One of the most fun parts of building a camper van is the designing. Designing the layout for your van conversion is the first step towards van life, after getting the van of course. One of the most difficult parts for designing your van conversion is visualizing the sizes and relations of all the parts. Being able to make everything to scale in 3D space is the best way possible.
Of course you can draw out your van layout, and use a ruler to keep things straight and to scale. But there is an easier way, 3D design software. Design software sounds scary to a lot of people but is actually fairly easy to learn, especially if you keep shapes simple. Being able to create your van build in three dimensions allows you to get an accurate look of how things will go.
SketchUp
For creating layouts SketchUp is a great tool. Tools like SketchUp are great for beginners to make simple and advanced layouts. You can create all the parts to your build from the electrical system, water system, and more. You can even measure out everything down to a 1/16th of an inch.
The best part is that SketchUp has a completely free version!
Getting Started with Designing
The first step to modeling your van conversion is setting up the shell. This includes the walls, windows, floor, wheel wells, doors, and any other aspects of your van. It is best to measure all of your van to get a good start on design. Once you create your van’s shell you can start. Starting with the bigger simpler areas is a good starting point.
In the design process you can go into as many details as you would like or keep it simple. With a lot of things the plans change, and it is important to know how to adapt to those changes. Sometimes you will have to do many redesigns and that is perfectly ok.
A Great Visual For Others
One other great benefit to building a 3D model is that you can show others. You can get input from others on your design to get feedback. In addition to feedback, if you have other people building with you, you can show them what the end goal is so everyone is on the same page. Communicating ideas can be hard but with a visual it can be much easier.
To View Our Van Click Here