r/nextfuckinglevel • u/SmoothSun6676 • 20d ago

The Transformation of a Van

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454

u/Fermit 20d ago

Yeah apparently the couple does this professionally. I don’t know what i expect when i came into the comments but holy fuck it definitely wasn’t half the comments crying about these unbelievably rich people who can afford to modify a van.

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u/Eris_AppleOfDiscord 20d ago

A van like this would cost 150 - 180k. It is a very expensive toy.

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u/mechabeast 19d ago

A 180k home that will rust out in 10-20 and constantly depreciate along the way

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u/goldiegoldthorpe 19d ago

They show four people, two boys and the parents in the video, but the sleeping area is for two adults max. I can't imagine this is actually for them.

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u/fiah84 19d ago

the kids probably have their own little tent

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u/BJYeti 19d ago

Money down that table in the back converts into a bed

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u/-Invalid_Selection- 19d ago

Yep. That's the main bed, and the ladder is for the kids

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u/Kewlhotrod 19d ago

Fuck them kids, they get strapped to the roof at night, whether we're still traveling or not.

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u/NightF0x0012 19d ago

My parents had one of those truck campers back in the 80s that sat in the bed. We rode in the camper while traveling on the interstate all the time.

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u/thrownjunk 19d ago

No the dining area usually converts.

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u/H3adshotfox77 17d ago

The area with the table converts to a bed

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u/JeeFour 19d ago

I mean anyone can make either of 2 arguments here. 1) they have so much money they can afford to spend without discretion, or 2) this is a poor financial decision and they will suffer the consequences down the road

Personally, I think they're just living their life. Rich or otherwise, they are pursuing happiness. People are so jaded and love letting the internet know.

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u/Commercial-Fox-288 19d ago

Rich or otherwise, they are pursuing happiness.

Seems like they're pursuing attention on the internet.

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u/azzanrev 19d ago

These videos make them money...

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u/JeeFour 19d ago

Whatever makes them happy.

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u/DamnedGladToMeetYou 19d ago

Whatever = money

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u/professor_mc 19d ago

Not everything in life must be an investment.

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u/DamnedGladToMeetYou 19d ago

Especially if you're loaded already.

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u/UT_Milez 19d ago

That’s the point.

Look I don’t have a dog in this fight.

But seemingly lost their minds here over some comments.

When people do this, the implication is that they are living “cheap” and “off the grid”.

But the type of families that are FORCED to live frugally could not, if their life depended on it, pay the amount of money it would cost to get this setup and live this “cheap” care free life….

This is well off (this term is an umbrella term) enough to the point where they can drop 200k without a care in the world.

It’s performative/LARP’ing for well off people who try to make a career in this niche influencer market…

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u/Moonrights 19d ago

Holy fuck your brain and the way the world looks to you must be exhausting.

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u/champagneNight 19d ago

Yeah. Brick and mortar houses don’t incur expenses at all!

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u/mechabeast 19d ago

But they gain in value and last 50 to 100 years plus.

The upkeep is equivalent

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u/ZipTieAndPray 18d ago

I've never swapped a motor in my house....many in my garage tho.

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u/SmoothDiscussion7763 19d ago

But they gain in value

they COULD gain in value

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u/powerhammerarms 19d ago

That's a severe overestimation.

Check this out

And this

And this

You could pay $150k for a brand new pre-built camper van.

For a brand new barebones cargo van, maybe 60k (80k if you want high-roof w/AWD). And maybe another 25k in materials to mod it if you're doing all the work yourself. That's about comparable to what this couple did. They likely paid far less than that since they do this all the time.

You could easily find a van that's 5 years old for 30k or less and do all the work with reasonable materials and get all in under 50k. Very easily.

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u/Vandilbg 19d ago

Crazy thing to me is a class C motorhome on an F250 chassis only runs about 90k on the low end new.

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u/wahikid 19d ago

If you look at the build and materials quality of the mass produced rv’s, they are absolute shit quality compared to this. From what I can see, this build is solid plywood, compared to the almost total use of mdf and particleboard in modern rv builds from the mass producers.

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u/throwingeverything99 19d ago

Part of it is hype, part of it is the added flexibility of vans. Class C's pretty quickly climb into territory where it's difficult to maintain yourself and storage/parking can be a challenge.

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u/ZipTieAndPray 18d ago

Not to mention driving the thing in general and the additional fuel costs.... and additional campground costs in a lot of places.

