Custom Gaming Camper Van: Ultimate Mobile Gaming Setup

Linus Tech Tips transformed the mobile camper van into a gaming setup with efficient, full-fat PCs, projector, and power supply for endless gaming adventures.

### Linus Tech Tips: Building the Ultimate Gaming Camper Van with DJI Sponsorship
* 🚐  Linus Tech Tips collaborates with DJI to transform Emily's camper van into a **high-end gaming setup** with two full PCs and a projector.
* 🎮  The challenge lies in creating systems that can **withstand the vibrations of travel** while being **efficient and cool** due to **space constraints**.
* 💻  The custom-built PCs feature **Ryzen 7 5800X3D CPUs**, **ASRock B650 mini-ITX boards**, and **RTX 4060 Ti GPUs** for **optimal efficiency**.
* 🔧  The GPUs are mounted by **screwing into the coolers through the backplate**, ensuring a **secure fit**.
* 🔋  DJI's 1000 power stations provide on-site power and can also operate as UPS, allowing the systems to run for **up to 5 hours**.
* 🎥  An HD BenQ projector is mounted above a fold-out table, providing a **large screen for movie nights**.
* 🌞  The power stations can be charged using solar panels, making them a **sustainable power source**.
* 🎉  The final setup impresses Emily with its **RGB fans, privacy panel, and custom coasters**, offering a **unique and functional gaming experience on the road**.

our editor, Emily, just picked up this sick camper van, but she's got one small problem: not a single gaming PC in sight. But fear not, for DJI have sponsored our effort to transform her mobile grass-touching machine into the greatest RGB-ified, ray tracing, corner-camping camper van that has ever existed. Of course, it's not going to be easy. You see, computers constantly get destroyed in transit, and the PCs here are going to be permanently in transit, meaning we're going to have to get very creative if we want to build a setup that is still going to work after thousands of kilometers down only sometimes paved Canadian logging roads. Like any self-respecting gamer couple, Emily and hero expect to be able to play at the same time, which means that our systems are going to have to be extremely efficient without putting out too much heat, given the relative space constraints, which, by the way, aside from power and heat, space is clearly at a premium. Now, an obvious solution to this would be to use laptops, but come on, guys, this is Linus Tech Tips, damn it, so we're going

to need some full-fat PCs, and maybe a projector setup for some casual moving watching. Huh, yes, our original plan was to take advantage of both of these chairs right here so they can just swivel around. We've got a table right here, and it should be very great for space. Only problem is not only does this one kind of struggle with clearance issues both with this table arm mount and the door, but if I could get it turned all the way around, I would have nowhere to put my feet other than here because of the fridge that's under this bench. Moving that not the easiest, but that's no problem. We've got lots of Gaming Chairs kicking around. We're just going to put one of these in here, and uh, I think I have a better idea. When we first looked at this, this bed was just a bed, but now it [Music] is come on, also a couch. Now all we need is a table. Hey, look at that. Now we just need somewhere to put the PCs. Okay, now my

understanding is you guys have actually designed something in SolidWorks, right? Yes, can we take a look? Very cool. So what I'm looking at is intakes on the front, two machines side by side, almost desk PC-like. And then we've got what appears to be some kind of vent or shroud at the back, that's for the power supplies. And on the bottom, we have vibration dampers. Do you know what the best part is though? It'll be all locked up right in here. And here it is, that looks great. Did we do that on the Avid CNC? Oh yeah, looks beautiful. All right, all we got to do is put some computers on it, divide and conquer. You do one, I do the other. I can't believe the kind of hardware we went with for these. We're going 7800 X3Ds, we're talking eight of the fastest gaming cores on the planet. We've got these super cute mini ITX B650 boards from ASRock. Speaking of, do these have EDP out?

is that what I'm looking at on the back here? Graphics output one HDMI, one EDP. That is so cool. So you can output to like a laptop monitor that doesn't have its own built-in scaler, just go straight to it. Also got an M.2 slot back here for a total of two. We've gone with 32 gigs of Corsair Vengeance DDR 56000, which has probably got you guys thinking, Gee, Lonus, that's a pretty normal gaming PC so far. What exactly is it that makes this thing camping? Ah, well, aside from going with the 3D V-Cash version of our Ryzen 7 CPU, which is lower TDP and is therefore going to consume less power and kick out less heat, we've also gone with this Cooler Master 1100-watt 80 plus Platinum power supply, small and efficient. And we've gone with, okay, I know it's controversial, but an RTX 4060 TI. Is it the best bang for the buck? No, but is it

