Field Van Custom Van Conversions

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In this episode of the RVing with Joe & Kait podcast, we sit down with Jonny Feld of Field Van custom van conversions to discuss the pros and cons of building a custom camper van along with choosing the right chassis, common regrets and must-have features in a custom camper van. Jonny also shares some unique and interesting custom van builds along with questions to ask and things to consider when choosing a custom van builder.

“One mistake that most people make is trying to make this van perfect for every possible scenario.”
Jonny Feld, CEO of Field Van

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Table of Contents

Episode Guest

Jonny Feld has been in the adventure van industry since he was nine years old. His parents Alan and Liz started Sportsmobile West in 1989. As a child he was always around the factory and started working in sales at trade shows at age 14. In 2003 he went to work full time at Sportsmobile West in the sales department. Jonny was later promoted to Sales manager and then became President in 2014. In 2020 Jonny left Sportsmobile and started Field Van. Field Van has locations in Fresno, CA and Reno, NV. He is married with two daughters and enjoys traveling, the outdoors, spending time with friends and family and long walks on the beach.

Links:

Resources Mentioned in this Episode

Key Highlights

Customization Focus: Start the van-building process by identifying the primary goal for the van. This personalized approach ensures the van fits the owner’s lifestyle and needs.
Design for Common Use: A common mistake is trying to design a van that is perfect for every possible scenario. Instead, focus on making the van perfect for its primary use and be willing to adapt for less common situations.
Choosing the Right Chassis: The choice of van chassis is influenced by the intended interior design and personal preferences, such as proximity to dealership service centers. There’s no one-size-fits-all solution; it’s about finding the right van for each individual.
Common Regrets and Must-Haves: Custom camper van customers often have regrets about certain features they thought they needed, like a large bathroom or indoor kitchen, and realize they value space or other amenities more.
Resale Value and Versatility: Custom van builds should consider future resale value.
Choosing an Experienced and Certified Builder: Selecting a reputable and certified builder ensures safety, quality, and the likelihood of having a supportive warranty and insurance options.

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Transcript

Jonny Feld One mistake that most people make is trying to make this van perfect for every possible scenario. And that’s just not going to happen. And so it’s like dialing it in and say, Hey, let’s make this perfect for, you know, 90-95% of the time. And then if it’s not perfect for those one-off scenarios, you deal with it then.

Kait Russo Welcome back to another episode of RVing with Joe & Kait. Are you considering a custom camper van? Well, today’s episode is for you. We’re talking to Jonny Feld from Field Van who’s going to share his experiences of building custom vans for his customers.

Joe Russo Johnny, thanks for being on the podcast. You want to tell everyone a little bit about yourself and what it is you do?

Jonny Feld Joe and Kait, thank you for having me. My name is Jonny Feld. I am the CEO of Field Van. We are a custom van builder. So we will take the Sprinter chassis, the Ford Transits, Econoline, Chevy vans, and turn them into a mobile camper, motorhome, mobile office, command center, anything you might want to do out of that van.

Joe Russo Well, the reason we wanted you on a podcast today is to kind of talk through the pros and cons of building a custom van, a lot of the things that are involved, because how many years have you and your family been doing this now?

Jonny Feld Since 1989. Yeah, 35 years now.

Joe Russo So I’d like to understand if someone is going to build a custom van, some of the things they should consider, some of the pitfalls, some of the, you know, good and bad that you’ve seen over the years.

Let’s start with someone who’s thinking about building a custom van, what are the first things they should really be considering?

Jonny Feld It’s specific to everybody. And what I tell people, what’s your first goal? Like, what is your main goal when you’re getting this van? Is it going to be a comfortable bed? Is it maybe, I want to have a bathroom shower on the road wherever I go. Or maybe it’s you do dog shows and you need room for your dog crates. And so we kind of start there. It’s like, what’s most important?

And then we kind of work our way down the list and say, OK, let’s say it is I want a comfortable bed. I want to have good sleep when I’m out camping. And we’re going to get the bed the size you want. And then we’re going to go from there. Do you want a bathroom shower? Maybe they just do weekend trips and can use an outside shower. And that can save a lot of room on the inside. And then, yeah, just working our way through the priorities and making sure we check all the boxes that you need.

One mistake that most people make is trying to make this van perfect for every possible scenario. And that’s just not going to happen. And our sales guy, Brian, he has a good analogy with that. He’s like, you know, Swiss Army knife, really cool. It does all these things, has all these gadgets. Not a great knife. You know, you can find a better knife out there, but it does all these other things.

And so when you’re designing your van, again, maybe your main thing is I’m going to do weekend trips and it’s going to be two of us and this is normally what’s going to happen. Let’s design it to that.

