Costs
Real numbers, before you write
These are the figures we quote across the bench in Bend, set down here so you can work out whether a hand-built van fits your budget before you spend an evening writing to us.
The fixed prices change with your wheelbase. The ranges move with battery size, windows and drawers, and the second half of this page says exactly how.
Prices
Six prices, two wheelbases
Weekender and insulation are fixed prices on a 144 or a 170 inch van. A full build and a power system are ranges, because the spec decides where they land.
Your wheelbase
Both wheelbase prices are shown side by side: the 144 inch first, then the 170 inch. The longer van has more wall and floor to cover, so it costs more to line and fit.
Where every job starts
Design session
Two hours in the shop $150
We sit at the bench and draw your layout at 1:10 scale. The $150 comes off any build you book with us.
Fixed price
Weekender fit-out
Insulated shell, bed and a small power system $14,500 144 in $16,800 170 in
Insulation, wall and ceiling panelling, a fixed bed platform with storage beneath, a 100Ah lithium iron phosphate battery, 200W of roof solar, lights and USB points.
The whole van
Full build
From a 144 inch van to a fully specified 170 inch extended $38,000 to $72,000
- Galley with a two-burner induction hob, sink and 12V fridge drawer
- 20 gallon fresh water tank and a diesel air heater under the floor
- One cut-in window, full cabinetry and overhead lockers
- A 300Ah electrical system, plus everything in the weekender
On its own
Electrical system
Depends on battery bank and solar $7,800 to $11,200
300Ah of lithium iron phosphate, 400W of roof solar, a 2000W inverter, alternator charging, a shore power inlet and a distribution panel with every circuit labelled.
Fixed price
Insulation and panelling
The warm, quiet shell on its own $4,200 144 in $5,600 170 in
Closed cell foam and wool batting behind birch ply walls, with a slatted cedar ceiling overhead.
Vans we built
Upgrades and repairs
One hour minimum $115 an hour
A second fridge drawer, more solar, a hinge that took a knock. For vans that left this shop.
Payment schedule
Four payments, each a quarter
You pay a quarter to hold your date and the rest as the van takes shape. On a $38,000 full build each payment is $9,500, and each one falls at a point you can see.
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To hold your date
25% · after the design session
Fixes a start date in the calendar, usually 7 to 9 months out. Refundable, less $500, up to 60 days before that date.
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The week the van arrives
25% · on arrival in Bend
You drive the empty van to the shop. We strip it to bare metal that week and the first Friday photos follow.
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At rough-in
25% · wiring and plumbing in
Every cable and pipe is in place and you have walked through it with us on video, before a single wall panel closes over it.
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At handover
25% · the last half day
We go through every switch together, hand you a printed wiring diagram, and the van is yours to drive away.
Each payment lines up with a stage of the build. For what happens between them, week by week, read the long version of how a job runs.
What moves the price
Up and down from the starting figure
Most of the gap between $38,000 and $72,000 is in the left column. We price your exact list at the design session, on paper, before you hold a date.
Raises it Six things
- A 170 inch wheelbaseMore wall, floor and cabinetry: $2,300 more on a weekender, $1,400 more on insulation alone.
- A bigger battery bankBattery and solar are most of the spread between $7,800 and $11,200 on a power system.
- Extra cut-in windowsEvery full build gets one. Each extra is another opening to cut, frame and seal.
- A second fridge drawerMore cold space, another cabinet built around it, and more draw on the battery.
- A swivel seat baseTurns the passenger seat to face the galley, so the cab becomes part of the room.
- Rear door storagePanels and racks built onto the back doors for chairs, boots and a camp table.
Lowers it Three things
- Keeping the factory bulkheadWe build up to the wall behind the seats rather than cutting it out and finishing the gap.
- A fixed bed, not a convertible oneA platform that stays put needs less hardware and less joinery than one that folds into seats.
- Fewer drawersThis one hurts me to write. Doors and open shelves cost less than finger jointed drawer boxes, and I'll draw them if you ask. Mara
Not in any price
What you cover yourself
Our prices are for the work inside the van. These four sit outside them on every job.
- The van itselfA full size high roof panel van, 2015 or newer, under 150,000 miles.
- Registration and title workAny paperwork change after conversion is yours to file.
- Tyres and mechanical repairsGet them done before the van comes to Bend, not after.
- Travel to BendWe'll meet you at Redmond airport, 20 minutes north, if you fly in for handover.
Terms
The terms, in plain words
- Holding deposit
- Refundable, less $500, up to 60 days before your start date.Inside 60 days we have turned other vans away for your slot, and the deposit stays with the date.
- Our workmanship
- One year. If something we built comes loose or stops working, bring it back to Bend and we fix it at no charge.
- Not covered
- Damage from use, and parts you add later.A countertop split by a dropped cooler, or a fan someone else wired in, sits outside the promise.
- After the first year
- Upgrades and repairs on vans we built at $115 an hour, one hour minimum.
- Timing
- No full build in under 10 weeks, whatever the budget.Three vans in the shop at most. Starts are booked 7 to 9 months ahead.