Two bays, one bench room, two people and a dog

Write to us

Everything starts with a note to hello@nomadqo.com. I read every one myself, and the more the first note says, the fewer questions go back and forth before we can tell you whether your van suits us and roughly what it would cost.

• The van: make, year, wheelbase and mileage.
• How many of you will sleep in it, and whether there is a dog.
• How long your longest trip will be, and which season you travel in.
• A rough budget, even a wide one.
• A photo of the empty van, which helps more than anything else.

If the van is a full size high roof panel van, 2015 or newer, under 150,000 miles, on a 144 or 170 inch wheelbase, we can almost certainly build it. If it is not, we will say so straight away, and the list of what we turn down explains why.

Sit down in the shop

The design session is two hours at the bench room table, in Bend, on a weekday or a Saturday morning by appointment. Bring the van if you can, because I would rather measure your van than trust a brochure.

We talk through how you actually live on the road: where you cook, where wet boots go, who gets up first, where the dog sleeps. Then I draw the layout at 1:10 scale on paper while you watch, and we move the bed, the galley and the lockers around until it is right. You take the drawing home.

The session costs $150, and it is credited in full against any build you book with us. If you decide not to build, the drawing is yours to keep.

Hold your date

Once the drawing is settled we price it properly and send you the number in writing. If you are happy with it, 25% of the build price fixes your start date. We only ever have three vans in the shop, so start dates go 7 to 9 months ahead. Write and we will tell you the next open one.

The holding deposit is refundable, less $500, up to 60 days before your start date. After that the slot is yours and the timber gets ordered. You can see how the four payments fall across the whole job on the costs page.

The build

You bring the van to Bend the week before your start date, and the second 25% is paid that week. Then it goes into a bay and stays there until it is finished. A full build takes 10 to 14 weeks; a weekender takes 4 to 5; electrical or insulation on its own takes 2.

• Strip-out. The van goes back to bare metal, and anything that does not belong to the van comes out.
• Sound deadening and insulation. Deadening on the large panels, then closed cell foam and wool batting for a 3 inch wall build-up.
• Rough-in. The wiring loom and water lines go in, labelled and fixed. Before anything is covered we walk you round it on a video call, so you see every run. The third 25% falls here.
• Cabinetry. Carcasses, drawers and lockers come out of the bench room and are fitted in place.
• Finishing. Birch ply walls, the cedar ceiling, oil, catches and fittings, then the heater, fridge and battery are commissioned and tested.
• Fridays. Photos of your van every Friday afternoon, the whole way through.

Handover

Half a day, together, in the shop. We go through every switch, breaker, tap and drawer catch, and you work each one with your own hands rather than watching us do it. Then we fill the water tank and run the heater with you in the van.

You leave with a printed copy of the wiring diagram, the same one taped inside the electrical cabinet, and a year on our workmanship: if something we built comes loose or stops working, bring it back and we fix it at no charge. The terms say exactly what that covers. The last 25% is paid at handover.

If you fly in to collect the van, we meet you at Redmond airport, 20 minutes north of the shop.