But I’ll have people go, well, what if my cousins are in town and then their kids have to come with us and then we’re starting and it starts raining? And then what are we going to do then? It’s like, well, just deal with that. But don’t change the whole plan of your van around this maybe what if scenario. And so you see that a lot. And so it’s like dialing in, hey, let’s make this perfect for 90-95% of the time. And then if it’s not perfect for those one-off scenarios, you deal with it then.

So I think that’s important when thinking about designing a custom van.

Kait Russo With regards to the chassis of the van, since there are so many choices, do you recommend that people pick the chassis first? Or how do you guide them through that process?

Jonny Feld Yeah, we kind of go through it all at once, really. So sometimes the options that you want on the inside or what you’re going to do on the inside will determine what chassis is going to be best for you. So they do kind of work together. But yeah, we have to figure out what van we’re going to be building on before we start building. So that is definitely one of the first things we need to get dialed in.

And you’re right, there are a lot of options. And everyone said, what’s the best van? And there is no best van for everyone. There’s a best van for each person. So we do talk through that. And a lot of it can be your location. Do you have a Mercedes dealership nearby? Are you somewhere where you’re 200 miles to the nearest Mercedes dealer and you have a Ford dealership in your backyard.

So sometimes, you know, things like that can drive a decision. But most of the time it does have to do with where you’re going, who you’re taking with you, what gear you’re taking with you, and how long you’re going to be out there. And that’s where we start and determine which chassis is going to be best for you.

Joe Russo Now, are there certain things that customers will ask for and then later kind of either regret putting in or regret not putting in?

Jonny Feld No doubt about it. We joke around here. We tell everyone, buy your third van, you’ve got it down. Especially when we’re talking about building a custom van. Things that you think you might want or think you’re going to use, you may not. Then conversely, I don’t really need a furnace. Then you do a couple nights in the cold and it’s like, it would be real nice to have a heater on this thing. It can really extend our trip.

We see people come back and do upgrades. One of the big ones is the bathroom shower. I know you and I have talked about this in the past with your rigs. Do you want a full big bathroom shower? Do you not? So I think that one is often times the biggest regret would be the big bathroom. So I have people say, you know we have this big bathroom and we never use it. It’s like it’s our closet now. If we would have dedicated that space differently I think we would enjoy our camper more.

And then air conditioning and stoves. Permanent stoves on the inside are also something I have people kind of regret. They say, you know, I never cook inside. I’m camping. I’m cooking outside. So having this stove on my counter doesn’t make sense.

And then I mentioned the heater. That’s one that most people regret not getting if they didn’t. Because like I said, it really can extend your camping seasons. You can do some of the cold weather stuff and go places like Yosemite here in our backyard in the winter time is gorgeous and a lot less crowded. So having that furnace there to keep you warm and keep your water system from freezing too is a pretty nice option.

Joe Russo So when you mentioned the stoves earlier, you also mentioned AC. So do a lot of people regret getting AC?

Jonny Feld I don’t, maybe regrets the wrong word, but realize they don’t use it half as much as they thought they would. Because, you know, when you’re camping, that’s the beauty of these vans. You’re not stuck where you live. You can go wherever you like.

So if it’s 100 degrees in Fresno where I live here, I’m not camping here. I’m going to go up in the mountains or I’m going to take a drive to the coast where it cools down. And specifically, you’re cooped up in your van really only at night unless you’re driving. And of course, while you’re driving, you got your air conditioning and heater in the front.

But when you park and you’re cooped up in your van, and you can probably speak to this too, at high noon, you’re not sitting inside your van with all your doors closed. You’re out fishing or hiking or hanging out, doing your outdoor activities mainly. I’m referring to more the campers here rather than the full-time RVers. People realize the only time I’m really cooped up in this thing is at night. Generally, you open some windows, get a fan going, and the AC isn’t super necessary.

Joe Russo Now, when someone is considering getting a custom van, they go through the process, what are some of the pitfalls that you normally see? Maybe not necessarily with your company Field Van but maybe with another company or other things that you’ve seen in the industry.

Jonny Feld One thing you definitely want to go to a reputable builder someone who’s been around you know that they’re gonna have a warranty, you know that they’re gonna stand behind the work and if problems do come up that you have support there I think that’s very important.

Also, having someone who’s RVIA certified so it’s Recreational Vehicle Industry Association and they send inspectors out and will randomly just come through our shop and make sure that we’re building a code and everything is safe. Because you are living in these things and you’re driving your kids or have your family sleeping in them, you want to make sure that everything is done safely and properly.

And then it can go down to things like insurance. You need to make sure that company is recognized by JD Power and you can get insurance and financing if you want to finance your RV. So those types of things are important when researching a builder.

And then as far as custom builds. If you’re the first one who’s ever done it, it’s never been built before, there might be a reason. So generally, when we do do something custom, it’s based along something we’ve done before or one of our standard models. And it might just be, I have a customer who’s 6’7″, so our typical 75 inch bed just isn’t going to cut it. He really likes this floor plan, but what do we need to do to make this bed bigger? So we’ll kind of take one of our base plans and then adjust the bed in that situation.

