Jan. 16, 2019

RV Podcast Ep 225: DIY your own campervan RV

Show Notes

Have you looked at RV prices lately? They are through the roof. Expect to pay well over $100,000 to buy a new Class B campervan. Even $150K is not that unusual and some of the super high-end ones are closer to $200,000. Those high prices are one reason why lots of RVers are making their own vans, buying stripped down cargo vas and turning them into their own customized RV, with exactly the features and accessories they want. This week in our Topic of the Week interview, we’ll talk with a DIY van expert who has helped hundreds build their own RVs and even has an online course that shows you how to do it. The featured image above is from Larry and Wendy, a couple I met this past weekend who built out their own van. I'll have a video on their build and that of another DIY van-building couple we met in a couple weeks. But Larry and Wendy used the expertise of Ross Lukeman, who has become a guru in the DIY van-building crowd and you can hear my interview with Ross in this week's podcast. But keep reading and listening as we have lots of other RV News, tips, travel ideas and more. WHAT MIKE AND JENNIFER ARE UP TO THIS WEEK We’re just back from our annual winter campout at Tahquamenon Falls State Park in Michigan’s Upper Peninsul JENNIFER So we’ve brought in the winter parkas and the snow boots and now we’re now packing, shorts, T-shirts and flipflops because we are headed to Tampa, Florida where we’ll be attending the annual RV Supershow there at the Florida State Fairgrounds. MIKE It’s billed as the Greatest RV Show in America and while some of the other shows may want to also lay claim to that title, the RV Supershow is huge. Every major RV manufacturer will be there, many of them introducing brand new designs for 2019. We’ll be visiting as many as we can and doing videos on the new models. JENNIFER I just looked at the press release and it says they will have over 1,500 RVs on display covering 26 acres. So there will be plenty to see! MIKE Not only new RVs but lots of RV-related accessories and products are being displayed by 450 vendors. JENNIFER The show opens to the public today, Wednesday Jan. 16 and runs through Sunday January 20. The cost of admission is $10 per Adult and each ticket good for a FREE 2nd day return! Children under 16 are FREE. MIKE We will be all over the show so if you see us, be sure and introduce yourself. But we will also be hosting a meet and greet on Saturday from about 11 AM-3PM. You can find us between those hours on Saturday and we’ll be hanging out at the Roadtrek Motorhomes display. And for those of you in different parts of the country, we invite you to tune into a special Tampa RV Show edition of our weekly Ask Us Anything live stream on YouTube. Instead of our usual Sunday night show, we will do a special 3PM Eastern Time live stream on Saturday, direct from the show. You can find us at YouTube.com/rvlifestyle JENNIFER We can’t wait for the Tampa show. But if it’s too far from you, be sure and stay tuned to the end of the podcast and look on the shownotes page for this episode as there are a great many other RV shows held all across North America this weekend and we will tell you about all of them. Just check the shownotes page at Roadtreking.com/225 and we’ll put links to each of those shows so you can get all the details you need. RV NEWS OF THE WEEK MIKE Trees cut down at Joshua Tree National Park, foundation raising funds, as fall out of federal government shutdown continues Once again the damaging effects on America's national parks from the federal government shut down continues to dominate the outdoor news. Last week Joshua Tree National Park made headlines after vandals CUT DOWN trees to make new roads, set up camp spots in places off-limits to camping, cut down chains to access roads that were off limits, and leave graffiti as a handful of rangers try to protect a park the size of Delaware. Also throughout the country volunteers attempted to step in, to help protect the national parks by picking up trash, among other things. And the National Parks Foundation, a charity for the federal park system set up by Congress, announced it was launching a fundraiser to help the parks during the government shutdown. Most parks remain open with skeleton staff and are subject to closures at any moment until the shutdown is settled. JENNIFER Dalmatian accidentally hits gears, causes RV to back into lake We've all heard stories about the importance of keeping our dogs contained while driving so they don't accidentally hit the gears. Well, a poor fisherman from Tennessee learned this the hard way last week when his dog accidentally stepped on the gear shift, hitting reverse, caused his 38-foot RV to back into a lake. The owner stepped out of the RV for a minute and was unloading his boat when Bodi, his 2-year-old dalmatian accidentally did this, much to his owner's surprise. The whole thing was captured on video. We’ll