Van Build with NO Tools: Heather's Simple Ram ProMaster Conversion

Heather's "No-Build" Van Lifestyle

• 🚐 Heather shares her 2021 Ram ProMaster High Roof conversion, emphasizing a simple and easy approach with minimal tools and carpentry.
• 💰 She uses the van for full-time living and to save money by avoiding hotels, traveling to festivals where she sells custom T-shirts.
• 🎯 Her business, nomadic.graphics, relies heavily on festival sales, allowing her to work and live on the road.

Functional Interior Design

• 🗄️ The van features a swivel seat to maximize living space and an antique dry sink for a kitchen area with inset edges to prevent items from falling out.
• 💡 Facebook Marketplace was a primary source for furniture and components, significantly reducing costs and effort.
• 🔌 Electrical outlets are conveniently located, with separate hookups for solar power and shore power.

Power and Appliances

• ☀️ The van is equipped with 400 watts of solar power, a 300 amp-hour battery, and a 3000-watt inverter to support her business needs, including a heat press.
• 🧇 Her most-used appliance is a waffle maker (350 watts), followed by a small air fryer and a multi-cooker.
• 🖨️ A large Epson printer (24 inches wide) is essential for her T-shirt business, allowing for quick custom logo printing.

Storage and Comfort

• 📦 A cedar chest from Facebook Marketplace houses her refrigerator and dry storage, with drilled holes for ventilation.
• 👗 Fabric on the walls (Thinsulate insulation behind it) was chosen over wood to reduce weight, though she plans to change the fabric pattern.
• 🛏️ A full-size mattress fits perfectly across the van, supported by IKEA Scorva rails, allowing for a spacious sleeping area and a large garage underneath for inventory.

Garage and Business Operations

• 🚚 The garage space under the bed is designed to hold eight large bins of inventory, tent setup, and tables.
• 👕 Her heat press (1400 watts) can run for about 4 hours on battery power on a sunny day, enabling her to work remotely.
• 🛠️ Initially, her solar setup failed due to improper installation; she later had it professionally repaired after a chance encounter with a solar expert.

Practicalities and Socials

• 🚽 For sanitation, Heather uses a simple bucket system stored in an ottoman and utilizes a gym membership for showers.
• 📱 She can be found on Instagram as @nomadic.graphics, on Facebook as Nomadic Graphics, and her website is nomadicgraphicsllc.com.