We talked about dog crates earlier, specific gear. A lot of times that will make sense. It’s like, okay, I need to customize this around my dog crates or my surfboards or windsurfing equipment, camera equipment. And so if you do have very specific storage needs, I think that’s a reason to go custom. But outside of that, yeah, I mean, there’s a reason that certain plans are more popular and that you’ve done them a lot of time because they work. So trying to get too creative sometimes can be a pitfall.

And then you also have to think of resale value. Because what’s perfect for Joe and Kait might not be perfect for everybody. And if you do want to move your van after a few years or 10 years even and want to go a different direction, it’s nice to have something that can work for more of the masses than just a very small crowd.

Joe Russo Could you talk more in detail about the like registering the vehicle, insuring it and financing it and like what that means with a company like Field Van versus a company that’s small and isn’t recognized by you said JD Power?

Jonny Feld Yeah, JD Power and we’re like in the NADA guide. It’s kind of like the Kelly Blue Book. And so that’s recognized by the banks. So if you do want to get a lender and finance your van, it’s important to have that as records for the banks there.

And then from an insurance standpoint, it is important to be recognized there too. So you can make sure you get full replacement value or at least the depreciated value that your van is worth. Because when you buy a van based on the VIN number, it’s just an empty cargo van. So when you go to insure that, you need to make sure that, one, you’ve reclassified it with your local DMV to be a Class B motorhome or a VC van camper. And then that will have impact on your insurance and your rates as well because generally RVs and motorhomes have less instances as far as insurance companies are concerned. They pay out less on RVs than they do on typical passenger cars and that’s mainly because RVs are parked most of the time. You know most people don’t use their RVs as an everyday vehicle, but in the Class B in the van game you can. But that doesn’t mean that you have to pay everyday vehicle insurance premiums. You can get a discount by classifying it as an RV.

Kait Russo We’ve had the opportunity to test out two of your pop-top camper van builds on a very, I think, really solid layout. Would you say that Summit S1 is probably one of your original layouts that you guys started building on?

Jonny Feld Yeah, the S1, it’s the original Volkswagen plan. So, I mean, it is literally the bestselling van plan of all time is that S1. \

And what it is, it’s described to the listeners real quick. You have a galley right behind the driver’s seat on the driver’s side there. So you have your fridge and sink and stovetop or microwave there, room for a porta potty, some storage, and then more storage along the rear there on the driver’s side. And then you have a forward-facing sofa that converts to a bed and a very open floor plan in the middle. And that’s something I think is fairly unique to Field Van and our custom or our standard layouts I should say is we really focus on open space and roominess and storage gear.

Joe Russo In terms of custom versus going into an RV dealership and buying one of the big name brands, what would you say the advantages of getting something custom are? And the other kind of question to go along with that is I know a lot of people when they hear custom they just see dollar signs and is that in fact true? Is it going to be always more expensive than the big name brand?

Jonny Feld A custom generally will be a bit more expensive because it just does take longer. You know, when you’re pumping out the same thing over and over from both the labor, parts, standpoint, it’s going to be a lot more efficient. And so you are paying for that custom, that extra time that it takes from the engineering, the design process, down to the people on the floor that are putting them together.

So generally, yes, you are going to pay a little more for custom. And as far as the advantages, there might not be an advantage for you to go custom. I mean, there might be a cookie, and there’s a reason, again, like a lot of these floor plans are popular and cookie cutter plans, because they do work for a wide variety of people. But if it doesn’t have room for your coffee maker, Joe, you might have to design something.

Or again, you know, I go back to a lot of the gear, the dogs, or, you know, we’re building one for a police department that’s going to be a drone, kind of like mobile station. So they fly the drones in now to crime scenes instead of sending dogs or people in harm’s way, they can fly the drones in. So yeah, that’s obviously, you’re not gonna go to an RV lot and find a drone command center van. And so, those types of things, obviously, you gotta go custom. But when you’re talking about motor homes and Class B campers, yeah, you don’t necessarily have to unless you have some very specific needs like that.

Kait Russo I love following your Instagram account because you showcase so many cool, unique campers that you all are building. And I think I remember seeing one that you had built for a fisherman or someone who’s really into fishing, but could you talk through some of the really cool and unique builds that you’ve done recently?

Jonny Feld Yeah, that fishing van was really cool. So it, we basically did a rear bathroom that also could kind of double as like a fish. I don’t know if you’d really want to do the cleaning there, but as far as, I mean, you could pack your fish in and. It was all in a tub there in the back, so everything could be contained and easy to keep clean. We did custom rod holders down one side so he could have all his rods organized. Hanging clips for waders, so the waders and everything, any wet gear essentially was able to hang there and drip dry into the shower tub.

