- 8 hours ago
A camper van with room to stand tall—and storage and off-grid features that make this custom build stand out. Patrick Botticelli tours The Eagle’s Nest with Chris from Sequoia + Salt, exploring an extended high-roof Ram ProMaster 2500 with roughly seven feet of interior height, bamboo finishes, a spacious open layout, clever cabinetry and a slide-out gear tray.
The build pairs 400 watts of solar with an 800Ah Renogy system and a 12-volt Dometic air conditioner that can run for up to 40 hours, according to the builder. See the induction cooktop, drawer fridge, dog-friendly details and exterior shower, plus why the owner chose to skip an indoor toilet and shower. A detailed custom camper van tour for anyone researching Ram ProMaster conversions, off-grid van life, camper van layouts and practical RV design.
The build pairs 400 watts of solar with an 800Ah Renogy system and a 12-volt Dometic air conditioner that can run for up to 40 hours, according to the builder. See the induction cooktop, drawer fridge, dog-friendly details and exterior shower, plus why the owner chose to skip an indoor toilet and shower. A detailed custom camper van tour for anyone researching Ram ProMaster conversions, off-grid van life, camper van layouts and practical RV design.
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TravelTranscript
00:00This is Patrick with New Jersey's Outdoor Adventures YouTube channel.
00:03Very happy to have Chris with Sequoia and Salt back on the show.
00:06We're actually at his headquarters here in Manusquan, New Jersey,
00:09and they just rolled out the newest van creation.
00:12This is a Ram Promaster with a super high roof,
00:15and you've got to see this thing inside.
00:16It's got a lot more storage, and it's a very open floor plan.
00:19So join us for the tour.
00:22What's going on, Patrick?
00:23Thanks for coming back to our awesome location here in Manusquan, New Jersey.
00:27Behind me, we have our newest floor plan,
00:30it's called the Eagle's Nest.
00:31So this is a Ram Promaster 2500, 159-inch wheelbase, extended high roof.
00:37So it's not only the longest of the vehicles out of the Promaster chassis,
00:42but it's also the highest van.
00:44Why this van is so unique to all the other vans is because
00:48when you stand inside, you can put your arms up.
00:51It's like seven feet of extra room.
00:54So there's tons of room for activities.
00:56So come on, let's walk through it,
00:58and let me show you some of the cool things about this van.
01:00So let's start with the Ram.
01:02These are just like the stock Ram upgraded rims,
01:05and we threw some KO3 tires on it.
01:07This van's really nice.
01:08It has the HID lights in the front.
01:10So you can't see them on right now,
01:12but these strips right here,
01:13it's like, I would say it's new to the Ram series vans,
01:16having those HID lights.
01:18It gives you so much more throw at night.
01:19And so we have some running boards on the side.
01:23We added a few windows.
01:25These are Safari van window direct windows.
01:28So these Safari open.
01:29So this entire thing opens out,
01:31and then it has an integrated screen
01:33and a blackout shade integrated as well.
01:35As we go back,
01:36we have pill windows above the bed on both sides.
01:40Those have blackout shades that come with them.
01:42We have the van windows rack slider rear cargo windows.
01:46These are awesome.
01:48Added some bamboo panels on the tops and on the bottoms.
01:52We have bamboo.
01:53The aesthetic is like you've seen some of our other videos.
01:55We go with a hard shell laminate on all the lower cabinetry.
01:59We add imported bamboo pretty much throughout the cabin in here.
02:05We went with shiplap, our made-in-house shiplap panels.
02:08And then we went with a very unique floor.
02:11This is a newer style lawn ridge floor.
02:14So it's got a certain texture of it.
02:16Really nice.
02:18So it has, on the back here,
02:20we have a nice slide-out gear tray.
02:23You see these in a lot of different camper vans.
02:26This has 500-pound track sliders.
02:29Reinforcements throughout it
02:30so you can add some extra weight inside.
02:33We went with roll-up screens on the back and on the side.
02:36This is the first time we've actually used the roll-up screens.
02:39You know, right now, they seem really great.
02:41They have two different sections.
02:43You can roll this down and black out the bottom.
02:45And then you can roll the top down and black out the top.
02:47And that also can be just a screen or a black edge shade built into it.
02:53On the back here, you're going to see our mixing valve for exterior hot water shower.
02:58We went with the AquaHot 125D in this model.
03:02And that's a hydronic system.
03:05And then on this side, you can see our breaker panel.
03:07This is our fuse panel and our 12-volt fuse block.
03:11And then in the inside, we have, these are just access panels
03:15so that you can see your garage.
03:17You can see the water system in the inside.