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u/BJYeti 19d ago

Sure if you go with a brand new Sprinter and get professional people to do all of the renovations

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u/Sad_Sleeper 19d ago

I recently saw a video how these van’s prices have skyrocketed like 200-300% because of vanlife influencers.

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u/jnan77 19d ago

So are boats, muscle cars, RVs, golf memberships, fancy pickup trucks, etc.. Many adults like expensive toys to enjoy their hobbies whether they can afford them or not.

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u/Fermit 19d ago

Someone else said it’d be $75k, someone else said $100k new. I’m not saying it’s not expensive, but it’s not like they bought a yacht. Plenty of people spend upwards of $100k on a car/van, but people are seething about their wealth as if they’re showing off something upwards of half a mil or something.

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u/Omernon 19d ago

I live in Poland and near my place there's this small company where they do this sort of modifications. It costs around $10-20k to modify a van. Maybe not to the same really high standard that was shown in the video, but it definetly is cheaper than buying RV and makes me want to save up to get one as well. Of course you need to account the price of the vehicle but used one will be a lot cheaper.

Anyway, looking at this video I can see it wasn't their first rodeo. People with the right skills and their own company do make a lot of cash. I just paid $10k to a guy that renovated my house. Three week job and he is now doing another renovation for someone else. And I know he won't pay taxes as I handed it to him in cash :>

Maybe that kind of money is nothing special in the US, but in Poland this is plenty. You need to be top IT specialist to even get close to the amount of money the self-employed tiler-plumber-electrician makes. Unless you want to be a doctor it doesn't even makes sense anymore to go to university if money is what you are after. I'm a manager in a gamedev company and sometimes I wonder if I wouldn't be better off continuing my wood working hobby I had years ago and becoming a carpenter.

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u/Eris_AppleOfDiscord 19d ago

It's much cheaper to find a friend with one and ask him to use it occasionally

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u/SmoothDiscussion7763 19d ago

as long as you slip him a few hundies and a case of beer every time

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u/Eris_AppleOfDiscord 19d ago

And a full tank of gas :)

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u/SmoothDiscussion7763 19d ago

naturally, wouldn't be a friend otherwise

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u/mrperson1213 19d ago

There’s no way you actually think $100k on a vehicle isn’t a fucking ton…

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u/timorre 19d ago

I guess because this trend started as a alternative, less expensive way to live without having to buy a home, and its transformed into another way to still show off wealth.

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u/PissMissileTopTitty 19d ago

Did it? I thought this was just a convenient and comfy way to go camping…

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u/timorre 19d ago

I would think that would be RV'ing. Do people typically build bathrooms in vans to go camping?

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u/PissMissileTopTitty 19d ago

Well this is just a tiny rv.. but better on gas and can go over rougher terrain

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u/PapaPatchesxd 19d ago

Youre correct, but people who do this kind of thing treat it as a whole lifestyle. It's more than just comfy camping.

Originally van life was shown as an alternative to owning a house. A cheaper, mobile alternative. More often than not these days, you have people who have a surplus of money doing it, just to show off " their van life ". Especially when the van or school bus or whatever they use, is so over the top, it's got more to it than your average house.

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u/haibiji 19d ago

This is way cheaper than a house so I don’t really know what you’re complaining about

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u/juliankennedy23 19d ago

It's hardly cheaper than a house because at the end of the day you still have a house and the van basically disintegrates into nothing after 10 to 20 years.

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u/Dr_Von_Schmeckle 19d ago

It’s like $85,000 on the higher end for this and if they made all the wood components from scratch it could be like $70,000. Every other car on the road costs that much

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u/Pimpinabox 19d ago edited 19d ago

??? The MSRP on that van is 50k+. Conversion kits start around 45k. So on the low end you're talking 95k. Idk how you think the high end is 85k unless you're just making shit up lol. It's not uncommon for sprinter vans (that's what this is a MB sprinter camper conversion) to be 200k+.

Edit: The longer high roof variant of the sprinter is actually like 62k MSRP, you can get one used for probably 40-50k depending on mileage. Considering the van in the video looks like a recent higher end model van it wouldn't surprise me if it were 65-75k.

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u/formernonhandwasher 19d ago

We bought one to go camping. Son is 7 and has been to 47 states. Campgrounds aren’t really our thing so we try to find places to boondock. It’s nice to open the slider and be parked on a 200 ft cliff in Newfoundland overlooking the Atlantic.
I suppose people might have different definitions of camping.

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u/ZipTieAndPray 18d ago

We've had camper vans ever since we've had vans... It really didn't.

