We built our 7.3psd. We picked up a cargo van at a transmission shop in NY that wasn’t beat up to bad. I shopped all over to find a reasonably priced 7.3 with low miles that wouldn’t cost me an arm and a leg. They are out there if you look.
Put a hightop on it and painted the inside and out with monstaliner. We then dropped it off with Chris at Ujoint Offroad and had them convert it to 4x4. Our biggest expense but well worth it. I would do it again in a heartbeat because not only does the van perform off-road better than expected for a large heavy vehicle, it drives so much better than stock on road. Plus they have better customer service than any shop in any profession I have ever encountered.
Then built the interior with cabinets, a fridge, 3 burner propane stove and oven, sink with electric pump and 27 gallon water capacity, 200w solar, a queen sized bed (minus 5 inches of width), dining table and composting toilet.
We have lived out of it twice for 3 months at a time, with my wife and I and our two dogs, and most recently our infant son. First driving to Alaska and then a long trip up the west coast.
We saved quite a bit by doing homebuilt over SMB but more importantly we were able to design it exactly how we wanted it, and then cheaply and easily redesign it once our son was born. Another plus is the ability to fix any problems that arise on it, which will inevitably happen on long duration trips.
We have tons of lessons learned if you are curious. We haven’t posted a ton of our build on here but posted a bit on IG @the_Vanabonds. Even though I haven’t posted anything van related in a while.
Good luck on your journey, although frustrating at times, it’s so fulfilling