And we even done vans that were releasing mosquitoes. I think Google did that project where they had certain mosquitoes that would impregnate the other mosquitoes and kind of help reduce the mosquito population. We’ve done some where people traveling with pets. So we did a custom bird cage and one we had our guys in the back. They called it the escalante del gato and we had to do a cat ladder for our pop top. So the cat at night could get up and down. So it was just, yeah, custom little ladder for the cat.

Joe Russo When we came to visit you years ago, you had a client that had bought multiple vans from you and you were making one with a giant, the whole back end was a slide and he would drive to the beach, he could slide it out and he had his exercise bike on there and workout equipment and he would just jam at the beach.

Jonny Feld Oh yeah, yeah, the exercise van. Yeah, it had tie down points for the resistance workouts inside. Yeah, he even wanted the bike to be able to get up on the roof so he could be on the roof rack with that. We didn’t quite pull that one. But yeah, there are a lot of interesting requests that we’ve had over the years. There’s no doubt about it.

Kait Russo When we meet a lot of people at these van expos and Overland Expos, people will ask, you know, we’re a family of five or six. And most of the standard cookie cutter vans that you find at the dealerships carry two, three, four.

Joe Russo Yep.

Kait Russo So we usually say, well, you should check out the custom van space, right? Like Field Van could customize the van for your bigger family. So could you talk through a little bit, maybe of some of the plans that you all have done for a bigger family? And, cause I remember seeing one van you had that had three levels of sleeping.

Joe Russo Yeah, the Transit.

Jonny Feld That’s right. Yeah. So that transit, yeah, that was in our Summit 2 plan and it does, it has that lower sofa that makes into a bed and then just behind it and above it is a, a Flarespace, a bed that goes sideways. So kind of an elevated platform bed.

And then of course with our famous pop top, you can expand the roof on that mid-roof transit or the lower sprinter and get the extra sleeping bunk up there. So yeah, three, and what’s cool about that is it’s still the short van. So this thing can literally seat and sleep six. It has all the amenities except the shower bathroom, so it does use the outside shower, but it has a porta potty, it has a refrigerator, stove, microwave, tons of storage, open floor space, and yeah, three separate beds and fits in a normal parking spot. So that is a pretty cool layout.

And then we also do one on the extended Sprinter, so the 170 or 170 extended. We just had one go out where it had seating up in the front, a little galley, and then the same kind of bed situation, a sofa bed, and then a platform bed. And then we did the SCA high-roof pop top on the 170. And so that thing, I think it could seat eight and sleep up to seven if you use the cool Luno cab bed. So yeah, it was pretty cool. And it was open and tons of gear. I really liked that van. It was fun.

We had it as a demo van for a bit and we’d even take it like we were going to go out to dinner or something, get a driver. You could flip the front seats, turn it in like a limo in the back. It was very versatile. Cool, cool plan.

Joe Russo I love that. Well, I know you also, beyond just customizing the interior, you’re also doing a lot with the exterior of the vans. And can you talk about that with your suspension systems and other things?

Jonny Feld So we work with a lot of the manufacturers in the industry as far as suspension goes, you know, some of the popular names of course, Agile Off-Road and Van Compass. So it boils down to our customers and what they want. And so we’re able to offer a wide variety of the suspension systems. Invictus is another system that we’re working with. And then Quigley 4×4, of course, we work closely with the people at Quigley and they do a lift kit for the Transit all-wheel drive. And then they do 4×4 conversions on the Transits and the Chevy GMC vans.

And then you have accessories. You’ve got like Aluminess with their roof racks and Owl Vans with their nice boxes and CA Tuned with their front bumpers. And what’s been fun seeing it kind of tack onto that is seeing this van space grow. All the people in the industry are getting better. So the roof racks are getting cooler and the bumpers and winches and suspension systems. I mean, yeah, these guys are jumping these vans now.

The last van show we went to, Van Compass was getting air in their van and I mean, it is unbelievable. They’re like rallying these fully, you know, 10,000 pound campers. Yeah, it’s been fun to see the industry progress and to be able to offer, you know, any number of those options to our customers, build them, you know, the perfect van.

Joe Russo Yeah, my favorite is still the Green Machine we borrowed from you guys with the full Atlas transfer case and all that other good stuff.

Jonny Feld Yeah, that one, you want to talk about exterior stuff. So on the Classic that you’re referring to, we take a cab chassis from Ford and Joe, when you see this thing come in, you’re like, there’s no way that’s going to become the Green Machine. It’s just this little, yeah, like U-Haul box looking carrier without the box. So we’re able to design a body out of fiberglass that resembles the classical Econoline vans. And we put that on the back.