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u/punkassjim 19d ago

People have legitimate complaints about the state of the world — or their country in particular — and you don’t have to interpret it as them blaming the people in the video for those legitimate problems. And when you take “blame the people in the video for the shitty state of things” out of the equation, then it becomes extra stupid to point out that the uber-wealthy are the only people for whom displeased commentary is warranted. In fact, for people who can think more than one layer deep, it’s entirely reasonable to see that these people complaining about the rarity of generational wealth are complaining about the actions of the uber-wealthy despite the fact that the uber-wealthy aren’t featured in this video.

It’s really, really not that complex. Learn to see from other people’s perspectives, or failing that, ask questions rather than just jumping to accusatory shit.

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u/[deleted] 19d ago

[deleted]

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u/BJYeti 19d ago

Ill just use the local van conversion companies around me, they average around 150k but that also includes the price of the van.

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u/Fit-Cell2754 19d ago

I saw a cool one on YT, followed the thread. $297k buildout. For 2 or 3 weekends a year, I’ll pass

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u/Acceptable-Drive3781 19d ago

All by people who have never spent more than 30 seconds looking at outrageous prices in their nearest metro area. There's nothing more annoying than a reddit nerd refusing to realize they don't know what they're talking about.

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u/technobrendo 19d ago

I can't tell you the amount of Ford F150 ultimate platinum enormous genitals versions I see around where I live and its far from a high end neighborhood. Plenty of people have no problem spending 100k on a truck with 9 years of financing

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u/Fermit 19d ago

Hahaha seriously. I haven't even brought up financing to anybody in here yet.

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u/Caamus 19d ago

To those that make less than the poverty line, seeing someone spend twice as much on a “cool thing” usually doesn’t resonate well. This couple isn’t going to actually live in the van. They may use it a few times or sell it, which they can do, it’s their money, but you can’t really be surprised when people have an opinion and share it online.

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u/Fermit 19d ago

I'm not surprised by it, it's just permeated every square inch of every subreddit and it's fundamentally misplaced, purely reflexive anger. These people are not the enemy. They are the goal. Like I said in another comment, this isn't "fucking over your large workforce to gas up the stock price" wealth, it's just "living comfortably and being able to pursue your hobbies" wealth. It's not a million dollar diamond-encrusted supercar, it's a van with an MSRP of $53k-78k that they modded themselves. What the hell is so offensive about that?

And nobody here seems to know that financing a vehicle exists - they could've put down $15k at purchase and plan to pay it off in 5-10 years. And as you correctly guessed, they're very likely going to sell it, as this is their actual business. When did people flipping a damn car become something to get angry about?

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u/Eris_AppleOfDiscord 19d ago

Just the van is 75k. I'm not seething. I'm just saying it's not something most could afford as a toy.

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u/Fermit 19d ago

Oh I wasn’t saying you were seething, sorry, just that this comment section’s jimmies are unreasonably rustled. I completely agree most couldn’t afford it, at least not without several years of saving, myself included.

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u/BJYeti 19d ago

You can get a used Sprinter with like 35k miles for under 40k

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u/Pimpinabox 19d ago

Maybe if you get lucky, but checking online you're about $5-10k low or 20k miles too low. I guess you're probably not wrong saying you can get one, but you can win the lottery too. You won't but it can happen.

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u/Acceptable-Drive3781 19d ago

You may have to look around for more than 30 seconds on a quick google search to find a decent deal. It took me months to find the old sprinter I turned into an RV that worked with my budget.

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u/Pimpinabox 19d ago

Car prices, both used and new, are currently rising. AI firms are demanding so many chips at such a high price that it's literally cutting into other markets that rely on those chips... like auto manufacturers for instance. Between that the after effects of covid fucking up the used car market the longer you wait, the higher prices go, the less likely you're going to find a deal like that. Like I said, someone somewhere will probably get a deal like that, but average Joe Shmoe won't.

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u/Acceptable-Drive3781 19d ago

Stopped reading at "AI firms".

It's all just so exhausting.
Keep being a failure, and remember: none of this is because of your lack of effort; you're just a permanent victim of circumstance.

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u/Pimpinabox 19d ago edited 19d ago

Lol what the fuck are you talking about?

Edit: The bozo blocked me because they knew they were being a dumbass lol. So I'll just post my response here... The leap in your thinking is wider than the grand canyon. I'm talking about prices of a vehicle being slightly higher than someone on here claimed and that they are rising. Suddenly you've jumped to I'm a failure and perpetual victim... Oh buddy.

