Sleeper Sleeper: Toyota Sienna Campervan Build

Not sure - life changes coming up in a couple weeks when MsBoyink starts her new nursing job. We don't know the schedule or PTO situation yet. But I'm guessing it'll be back to NM but exploring from Albuquerque north to the Colorado state line. Lots of photogenic stuff in that region - plus the drive up 550 from Albuquerque to Durango, one of my favorites.

 

A few more tweaks:

- New first-aid kit location, now also residing on a MOLLE seatback panel. I used to have it in a plastic bin under the passenger seat but it would get bound up when we moved the seat.
- Added grab handles to the leveling blocks.
- Realized I never really carry tools, so bought a nice Leatherman to stay in the van, also residing on a MOLLE panel.

At this point I think the van is about as dialed in as it's going to get.

And with 225K on the odometer, I've been considering what to replace it with when the time comes.

Overall this thing works well as a camper. It's nimble around town, makes a great DD, easy to park, etc. Hardly anyone marks it as a camper unless I have a door or hatch open. No bathroom, but we're more comfortable overnighting in places that have them anyway. With the extra battery and solar setup I just need a place to park - I can rent a tent campsite and not pay for RV electric.

But there are two issues that I'd like to solve with its replacement:

- Lack of a "living room" type space. We're not campfire people. We usually fill the hours between dark and bed reading or watching movies. In this, we only have two choices - sit up front, or lay in the bed. The former is OK, but not great. The latter means we're in bed too early and too long.

- Lack of heat or AC when parked. Not having either narrows the temperature range we can comfortably camp in. if I could even just heat or cool the thing for a couple hours a day it would open up more camping options. And yea - I know there are heating options but I haven't seen any that I'm comfortable using in the space we have available.

I considered a Suburban build to get a cheap 4WD camper - but I think I'm going to have the same issues.

I'm looking in two directions -

Option 1 is finding one of these EuroVan campers made by Westfalia or Winnebago:


Prices aren't horrible, they're all built out, have heaters, and seats that convert to lounge seating. I just haven't been in one personally to know how well I'd fit. I think we'd end up sleeping one up and one down.

Option 2 would be doing another DIY build, but on a full-size van platform. I'm still partial to the classic American full size vans from the big three. I'd look for a conversion van to start with, as then I could get a roof raise, usable seating, etc. I'd do another outdoor, pull-out kitchen to keep space inside for the lounge area we lack. Chevy made an AWD version of the Express that would make for an interesting platform.

 

So tempting. This just got relisted after auctioning off at $6100. I've always had a sweet spot for the G20 GM vans. And this one is even MsBoyink's color.



https://www.ebay.com/itm/186467594360

 

Being stealthy and not paying for campsites sounded great.

What I found in practice is that if we're in a spot with any risk of being rousted out, I can't sleep well. I deal with enough sleep issues as it is.

I'd rather just pay the $ for an overnight spot, especially if by paying we also get access to a bathroom and shower. I don't always need much more than that - I don't even need hookups now with the solar setup. Just a place to park. We've had good luck finding those kind of spots for $8 - $20.

I do love that G20, but am leaning towards a later model AWD Express. I could add a lift kit and we could at least do some of the more rustic camping I was thinking about with the Suburban.

Realistically, unless the Toyota craps out, it'll be fall before I'm serious about buying. It's not like I'm going to work on it in a 100 degree OK summer....

 

Small update. The engine battery on the van was dead this AM and I said there was no easy way to use the house battery to charge it.

Turns out, I was wrong. I have an EcoFlow charge center and since I bought it they came out with this:



Amazon

For $60 I ordered one. Supposed to charge the car battery in 20 minutes. For that price/size I can just keep it stashed in the van to jump-start myself if necessary.

I also learned that the Sienna doors and hatch draw some current if you leave them open - something about safety sensors. That wasn't my culprit today, but good to know. If we end up staying somewhere remote for a few days I can use this new doo-dad to make sure the engine battery is charged.

Ecoflow also came out with a charger that directs the engine alternator current to the house batter - basically an 8x faster way of charging the house battery while driving. Honestly, with our use that would have been enough to not need the roof solar. We barely took the house battery below 90% on our NM trip in March.

 

So I've settled on a 2003–2014 AWD Chevy Express as my main target to look for as a replacement for the Sienna.

Prefer a conversion van or accessibility van with an existing raised roof. Budget is $15K - $17K unless it already has some of what I'm hoping to add (small lift, wheels/tires etc.)

No particular hurry - I'm not going to work on something until fall anyway. But if you happen to spot one, I'd appreciate hearing about it!

 

On order: 180 degree batwing awning.

I always thought these awnings were cool, but cost like $1K. This 180 degree version was $312 on Amazon Prime day.

The downside of having solar is you need to park in the sun. I'm always chasing shade elsewhere in the campsite - hoping this helps. They make them in a 270 degree version as well, but the tailgate hatch on the Sienna is ~12" above the roofline when open, so would interfere.

Pretty sure I can figure out a mount to the factory roof rack, and it mounts on either side - I'll go passenger.

 

Teaser photo.

The awning is finally on. My worries about the L brackets being a bit out of square were all for naught - all the bolts went in easily.

I deployed it and it almost extends to the end of the open tailgate. If the kitchen drawer isn't out you can duck from under the tailgate to under the awning with just a small gap between the two.

I still have to tuck my head under it - but not bad. Definitely worthwhile still.

More photos coming when I can get it setup with some room around it.

 

I'm convinced 99.5% of people don't notice one way or the other.

I actually have some...purely visual additions....waiting on the shelf but they aren't any sort of camo.

 

All setup.

Relatively easy install, once I replaced the factory crossbars with some Amazon versions that had the "T-slot". I had to remount the solar panel and it ended up further forward than before. I had enough wire, but all the extra was at the wrong end. Just had to go through and redo all my wire management to move the wire back. The solar mount is much cleaner this way.

At 6'3" I can't quite stand up under the awning, but just have to tuck my head down. I'm guessing most of our time under the awning will be seated anyway. There is one more leg at the forward corner but that corner is over the hood so looks like it'll be unused.

I'll still cut the mounting bolts off and paint them so they hide a bit better.

I have a crazy whim to source a lower-miles AWD version of this van and move everything over to it. While we are city-bound the minivan is much handier than a fullsize van would be. Lots of time to think about that yet.

 

Might be some sort of solution there...

 

Field test day for the awning. I really like it. I could park in the sun to charge the battery but also have shade to sit in. The shade is generous - plenty of room for a couple chairs and a small table, just rearrange a bit as the sun moves.

 

This project got smaller the longer I worked on it.

I bought enough of these stripes to do the side door bottoms between the wheelwells. But I mocking it up the whole van is kinda ">" shaped and no matter how I placed them something was going to look crooked. Tried a bunch of ideas for additional pieces around the front wheelwells but nothing looked right, so calling it a less is more moment.