Dreaming Of Vanlife? Here's What A Ford Transit Campervan Conversion Could Cost You

Matt Foley may not have glamorized living in a van down by the river, but that was before YouTube. Now, it's as if the law requires anyone taking up vanlife to start their own YouTube channel. No wonder you're thinking about walking away from it all and moving into a van full-time.

What about the actual van, though? Are you thinking about making a Ford Transit your new home? We can certainly see why. It's got tons of room on the inside and it's pretty easily converted. The 2023 Ford Transit Trail is especially good for vanlife. However, you should know that, although taking up vanlife will save you on rent or mortgage payments, the cost of entry can be steep, whether you move into a Transit or some other model. 

A brand-new Transit, unconverted, starts at $56,400 (plus a $2,095 destination fee). You might be able to find a used one less than 10 years old for around $20,000. Then there's the cost of building it out. Having the pros do it will typically run you from around $9,000 for an extremely basic setup to $120,000, depending on how many amenities you want. You can do a decent conversion yourself for as little as $3,000, or you could end up spending as much as you would on a professional conversion if you go crazy.

One of the most expensive ways to get into van life is to buy a van that is already converted. Contravans lists a fully-converted Ford Transit High Roof Extended Body for $144,000. This van is decked out with an 80-inch by 72-inch queen+ bed, a stainless-steel kitchen sink, a 12-volt air conditioning, an awning, a heater, and more. But that's new, and buying used is a different story. It's not hard to find a converted 2016 or 2017 Ford Transit in the $30,000 to $40,000 range. Shop around, pay attention to the mileage, and inspect any van thoroughly before buying it.

What if you want to buy a blank van and have your own conversion done? A new, unconverted Ford Transit starts at $56,400 (plus the above-mentioned destination fee). If you want to maximize your living space, you'll probably want to opt for the extended version, which is nearly 30 inches longer. The van also comes in three heights. Would you like to be able to stand up in your new home? Then you'll want to consider the high roof option. 

Again, if you're willing to buy used, you'll be saving quite a bit of cash, at least initially. It's not hard to find an unconverted 7 to 9-year-old Ford Transit in the $20,000 to $30,000 range. At that point, though, it might be worth it to find an already converted Transit of that age, since you'd only be paying about $10,000 more. We did recently find a used converted Ford Transit Connect for $2,100, but that's an outlier, and it sounds like it needs some serious repairs.

After watching all of those videos of seemingly regular people building out their vans themselves, you may be thinking you're ready to DIY your own van. However, doing so is harder than the YouTubers make it look, we can assure you. To convert your van, you'll need to become a carpenter, electrician, mechanic, and maybe a plumber. The possibility of making costly amateur mistakes is pretty high.

Still, we understand why folks would want to build their vans themselves. Having your Ford Transit converted by professionals like Contravans can run anywhere from around $9,000 for a very basic conversion with almost no amenities to over $100,000 for a luxury conversion with a full kitchen, solar panels, a shower, appliances, AC, heater, windows, water heater, and more. Conversions by The Vansmith start out a little over $40,000 and go up from there. None of these prices include the cost of the van itself.

Buying a Ford Transit and then paying for an expensive conversion doesn't seem like the most economical choice. After all, you can get a class B RV, which is already designed for camping, for the cost of the conversion alone. On the other hand, if money is not an issue, getting a van and having a pro convert it exactly how you want it could be the best way to ensure you have a comfortable vehicle that's designed for you.

The next step down from having professionals build out your van is using a pre-built kit for your Ford Transit. You're still going to have employ some building skills, but putting a kit in is easier than building from the ground up yourself and less expensive than having it done by professionals. It's still not cheap, though.

For example, do you want a bed system? That could run $4,000 to $5,000. A kitchen kit from Serg Supply can run you $2,000 to $3,000. Walls, flooring, and ceiling kits cold cost you about $2,000 each, depending on the supplier. As you can see, conversion kits are sold as modular sections, which can be a good thing. For example, you might decide that you need cabinets built for you, but you can handle building the bed on your own.

Shop around for conversion kits. Not all shops have the same prices. Timber Van Kits, for instance, goes even more modular than Serg Supply, selling smaller components like single cabinets for a few hundred dollars.

Converting a van is complex and requires professional skills and knowledge. We know what you're thinking — if that YouTuber could build out their van all by themself, you can do it, too. And, to be honest, your initial vanlife set up doesn't have to be that elaborate. In fact, you may not have to do any building at all. But if you're going to live in your Ford Transit full-time, sleeping in a sleeping bag and using a soda bottle as your bathroom can get old real quick.

So, how much is it going to cost you to build your van from scratch? It all depends on how fancy you want your Ford Transit to be. A simple conversion with a bed, kitchen, and other basics could cost as low as $3,000 and go all the way up to $20,000, depending on the materials you use. Building a van that will imitate the comforts of a small home will likely fall in the $25,000 to $50,000 range. If you really want to go nuts, you could spend all the way up to $100,000. At that point, you basically have a luxury studio apartment on wheels, probably with enough solar to power a small town in case of an outage. Finally, don't forget about the cost of power tools you may not have at the moment. That could turn into hundreds of dollars, maybe more.

You may be thinking you can get by on the cheap when you convert your Ford Transit because you just don't need that much. After all, you may be doing this to simplify your life. We've watched YouTubers spend time in vans with nothing but a cot, a bucket (use your imagination), and a couple of plastic cabinets to store their clothes and a few other things. Maybe you're a minimalist and all of that sounds fine to you.

But where are you going to shower? The inside of your van can get pretty funky really fast. You may want to invest in a simple shower arrangement. If you spend any part of the summer in any of the 48 contiguous states, you can count on that van getting pretty hot during the day. An off-grid 12-volt AC for your Ford Transit could easily cost well over $1,000. But how will you power it? You'll either need an array of solar panels along with a bank of batteries or a generator, which you won't be able to run everywhere. If you go the solar route, Boondocker's Bible recommends at least 1,800 watts of solar to run an AC for 8 hours. At $1 per watt, that's $1,800 before factoring in the cost of batteries and other necessary equipment.

We don't mean to discourage anybody from living their dream on the open road (or down by the river). Vanlife is very doable, whether your circumstances allow you to buy a conversion (maybe even the new Ford Transit EV conversion) or build it yourself. It just takes some planning, budgeting, and maybe some saving.