03:20And on this side, it's probably pretty dark right now.
03:22But this is just a, you know, hatch panel so that you can get access if you need to.
03:27And the way that we designed it is that everything is serviceable.
03:30We added these.
03:31These are nice big panels here that have the access doors built into them integrated.
03:35And you can actually just pull off this entire side and pull off this entire side
03:38if we need to do any service within the cabin.
03:42So we have three heat ports.
03:45This is one of them, sending heat into the back of the van.
03:47So if you've ever been in a camper van, you know that at nighttime, if you're snowboarding,
03:52this is where all of your heat is going to be leaving you.
03:55And then also, lots of camper vans you see is that they partition, like we did, your garage,
04:00which is really nice.
04:01But at night, this is where all the cold air gets trapped.
04:04So we wanted to throw a heat port right in the back here to keep the garage nice and warm.
04:10So as we walk around, you can kind of back up here, Patrick.
04:13You can see we have 400 watts of solar on the roof.
04:15We have a Dometic RTX 2000 DC AC unit that can run off-grid in this unit for 40 hours.
04:22And then we added a Starlink Mini in the rear of the van.
04:25And then we added a Max Air vent fan in the inside.
04:28So as we enter into the cabin, you'll see we have a swivel seat.
04:33We add that to almost all the vans.
04:35Lots of customers love it.
04:36We made a custom.
04:37If you've ever, if you know anything about Promasters, some of them come in with a partition
04:41wall here.
04:42So what we did is when you take the partition wall out, it's pretty much the guts of the
04:46van.
04:46So you can either not finish it.
04:48But for us and the customer, we wanted to finish the inside.
04:51So we actually made this custom, I don't know, I'm going to call it like a cabinet.
04:56But so all the Promasters come with extra storage up top.
05:00And since this is an extra high roof, it's got a ton of storage.
05:02So just in case things weren't going to fall out, we wanted to make this nice and concealed
05:07right here with our leather pulls.
05:10And then all of our, you can see all our pistons are built into our hinges.
05:16On the floor, we kind of bumped out the front here so you have a nice space to put your
05:21feet
05:21when you're sitting on that chair.
05:23And then we added all nice metal trim and bamboo as nice accents through.
05:29We did a pop-up countertop extension.
05:32And if you can see under the extension, which is something that we did too, is like we add
05:37these nice little magnets in here.
05:39Because if you're ever driving around with one of these pop-ups, you know they do sort
05:42of jiggle a little bit, make some noise.
05:43So to make it nice and secure, it's all nice and locked in.
05:49We have a two-person lounge.
05:51Customer opted out of getting a toilet inside of the van.
05:55So what we did instead of putting a toilet, is we made them a nice little drawer.
05:59And then if you wanted to, you could take this cushion and it fits nicely right here, slide
06:06it over, and then you have a nice little extension if he's sitting down.
06:10Put this over here.
06:13So as we move back, you'll see some nice metal trim that we've continued on the walls.
06:18We added a little charging port right on the wall.
06:23And this is a lagoon table, so it can slide side to side depending on who's sitting in.
06:28What we did differently in this van than we've done in most of our vans is we designed the
06:32seats a little bit differently this time.
06:34Instead of just doing a square seat, we added an angle to it.
06:37And you can see that you have space to put your feet underneath the seat.
06:41So it kind of opens up the seating area a little bit more.
06:45We made a custom little dog bowl section underneath the seat.
06:48He's going to be traveling with his dog.
06:51This is that window that I was telling you about.
06:53So when this opens up, I'm not going to open up right now, but when this opens up, you push
06:56it out, it becomes a nice big safari window.
06:59Get your screen built in and your black edge jig built right in.
07:04So we finished the inside of our trims.
07:06You can see throughout the cabin with a nice fabric, a thick fabric that we added throughout
07:11the trims in the van.
07:12And then we finished the exterior trims on lots of stuff with the bamboo.
07:16As you go up to the top, first off, okay.
07:22Are you serious?
07:24Look how tall this is.
07:26I mean, granted, yeah, sure.
07:27I can touch the ceiling here, but like how many vans have you been in that you could stick
07:31your arms up?
07:31And I'm five foot eight.
07:33I'm an average human, but this is an above average ceiling.
07:38So this is our aqua hot display here, our Renegy Rego system, the inverter switch, our
07:45freshwater, our graywater.
07:47We have our graywater dump switch right here, our light cutoff.
07:50So what that does is, so if you're at nighttime and so these are the lights.
07:55So we have all the lights connected all at once.
07:57So if you see our toe kick lights are connected with our under cab lights.
08:01So at nighttime, you can just cut off your under cab lights and just have your running
08:06lights on the ground.