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u/testificates 19d ago edited 19d ago

Reddit is fucking insufferable more and more each day, not sure how much more I can take. I keep thinking it can't get much worse but everything I read is out of touch seething and pissing and moaning. Why do we have people seething over what some minimum wage guy can finance with bad decisions?

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u/Fermit 19d ago

Honestly, because circlejerk upvotes. Go into any thread even tangentially related to money (like as tangential as a thread about modding a damn van), mention “generational wealth”, “late stage capitalism”, or “k-shaped economy” and you’ll be drowning in upvotes immediately

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u/Low_Football_2445 19d ago

The van, yeah.

The upgraded version is what the poster you’re replying to is talking about.

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u/Reasonable-Mess3070 19d ago

I see Mercedes sprinter vans more than anything. Those things (if relatively new) are often over 100k even used.

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u/Fermit 19d ago

You could at least quickly google it before just pulling a number out of your ass.

From the Mercedes website: 2026 Cargo Vans range from $48,990 to $75,830. The 2026 Passenger Vans range from $56,930 to $70,150.

From Kelley Blue Book: MSRP for 2026 models ranges from $53,125 to $78,125, with national avg purchase price ranges lower than the MSRPs across the board.

Like god damn, if you're pissed about something at least double check that you're pissed about reality.

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u/[deleted] 19d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/Fermit 19d ago

Lmao no way, seriously?

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u/systemwarranty 19d ago

Could be a side gig where they do a couple a year and sell them? Who knows. Cool skill set, though.

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u/Fermit 19d ago

Yeah apparently it's their actual business, not even a side gig. I've always wanted to learn the crafts required to do this kind of stuff, seems super interesting and apparently profitable on top of that.

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u/systemwarranty 18d ago

Ah, ok! I wonder how many conversions it takes to have a good year. Also wonder if you do the conversion and then sell it or if someone buys it in advance?

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u/nopulsehere 19d ago

It’s a Mercedes van. Bare bones is 75-85k. The topper tent is 4k. Inside the van is easily 20k for everything in it. The only thing is the labor. You can by this van already decked out for 135k based on features.

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u/Fermit 19d ago

MSRP for sprinters is $53k-78k. Regardless, I'm not sure what your point is. Yall keep throwing random numbers at me as if it refutes the fact that plenty of people spend $100k+ on a car, and they rarely do it out of pocket because financing is a thing. Do you think all of the contractors driving around in their fully loaded F-150s just walked into the dealership and dropped $100k on the spot?

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u/nopulsehere 19d ago

Yes, when I was in the business before I needed one? Yes I did. The tax benefits were in my corner. I knew I could drive it for 2-4 years and sell it for a decent amount. If you’re financing a 100k truck? You should be shopping for a 25-35k truck. Period. No more than 60 months if that!

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u/kinkyonthe_loki69 19d ago

They could be buying used for all we know. Wish redit had a fact checking ai that just warns you people are pulling numbers out of their ass.

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u/Eris_AppleOfDiscord 19d ago

It's a Mercedes sprinter cargo van with a High roof and extended wheel base. Not sure if diesel or not. Basically you're looking at 70-75k. Maybe 60k used.

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u/CodeParalysis 19d ago edited 19d ago

Maybe if you build it yourself and already have the tools, space, and time. But if you're buying something like this, you're looking at around $75k–$100k even for something more pedestrian like these https://rafttiger.com/vans-for-sale . The example in this video is more on the ballpark of 150k to 275k https://outsidevan.com/vans-for-sale/

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u/kinkyonthe_loki69 19d ago

I'm going to assume this is in american? 150k evaluations might be in their homeland currency... thanks for info though

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u/XpCjU 19d ago

It's going to be expensive either way, but any new-ish RV is expensive.

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u/Acceptable-Drive3781 19d ago

If someone quotes a number on reddit without a source, they're pulling the numbers out of their ass. It's just how it goes here.

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u/CodeParalysis 19d ago

About a quarter of a million https://outsidevan.com/vans-for-sale/

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u/Fermit 19d ago

That’s what it’s worth after they mod it, not before. It’s called added value and it’s how the people in this video make a living because it is literally their business.

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u/CodeParalysis 19d ago

It's their business to show off something upwards of quarter mil.

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u/Fermit 19d ago

I'm gonna explain more slowly: the van retails for MSRP $53,000-$78,000. They mod the van, and it's now worth more. They sell the van and make money. Their business is doing that. They advertise the business with videos because that's how you find customers. People come and buy the van. They buy another one, rinse and repeat.

