AI-assisted van conversion design: a step-by-step workflow from empty van to build plan

1. Pick the van

Do: create a project and choose your vehicle in the van picker — 29 vans, 197 variants, searchable. Or ask the assistant: "Switch to a Sprinter 170 high roof." You get: the real interior, wheel arches and door openings. Check yourself: model years drift. Measure the sliding-door opening and the arches on your own van and type them into the Van inspector; if your van isn't listed, a custom body takes your measurements. Not bought yet? Compare the Fiat Ducato and Mercedes Sprinter.

2. Design my van — or rebuild from a photo

Do: press Design my van in the VanPlot AI panel and answer three questions: who travels, how you'll use the van, what matters most. The estimated credits show before you confirm. You get: a complete first layout — bed, kitchen with sink and hob, fridge, fresh and grey water, battery and solar, heater, storage, seat and table, roof fan. It puts a bed across the rear only if the mattress fits the width, and says both numbers. One undo removes the lot.

Prefer a build you've seen? Attach a photo or a sketch and use Rebuild from a photo: it places the closest catalog parts scaled to your van and says what it approximated. More in photo to 3D layout.

3. Adjust by hand or in words

Do: drag items yourself, or write "Make the kitchen 120 cm long and put it behind the driver's seat." Click a part and an About: Fridge chip makes "this" mean that part. You get: each change in the scene, one undo step per reply. An item that doesn't fit is refused with the reason, as a drag would be. Cabinets are turned to face the aisle and door entries stay clear. Check yourself: vague requests get guesses — name the item, the place and the size. Prompts that work.

4. Check weight: payload, axles, centre of mass

Ask: "How much payload is left, and what does the rear axle carry?" You get: payload left, the front/rear split of the added load and the centre of mass, from the same build report as the build stats bar. Check yourself: an item without a weight is invisible to the payload maths, so give custom and imported parts honest weights. Cross-check with the payload calculator and the payload guide.

5. Clearances and design checks

Ask: "Is the aisle wide enough, and can I sit up in bed?" or press Fix my layout. You get: the narrowest walkway, standing height in it, sit-up room over the bed (under 55 cm is flagged), free floor inside the sliding door, plus the design checks ranked fix, warn, tip. Ask it to show a dimension and it draws a ruler line in the scene. Check yourself: press M and measure what matters to you. Headroom per van: which vans you can stand up in.

6. Power: size the system, route the cables

Ask: "Size a power system for three days off-grid." You get: daily use from the placed items, then a recommended battery (Ah), solar (W), MPPT, DC-DC and shore charger, against what you've placed, with fuse and cable-gauge hints. Give it your largest 230 V load and it sizes the inverter too. Then "Route a cable from the battery to the fridge" draws the run, and its cable lands in the shopping list. Check yourself: the defaults are two days, mid-Europe, summer; winter needs more. Confirm with the electrical system sizer and wire size calculator.

7. Cost and savings

Ask: "Get this under €3,000" or "Save 100 kg." You get: the heaviest or most expensive items, up to two lighter or cheaper catalog swaps of the same kind that fit the same footprint, the saving of each swap or removal, and whether that reaches your target. Check yourself: catalog prices are typical, not quotes — set your own unit prices in the Build Sheet's Shopping tab. Ranges by category: van conversion cost breakdown.

8. Build steps, cut list, shopping list

Ask: "What order do I build this in, and what do I need to buy?" You get: a build order by phase (with a rough-in step while no cables or pipes are drawn); a cut-list summary (stock to buy, piece counts); and a shopping list by category with costs and a total. The full versions live in the Build Sheet: the Cut list tab, the Shopping tab, and the Build Pack PDF in Exports. Check yourself: the cut list follows the planner's stud model; your timber sizes may differ. Compare the build order tool.

9. A photoreal render to see it

Ask: "Render it in warm wood from the rear." You get: the Render photo dialog pre-filled — Scandi, Industrial, Warm wood, Minimal or Photo; rear, side or front — with the cost shown: 6 credits, 15 in HD, back in 30–90 seconds. It only starts on its own when you explicitly ask for a render. Check yourself: a render invents materials and small details; it shows a mood, not a measured drawing. What renders are good for.

10. What to verify outside the planner

• The weighbridge. Print the weighbridge report from the Build Sheet (payload, axle loads, the EN 1646-2 reserve, blanks for the plate values), then weigh the van, front and rear axle separately. The planner's figures are only as good as the weights in it. See the payload reserve.
• The rules where you register it. DVLA in the UK, your state DMV in the United States — both covered in what makes a DIY conversion legal in the UK and the United States — TÜV in Germany, DREAL (VASP) in France, the RDW in the Netherlands: the planner doesn't approve anything. Gas has its own rules — gas locker rules.
• Your actual van. Measure before you cut.

The honest limits

The assistant is in beta. It can misread a request or put an item where you wouldn't; undo the reply and say it more precisely. Its numbers are planning figures: catalog weights and prices are typical values, power sizing uses averages, photo rebuilds are approximate and renders make up what they can't see. It only sees the project you have open. Full list: the VanPlot AI guide.

Try the workflow

Steps 1 and 3 work on the free trial; the AI steps come with the lifetime licence and its 50 credits. How credits are counted: credits explained. How VanPlot compares with other AI tools: AI tools for van conversion.

Questions