The Van Type

Friday, March 14th, 2025

When it comes to VanLife “Nomads”, there are tons of different options for vans out there. Between the makes, models, sizes, used/new, and much more. For the sake of this post, I’ll mention the 3 most common here in a few. There are other types, including some old VW vans, a school bus, city models, etc, however those wouldn’t work for a few reasons. The first is the age of the vehicle, and my lack of mechanic skills. Most of these vehicles are older, sometimes 20-30+ years old. And while they look really cool, and would probably be a blast to use for VanLife, they’re not practical for my specific needs. These vehicles are prone to mechanical issues, and while some may not be a big deal, fatal issues could cause serious headaches and stress when you’re alone, 2,000 miles from home. That’s not to say modern vehicles won’t be, but getting someone to work on older vehicles may be more difficult.

So that brings me to the 3 most common vehicle types for VanLife in 2025. The Ford Transit, Ram Promaster, and Mercedes Sprinter.

The Transit comes in a few sizes, but tends to max out at 148”. The actual build length inside is shorter, and the top is more of a curve.

The Ram Promaster has 3 main size options, 136”, 159”, and 159” EWB. This vehicle is more of a box-y layout, which makes it much easier to build in.

Lastly, the Mercedes Sprinter. This has 2 size options, 144” and 170”. Similar to the transit, these are more rounded. The sprinter is slightly more narrow, and sits higher off the ground.

Both the transit and the Promaster come in around $50,000 for a brand new model. The sprinter sits somewhere around $65,000. The sprinter also has higher maintenance costs, just due to it being a Mercedes. This leaves the Transit and Promaster as viable options. Both are around the same price, similar in build volume, and have (about) the same reputation as far as reliability.

I’ve ultimately decided to go for a Ram Promaster 159” (non extended). The extended would have more build volume, but wouldn’t fit into a standard parking spot. So, why the promaster? The price, and box-y inside. The price is a big factor, as this will already be an incredibly expensive project. The inside being more of a rectangle will make it a lot easier to build in, when I already have very little experience building anything like this. I’ll be searching for a used promaster with between 10-30k miles. I’m expecting the price to fall between $28-33k, likely on the higher end.