Van conversion build order
A conversion is a stack of layers, and each one buries the one beneath it. Tick what your build includes and this lays it out as phases — cables before walls, holes before insulation, gas last — with the shopping you need before each phase starts.
Pick your van and the numbers below fill themselves from a database of 159 variants.
What your build includes
Result
12 phases for this build
Before you start: the order you cannot undo
Cut every hole first. Windows, fan, flue and gas drop-out all go through steel — cut them while the shell is bare, before a single sheet of insulation is in, so the swarf can be vacuumed out and the cut edges treated.
Run cables and pipes BEFORE closing the walls. Every run that lives behind a panel — the 12 V loom, the solar drop, the water lines — is pulled at first fix, with slack. You cannot fish wire through a finished wall.
Roof cable gland before the ceiling closes. The solar entry goes through the roof and the cable drops inside the wall to the battery — a hole drilled through a finished ceiling is a leak waiting to happen.
Route under-bed services before the deck closes. Anything living under the fixed bed — batteries, tank, heater — gets its cable and pipe pulled before the bed frame is screwed down.
Gas is the last system in and the only one that gets certified. Fit the locker last, vent its drop-out to the outside, and put a gas/CO alarm in before the first night aboard.
Strip & prep
Clear the shell before anything else goes in — you don't want to insulate over old carpet glue.
- Strip any old flooring, trim or carpet
- Vacuum and degrease the bare shell
- Treat any rust or bare metal
Cutouts
Cut steel before insulating — swarf and dust are easier to clean off a bare shell than a finished one.
- Window — Left ×1
- Window — Right ×1
- Roof fan — Roof ×1
- Fan cutout in the roof (×1)
Shopping for this phase
Cutout hardware & trim (3 openings) 640 € Runs & first fix
Pull cable and pipe in before the walls close — you can't fish wire through a finished panel.
- 2 cable run(s) — 7.5 m routed
- 1 water run(s) — 2.3 m routed
Shopping for this phase
Cable 8.3 m (incl. slack) 10 € Water pipe 2.6 m (incl. slack) 6 € Insulation
Insulate before the panels go up — it has nowhere to go once they're closed in.
- Floor insulation (XPS board) — 5.8 m² · 25 mm
- Wall insulation (PIR / polyiso board) — 14.0 m² · 25.5 mm
- Ceiling insulation (PIR / polyiso board) — 5.7 m² · 25.5 mm
Shopping for this phase
Floor insulation (XPS board) 5.8 m² · 25 mm 49 € Wall insulation (PIR / polyiso board) 14.0 m² · 25.5 mm 112 € Ceiling insulation (PIR / polyiso board) 5.7 m² · 25.5 mm 45 € Battens & subfloor
Battens carry the panels; the subfloor protects the insulation underfoot.
- Battens & furring — 51.7
- Plywood subfloor — 5.8 m² · 12 mm
Shopping for this phase
Battens & furring 51.7 129 € Plywood subfloor 5.8 m² · 12 mm 270 € Wall & ceiling panels
Line the walls and ceiling once wiring, plumbing and insulation are all in and tested.
- Wall & ceiling panels — 19.7 m² · 5.5 mm
Shopping for this phase
Wall & ceiling panels 19.7 m² · 5.5 mm 720 € Floor finish
Lay the floor covering once the subfloor is down and dry.
- Lay a floor covering (vinyl, click flooring, etc.) over the subfloor
Furniture
Build the heaviest, most structural pieces first — everything else fits around them.
- Kitchen Counter ×1
- Bed ×1
- Wardrobe ×1
- Drawer unit ×1
- Mattress (double) ×1
- Worktop ×1
- Overhead locker ×1
- Hob (2 zone) ×1
- Sink basin ×1
- Tap ×1
Shopping for this phase
Fixtures & appliances (10 items) 1465 € 2×2 stud lumber 6 × 2.4 m lengths (incl. waste) 36 € Plywood panels 8 × 2440 × 1220 mm sheets (incl. waste) 720 € Electrical second fix
Wire in the battery bank, roof panels and appliances, then fuse every circuit — see the Wiring diagram.
