I suppose in a perfect world, the correct (or at least the most efficient) way to build a van would be to come up with a plan, build the van all at once, and then go out on adventures in your completely functional van. My brain doesn’t work that way. For me it takes sitting inside a van and wondering why it’s so dark at night to realize I probably need lights. Along those same lines, it only took me a couple of trips in the van with all my stuff sitting on the floor to realize, hey, I could use a place to store my stuff.

If you’re installing a permanent (non-converting) bed in a van, there are only two ways to do it: front-to-back or side-to-side, and since I am (or at least was) 6′ tall, I went with a front-to-back option. The cargo area in my van is 9′ long, so with a 6′ bed up against the back door that left me a 3′ (more or less) gap to deal with. The gas tank’s filler protrudes in that area and so between that and the slope of the driver’s seat, it’s actually closer to 2′.

This is Lindsay Daly, one of the many vanlifers I subscribe to on YouTube. Have you ever had someone solve a problem for you? In her van, Lindsay built exactly what I was thinking of. I think in a later video she went on to put doors on her cabinet, but I wasn’t interested in that. I figured a good lip on the front would keep things in place.

The YouTube video I posted a link covers all the details, but here are the basics: the cabinet I built is 2′ wide, 2′ deep, and 4′ tall. The shelf supports are 2″x2″, the side trim pieces are 1″x3″, the front shelf lips are 1″x6″, and the plywood is 1/2″. The plywood was recycled from my first attempt to build a floor and the rest of the wood was leftover from my bed build.

Here are all the tools I used, all of which appear in the video:

Ridgid Dual Miter Saw: https://amzn.to/3QOzJ7q
Ryobi Circular Saw (P505): https://amzn.to/49L5lU2
Ryobi 110 MPH Leaf Blower: https://amzn.to/46FqsEy
Ryobi compatible 6.2Ah Batteries: https://amzn.to/3Gdqzw6
3M WorkTunes Safety Earmuffs: https://amzn.to/3Rckt5J
Irwin 6″ Quick Grip Clamps (x6): https://amzn.to/3Rmw8yF
Hexagon Shelves (x7): https://amzn.to/3GkSURo

The cabinet turned out sorta-kinda okay. it’s functional, which I suppose is the most important thing, but it’s a little too large for the space. If I had it to do all over again, I’d probably make it 18″ deep by 22″ wide.

The last thing I did was add these hexagon shelves to the outside of my cabinet. They appear to be made of balsa wood and I am not sure how they will hold up over time. I installed them using industrial Velcro which should be enough to hold them in place. I think the shelves will break before the Velcro gives, to be honest.

For the record, if you had your stuff together, you could easily build this cabinet in a single day (except for the painting). I got interrupted multiple times and spread the actual build over a couple of days, but by then I had already made a really great thumbnail for YouTube and decided to stick with it, lol.

Check out the video, like and subscribe and all that nonsense. If I ever make any money from YouTube or Amazon the first thing I’m doing is enrolling in a Woodworking 101 class.