Van Build Cost Breakdown - 98' Astro Van Camper Conversion Costs

This van build cost breakdown of my 1998 Chevy Astro Van, which was converted into a mini-campervan, will show the build cost broken down into sections as the actual van build was built in phases.

When starting a diy van conversion, one of the first things you may wonder is how much does a van conversion cost? Whether it's a budget campervan build or high cost Sprinter van build, it's all van life, but you still wonder how much to build a van. This video includes a cost breakdown of my Astro van conversion, including the original cost of the van, the actual van build cost and the repairs I have incurred of 6 years of owning my van.

timestamp
00:00 Video Intro
01:07 Original Cost of Van
01:21 Van Build Intro
02:03 Phase 1 - Fantastic Fan, Sound Barrier & Sub-Floor
02:30 Phase 2 - Insulation, Wiring, Pine Planks
02:46 Phase 3 - Bed Build, Mattress, Cushions
03:02 Phase 4 - Power Center & AGM Batteries
03:21 Phase 5 - Roof Rack & Solar Panels
03:42 Phase 6 - Office Build, Flooring, Porta Potty
04:10 Phase 7 - Kitchen & Electrical Upgrades
04:44 Phase 8 - Most Recent Van Build Updates
05:28 Van Repairs Intro
06:45 Van Repair Work 2015-2020
08:16 Complete Van Cost Discussion
09:19 Apartment vs Van Living Comparison
10:22 Close out

[TravelingTroy]

My math is actually off on the example Apartment breakdown.
I screwed up the math. Here is the correction:
2015: $625x12=$7500
1016: $750x12=$9000
2017: $875x12=$10500
2018: $1000x12=$12000
2019: $1125x12=$13500
2020: $1250x12=$15000
Total: $67, 500

[VidiverseExplorer]

I appreciate when folk care for older vehicles.

[thezogs]

You saved over 40, 000 living in this van. Amazing

[mikehiers]

Troy, I also built out an 2001 Astro AWD LS. It's a bit longer It's a bit scary how similar your ideas were to mine. This is perhaps vain, but here's the modifications I have made to an Astro:

1. Fantastic Fan...Poked a hole, just like you.
2. Swivel Passenger seat. Interior LED's
3. 420 watts solar panels ...295 AH Marine Batteries
4. Ripped out entire vehicle except front seats. Includes $1000 to remove rear heat unit. It was as large as a lawn mower!
5. All interior, roof, sidewalls...shiny Kilmat
6. Beautiful floor, like you. Insulation, plywood. Grey tile.
7. Full Twin Bed.
8. Roll out storage racks on casters under bed
9. 400 watt oil radiator for heat. Solar powered.
10 Shower system on roof.
11. Large Freezer/Fridge between front seats.
12. Front hitch bike rack.
13. Rear Cargo Carrier that contains all cooking gear and a 20 lb. propane tank.
14. 18 gallons of H2O on Board
15. inside ceiling nets for quite a bit of cargo
16. Underbed storage for shovel, axes, tool kit, automotive needs, extra car battery, jump kit, water filter.

[pauljayvlogs]

If you enjoyed it. It's worth it.

[richardfischer]

A very informative video. Good financial layout over six year period.

[crippyandkaatje]

Troy, the van was worth every penny and the energy you put into it. You build this with your dad! These are precious memories (even the frustrated moments!) and that panel your dad made is fantastic. That made me teart eyed, seeing how careful it was laid out and the nifty construction. I lost both parents in 2020, and trust me, you made the right choice. You're doing a great service for people, fantastic video!

[mannyvaldes]

You do the right desition because the more bigger rv more cost gasoline plus and also in tha moment you do no have a lot $

[noelnoel]

Your father is a blessing ....Beautiful !!!Thank You

[Drmikekuna]

Personally, I don't think you made a mistake. By doing all of the build yourself you saved a ton of money, and I think your repair costs are reasonable to low, especially when you consider how old your Astro is. I have a 2018 (bought new) Promaster that I converted into a camper and just spent over $700 to have a cable replaced for the back door latch! ($650 for P and L and an approx $50 for a who knows what fee). I love my Promaster, but I worry that the overall construction quality will lead to even more bills in the future.

In the day I had a new Astrovan that we used as a family minivan. The van was solid, but it also had its issues. In very freezing weather, the plastic door handles broke, and I had other issues. I pulled a hybrid camper with it and after a trip to the mountains, I had to have some major work on the transmission. This may have been due to some screw-up that I did, but I honestly don't know what that would have been.

People say the Astrovans are indestructible as are Suburbans (I also had one of those... I'm an old guy so I have had a bunch of different cars over the years). I can say that all cars, including those two, wear out and it is imperative to maintain them. It sounds like you take care of your van and it is my hope that it will give you many more years of service. Best of luck to you!

[carlmizell]

Earlier I wrote a comment about getting a newer van, I believe I was to judgmental, you would still have the repairs but you will ever get a vehicle new enough to avoid repairs for $200-700 a month, you probably made the right move.

[robwalker]

I think you made the right choice with the astro van.