- Fridge ×1
- Battery 105Ah ×1
- Solar panel ×1
- Roof Vent ×1
- Inverter ×1
- Solar controller ×1
- System monitor ×1
- Power outlet ×1
Shopping for this phase
Fixtures & appliances (8 items) 1552 € Plumbing second fix
Plumb the tanks, pump and fixtures once they're wired in and the walls are lined — see the Water schematic.
- Water tank 125L ×1
- Water pump ×1
- Sink/shower drains are shown, but VanPlot's catalog has no grey/waste tank item yet — plan where that used water actually goes (tank, direct drain, or a cassette) yourself.
Shopping for this phase
Fixtures & appliances (2 items) 180 € Gas & safety
Fit the gas locker last, and always with a gas/CO alarm nearby.
- Gas Bottle ×1
- Install a gas & CO alarm near the gas appliance(s)
Shopping for this phase
Fixtures & appliances (1 items) 60 € Final fit & weigh
Test every system before you close anything up for good.
- Test every 12V circuit under load
- Pressure-test the water system and check for leaks
- Weigh the finished van — see the Weighbridge report
Shopping subsets use VanPlot's default unit prices and typical run lengths for the chosen van. In the editor they come from your own prices and the runs you actually routed.
In the VanPlot editor this checklist generates itself from the layout — every placed part, cutout and routed run lands in its phase, with real quantities.
Planning figures, not certification. Standards are summarised for builders; your inspector, your van's plate and your own measurements always win.
How this is calculated
- A fixed 12-phase ladder: strip & prep → cutouts → runs & first fix → insulation → battens & subfloor → wall & ceiling panels → floor finish → furniture → electrical second fix → plumbing second fix → gas & safety → final fit & weigh. A phase only appears when your ticks put something in it.
- Every tick becomes the parts a real layout would hold — a roof fan is a roof cutout plus a 12 V load, fresh water is a tank, pump, sink and a routed line — and the generator the editor prints its own checklist with sorts them into phases: water parts to plumbing second fix, the gas bottle to gas & safety, anything that draws power to electrical second fix, the rest to furniture, heaviest first.
- The shopping subset per phase is what you must own before starting it: cable and pipe at first fix (bought once, connected later), insulation square metres from the chosen van's shell areas including waste, studs and ply from the furniture, fixtures at second fix.
Sources
- Sprinter-Source, ProMaster Forum and Skoolie build threads — the community's canonical order of work
- Explorist.life and FarOutRide — build sequence and first-fix guides
- VanPlot's editor build-order generator (roadmap #7) — this page runs the same phase ladder on a synthesized layout
Questions builders ask
What is the correct order to build a camper van?
Strip and prep the shell, cut every hole, run cables and pipes (first fix), insulate, fit battens and subfloor, line the walls and ceiling, lay the floor, build the furniture, connect the electrics, plumb the water, fit the gas last, then test and weigh. The rule behind it: each layer buries the one before, so anything that lives inside a wall must be in before that wall closes.
Do you insulate a van before or after wiring?
After. Cables and pipes go in at first fix, before the insulation, so they run against the bare steel where they can be reached, pulled and added to. Insulating first means cutting channels through it later — or fishing wire behind a finished panel.
When do you cut the windows and the roof fan in a van conversion?
Before insulating, all in one cutouts phase while the shell is bare: windows, roof fan, heater flue, gas drop-out, water fill. Cutting steel throws hot swarf that rusts wherever it lands; a bare shell can be vacuumed and its cut edges treated, an insulated one cannot.
Should the electrics or the plumbing be connected first?
The runs for both go in together at first fix. The connections come later, electrical second fix (battery, panels, appliances, fuses) before plumbing second fix — the pump and the water heater need a live circuit to be tested against.
Keep reading
Plan the whole van, not just this number
VanPlot is a 3D layout planner for camper conversions. Place real components in your real van and watch weight, axle loads, power and cost update live — this calculator is one panel of it.
Who makes this
I'm Vladimir. I'm planning my own conversion, and none of the tools I tried could tell me whether a layout would fit or what it would do to the rear axle, so I made this one. I work on it alone. If something's wrong or missing, write to me — the address goes to my inbox.
Vladimir Šterjoski