As someone who just had a small basic camper converted by Colorado Camper, I can speak to the insurance dark holes. (I entered my first one when I made my RT 170 my only vehicle... and then only one insurance company in the US would cover me... at a very high price. The catch was that I wasn't a full timer and still owned a home. It wouldn't take into consideration that I was a retired old lady of low mileage driving. Don't look for logic.) A couple years later, I finally found GEICO would cover me for a fraction of the first company.Maybe not the most important consideration, but I believe insurers will view them differently. A traditional full camper build will be registered as a Winnebago or a Thor and insured as a motorhome. A DIY or small shop conversion will be registered as a Promaster or a Sprinter and insured as a van.
RV insurance is typically cheaper relative to value, because it is assumed to be an occasional use vehicle. Not sure how regular vehicle insurance on a van might handle the value of the conversion in the event of a claim, or whether you can have the vehicle reclassified as a motorhome.
I’m actually not sure about any of this, just going off previous discussions and throwing it out for comment and correction.
Then I tried to insure my new rig. I just wanted basic stuff... no tanks, no propane, no AC or heating system... just a comfortable bed, portipotty, fridge, and power. A little hotel room on wheels. For heat, I have a very efficient 12v mattress pad... and remote start with the heater on. This van is only 16ft... so the van heater efficiently makes it toasty in minutes. For power, I have 2 Group 31s, 200w solar, & a 2000w inverter. I normally stay in campgrounds anyway, so I have sufficient power for cooking and an added space heater.
I provide GEICO all the photos and spec sheets, and they come back and say... no, it isn't an RV because there isn't a cooktop or sink. I pointed out that I had an induction hot plate that I pulled out and plugged in... and a dishpan. Nope. So, OK... will you insure it as a van? Nope... it's been converted. A new black hole/Catch 22.
So, I called the FMCA insurance company. They said that I would have to insure it like a work van with lots of stuff added in the back... like a plumber or electrician. You give it a value that you insure it for, and the premium is now more than double the rate for my RV with GEICO. (which will also affect the cost of my MN plates... $71 for an RV versus a few hundred based on the value of the van)
Next I hit the google and then called Colorado Camper to check on adding this:
https://www.amazon.com/Camping-Cara...3&sprefix=rv+cooktop+and+sink,aps,122&sr=8-11
They already had it in stock, so I stopped on my way to AZ for the winter and had them add a cabinet with the little set-up. Exterior water intake... drain into an empty water jug... little can of propane. Taa Daa... Geico says OK.
The moral of this soap opera is... if you are going to do a van conversion be sure to know what your state requires to consider it an RV... and also what your insurance company requires. Get it wrong and your annual costs will spike well over a thousand bucks.
PS... I found a long thread over on a Transit forum where a significant number of people who were doing self-conversions were immediately cancelled by their insurance companies when they learned that the van was being converted.