Our 10 Biggest Van Build Regrets (One Almost Got Us Hurt)

🚀 Building your camper? Get our free guides and practical tools: https://UnmappedRoots.com We built this van in 10 weeks. No experience. No backup plan. Just YouTube, stubbornness, and a deadline we couldn't miss. And now, after 18 months on the road, from the US through Mexico all the way to Panama, some of the decisions we made during those 10 weeks are costing us every single day. In this video, we walk through every mistake we can't undo. The dangerous ones. The ones that grind you down every day. And the expensive ones that hit you when you least expect it. Including the drawer that almost took out the Chasey, the heater that left us stranded, and the one thing we still haven't finished after 14 months! ⏱️ CHAPTERS 00:00 Our Drawer Launching 00:50 The 3 Categories of Van Build Regrets 01:30 CATEGORY 1 — Dangerous: The Drawer That Could Hurt Someone 02:01 The Trash Drawer Collision We Never Fixed 02:46 CATEGORY 2 — The Daily Grind 02:54 USB Ports in the Worst Possible Places 03:53 The Shag Carpet That Didn't Survive 04:24 The Water Meter Nobody Can See While Filling 05:12 Why We Fill Water With the Back Doors Wide Open 05:48 The Toilet We Built But Never Use 06:26 Our Curtain System Is a Blanket and Two Magnets 07:03 CATEGORY 3 — The Expensive Ones 07:05 The Heater That Left Us in the Cold 08:17 The 50 Amp Shore Power Mistake 09:22 The Drinking Water System That Failed Outside the US 10:19 Closing: What's YOUR Biggest Regret? 🔧 THINGS WE USED Drawer Latches: https://amzn.to/4g1TMvF USB Ports (these are great): https://amzn.to/4q5LiZ1 Water Meters (works great): https://amzn.to/4q5Ll79 Water Filters (Amazing): https://amzn.to/3TLspym Water UV Filter (Amazing as well): https://amzn.to/3TKBtUb Hose (The most compact we had): https://amzn.to/4wa7rqg Cassete Toilet (current one): https://amzn.to/4z4cETc 50 Amp Shore Power Inlet: https://amzn.to/4xoLrcn 50 Amp Charging Cable: https://amzn.to/4hk3XOy 50 to 30 Amp Adapter: https://amzn.to/45d1bTO 30 to 120V Adapter: https://amzn.to/4zluce3 Drinking Faucet: https://amzn.to/4fUwPKR Garrafon's Faucet: https://amzn.to/45bfJDC 🔧 WHAT WE WISH WE'D USED INSTEAD Better Drawer Latches (the ones we should have bought): https://amzn.to/4wF6CXG External Water Fill Port: https://amzn.to/4xKNSGD Water Tank Meter (for the back, not the front): https://amzn.to/4z1t1Qz Dry Flush Toilet (our next one for sure): https://amzn.to/4wgn0gu 30 Amp Shore Power Inlet (all you actually need): https://amzn.to/4fHxb8J 30 Amp Charging Cable: https://amzn.to/4fHxb8J 🔧 THINGS WE NEED HELP WITH Heater: Any suggestions? 📌 ABOUT US We're Sarah and Dave. We quit our jobs, converted a Ram Promaster with zero experience, and hit the road. Now we're driving through Central America with our dog Chasey, figuring it out as we go. We're not experts who got everything right. We're two people who built a home on wheels and learned as we went. This channel is about the real side of van life: the builds, the mistakes, the countries that change you, and what it actually takes to leave a normal life behind and stay gone. If that sounds like your kind of thing, stick with us. There's a join button on the channel if you want to support what we're building here. Members get early access to videos and some other stuff. 🔗 WATCH NEXT ▶ Our Full Van Cooling System (the video that almost broke us):    • We Almost Gave Up: Full Van Cooling System...   ▶ Our EcoFlow Power Kit (a year later):    • I Chose NOT to DIY My Van Build Electrical...   ▶ Our Full Van Tour:    • DIY Cozy Van Conversion | 10-Week Build To...   #vanbuild #vanbuildmistakes #vanconversion #campervan #vanlife #diyvanbuild #promaster #vanliferegents #vanbuildtips #offgridliving Love, Sarah & Dave.