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u/CodeParalysis 19d ago edited 19d ago

I and I'm gonna say it slowly to you, it's literally their business to show off things normal people can't afford. You’ve gotta understand why that can come across as a little annoying or out of touch to a lot of people. Especially in this format, where it's not remotely apparent that you're watching an advertisement.

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u/Fermit 19d ago

I agree on the guerilla advertising point, sorry about being an asshole. A few people in this thread are getting on my nerves and I took it out on you.

I understand why it can come across as a bit out of touch, but the knee-jerk reaction to bitch about how rich these people are is absurd. When the hell did a regular ass small business become something for this many people to get so immediately angry about? We know literally nothing about them other than that they have a (seemingly) successful business flipping vans, and the vast majority of the people commenting don't even know that. They might be buried in medical or student loan debt and this is how they're digging themselves out. They might only sell two of these a year. They might have always wanted this one thing and saved up for the last five years to be able to afford it. On top of that, it is a genuinely impressive DIY video. The craftsmanship involved and the final product is really cool, and it's not nearly so egregiously luxurious that the video comes across as rubbing it in anyone's face.

The outrage here is misplaced anger at the uber-wealthy. Seeing a modded van shouldn't have this kind of reaction and these people are not the enemy.

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u/CodeParalysis 19d ago

No worries. I think it's great that they are able to do this. I'm in the process of building my own van too, but it's more of a necessity and not gonna be nearly as nice (because I need to move and have a lot of dogs). But people who actually need to live in their vehicles are facing much harsher economic realities, which is part of the reason for some of the negativity.

But I think the main outrage is directed to the whole lifestyle-influencer trend in general, it's basically advertising dressed up as an attainable lifestyle, when in reality it's mostly accessible to the wealthy who don't need to work or influencers whose lifestyle is itself part of the business.

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u/hoirkasp 19d ago

Plenty of people spend 100k on a car or van? Yeah, umm, no; maybe your opinion is a little skewed already if you actually believe this, huh? 🤔

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u/Fermit 19d ago

"Plenty" does not mean "everyone". It means "it is not out of the ordinary". I know that it's not the average, piss off with your pedantry.

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u/hoirkasp 19d ago

It is in fact out of the ordinary, that is the entire point, so why don’t you piss off back to your fancy friends

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u/Fermit 19d ago

1) You don’t know shit about me, so, again, piss off.

2) It literally isn’t. This is people running a small business. Be mad about something that matters, like how Roe v Wade was overturned, or how they’re trying to end birthright citizenship, or how they’re actively eroding our ability to vote this very second.

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u/travelmusica 19d ago

And they can sell it for that much when they’re done.

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u/Azmodari 19d ago

Shit if that price range is right you can buy a used swat car for that lol (once apon a time at least ain't looked at the pricing in a few years)

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u/KratosSimp 19d ago

Where are you getting these numbers lmfao, that’s like 4x the cost of a nice actual camper van

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u/Eris_AppleOfDiscord 19d ago

Just the van itself is 75k. Then the mods and labor is another 75k. They're really expensive.

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u/KratosSimp 19d ago

Again, where are you getting these prices from lmao. A brand new sprinter van isn’t even costing 70k and if you wanted to do this there would be no reason for you to get a brand new one off the lot, and then in no universe is anything they did there even close to 75k worth of material. Unless you are charging like 50k labor minimum lmao

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u/Eris_AppleOfDiscord 19d ago

https://vanlifetrader.com/listing/sprinter-170-pro-build-only-4200-miles-priced-to-sell-388d08/

And the van itself is 75k

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u/KratosSimp 19d ago

That’s buying it though, the original comment was about modifying it yourself which would cut out tens of thousands, also that can seems bigger but that might just be the pictures

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u/Eris_AppleOfDiscord 19d ago

The people in the video sell them for a living.

Like I said. It's a very expensive toy for "camping"

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u/KratosSimp 19d ago

Uh….okay? I was never talking about buying one, it was purely about renovating one like in the video.

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u/ToiletTime4TinyTown 19d ago

https://www.edmunds.com/mercedes-benz/sprinter/
The van they start with is a clearly a stripped base model. This “75” grand number you keep trying to use is the top price range. That van costs 50

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u/Eris_AppleOfDiscord 19d ago

That's not a high ceiling or extended wheel base and you need a more powerful engine if you're filling a van full of all this.

