One of the first steps to starting Vanlife is picking a van; it can also be one of the most stressful. After all, you just want to know the best van for vanlife so you can get started.
There are so many options out there, each with its own pros and cons. There are obvious choices everyone seems to go with, such as the Sprinter van. Still, there are also options that people skip over for one reason or another. Options like converting a short bus, or going with an older Chevy van, really the possibilities are endless.
To help you pick the right vehicle platform for you, here are our top picks for the best vans for vanlife.
Short School Bus For Vanlife
It may seem strange to start a list of the best vans for vanlife with a vehicle that is not technically a van. The reason is that the best van for vanlife is whatever vehicle you can afford that will work best for you. We view the term vanlife as a more broad, overreaching word that describes living in any type of smaller vehicle.
Converting a van front short bus has many advantages over the more typically thought of vans. A short school bus provides more living space inside than a cargo or passenger van. Short buses are the same length as a cargo van, but they are a bit wider. The extra width makes it easier to have a sideways bed, especially if you are on the taller side.
Short school buses have van fronts, meaning they drive and feel no different than driving a full-sized SUV or cargo van. They usually have cruise control, air conditioning, and a sound system like cargo or passenger campervans.
Short buses are also built a bit better than a typical van. School buses of any size are designed and built to protect kids to and from school. So, in general, school buses are made with steel that is two to three times as thick as what a standard cargo van is built out of.
Short school buses are built a bit tougher, but they are also significantly cheaper than a cargo or passenger van. Short buses cost on average $3,000 to $6,000, while most cargo vans cost over $10,000. That is significantly cheaper, making starting vanlife more accessible to more people.
Shuttle Bus
If you are looking for a bit more flexibility in the size of vehicle you want to convert, a shuttle bus might be the best van for vanlife for you. Shuttle buses also have a van front, driving just like a full-sized SUV or a standard cargo van. Shuttle buses also have cruise control, air conditioning, and other extras that cargo and passenger vans have.
The two main differences between a shuttle bus and a short school bus are length options and how they are built. You can get shuttle buses in almost any length, from no larger than a cargo van up to 40 feet long, the same length as a full-sized school bus. So no matter what size of vehicle you are looking for, a shuttle bus has you covered and will have the same style of van front that makes for an excellent driving experience.
Unlike short school buses, shuttle buses are not built out of steel. Shuttle buses are made of our fiberglass. Fiberglass is a strong material that can be as tough as steel in specific applications. To give an idea of how great fiberglass can be, most modern boats are built out of fiberglass. Plus, fiberglass is easy to work with.
If you want to remove a window, cut a hole for a water heater, or make mounting points for a rooftop deck. Fiberglass is easy to work with and does not require special tools like welders. With a steel-bodied bus, you need to know how to weld to make modifications to the body of your bus, whereas with a fiberglass shuttle bus, all you need is some fiberglass and a bit of epoxy resin.
Shuttle buses cost a bit more than short school buses, but depending on the size of the shuttle bus, they are still cheaper than most cargo and passenger vans.
Considerations With Shuttle & Short Buses
When looking at either a short school bus or a shuttle bus, the main thing to consider is that they will generally have more miles than newer vehicles. Most of the time, shuttle and school buses are sold from a fleet because they are starting to have mechanical issues more often due to age and mileage. That doesn’t mean that you can’t find low mileage shuttle and school buses. It may take a bit of looking to find a good reliable bus than when looking at cargo vans.
If you are not knowledgeable about mechanics, we recommend you bring along a friend or hire a mobile mechanic to come with you to look at any bus you are interested in. The last thing you want is to find a bus that you love only to have it break down on the way home.
Mercedes Sprinter Van For Vanlife
It is hard to talk about the best van for vanlife without the Mercedes Sprinter van coming up. At this point, vanlife is almost synonymous with Sprinter vans. So much so that when you talk about vanlife, everyone just assumes that you will be converting a Sprinter van. With three different lengths available and the option of having a four-wheel drive, it is understandable why everyone loves Sprinter vans. But there is a lot to consider when getting a Sprinter van for vanlife.