We do, like you mentioned, the Atlas transfer case. We convert that thing from two-wheel drive to four-wheel drive, add a six inch suspension lift using Betts Springs and Fox shocks. Custom rig that you really can’t find anywhere except here at Field Van.

Kait Russo I remember when we all visited you at the factory, at that time you were still accepting customers who brought in their own vans for you all to outfit. Is that something you still offer?

Jonny Feld Yeah, we do. So you can either buy the entire thing from us brand new and go, yeah, A to Z, or if you already own a van, you can bring it in and do a full conversion.

Another popular thing we have is our top only, we call it. So if you just want the pop top, you can bring in your empty van and we’ll put the top on there to give you the extra sleeping and stand up height.

And we have a base camp line too, where maybe you just want some walls insulation in a bed and in a furnace. So we can do some smaller builds and stuff like that as well. So yeah, it’s a wide variety of options.

Joe Russo If someone wanted to do that. Would they or should they contact you first to kind of talk through the van they’re thinking about getting before they get it?

Jonny Feld Yes. We’ve had that before. I had a guy show up, check this thing out. What I bought, I was like, well, what you want to do is not going to work with that van. I’m sorry. So yeah, it is very beneficial to talk with us or your builder before going and buying a van and to make sure all your dreams can come reality in that platform.

Kait Russo You said, you know, by your third van, you’ve built your dream van. If someone starts their first van with Field Van, um, and they want to make modifications, how, how simple could it be for you all to just make tweaks to their van that you already built? Or is it better to just start all over again?

Jonny Feld It all depends. Many occasions. Yeah. It’s better to start all over again because, uh, you know, sell that van and then buy an empty slate because going to ripping out everything you’ve done, you’re going to have holes in places that fit and finish. You have to redo it all. Now you’re scrapping all that good stuff. It might be good for someone else who might like that layout and then starting from scratch.

But then that’s something we talk to the buyer about during the build out process. And we say, OK, do you think maybe you might want a heater in the future? Or do you think an AC is something that might be? And what we can do is kind of prepare for that on certain items. Now, you know, some things like, especially like the water heaters and those that really integrate, it’s best, it’s kind of a now or never option we call it.

But then you have these real easy ones like the exterior options, like an awning. It’s like, I don’t know if I want an awning, I don’t know if I’ll, well, go camping in your van and see if you’re out there and decide, you know, it’d be real nice to have a crank out shade here and if you think that’s the case, bring it back and we’ll put an awning on there. So yeah, it is very option specific when it comes to redoing or adding options to the vans.

Joe Russo One question I had in terms of warranty is a lot of people mentioned that one of the reasons to go with a brand name RV, so to speak, or big name RV is because they have warranty centers across the country and you can take it in any dealer that sells their product and get your warranty work done. How do you all deal with your warranty stuff when people are not around one of your two locations?

Jonny Feld We’ve developed a good relationship with a number of RV repair centers, other van builders across the country.

And so our warranty, we have best warranty in the business with a five -year unlimited mile. I got to throw that out there, five year unlimited mile warranty. And you can take it to your local RV repair center. And we would just work with their technicians to determine the cause of the issue, get the repair done, and get you on your way.

Kait Russo I want to talk about toilets for a moment because that’s always a very popular topic that people want to discuss. Like, where’s your toilet in the van? Do you have any advice or tips for people to consider when choosing what type of toilet, if they even want one in their van from, you know, the composting or a standard black tank to a porta potty?

Jonny Feld A lot of it depends on the amount of time you’re going to be spending in your van. If you are full time living in it, you know, those composting options can be interesting. But if you’re only using it periodically, the composting thing really doesn’t work, right? Because it’s something that you kind of constantly have to deal with. And so if you’re going to park your van for six months and go take it out for a weekend, you know, composting really isn’t ideal.

The porta potties are very inexpensive, easy to use. That’s what I typically use are the basic Thetford porta potties that have their own contained tank. It’s kind of like the cartridge style cassette toilets, but you can dump them down any toilet. And so what’s nice about that is when I get home from my trip, I can just take that thing into my bathroom and pour it out and easily clean it. And then you have the marine toilets where you have to go to a dump station.

You guys, I’m sure, have experienced dump stations in all your travels, but they’re not the most fun thing to visit, especially after a busy weekend, you’re a long line of people in front of you doing the same thing you’re about to do. So I do have some customers that maybe have easy access to one locally or they have that plumbed in at their home so they can make that more convenient.

Yeah, it’s very user specific. You know, what facilities you have access to. Are you going to be in your van full time or is it more of a weekend thing? And are there any trees nearby that could be a better alternative?

They also have the cool, like the Laveo where it’s kind of like the bag toilets. Those are kind of the, I call it the rich people’s porta potty because they just a little more expensive and you know, you got to buy the bags and all that. But, uh, very convenient and very easy to just dispose of the bags. Lots of options to have your butt covered.