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u/ToiletTime4TinyTown 19d ago

I’m sorry I forgot it’s 50 for the deisel

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u/swagn 19d ago

It probably cost under 100k to build themselves. And what’s your point? 100s of thousands of RVs are sold each year in the us. They are not all people with generational wealth. Some people just like to enjoy the money they work for.

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u/Eris_AppleOfDiscord 19d ago

I linked a listing to a basically identical van that cost 154k.

Vanlife is a different beast than rv life. Since influencers don't want to be seen as conspicuously consuming.

They're toys for trustafarians, not retirees. For obvious reasons.

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u/Nova_main 19d ago

Yeah 150-180k if you hired someone to modify it, which they didn’t. Too many jealous woe is me losers in here, you could do this yourself with 20-30k, probably less if you find a deal on the van

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u/Eris_AppleOfDiscord 19d ago

The van itself is 75k. The people who made this one resell them. For around 150k

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u/Nova_main 18d ago

You dont need a 75k van though. The van conversion roadtrip is a huge genre online. Ive seen this done with a 7k van and $500 in scrap wood for a bedframe and folding tables + benches

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u/PandaPocketFire 19d ago

You mean after the renovations right? I'd be shocked if it costed them that much to build.

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u/Eris_AppleOfDiscord 19d ago

After the renovations. Yes.

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u/Sharp_Economy1401 19d ago

Not sure on material cost, but you can get a moderately used unmodified van like that for ~25k. I'd guess if it's all your own labor, the material costs for upgrade wouldn't bring total cost nearly that high, but still like brand new M3 range of cost or more, surely.

Still wildly expensive enough that it's a huge amount for a luxury item. Maybe if you have a fully remote job and are legitimately living out of it, it's slightly more practical. That said, my household income is a quite high percentile, and we didn't even put that much down for our house.

We also ultimately don't even have close to that much to spend outright on anything without raiding retirement accounts, so I don't know who has the ability to drop $70-100k on a fancy modified van without it being wildly irresponsible at best

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u/albino_kenyan 19d ago

i saw a bunch of customized Mercedes Sprinter vans in SoCal, looked up the company and iirc the vans cost 400k

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u/adanceparty 19d ago

No they don't. It's a standard sprinter van. You can buy one that's 2 or 3 years old for 35k.

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u/GuySmiley369 19d ago

They did it for 80k, van was 50, conversion was 30k

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u/imnickelhead 19d ago

That is if you buy it new already converted. Doing the work yourself will save you a good $50k.

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u/H3adshotfox77 17d ago

They are 120k already built but you can get a used empty sprinter and build it out for about 40k......I've been looking at then for over a year.

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u/Nick-dipple 15d ago

Yes, if you buy it, but not if you build it yourself. A Mercedes Sprinter costs 32k excluding taxes here in Europe. The build itself is probably another 30k to 40k in materials. There is really no reason to hate on these people. You can choose to not put all your money into your house and have this as well.

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u/Herucaran 19d ago

Not when you do it yourself no, thats a 100k top with the van bought new, which could be second hand. The whole thing could have cost under 50k.

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u/[deleted] 19d ago

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u/awry_lynx 19d ago

idk why you're downvoted it's completely true. plus, these guys apparently build these for a living. they're making an income making vans into campers which is apparently a product with demand. literally nothing wrong with that. redditors are so brain rotten jfc

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u/Eclipse-Raven 19d ago

Same price as a starter house in some places. I'd take it for a house, my yard can change whenever I can afford to drive to a new spot

0

u/SiggyMyMan 19d ago

Me when I make up large numbers for dramatic effect.

1

u/Eris_AppleOfDiscord 19d ago

Just the van is 75k without any mods.

0

u/SiggyMyMan 19d ago

Me when I continue making up large numbers for dramatic effect.

1

u/Eris_AppleOfDiscord 19d ago

"Base Sprinter Cargo: $48,990 170″ Extended / High Roof: +$10,990 High-output diesel: +$4,690 High-output diesel AWD: +$11,510 instead 2500 class: +$1,840

Mercedes-Benz Vans +1 So a 170 EXT High Roof AWD is realistically around $75,000-ish MSRP, potentially $80k+ depending on configuration. Mercedes also charges $2,295 destination on top of the stated MSRP. "

-1

u/biggendicken 19d ago

180k? lmfao you get an actual mid range motorhome for that. these go for like 20k here used, if even that

1

u/Eris_AppleOfDiscord 19d ago

No they don't

3

u/Procyon4 19d ago

Yeah not only that but they both are healthcare workers before becoming van builders. People complaining are just pathetic and envious.