put a link in the shownotes at Roadtreking-dot-com-slash-225. MIKE Officials make a human chain to rescue three hikers at Tahquamenon Falls State Park As I write this, Jennifer and I have just left our winter camp out at Tahquamenon Falls State Park in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. But apparently, not long before our camp out began, some hikers were out late at night on a popular trail there and ended up stranded, and in need of rescue. The three young men were able to make a 911 call, and then were rescued by a human chain, on an icy spot, and by the time they were rescued, were showing signs of hypothermia. Winter camping or hiking does require special preparations. Here is a link to a video we did on tips to winter camping, and here is a link to the rescue story. JENNIFER Banff National Park sets record as it opens reservations system last week Banff National Park in Canada opened reservations for summer campers last week setting a reservation record and causing the on-line system to freeze or crash at times. Some 13,500 bookings were made in the first two and a half hours, setting a record. Banff is a beautiful park, one Mike and I have visited. We were astounded by the beauty - as well as the crowds. (Click here to see our report.) To read more about the reservations rush, click here. MIKE RV Class B sales up 28.5 percent for first 11 months of 2018, report says Sales for Class B camper vans were up by 28.5 percent for 11 months in 2018, according to a report out by RVBusiness last week. Winnebago Industries Inc. led with about 40 percent of the class B sales, followed by Erwin Hymer Group North America with 29 percent. To read the full report click here. This part of the podcast is brought to you by RadPower Bikes,an electric bike manufacturer offering direct to consumer pricing on powerful premium electric bikes. Now with free shipping LISTENER RV QUESTIONS OF THE WEEK A listener is interested in renting an RV - We refer them to two RV rental sites… Outdoorsy and RVShare both rent RVs direct from owners. The caller also asks on how to find dog parts in particular areas – We refer them to Bring Fido - https://www.bringfido.com/sitemap/attraction/ , also http://www.dogfriendly.com/server/travel/guides/dogpark/dogpark.shtml . If you’d rather use an app try the Dog Park Finder app for iOS Apple devices at https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/dog-park-finder/id372419544?mt=8 For Android users try the app called BarkHappy at https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.barkhappy RV TOPIC OF THE WEEK Our guest this week is Ross Lukeman, who teaches people how to build their own RV campervans through a website called cargovanconversioncourse.com Here’s a transcript of the interview: Mike Wendland: Ross Lukeman, thank you so much for being our special guest this week. Ross Lukeman: Sure. Thanks for having me. Mike Wendland: Let's talk about what I think is a pretty rapidly growing niche in the RV industry, which is do-it-yourself van conversions. As more and more people are getting turned off by the high cost of an RV and finding that they can make exactly what they want for usually much less money. How much less money, usually, can somebody save off of a production model they buy from a dealer lot? Ross Lukeman: Well, if they've got the skills, it does depend on what they're building and what kind of amenities they're putting in there. But I would say maybe twenty to forty, fifty thousand dollars off of what it would cost to get one out of a factory. Mike Wendland: I mentioned earlier that I met two people this past weekend at one of our camp outs. I'll have a video on their vans that they converted and made themselves. That was pretty much what they say. One of them had about the cost of the van, obviously, kind of an empty cargo van, and then one added another five, six grand and had what he wanted, and the other one probably almost as much as it cost to buy the unit. He bought a used unit, but saving fifty, sixty, seventy thousand dollars off of what you'd pay if you were buying it from a dealer. The question, talk us through that whole procedure of doing it, from choosing a van to designing it and actually doing the work. How much is involved, and is this for everybody? Can most people figure out how to do this? Ross Lukeman: Well, let me get to that question. Let's start with the van. Most of the vans that people are using are Ford Transit, Mercedes Sprinter or Dodge Promaster here in the US. You choose which brand appeals to you and then choose your size. You can get the shorter wheel base or you can get the longer extended versions. Then as far as skill level, a lot of my students have some skill. They may be a woodworker or they may have electrical knowledge from working on their house, and they have a few areas that they need to expand in. Ross Lukeman: I would say for people that aren't handy at all, that maybe have two left feet on the job site,