Kait Russo Now, can we talk about timing if they order the whole thing from you, including the chassis? What’s the build time difference between going with, let’s say, a Summit S1 layout versus something that’s fully custom?

Jonny Feld It all depends on the vehicle and timing. So sometimes we will be able to get you right in, depending on the production flow. Maybe we have a van coming in or in stock or you provide your own van and we can get that going. But in some cases, if you’re looking to order a specific Transit or Sprinter these days, it can be six months before you even see the van. And so that’ll slot right into our production, you know, as far as when that van arrives.

But yeah, you mentioned standard floor plan versus custom. It’s generally a couple months difference, maybe six to 10 weeks. More to do something custom than if you’re getting one of our standard plans in terms of the interior builds.

Kait Russo In terms of the interior build, are there specific features that you always recommend people consider?

Jonny Feld the furnace we kind of touched on I think that one is something because not everyone would think they would need that. You know most things people like the refrigerator and having a sink and they all come with an outside shower. Those are things that no one’s really going to not want to have in their van.

So part of our standard plans, even our custom plans, we kind of start with like our base package and that includes a refrigerator, includes your water system, your outside shower, it includes all the insulation. And then you have your choices.

What’s cool about our standard plans even is you can choose your options there. You might pick one of our standard plans, but you want a bigger refrigerator or a different size water tank or this furnace option or this air conditioning or this battery system.

So even though you are picking one of our standard plans, there’s still a lot of customization to be done as far as the options go, you know, the colors of the materials, you get to pick your cabinetry and your countertops and flooring and upholstery. So even our standard stuff has a level of customization to it.

Joe Russo And speaking of which, what happens when you get someone in, they’ve picked all their fabrics and everything else, and a few months later they’re like, hey, by the way, I want to make this change or I want to do this or I want to do that throughout the building process.

Jonny Feld Oh that’s never happened before, Joe. Yeah, we have a whole sign-off sheet program for that. And again, we discuss this, try to be very transparent up front with the customers, saying, hey, look, once we get this going, it’s in. Now, these items, we maybe have a little time to waffle on. Maybe your wheel and tire choice, you’re not totally sold on yet. We can kind of leave that.

But yeah, the guts of the van, once we’re rolling. Your floor for example in the van, once that flooring is down everything goes on top of it. So it’s not like at your house it’s like oh let’s just replace the carpet we’ll just move the couch and the end table. It’s like no you’re gonna unbolt all of your furnishings from this van if you want to replace that floor. So we do a very durable floor that never needs to be replaced and yeah so things like that you want to have your mind pretty well made up once production is rolling.

Kait Russo Now, have you ever had a situation where someone brought a big manufacturer Class B hamper to you and said, hey, could you customize this for me by removing this or redoing the layout?

Jonny Feld And yes, we have. And we typically stay away from that. You know, every builder has their way of doing things and it’s really hard to mesh the two just from a materials and fit and finish standpoint. We take a lot of pride in our fit and finish and the look of our van. Yeah, to have some kind of a Frankensteiny type of build might get weird. But yeah, we typically stay away from that.

Now, as far as suspension goes or adding an awning, stuff on the exterior, we’re all about that. So you can bring your Winnebago in and we’ll work on that kind of stuff. But from an interior standpoint, we don’t do a whole lot.

Kait Russo Is there something very unique that is specific to Fieldvan?

Jonny Feld I think the most unique thing we do is our Ford Classic. It’s one of the most capable off-roading motor homes that a person can buy because of its 4×4 system and because of its size. There’s some other really awesome EarthRoamers out there and Global Expedition Vehicles, but due to the sheer size of those things, they can’t necessarily handle the Jeep trails and some of the more advanced off-roading trails that our Classics are able to handle.

And then what really sets us apart from most builders is our years of experience. We have built thousands of custom vans. That really can’t be replicated, that experience from not only our design and sales staff, but the guys on the floor building them and putting them together. That experience goes a long way. And it also can help us guide you in your decision making. So maybe we get it right by your second van.

But yeah, the goal is always, you know, because our customers are also, I mean, they become our friends. You come to some of our events, you know, like Overland Expo and the Adventure Van Expos where we are camping with our customers and we’re sharing beers and having meals. So we are very motivated for everyone to have a positive experience. And that also in turn, our customers become our best sales reps because they are out there in the campgrounds, they’re using their van. I have some people who are like, I never knew I was going to be such a celebrity. I can’t even get out of a gas station without people coming up and asking me about my van. It’s so cool. I’m sure you got some of that when you got to take the Green Machine.

We use our van’s too. So we’re out there camping and that’s what’s gotten, we have now 12 standard floor plans. I know it sounds like a lot. Just so well thought out and refined and it’s been, they’ve been developed by taking notes over all the years of all the builds that we’ve done. Because yeah, someone like you might come in with fantastic idea and we’ve never built one like that before and we do it and we like it and now we can incorporate that into future builds.

