Activan Conversions was founded to inspire and enable others to pursue their travel dreams, and to do it beautifully and comfortably in their hand crafted vans.
Their crew outputs an optimal blend of professional carpentry, electrical design, and metalwork to each of their van builds. They build dozens of vans per year, tailor made for the customer, with their in-house crew in Reno, Nevada.
Let's learn more about them from their Founder, Chris Feulner...
Where are you from and what is special about the area?
I am originally from Sacramento, California, but currently live in Reno, Nevada, which is where the Activan headquarters is located. Lake Tahoe is in our backyard, which is one of the adventure van meccas. Lake Tahoe, the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and being central to be able to get to the California Coast or even Jackson Hole, Wyoming in a day is what makes our area so special to me.
When did you first realize that you wanted to become a camper van builder?
Well, honestly, the profession chose me in a way. When I built my first van for personal use, I did not intend on creating a business out of it…but one thing led to another and here we are today. I have a background in construction and performance vehicle modification, so I think it was a natural progression.
Chris Feulner, Founder & Design Lead
What sets you apart from other camper van builders?
What sets us apart from other camper van builders, I think, is our attention to detail and our aesthetic. We carry out a very specific intentional aesthetic in each of our vans. Each of our vans require a clean color palette and exposed straight lines. I know that me being me, I am insanely meticulous and particular about how and what goes into our vans, and I think that's really what sets us apart. Our vans are simple and beautiful.
What Vanspeed products do you like best and why?
We exclusively use the Vanspeed Capsules on the Sprinter 170, 144 and Transit 148 chassis. That allows you to sleep sideways in the van so that you essentially gain 20 inches of extra space in the interior. We've actually specifically designed floor plans around the use of these capsules and we're able to, stack refrigerators and microwaves in places that you normally wouldn't be able to with a lengthwise bed and still carry out our clean, open, and functional aesthetic.
Stretch out with the Vanspeed Capsules
What advice would you like to share with other builders and or people embarking on a DIY project?
Don't just try to create something that just looks good on the surface. Make sure your infrastructure is dialed and do your research, so you're not having problems down the road. It’s an exciting endeavor and it’s going to take you much long than you initially plan for!
JT Higgins, Head of Carpentry Design
How did you come up with your company name?
I came up with the name Activan Conversions because it's really a play on words. You take these adventure vans out and become active people. Activan just really just rolled off the tongue and really stuck.
And then lastly, please share anything else you'd like to add...
We're big lab people! We’ve got two black labrador retrievers (Bruce & Wayne, father and son) and a white labrador retriever (Luna). So we got a nice little Oreo trio of labradors here in the shop. They're fun. They run around together, get in fights, play, do lab things. And I don't know, it's all encompassing because I feel like van people are also big dog people. So, here we are.
Another thing that we really enjoy here at Activan is our company culture. We're all super close. We're essentially a little small shop family here. We got six people and we're all tight.
From Left to Right: Kati Salowsky, Aiden Johnston, Chris Feulner, JT Higgins, Paul Brinkley, Andrew Johnston
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We do stuff together, play golf, dinner parties, even help each other move. We BBQ at the shop at least once a week. The number one value takeaway is we can all really count on the people that we spend most of our waking hours with, and that's really special to me.
Learn more at ActivanConversions.com