08:07It's a really nice addition.
08:10So our Starlink button right here.
08:13And yeah, I think that's everything in this panel.
08:15And then we burn our signature right on the bamboo.
08:20Contour RV microwave, small, but it does the job.
08:24Some gigantic upper cabinets.
08:28This is the Dometic RTX 2000, I said from outside.
08:32This is the inside.
08:32And if you could see and appreciate the amount of trimming that we do in all of our vans,
08:37we wanted to take the ceiling.
08:38Since we have like, you know, it's three pieces of ply that we use for our ceiling.
08:44And then we just finish every single thing off where we want to have a nice trim.
08:47It kind of reminds us of like sort of like a boat interior.
08:50We make all of our bamboo trims in-house.
08:53So you can see that's really nice.
08:55And like I said, the fabric trims that you're going to see on the sides here.
08:58Moving into our galley, we have a true induction double induction stovetop.
09:03Below that we have a isotherm 130 drawer fridge.
09:08And that has a nice size freezer in it.
09:12And then it has another drawer built in.
09:15Like vegetables and whatnot.
09:18This is our vent.
09:19So we like all of our cabinets.
09:22We build everything digitally online.
09:25So we build everything in a program called Rhino.
09:28That's how we three-dimensionally design our vans.
09:30Then we take all that.
09:31We adapt it to our CNC softwares.
09:34And then we cut it on.
09:35We have two CNC machines in-house in which we cut all this stuff in-house.
09:39So like everything that you see in these vans, we build it in-house.
09:42So we have complete control when we're designing.
09:45So we made this custom drawer.
09:47And this, you know, we put some shelf pins in here.
09:49So if the customer wants to move anything around, he can put some larger storage inside.
09:55A nice deep sink.
09:57You've seen this in all of our other builds.
09:59We love this sink.
10:00And what we do is we inset the sink inside of our counter.
10:03And that gives you a nice little cutout for your cabinet.
10:06Or for your cutting board.
10:08Sponge drawer.
10:10And then underneath, some nice storage underneath the sink here.
10:15On this side, we added our bamboo.
10:19What do we call it?
10:20The bungee harp.
10:21And then above that, so what we do is we put Velcro.
10:24We have to install this tomorrow.
10:26But we have to, we Velcro our seats to the wall so they don't fall off when you drive.
10:30And then on the other side, we have the nose skid.
10:35So these things are actually not going to be moving around when you're driving.
10:38So we try to think of all, all the things that we've kind of been through as campers.
10:43On this side, we have some nice drawer storage.
10:46Dovetail drawers.
10:48If you see, we have, we like to show off our multiply on the sides of all of our cabinets.
10:58And then right behind this, we have a tambour door for easy access underneath.
11:07We started integrating the tambour door a little while ago, and I really like it.
11:11I mean, it's, if you want to get quick access to something, if say it's raining out, you can just
11:15roll this up, grab in there.
11:18You know, if you're in the doghouse, you might sleep underneath the bed.
11:22So we have a bunch of outlets, receptacles around the van.
11:27So we, there's a GFCI on this side.
11:29And then on this side, and then underneath the table, we added outlets that have integration of the USB chargers.
11:38Above that, we have a Sirocco fan.
11:40This is Sirocco 2.
11:41These are really nice fans.
11:43They can be mounted in this position.
11:45They move in all different orientations.
11:47So if you get hot, this is a great fan for you.
11:51So we added that to this side as well.
11:55Now getting onto the bed.
11:57So the bed is a little bit higher.
11:58So what we did is two different things.
12:00So we added, so this customer has a dog he'll be traveling with.
12:04And so what we did is we, we actually made this little ledge here.
12:08And there's a drop down that he'll be bringing with him.
12:10But it's like kind of like a little ramp that he, that he leans up on here so that he
12:15can walk his dog up the ramp onto the bed.
12:18And then he'll just take that, put it on its side.
12:21And he will add his nice little RV ladder, which honestly it's like, I think it's a really easy way
12:32of getting on the bed.
12:34So we added on both sides, nice little grabs and it keeps the mattress in.
12:39It looks really nice.
12:41And then if you'll see behind here, a nice vinyl print that we put behind the bed, finished with our
12:47bamboo on this side.
12:48We have two reading lights that have multiple functions.
12:50It could be blue light, turn it on, and then you can dim it if you'd like to.
12:54All right.
12:54And then above that, we have our Max Air vent fan.
12:58And then it brings me, I got to take off my shoes right now.
13:00This is, this van is too new.
13:02Okay.
13:03All right.
13:03So back here.
13:05So what we did is, this is such a big cabinet.