So yeah, there’s there’s a lot that kind of makes us unique because we are, we’re fairly large, you know, we have that warranty, we have that RVIA, but we still kind of have that small family business feel. We know your name and you can come tour the factory and level of customer service is elevated generally. So that’s what we strive for anyway.

Joe Russo For anyone listening out there who is shopping for a custom van, what are some questions they should be asking a potential builder that they’re looking at?

Jonny Feld Warranty is very important experience certification safety all that kind of stuff and then you know It’s asking yourself a lot of questions is what it is. It’s you know, again, what is most important to me? What what am I gonna regret not having? What am I gonna wish I did different really focus on the main use of that van?

So again if it’s like I want to take this thing skiing that’s what the vision you have in your head Well, let’s let’s make sure it’s very well insulated. Let’s make sure we have a furnace. Let’s make sure it has room for your ski gear and you know all that kind of stuff so you know your main function and purpose of that van is is going to go as flawless as it can.

Before you get into this and it’s a huge investment, talk to people, go to the shows, rent one. So we work with a company, I mean there’s Outdoorsy, so there’s rental platforms where you can rent a whole slew of different RVs and motorhomes. You can try different things out there.

But if you want to rent a Field Van, you can go to a company called Moterra. And they have some of our S1s. They have a few of our different models. And they have locations all over the country. And so you can go try it out for a few nights or do a week trip and see if this is the right thing for you. Or maybe try the pop top out and see how you like it. And that can also help when you’re building your van. So if you’ve had that chance to camp, maybe it won’t be your third van. Maybe you’ll get it right on your first or second because you’ve had some experience there, you know what you like and you didn’t like once you had the opportunity to use them.

So, yeah, our friends over at Moterra, and they do, they stock the vans with all the gear that you need. You literally just have to go to the store and get your coffee or whatever and your food and you’re ready to rock. And the other cool thing about having them at multiple locations is maybe you too want to explore the south or the pacific northwest, but it’s a three day drive for you to get to you know, Seattle area or something. Well, you could fly in there and then just rent the van from there and do that localized trip and then fly home and it could save you, you know, almost a week.

So lots of fun avenues to get into this, even if you can’t take that, you know, $150,000, $200,000 plunge right away. There are other ways to go experience it.

Kait Russo If someone on the east coast was interested in working with you all in a custom van, should they fly out toward the factory, meet you all? Like, what’s the good, what do you recommend?

Jonny Feld Yeah, I highly recommend flying out to the factory. We take good care of you. We pick you up at the airport. We bring you in, give you a full tour of the factory, show you a bunch of vans in progress so you can see the quality of the work. And then in our showroom, we have several completed models.

And there’s nothing like getting inside the van and getting a feel for the space and the options. You know, one thing, looking at it on paper and pictures and in videos, you can get a good idea. But until you’ve laid down on the bed, and walk through the aisles and open the drawers and slam some doors. You know, you don’t really exactly know what you’re getting into.

So, yeah, I tell people come to the factory and I tell people go visit other builders as well. Go look at the competition and then come out to our factory and I think you’ll be impressed.

Joe Russo And I think going back to what you said earlier is if they’re in the area, come to one of the expos. Personally, I think that’s one of the best ways is not only do you get to see finished vans, talk to you guys, but then they can sit down and talk to owners. And go through vans and see what they actually look like lived in.

Because to me, the biggest difference between those vans is walking in and seeing how someone has actually used it, where they’re putting their stuff, what it looks like actually used. And that’s always been the best indicator to me of how good of a van is it.

Jonny Feld That is an excellent point. Yeah, because everything looks good in the showroom and in pictures, you can make it all look good. But yeah, when you’re out there, and talking to owners too, and asking them, hey, what did you do? And maybe find someone like-minded, and it’s like, what would you have done different? Or what options do you wish you had? And yeah, discussing that with owners and seeing how the van’s holding up.

I’ve had several customers come back to me, say, I saw this beautiful van on Instagram, and the tile backsplash. And then next thing you know, 10,000 miles down the road, the tiles are all cracked and this is failing and that’s failing. So there is a balance there too between aesthetics and the function and durability.

One of the sayings I like to use is we’re building homes that are in very serious earthquakes every day. Because you are banging around on these dirt roads. I mean, even going down the freeways here in California, you’re getting beat up. And so your interior is in an earthquake every day, every time you use that van. And so it’s got to be put together in a way that it’s not going to rattle loose. I hate squeaks. I hate rattles. They drive me nuts. And so being able to ask people about that too, and see how their cabinetry is held up and how the upholstery looks after 100 nights sleeping in it, those are all very important things. So that’s a great point, Joe.

