One Van, Three Jobs
Here’s what most campervan builds don’t tell you: the van itself has to be legal. Not “probably fine” or “nobody will check.” Actually legal.
We needed this van to do three jobs: second daily driver, work truck for lumber runs and hardware store pickups, and weekend camper. The camper only works if the other two hold up Monday through Friday.
The Registration Trap
Most campervan conversions in Canada live in a grey area. Technically, if you add a toilet, a sink, and one more item, you can register as an RV. That gets you perks, but also problems: RV insurance is different, harder to get for DIY conversions. “Grey area” means “depends on who you ask.” And parking a registered RV on your city driveway attracts complaints. Parking a cargo van? Nobody blinks.
I wanted a vehicle that was legal everywhere, insured properly, and beyond question. No grey areas.
The Crew Van: Only Option Standing
That requirement eliminated almost everything.
Cargo van? Legally seats two. Useless for a family of four. Adding seats puts you back in grey area.
Passenger van? The airbags go all the way to the back. Build a bed where row five used to be? You’ve just blocked the side curtain airbags. One accident and you’re dealing with a safety system designed for a configuration you no longer have.
Crew van? Two rows. Driver and passenger up front, a second row bench with side airbags behind them. Pure cargo space behind that. Build whatever you want. The safety systems are intact where they need to be.
Ford made the Transit Crew Van from 2020 to 2023. Then they stopped. In Canada, you could only order it in 2020 and 2021. That was the window.
What We Sacrificed
Choosing the crew van wasn’t free. The T250 regular has less payload than the Heavy Duty version. With four people, gear, water, batteries, insulation, cabinets, and a bed system, we’re going to be tight on weight. The EcoBoost turbo is a known weak point. And AWD narrowed the search significantly.
We traded weight capacity, engine preference, and availability for legal clarity and safety. Given the choice again, we’d make the same trade.