My van build started with me watching way too may YouTube videos. Finally coming up with a basic design I thought would work best for me. I am a larger women and knew I wanted open space. Decided I only wanted one side with counters, giving me a feeling of more space. A permanent bed in the back was my choice as I did not want to make up a bed each night. I wanted upper cabinets, but not over my head when I slept. My van build design had a spot for everything I thought I needed.
I had a total budget of $15,000 CDN which I thought was substantial however it goes pretty quickly. I spent over $7,000 CDN just for my solar set up. Like most people I had to make my choices based on the dollars.
After living in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada for a year then travelling for 2 years some of my choices worked out really well, while others not so much. Here are my list of 6 mistakes and 6 loves in my van build.