I'd probably even say
22:21probably a little less.
22:22Wow.
22:23This was a,
22:24you know,
22:24this was a table
22:24I had left over.
22:25I mean,
22:25we built this out of plywood.
22:26We built a bed out of plywood.
22:28I found a futon on let go.
22:30You know,
22:31I found these plastic drawers
22:32on let go,
22:33the three of them.
22:34Here's my camping stove
22:35I found on Craigslist.
22:37You know,
22:37here's a little grill situation
22:39I found.
22:40This was on clearance
22:40on a Dick's
22:41sporting goods store.
22:44I mean,
22:44you just budget yourself
22:46and you can find stuff cheap,
22:47man.
22:47You really can.
22:48Everybody has
22:50different career paths
22:51and some people
22:52who work from out on the road.
22:53How do you get out there?
22:55Are you able to?
22:56I am lucky.
22:56I probably have
22:57one of the best jobs,
22:58I say,
22:59as far as I'm concerned.
23:00I am a health and phys ed teacher.
23:02So,
23:03it allows me time
23:03in the summertime.
23:04I have two months off
23:05in the summer,
23:05so I could travel.
23:06I mean,
23:06I have almost 10 weeks,
23:08really,
23:09to do
23:10kind of what I want.
23:11You know,
23:11so,
23:12I mean,
23:12I obviously work hard
23:13throughout the year
23:13and save my money
23:14until I have money
23:15in the summertime
23:15to be able to do it,
23:16but
23:18very lucky
23:18to be able to have
23:19this career I have
23:20and allows me
23:21to do these awesome trips
23:22in the summer.
23:24Curtis,
23:24I appreciate you
23:25taking the time
23:26with us today.
23:27Our viewers are
23:27going to be excited
23:28to see what you did
23:29with your van.
23:29It's really going to
23:30inspire a lot
23:31of other people
23:31that are looking
23:32to get into this lifestyle
23:34with what you've done
23:35with this setup
23:36and I thank you.
23:37Thank you for being
23:39an educator
23:39and thank you
23:41for taking the time
23:41with us today.
23:42Thank you guys.
23:42Thanks for being
23:43interested in my setup.
23:44I love this stuff.
23:45This is a lot of fun.
23:46This is Patrick
23:47with New Jersey's
23:49Outdoor Adventures
23:50YouTube channel.
23:51I hope you enjoyed
23:51this video.
23:52Please like this video,
23:53comment,
23:54share,
23:55subscribe.
23:55I love it
23:56and I'll see you soon.