It adds up. I’ll have close to 40k in parts into mine. I’m going w high end stuff and some might not be considered diy, but I’m not doing anything to the outside (no custom wheels, no roof rack, no awning, no off-road lights, ladder, winch, etc). You could definitely spend $50k without trying hard. That storyteller has ~13kwh in battery capacity and a 6000 watt alternator. Those 2 items alone are way over $10k if you are buying at retail. My bed was $4k, toilet over $1k, window coverings over $1k, etc. I put everything in a spreadsheet, crazy how it adds up.
Didn’t say it couldn’t be done, just said it was hard. Yes, that battery pack and inverter are the big ticket items. You need those to achieve the holy grail of battery powered AC. Very, very few DIYs go to that level. I do wonder how they plan to recharge that pack.
I declined to keep a running total of my costs. IT was too scary.
I am looking forward to more photos of your build.
Honestly has almost no appeal to me at all.
I would rather have a 20 year old F250 with a camper shell and a quarter million dollars of gas money.
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I have a Pacifica too although the base model. It’s a fantastic vehicle, so capable when it comes to easily and securely hauling your stuff around. Easy to drive, easy on gas, not super expensive. Mine has been flawless for 70,000 miles and it’ll go 30mpg on the highway too.
It does lack the macho image though, if you need that you need to look elsewhere.
Joe
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You actually see more DIY folks with the huge battery packs compared to mass produced stuff. I’m not aware of anyone besides Storyteller doing these huge electrical systems on mass produced vans (or even full sized RV’s). The storyteller has a secondary alternator that can charge the 12kwh battery bank in a few hours of driving. Otherwise, you can plug into shore power to charge. Solar isn’t going to dent it.
My van will have about 14kwh of battery capacity, but I went the cheap route by building my own batteries. I bought the raw cells and BMS’s and fabricated some battery boxes. Total cost ~$2,500 for the 4 batteries I built vs. over $10k if I had bought off the shelf batteries. I’ve just wrapping up thae battery project now and hope to have my electric installed and running in the next couple weeks.
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I have a 100 amp lithium battery, and that is overkill for me. I got it on sale or I would probably using a 50 amp lead acid.
Picked up a Renogy for $600. The weight savings was a bonus.
@Dr_Alex_Harrison , would you be willing to speak to how it has been finding places that are not camp grounds to park and live from? My wife and I both have 100% remote jobs so doing something like this for substantial parts of the year is interesting. My issue is that camp grounds are pretty awful places to be for very long. If we went the van direction finding off grid spots seems simple enough but from the outside it looks like once you get into a class A with a toad your options drop off a cliff. 40+ foot, fergettaboutit. I would be really curious to hear how this has been in the real world over a longer period of time from someone actually doing it.
TLDR: It can be a challenge… but maybe not as much for you, as for us. People vastly overstate how much of a challenge large size rigs can be.
Longer answer:
For context:
Bolded text = our typical driving length
There are loads of awesome places we fit into. I’ve squeezed the rig up into the camping at Gooseberry Mesa, and it was an absolute dream. Places near Sedona too. Usually we’re the biggest rig wherever we go. I think most folks who own Class A’s are older, and more cautious than my wife and I.
The reason we have any location frustration at all is: we often want to be near enough to a city so that Michelle has pool access 3d/wk for her triathlon training. Most BLM land (free dry camping) is more than 30min from city centers where pools are usually located.
If it weren’t for wanting regular pool access, we would almost never stay in an RV park. As it is, we spend about 2 months per year in an RV park. Plus 2 months per year on her parents farm in Arlington, WA. The rest of the time we’re bouncing between boondocking locations, usually once every 2 weeks. Most places have a stay limit of 7, 10, 14, or 15 days. The vast majority are 14-day stay limits. Usually that’s all we’d prefer to stay anyway because it’s always nice to get new road scenery.
Internet is rarely an issue. Verizon hotspot. Data limits apply. Nix your vid watching habits or downgrade vid quality substantially and you’re fine.
Water and sewage management is our biggest issue, other than location vetting within 30min of a pool.
We tend to live a bit as if we were not camping. As in, wife takes 10 minute long showers a few times per week. I tend to shower quick. We both shower daily. I installed a low-flow head on every faucet. We just transport water and sewage semi-regularly in the jeep when on BLM land.
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I dig this a lot - super cool setup!
Are you using satellite internet (like Starlink) or how do you have reception in remote areas?
If Starlink, how are you dealing with the limited mobility of being assigned to a certain satellite (and with that, region).
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Not van life, I definitely don’t need it, but working hard to convince the wife (and self) I need a new Tacoma with a GFC topper and tent. They have a new version out which looks very slick. Seems perfect for weekend type trips to explore new trails.
To reiterate, I don’t need this… LOL
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I’m more tempted by the 4x4 hightop van than the truck, but that’s because I live thousands of miles from any actual 4x4 only roads. I just kinda want 4x4 because its cool. I don’t need it. Hell, right now, I don’t even NEED a second car in the driveway.
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I can’t wait 'til Starlink is more advanced. It’s going to be a game-changer for full-time RV / van folks.
Alas, we use Verizon exclusively for internet. Does pretty well. I work 6-7 days per week and we boondock almost exclusively, and it works fine. If we were in a smaller rig, the internet might be more of a limiter but having a 40ft rig means some of the super-remote places are out of the question for us.
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I’m going with earthroamer
Let me know if you want one. 
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4x4 means less weight capacity, worse gas mileage, and more parts to break. It is an easy conversion on my van, but I don’t plan to do it. I would rather put in a locker (which I will likely do).
I wouldn’t be hauling serious weight, and I have driven lots of empty weight full size vans in the snow. A locker might have helped, but the two wheels immediately under the driver and a v8 probably do better simply a locked rear. I’ve not done any real testing, though.
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Lockers and snow don’t get along. But I don’t do any winter sports so I don’t have any prep for that.
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If anyone has any experience with this or owns one, I would like to hear about the ownership experience. I like the idea of this (and the price) compared with a trailer.
We are easing into this. Those of you that live full time-ish (we are not selling the house but likely to do month+ long trips working/living out of the camper) Do you still ride the trainer or just move places you can always ride outside? If you do use a trainer, what are you using? Still using a full size normal kickr or whatever? That seems like a lot to store. What about fans, again with the storage. Elite Tuo looks like it folds pretty small. Not sure I even need a smart trainer, i have a PM on all the bikes. Has anyone tried the cheap folding travel trainers? Rollers sure fold up small, not sure its worth the learning curve or not. Thoughts?
Ended up with a 33ft camper as I already have a 3/4 ton diesel truck. Went bumper rather than 5th to keep the truck bed, not sure if we will regret that or not yet. I am pretty good with trailers but the tighter turns with the 5th may have been a thing. Time will tell. Did lifepo4 batteries, inverter etc myself. Happy with that setup so far but we are just doing partial week test camps till spring.
I rarely use a trainer. I have one at my girlfriends were I stay a lot, but rarely use it. I brought a dumb trainer to work and plan to try and use it more often before commuting home and/or lunch. But most everything I do is outdoors.