Sprinter vans are expensive. On average, Sprinter vans are the most expensive cargo van. They also can have costly repair bills because, for most systems, you will need a certified Mercedes mechanic to work on a Sprinter.
With the high cost of buying and operating a Sprinter, why do so many people consider it the best van for vanlife? Sprinters are built well, they’re tough, have a long life, are easy to drive, and it is possible to get one with four-wheel drive. Sprinters are the only cargo vans on the market that can come with true four-wheel drive. Overall, Sprinter vans are excellent, well-built, and capable vans.
Sprinters are also the longest vans out of the three major brands that people convert. Coming in at 24 feet, an extended-length sprinter van has a lot of space to build your campervan exactly how you want it. The downside is they are not the tallest, and if you are six feet or taller, you probably will not be able to stand up straight inside once a floor and ceiling are installed.
RAM ProMaster Cargo Van
The RAM ProMaster is another excellent option for a van for vanlife. They are best known for being the widest cargo van due to their boxy design. The increased width of the ProMaster allows a queen-sized bed to fit sideways inside the van without having to modify the body of the van. Sleeping sideways allows your bed to take up less living space than when sleeping longways.
The big downside of a ProMaster van for vanlife is they only come in front-wheel drive, which may be a deal breaker for some. The other issue that some people point out is how the van’s walls curve inwards near the roofline, which can make converting a ProMaster difficult. But that’s an issue that all vans and vehicles have. Sprinters, Transits, and even school buses do not have square angles anywhere, and building around curves is just part of any van conversion.
ProMasters come in gas and diesel versions, have excellent ground clearance and have plenty of room to build a spacious build-out. Overall they are an excellent option for vanlife so long as you are alright with front-wheel drive only.
Ford Transit Van For Vanlife – Our Pick
Not many people think about the Ford Transit when it comes to vans for vanlife. Most people don’t even consider it an option due to how well established the Sprinter name is in the van conversion community, along with the Sprinters’ prevalence in Instagram’s #vanlife. Yet the Ford Transit is, in our opinion, the best van out here for Vanlife.
We went with a 2015 Ford Transit High Roof Extended van for our campervan conversion. We would easily choose a Transit again if, and when, we convert another van. One of the main reasons we decided to go with a Transit over any other type of van out there is the interior height. We needed a van that someone who’s 6’2″ could stand in and be comfortable. After 2 ½” inches of insulation, subfloor, and vinyl flooring, in our floor. Along with ¼” inch of cedar for our ceiling, we have an interior height of 6’4″. No other van we looked at could match the interior height after a build-out.
The other advantage the Ford Transit has over other vans is a lower repair cost and greater access to mechanics. Breakdowns happen when traveling; there is not much that you can do about that. The nice thing with Transit vans is that replacement parts cost way less than other vans. Plus, there is a Ford dealership in almost every town across the United States. Even if there is no dealership nearby, practically every mechanic will be able to work on a Ford.
When you combine all of these factors. Along with the fact that Transit vans are more comfortable to drive, reliable, and cheaper to purchase than other vans, we found the Ford Transit to be the best van for vanlife.
So What Is The Best Van For Vanlife?
The truth is, there is no such thing as the best van for vanlife. Only because the best van for vanlife is whatever van works best for you. Everyone has different needs, different budgets, and travels differently.
While there are a few top contenders for best van, don’t lock yourself into thinking it’s only #vanlife if you are in a Sprinter; or that you need to convert a newer cargo van. Whether you convert an old Chevy van, a school bus, a U-Haul, or a cargo van, all that matters is whether your vehicle works for you; and that you get to travel. Because at the end of the day, the reason everyone wants to start loving vanlife is to be able to get out of the rat race of paying rent and see the world. So no matter what you convert, we can’t wait to see you on the road!