Kait Russo I know you’ve built some vans for some pretty cool celebrities. Are you allowed to like share who those celebrities are or is that kind of hush hush?

Jonny Feld No, it’s okay, yeah. It’s funny, the people that we sell our vans to, everyone is so down to earth, even the celebrities. We sell to CEOs of major corporations, they come in and you wouldn’t know that the person’s a billionaire standing across from you, you know? And so that’s always been interesting.

But yeah, one of our favorites, and rest in peace, Jimmy Buffett. We built two vans for Jimmy and that’s one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet. We also built a van for Zac Efron and his brother Dylan. They’re very adventurous, outdoorsy people and really, really cool guys and they do a lot of awesome stuff with their van.

We’re also building the third van for Ty Burrell. He’s a star on the Modern Family series and good family man, just great, great guy. Funny and nice and very humble and down to earth. We get to meet a lot of cool people, even famous people like the Russos. I love seeing at the expos where people are like, I watch you on YouTube, can we take a picture? It happens every time.

It is fun. Our customers make the job enjoyable. The one hard thing is you have these people coming back or sending us pictures and they’re in all these awesome places. I have a customer down in Baja right now who’s sending me updates and I’m just jealous.

Kait Russo The one question we ask everyone is what is something you wish you knew about RVing before you started?

Jonny Feld For me, I don’t know. I started when I was nine. And so I feel like I’ve seen a lot and I didn’t even know what I was getting into when I got into it. You know, by the time I was like 14 years old, I was a sales rep for, at the time we were Sportsmobile West, and I would work like the LA Auto Show and some of the bigger RV Shows.

And when I was 14, I looked like I was about 10. And so I’d have people coming up to me and I’d be answering their question. They’d be like, how do you know so much about this?

And so I started at such a young age, but as far as for the masses, one thing that’s interesting to know is the type of camping that is available out there that’s different for everybody. It’s not just national parks and campgrounds. It’s BLM land and you too know all about that is some of the more remote camping that can be really awesome.

But then it also shifts all the way back the other way to like driveway camping and parking lot camping and urban camping and all these cool things that you can do with your van or motorhome.

Yeah, we were on a road trip and you know, we wanted to go to Denver and go to a baseball game there and so we’re able to do that in camp in our friend’s driveway. And maybe we want to go down to the coast. I have some friends that live over near Santa Barbara. There’s no campgrounds or anything over there. But guys got a nice place near the beach and a driveway like we can go camp there and then you know go experience the city and eat at the restaurants.

And so yeah camping isn’t always just like hey, we’re hanging out at a campground Yosemite. It’s also not hey we’re out in the middle of nowhere with nobody else it can be urban and so there’s just so many cool ways to enjoy your RV.

Soccer tournaments. I have a lot of people say that, boy, I take this and my kids at a tournament or wrestling tournament all day and we’re in the gym and then they have a two hour break. We can’t really go home. So we go back to the van and we take a nap or we got our kitchen there with us and watch some TV. And so there’s just so many cool uses for van campers and motorhomes in general that I think yeah, people should expand their minds when they start thinking about the type of travel and experiences they could have.

Joe Russo I always tell people when I meet them, especially ones who have families, that if you’re spending this kind of money on a vehicle, use it more. And just use it as you’re like when you go out for the day. Like Kate and I will take the van when we go to Costco or things because we can throw all this stuff that needs to be in a fridge or freezer in the van and we don’t have to rush back home.

If we want to make lunch, a cup of coffee, something like that, we can do it. And if you have kids and they’re starting to put up a fuss or one of them gets soaked in water or something like that, take them in the van and hose them off or whatever you need to do.

Jonny Feld Yeah. My dad still drives his, it’s his only vehicle. It’s his 2010 Econoline 4×4. And he calls it his man purse. He’s like, it’s got everything I need in it. So he likes having it with him all the time. It’s like you said, yeah, you just never know. You might need something. He’s got it in his big man purse.

Joe Russo Jonny, thank you so much for being on the podcast. We really appreciate your time.

Jonny Feld I really enjoyed hanging with you and can’t wait to see you at Expo.

Joe Russo I hope you enjoyed this episode of RVing with Joe & Kait. If you’re looking for a link to Field Van or any of the other resources we mentioned in today’s video, check out the show notes. You’ll also find a link there from my two books, Take Risks and Tales from the Open Road.

And for those of you who are currently in the buying process of your first RV, if you’re looking for help or just need someone to talk through all the different options out there, I do offer a coaching service on how to find or buy your perfect RV. That link will also be in the show notes.

Kait Russo And be sure to give us a rating and a follow on whichever podcasting platform you’re listening on. Thanks for tuning in. We’ll see you on the road.

Joe Russo Bye, guys.

Field Van Custom Van Conversions – Episode 12 RVing with Joe & Kait