Kristi, we have a 2012 Roadtrek RS Adventurous with the rear sofa king size bed.  My wife figured out that we could pin sheets to a queen comforter and just roll up the comforter which also gave us more padding on top of the sofa bed.  It takes just a few minutes to set up or take down.  The RS Adventurous has dual rear wheels and a lot of weight capacity.  

We have two Full River 6 volt AGM batteries and a 275 watt solar panel and a 750 watt inverter.  We've never had a problem running whatever we wanted with the Cummins Onan 2.5 Kw generator.

The Mercedes Benz Sprinter is definitely more expensive, especially maintenance, repairs and upgrades.  Overall, I can say that the cost is $1 per mile excluding fuel.  That's everything done professionally.  I don't work on my vehicle.  There's just too much to go wrong and I have the tires replaced every 5 years for safety.  I do take the vehicle to an independent shop, because the dealership would be more expensive!    

Here's one thing people need to know; not driving the vehicle costs just as much as driving it.... your cost per mile will dramatically increase with fewer miles.   Good presentation.  

Finally, we were at a private RV park and the owner came over to greet us and wanted to know if the vehicle had the RVIA sticker.  I said, of course and showed him the emblem.  I asked him why he wanted to know that and his answer surprised me.   He said that he had a customer come to his park with a DIY build a few years prior and because his RV didn't have proper wiring a short circuit on his vehicle caused an outage not only at his site, but, it wound up taking down the entire park.  

He said ever since that happened he won't let anyone with a DIY build RV into his park.  Now I know this could potentially happen with other company-built RVs, but, I thought I'd mention that story because it really made an impression on me.  

We traveled almost 60,000 miles in the 2012 RS Adventurous since 2017 and it's been across the USA 3 times.  

People should consider renting one first to make sure it's a good fit.  
The learning curve for these vehicles is very steep.  

Safe travels.

the best strategy is to rent a Van for a weekend or week. In fact it's the same with anything, like a roof tent for cars. You realise immediately if it's for you or not and can rule it out without losing a shedload of money. Next, get a second hand item if you like it. Don't get carried away with shiny new things mesmerized by a siver tongued salesperson.

Wow, I always ask people who are building camping vans Q: Why aren't you using Bamboo?  and. the answer is "I don't know", didn't think of that.  Very impressed with this and now other videos you posted.  Excellent choice for induction cookware.  And again thanks for using Bamboo.  Its Stronger, Lighter and much more durable.

I think is very unlikely someone will know their ideal layout without real world experience. For most of us, buying a van is a large financial commitment. One way to test the waters is by installing a modular build (like Wayfarer or AdventureWagon) or doing a very inexpensive DIY build that can be scrapped or modified as your needs evolve. Another way to mitigate the risk is by replacing your current car with a van. It fills the role as a daily driver, and allows you to discover the other ways it can fit into your life. When it was time to replace my aging SUV, I bought a van and did a very inexpensive DIY build. My plan was to use it to learn what my needs were, then take it to a custom builder. Four years later, I've gone through multiple iterations, which have performed well enough that I never got around to getting it custom built...

So smart to start small and inexpensive. You learn so much on your first few trips. Renting a rig is a good way as well to see if you really enjoy camping. The best advice from Kristi is that everyone and situation is different, there is no van that is perfect. You have to prioritize what is best for your lifestyle and budget. I recommend experimenting on trips and writing that down. We also keep a van journal to record what roads to avoid, good rest stops, campgrounds, etc.

Over the years, I’ve owned a number of rv’s from a VW pop-top, class A Sprinter, fiberglass Escape trailer, James Baroud roof top tent, collapsible TrailManor, so I knew exactly what I wanted when I had my custom Ford Transit upfitted. That and the fact that it took me awhile to find a new Transit with the options I wanted, like AWD and EcoBoost engine. Then there was the back log at the up fitters which gave me time to research  exciting items like toilets. From my previous experiences, I learned I didn’t need an interior shower and instead used the space for a larger and separate fridge and freezer. No propane, large EcoFlow 10k power kit with 3600 watt inverter, induction cook top, bamboo cabinets coupled with Van Essentials cabinets and permanent queen size bed. Splurged on a heated floor. So all it takes is time, money and patience to design a camper that works well for you-which is why most people have go through a number of different camping units over their outdoor adventures lifetime; nothing like experience however one gets it.

