By Cheri Sicard
In the video at the end of this post, President Chay [2.34M subscribers] shares his latest build, a two-story camper van. [This video had 1.9M views within the first 9 days!)
Chay started with a “creepy, old” Ford E350 that cost $5,000 and had 130,000 miles. Under a strange wood floor, the van hid rust so bad that the tire was visible through the metal. Instead of scrapping the idea, Chay, Kobe, and Chay’s dad turned it into a two-story camper with standing room downstairs and a bed upstairs. The build got wild fast.
The van was cheap for a reason
After the seats and carpet came out, the reason for the low price was obvious. The floor had holes everywhere, and rust had eaten through big sections. The frame still looked usable, so they patched the worst spots with aluminum and kept going.
The goal was to make the van tall enough to stand in. They cut off the roof, built a wood template for the new shape, then welded steel trusses and a smaller front section to keep the roof more aerodynamic on the road. Sheet metal closed it in, joined by hundreds of small welds from the inside. Once it was smoothed with filler and fiberglass, the shell looked far better than expected.
A second floor changed the whole layout
Next came the structure inside. They built the floor with ripped-down 2x4s, spray foam, and 3/4-inch plywood. Once that was in, the van felt solid enough for walls and a second story, and the raised roof opened up nearly 9 feet of interior height.
The loft created a real bedroom, while the back held a small garage and a full bathroom. Wiring ran to a breaker box in the rear and into an off-grid battery system, while a mini-split above the front seats handled heat and A/C. Then spray foam sealed and insulated the shell.
Tanks underneath, brake lines in the way
Most of the plumbing lived under the van. They squeezed in a black tank for the toilet, a gray tank for sink and shower water, and a fresh tank where the spare tire used to sit. Tight space forced them to move the toilet wall back a few inches and build a custom drain path through the frame.
Then a rusty brake line failed. Chay fixed it in three steps:
• Remove the old rear brake line.
• Cut and flare new sections.
• Reconnect the system and bleed the brakes.
That repair kept the project road-safe.
Cabinets, tile, and a better ending
Inside, Kobe built the cabinets, made crown molding from scrap wood, and added glass doors.
Chay’s dad tiled the bathroom, painted the cabinets, and helped fit a heavy countertop. Carpet warmed the loft and cab, while shiny tile finished the main floor.
Outside, green paint, running lights, a rear spare mount, refreshed wheels, and a 5,000-pound airbag kit gave the van a cleaner RV look and better stance.
The final numbers were the best surprise
- Stock van: E350, 6,280 lbs.
- Finished 2-story camper van: 8,580 lbs.
They added only 2,300 pounds. On the drive to camp, the power worked, the water ran, the shower turned on, and dinner cooked inside a van that had started out looking ready for the scrapyard.
What made the build stand out was not one flashy feature. It was the way Chay, Kobe, and Chay’s dad kept solving each problem until the van became a usable tiny home.
By the end, the old E350 had a loft, a bathroom, off-grid power, and a clean test drive to camp. That is a big jump for a van that began with rust holes in the floor.
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