[one]

Troy, Love your vids and watch most. Where I live, rent is $1, 000-1, 350 a month. You wouldn’t want to live anywhere else for less. So lets say 1 year at $1, 075 a month is $12, 900 For just one year. You beat that by a mile. You can’t really fairly add the van repairs into the equation unless you can factor in the cost of using it more and you should at least figure that 60% of the repair costs would occur anyway. If you live in a 1, 075 a month rental, you still have some repair costs, tires and other things. As far as buying an ?18, 000.00 RV instead, you do not want to pay the fuel bill on a V10 or diesel @ 6-10 miles per gallon. An oil change on a diesel is over $100, and when you have troubles with a diesel you have BIG troubles. An injector can cost as much as your oil change. A V10 Pulling tons of RV weight is never a good long term idea. Those tires are 2-3 times the price as your tires. You can go places you can’t ever take a big old class C. And you will have to pay much more camp site fees, and forget about stealth camping. I am now on my 3rd Astro van. They do require attention to be good vans. At times all three of mine nickel and dime me, but never left me with hugh repair bills. My 2005 AWD Astro seems to be a bit better made and the 6 bolt lugs and stronger suspension seem to be more reliable. I think you are much better off in your Astro financially. Maybe you need to rent a house and see how much things have gone up in the last 6 years. Thanks for the great vids Troy. They are very helpful.

[MKEL_]

that was a great video .. Astros tend to be money pits and it was interesting to see how it broke down for you .. I kind of figure "the Build" as what you want to do... even though it came out of pocket it didn't have to for it to be a usable vehicle ... I know I have a lot more than I want to talk about in my Safari van.... right now you could probably sell that for around 10k maybe ... you are ahead by near 50k on savings.

[billwiley]

If you figure the entire cost of $18, 215 over 6 years it only figures to be about $253.00 a month over that entire timeframe for everything. Even if you could find a low mileage newer vehicle that you could just purchase for the cost of 253.00 a month it would not be including the cost of a build out and if you think pretty much any vehicle in that price range is going to go 6 years without needing repairs like brakes, tires, battery etc., it is not likely so your Astro is the most economical overall.

Another advantage is the powertrain of the Astro shares many common parts with the S-10 and the v-6 Silverado which there are millions on the road so parts generally are easy to find and in stock at most major auto parts stores and at a very reasonable cost as compared to some other options.

I have a 98 AWD Astro I am going to do a mild weekend type of camper build, not full time but the one thing I see so many that do builds is add in a lot of unneeded and unnecessary weight when they do the build which hurts fuel mileage, acceleration/power and taxes the suspension more.
Like ceiling and wall panels why use heavy wood which moisture can affect rather than use a thinner lighter shower board which is thinner, lighter and designed for use in moisture laden environments?

Same with flooring, if you use a good dense foam base under the floor between the van flooring and the subfloor there really is no need for any sub flooring under say top layer of vinyl flooring to be more than about 1/4" thick as neither the dense foam nor the stock metal van underflooring is going to allow for much compression hence eliminating the need for thick, heavy wood flooring as an underlayment, again allowing for a much lighter and plenty strong floor.

Same with things like bed frames why not use lighter weight aluminum channel for the frame and metal conduit for the legs again strong and light weight to build the frame and if built correctly a piece of 1/4" plyboard for the mattress base should be plenty for a person of reasonable size and weight?


Astro/Safari in my opinion are great for smaller van set ups and keeping the weight low as possible in the actual buildout allows for more to be carried as far as gear or accessories.
Most people never consider the gross vehicle weight capacities of vehicles when doing their "camper" conversions.
Actually it is funny as even if you go look at the amount of weight that can be added to most actual RV's before they are exceeding their gross weight limit is ridiculously a very small amount because of the weight of the empty rv on the chassis it is built on.

[bradgrand]

Probably pretty safe to double the lumber today

[one]

I may splurge and upgrade my comfort level and buy a hightop full size E250 or something like that someday, but the costs for that room and comfort will go up. I have tried to think this way: I dont live in my van, I live out of my van. I dont need a contained shower, i need to be clean and maintain good hygiene. Right now I only travel in it, so I have no Idea what it would be like to leave my home in Florida and leave all behind. But the cost of going “BIGGER” includes not being able to go off road a bit and loose my stealth status, fuel milage, tire costs, the ability to fix my van myself, and many other costs. You loose to gain. I guess it a balancing act. I am experimenting with a 1/4 inch thick steel box as a fire place for 2-3 one pint crisco candles(not done yet). The crisco candles seem to last about 10-15 days depending on how much use they get, and they do put out heat with slightly bigger wicks. No way it would work in a bigger taller van. Keep up the good work. You are helping others.

[darronsanderson]

Excellent work Troy. Excellent video. Scott

[robertoysusaventuras]

in the Astro van you could be and go every where, parking lots, cities, offroad, and you have a brand new astro, no worries for more repairs

[sloburnnn]

Your living “rent free”. You’ve saved so much money. A class b rv could have deprecated by a lot. Plus you took time to realize that you like this lifestyle. I think your van being in such good condition at the time of purchase, has been blessing. At least your engine have to be replaced or transmission.