Nice discussion of the various types of van. Glad to learn from your experiences!

The most important point missing from this video is that there are ~3K Ford dealerships in the US, and less than 400 Mercedes dealerships with only 200 allowed to work on Sprinters. Over half of the Mercedes dealerships are in California, Texas and Florida. I've lived in my Ford for 3+ years hiking 400+ miles a year. I've seen multiple Sprinters break down in Montana, the Dakota's that need to be towed 500+ miles to a dealership. If you plan to hike, and hang out in remote locations Ford is the only choice.

I've looked at Wayfarer vans a couple of times and yes they are budget friendly for the base build but when you start adding things like heat, ventilation, windows, electrical, a fridge and storage cabinets you spend just as much as you would with a nicer semi custom van build from other companies out there with better heat and electrical systems. After renting a couple of times in the last two years I know they just wouldn't work for me.

Great stuff -- wonderful source of information with no sales pitch. Thanks so much! Roam on, Ms. Kristi!!!

9:17 hundred percent agree about the on board built-in propane tank I was stuck in Arkansas and I could spend a half to 3/4 of a day going from U-Haul to tractor supply trying to find a place that has propane and all the other logistics that can fail it’s such a hassle. I never know.

I started off with a used cargo van, Rubbermaid containers, and dog beds for The bedding. Upgraded to TNT vans $5000 bed and shelf insert thing you can buy from them. It’s really easy to put in put together.

I will go straight to the custom build and adjust my expectations to it

We purchased our 2012 RS Adventurous in 2017 with 26,000 miles.  Just make sure that it has the appropriate number of generator hours .  It should have 2 hours per month times the number of years.  Unfortunately, our RV had less than 20 hours on the generator and It was my first RV...I didn't know that was undesirable.   Also, a 12 volt compressor refrigerator is definitely a plus.

I built my first van when I was 17, a 1969 Ford E-100 that I used a set of JC Whitney patterns to cut all my interior paneling shapes.  Now at 70 looking to downsize from my 4X4 class-C to a Transit.

great video.  I agree with you regarding the vans with the convertible couches. you almost have to be a gymnast to make up the bed every night.  what a laborious task!  I always wonder what the older and overweight people who have these vans do to convert the couch to a bed. we went to the RV show, saw multiple vans and got some ideas.  as it turned out, there was no ideal van for us, so we purchased a plain sprinter and hired a custom van builder.  it cost us less than one of the pre-made vans with similar components and we were able to design the van exactly how we wanted.

I  found this very informative. Thank you

we rented a van for 5 weeks to trial this style of holiday .  2 x single beds nth/sth that were also the lounge and back doors opened wide. Since then have owned 2 others. All were called 7M (24') but really about 6.8M. All had built in toilet/shower - essential. gas cookers, 3 way fridge and never enough solar :) Max time away was 3 months outback free camping Qld Oz. Love it.

Done vanlife part time for over 20yrs, KISS and a flat sleeping area to stretch your legs. I travelled 10k km from Toronto to Vegas in 2 weeks on a Toyota Matrix. My best setup was a Toyota Previa that I paid $600 plus $1500 for new brakes and tires…

I've definitely had this debate a lot over the years.  Some years ago I bought a 1992 E350 extended, raised roof diesel conversion van with the intentions of building a cycling-focused camper out of it.  Then when I started taking dimensions, the plans I was looking at were getting really tight and it stalled... and then I started looking at Transit 350 vans.  But as I've watched more and more vehicles become difficult to service due to parts availability, I've come back around to my E350 and its very simple drivetrain (no computers, no emissions controls) and I've decided I can live with the space limitations.
DIY vs. built.  Honestly, I don't really want to do a DIY build, but no company offers what I want, so a DIY build it will be.  Fortunately, I have the tools and experience to do the build... just not really the space or time.