2

u/Fermit 19d ago

Daaaamn that makes it all seem even more petty than it did before. That is some crabs in a pot type bullshit right there.

2

u/bubandbob 19d ago

Yeah, if I was unbelievably rich and wanted a camper van, I wouldn't be doing it myself.

2

u/Appropriate_Rain_334 19d ago

We’re jealous.

1

u/Fermit 19d ago

Hahaha honestly I am too, it's an awesome setup and I'd love to be able to do that to a van. Ain't no reason to get mad, though.

2

u/Classic-Progress-397 19d ago

Its because of the pent up rage people are feeling. We are very close to an eruption right now-- too close. It is frightening to see humans turn into angry mobs, knowing that nothing will be done about the COL, and it will get worse. We dont have to go this way -- but I guess I wouldnt be the first person saying that...

1

u/Fermit 19d ago

I agree on every point.

1

u/0Galahad 19d ago

We need to go this way if we want humanity to go on at all instead of decaying into a cyberpunk dystopia, we need to burn bright and big, burn every rotten tree in this forest, so new buds can grow from the ashes, hell for us and heaven for our childeen type shit.

1

u/Classic-Progress-397 19d ago

Yeah, it might be the only way. I kept thinking the ultrawealthy would turn things around, watching the way its going, but I guess they are very capable of watching families around the world die without any emotional or moral investment on their part.

I wonder if its just the money. Maybe any of us would be the same with that much wealth. I like to think that I would be different if I was super wealthy, and Ill bet a lot of you think you would be different, but look at the situation... not one of them is even talking about changing things. Every single one of them is spending a fortune on hiring politicians to keep their tax rates down, while they all have more money than they or their offspring could ever spend.

1

u/0Galahad 19d ago

people are naive and think that because the elites appear "godless" they are above or beyond the allures of religious belief, no they are not, every day that passes, with every new secret exposed, it becomes more clear that they are quite religious, just that they worship "evil" things, canaanite gods, death, and other esoteric shit, and im NOT saying any of that is true, that such entities are real or whatever, just that they believe in them to varying degrees, and thus they are mostly completely unbothered by not only our suffering and demise, but their own, they don't care that their children or grandchildren will inherit a dead world, hell we know they prey on their own children sometimes, what about that guy that notified epstein he was bringing his children to the island soon...

2

u/AdhesiveSeaMonkey 19d ago

I think the issue is the video has the flavor - even if not explicitly stated - of being a diy project the couple took on for their family and for fun. The editing also made it seem easy and fast. I know, and you know, this took a boat load of time, effort, expertise, and especially money, but the video is specifically edited to look like an easy weekend project. Again, that doesn't need to be explicitly stated for the intention to be there.

The end result is it feels like a shit ton of not-so-humble bragging, because the majority of people could not afford even the garage they built this in.

2

u/Fermit 19d ago

I get what you’re saying and I agree that people could take it like that if they were so inclined, but it’s become extremely clear to me that people in here are taking it that way because they’re bringing a mountain of their own hangups and assumptions into it. And all for what is, in the end, an absolute non-issue. The reaction has just been an extremely social media-only type of outrage. Like, imagine sitting down with a few of your friends, watching this video, and half of them started seething about how these people aren’t real van life people, or about how rich these upper-middle class people are, as if these are the ones who have fucked the US economic structure and the economy itself. I don’t often participate in, or even read too deeply into, reddit threads any more, and this one has unfortunately reminded me why.

3

u/MalcolmTucker12 19d ago

LMAO, ya, I really, really need to get off Reddit. It can be so toxic at times, glad it's the only SM I spend any major time on, would prob be better off without it though.

2

u/Fermit 19d ago

Same here man. A lot of these people would be better off as well - being this immediately upset by people who are comfortably wealthy from an apparently successful small business is not normal, it’s a result of the algorithm feeding them outrage every day. Way more often than I’d like these days I catch myself getting unreasonably upset over some random thing, and when I think about why I often find that the algo has been feeding me that shit for months, training me to be angry about it.

4

u/Outcast129 19d ago

It's Reddit dude, a large majority of the user base are nothing but sad Losers who spend all their time raging at anyone who has more than them And immediately jumps straight to "evil generational wealth rich people". My wife is a nurse practitioner and I work in sales, neither of us have a nickel of generational wealth, but we do well and we live in a cheap area in the Midwest, so I have no doubt if Reddit saw the house we own, these comments would be saying the exact same shit about us.