13:08So what we did, we originally, we made the cabinet this high, but then we said, you know what, let's
13:12actually, upon the customer's request, we made it in this orientation.
13:16We designed it so it has upper cabinets and then on the bottom for his, like, lawn, his, like, socks
13:24and underwear and, you know, toiletries or whatever, he has these nice drawers built in to this upper cabinet.
13:30I mean, what upper cabinet have you seen that has drawers built into it just here?
13:36Chris, this is incredible.
13:38I've seen this van.
13:40I've been asking about it in the shop for a couple months now.
13:43And I'm like, oh, let me know when that's done.
13:45Let me know when that's done.
13:46You guys build so many vans here, but I always try to film the different ones, right?
13:50You know, there's a lot of models that you build that we've covered before.
13:53And this is, like, I got to film this one.
13:55I love the ceiling height.
13:57I'm 5'9", so I got one inch on you.
13:59Yeah.
13:59I can touch the ceiling, but, you know, I don't feel cross-daphobic in this van.
14:03I usually don't in any van, but, like, man, this is massive.
14:06This is pretty impressive.
14:09Like, that whole bank of cabinets is like a dresser drawer.
14:12Yeah.
14:13So, you have the solar roof.
14:15You have the EcoFlu system.
14:17How many?
14:17No, we don't have Eco.
14:18Oh, it's not.
14:19What is that?
14:19Renegy.
14:19No, the Renegy, the Rego system.
14:21Yeah.
14:21So, how many amp hours total is this?
14:23800.
14:24800.
14:24Yeah.
14:25They could run outlets for a really long time, the microwave, and then the air conditioning
14:29is 12 volts, so they could get, like, 80 hours?
14:31It's 40 hours.
14:3240 hours.
14:33Yeah, so on Eco mode, it pulls 19 amps per hour, so roughly you're getting about 40 hours
14:38on a full if you're going to use all of it, but the idea is that you never have to
14:42think
14:42about the power.
14:43If you have 800 in this system, I mean, you're rocking.
14:46And the customer opted not to have this fold into a bed or anything.
14:50Correct, yeah.
14:51Just one person or?
14:51One person and a dog, and he just didn't really think, saw use, why he would want to do that
14:57for him.
14:57It was more important that he can kick his legs out over here if he was reading or, you
15:02know, you just wanted to, like, kind of look out the window or look out the door.
15:04It felt more, you know, better flow for him to have that.
15:07I read a lot of comments, and some people would comment, oh, there's no toilet.
15:11We explained why this customer didn't want a toilet.
15:13That makes total sense.
15:14And there's no indoor shower.
15:16It's got an outside shower.
15:17Correct.
15:17Not every van needs a shower or shower box.
15:20Every customer is going to be different.
15:22And you know what?
15:22There's, like, I mean, it has an exterior shower.
15:25So, like, you know, that's lots.
15:27There's, depending on what campsites you go to, some of these campsites are, like, beautiful.
15:31They have great bathrooms, and for him, that's made more sense.
15:35And I also agree with him in the sense of he can always bring a toilet with him.
15:40He doesn't have to have the toilet.
15:41If this is more important for him, then we're going to start there, you know?
15:44So I love how this van turned out.
15:47I mean, it definitely had its challenges with being extra high, and especially designing this
15:53section above your head there.
15:55That was definitely challenging, but I love how it came out.
15:58It feels very airy and light, and it really fits the aesthetic of that sort of beach theme.
16:03Yeah, going along with the harp theme, I think that's what this reminds me of.
16:07Something to that effect.
16:08All right, well, I'll put the links in the description so our viewers could check out your
16:12website and your social media.
16:14And you have basic pricing on your website for all the different van configures.
16:17This is a full custom, right?
16:19This is totally a custom van.
16:20So he picked a lot of different things that someone that's shopping doesn't necessarily
16:24need to pick.
16:25Yep.
16:25Or they could add more.
16:26Yep.
16:27And you're in a van like this, not including the cost of the van, you're going to be in
16:31that, like, lower 100s, you know?
16:35That's not bad.
16:35No, it's not.
16:36It's under $200,000, you're right?
16:37For sure.
16:38Definitely under $200,000 for a van like this.
16:40A full custom van built to your specific needs.
16:42Exactly.
16:43Well, that's awesome.
16:44Always a pleasure to have you on.
16:45Thanks for coming by.
16:45Because you've got a whole bunch of more vans in there in the shop I was eyeing up earlier.
16:49This is Patrick from New Jersey's Outdoor Adventures YouTube channel.
16:52I'll see you soon.
16:53Thanks for coming by, guys.