In this video we meet Ben, who has built himself a spacious little minivan camper that fits his needs perfectly. His adventure vehicle of choice is a 2016 Dodge Grand Caravan. Ben has some great ideas and gadgets here! (Click here if you can’t see the video below.)
DATE FILMED: January 2020
BEN’S BATHROOM & SHOWER DETAILS
From Ben: “#1 in a bottle, dump where appropriate. For #2 I use a plastic Folgers coffee can. Doggie bags from WalMart fit it perfectly, then the doggie bag goes in the trash. For showers, most nights I take a sponge bath in the van using less than a quart of water. I use castile soap and just dump it out. When I want to wash my hair and get more clean, I’ll go out to a private place in a gully or a forest and use 2-3 quarts of water. I’m not full time so I tend to be in non-freezing weather. I want to use magnets to fix a tarp to the rear liftgate on the minivan, which should give enough privacy to shower without having to wander off for privacy, and would make using a heated pot of water easier. I haven’t tested this though; Quartzite this year was going to be the trial run. When traveling in Canada I use showers at the community rec centers. They range from free to $2.50. What a great place to go in the summer!”
BEN’S GEAR
* Reflectix for window coverings
* Ikea bed slats (I think these are the right ones)
* Bike rack: XPORT Slipstream, which doesn’t seem to be made anymore, but you can find pictures and reviews of it online if you Google it
* Backup camera: It was $24 on eBay and is no longer available from the seller.
* Ben’s thoughts on his camping lantern: “Faulty Yeti lamp from REI scratch n dent sale, fixed by me, works after fix but REI had a lot of them so the product has a problem, not recommended.”
* Single-burner butane stove: “Hmart sells these for under $25, butane is available there at $5 for a 4-can pack. I think WalMart wants $2.75 for just one can so Asian supermarkets are the right place to get butane.”
* Perforated vinyl
* Suaoki 150Wh portable power station
* USB fan
* USB charging base for electric toothbrush
OTHER LINKS
* Adventure Know-How – My membership site that offers access to a map of my campsites, monthly bonus videos, and more.
* Kamchatka Gear (My online store)
* Gear I use
* SUV RVing the book (Amazon affiliate link)
* Instagram (@SUVRVing)
* SUV RVing Facebook group
* My second YouTube channel (It’s about minimalist fly fishing)