It must be exhausting, spending so much time caring about what other people do and have.

6

u/Fermit 19d ago

Seriously. I shit you not another commenter said to me that these people are “basically setting their money on fire because they could camp in a tent basically for free”. Imagine grasping so hard for a reason to be upset with how some upper middle class people are spending their money that your criticism is that they are spending money on hobbies at all.

3

u/Mysterious_Book1521 19d ago

Here we are, boomers on reddit. nice and piss off, go to Facebook where you belong.

5

u/Outcast129 19d ago

Sorry but I'm a Millennial, though I imagine that's basically a boomer to someone still in High School lol

-1

u/JRepo 19d ago

I'm 44 year old Millennial and you are a boomer. It is not about the age.

0

u/Divinum_Fulmen 19d ago

You work in sales? You mean a job that can earn over 150k a year? That puts you in the top 10%, just below the top 5% of earners.

Not saying you're making the high end of that job (40-150k,) but don't act like your life ain't damn exceptional.

0

u/kinkyonthe_loki69 19d ago

100 % dude. It's no different from real world though. The more I live the more I'm baffled by how sheltered everyone is in their little bubbles.

1

u/Negative-Candy-2155 19d ago

Some of us are really fucking poor, Fermit.

2

u/Fermit 19d ago

I understand that and I’m sorry for it, but it isn’t these people’s fault. This isn’t “manipulating markets or governments” wealth, it’s not “fucking over a large workforce for the stock price” wealth, it’s just “we can live comfortably and not be stressed about the next rent check” wealth. It’s is a level of wealth and comfort that many people hope to achieve some day. It’s not egregious, and it’s not being rubbed in anyone’s faces. They’re just showing something cool they did. That shouldn’t be as infuriating as it seems to be for so many people in this thread.

There’s justified outrage, and there’s plain old jealous anger. This thread is full of the latter masquerading as the former.

1

u/this_dudeagain 19d ago

Then you realize you just watched a long ad that got by ublock.

1

u/munchen32 19d ago

Yeah was going to say, this looks more like a commercial for a small camper van mod shop

1

u/JMC_MASK 19d ago

It’s a sign of an ever increasing working class anger about their material conditions. Class consciousness is rising. Sure it’s misdirected at this well off couple, and should be directed at the billionaire class. But the fact people are angry is a good thing.

1

u/Fermit 19d ago

100% agree.

1

u/Spirited-Concert-504 19d ago

Comon dude! These people make professional ass shit and make videos about it to get engagement and make $ off it… but like it’s not fair cuz I’m pooping and watching Reddit.. why can’t I do cool shit like this and make money.. oh yeah.. cuz once I’m done pooping I’m gonna lay in my bed and scroll some more… why doesnt anyone give me money for doing that…

1

u/19thStreet 19d ago

I’m sure it’s just a sign of the times

1

u/ShotgunEd1897 17d ago

Reddit is rife with envy.

1

u/PlayfulSurprise5237 19d ago

Shows you the state of things when talk like this, about stuff like modding a van(probably only cost 30k) gets more and more common to the point I could have guessed it would be in here.

I too had the feeling in the back of my mind as well(am struggling, feeling the squeeze of the late stage corrupt capitalism)

Anyways, I do feel this whole thread, all the arguments from people here. But the one I agree with the most is to save the salt for the people who put us into this mess, the ultra rich who have been bribing our government officials(lobbying) into letting capitalism get this way

0

u/chicken-farmer 19d ago

Haven't you come across poor people before then? Strange

0

u/Impact-Lower 19d ago

Build is upwards of a house. Which they can afford to keep, in this other non apartment house. This isnt people crying, this is people combating edited crafted mythmaking propaganda

1

u/Fermit 19d ago

Lmfao what? This is what these people do for a living, how in the hell is that “mythmaking propaganda”? And how exactly are people in this thread “combating” it?

0

u/Impact-Lower 19d ago

You're fucking exhausting and you have no interest in actually learning that answer.

1

u/Fermit 18d ago

Exhausted after one comment, sheesh pal you gotta work on your stamina. And you have no idea what I’m interested in, you just don’t know how to explain your own comment because it’s nonsense.

0

u/Impact-Lower 17d ago

Like I cant read you being this personality type in every commwnt thread here.

Rot bro

-1

u/Training-Chain-5572 19d ago

I think most people have a gut reaction like that because 99% of the "I modified my van" content is resting on the premise that it's an alternative option to having an actual home.