the best efficiency for the buck, if not as close, it's efficient, it's very close. Let's not put in the buck bit. Hold on a second, Alex. You told me to mount my I/O facing this way, but you mounted your I/O facing the other way. Well, the GPUs have to go here and here. That makes sense. Reasons. Here's an idea. I found some 632 thumb screws, and we could kind of go his and hers with it. Now it's time for our GPU, but I have to assume the fans go up, right? Correct. Good. So, how is that going to work? 'Cause the slots like that. So, if you look at these holes, they correspond to the ones in our back plate. Ooh. So, it's getting hard mounted straight to this, not going anywhere. It was actually super easy to do this. We used our 3D scanner to just 3D scan this. Boom. Chuck and solid work done. Thank you, Wine Scan. Wait. You're screwing right into the cooler of the GPU through the back plate. Yes. What about the PCIe Riser?

oh, it goes through here. Yeah, so it goes up, down, around, and then in. I'd ask if you have a better idea, but it's way too late for that. Uh, maybe not the spring-loaded boy. I think those ones are fine, but the ones in the center around the die, we are not touching. You're stressing me out, Alex. You do realize, why are you stressed? Because you are stressing me out. I'm sorry, was I not explicit enough? This is a flawless plan that we're going to execute flawlessly, just like that line. You hear that, little GPU? You're about to get excluded. Are these washers just to stack up so they're not too long? What? No, I don't think you know what you're doing. How are we supposed to screw these in? Oh, and you didn't do the thermal pad. Oh, right, sorry, my bad. That's the problem. The thermal pad is not really serving a thermal purpose. It's more just an anti-vibration pad, not that it really matters in this case. I do have to say, I am incredibly

impressed by how well this lines up what I've only got two hands well it's not going anywhere and like I've seen so many times like this is attached to a bracket and this is attached to something else and next thing you know your gpus on the side of the road out of the FedEx truck sure yeah anyway not going to happen here I have to tape my pcie extension we're going to be taping kind of all of our cables we don't want over a long amount of time the vibrations of the truck rubbing that thing against this that goes a little something like that there we go do we want to test it here or do we want to just throw it in the van and hope for the best oh we throw it in the van we hope for the best all right let's do that okay I can see why the futon conversion doesn't go that smoothly this hole looks like they cut it with their teeth you know Emily there's a such thing as a as a

ruler, look at this cool power supply bracket. This is awesome. How is this made? Is this just 3D printed? Yeah, just 3D printed. 2200 watts in what is, I mean, basically about the size of a regular ATX power supply. Oh God, this is really cramped, dude. Go left a bit. Yeah, I see that power switches. Okay, all right. I got you. I got you. Okay, well, we've got dual 120 mm aio from Corsair, chock-full of RGB. This is going to look sick. It's going to look ridiculous. Y sick ridiculous. Wait, I noticed Emily inherited more things that were supposed to be from my minivan. These expensive cables that Alex ordered, these are trippy. I asked for more of those for your Minivan, and you're like, I don't need them. Oh, display port, USB, and then there's USBC on the other side kind of thing. Super cool. So it allows you to run a USBC, so like a display port alt mode display off of a regular display port.

GPU so we're going to have just one cable going to our monitors. It's awesome. My badminton grip wrapping skills are coming in handy here. We really could have done this more easily. I don't know about you guys, but I think this is going great. Same LT where Jank meets, you know, that's kind of awesome. Not bad. Now all we got to do is St it down, I guess. Before we do that, uhhuh, should we put on the coolers and just like make sure it works? Sure. Why are AIOs a good idea in a space like this? They're an okay idea in this space. You can definitely get more cooling for the amount of height that we've got above the CPU socket here, right? Like you can see if this was down flat, in order for us to have our countertop on top of it, we've only got about this 120 mm fan, which you might think, okay, means well, sure, you could have a 120 mm cooler, but not really, right? Cuz you got to have heat pipes and stuff sticking.

out of there. So this allows us to get way more cooling surface area on the CPU socket than we could otherwise have. There's that, but also vibrations was a really big consideration. Uh, how do we power this? I noticed that this extension cable does not do anything. Do you remember who our sponsor is? Yeah, DJI. So see, oh Lordy, I do see them. Be some lead acid batteries, suckers, inverter, solar charger, all of that junk. We are going to leave it 'cause some of the systems we just want to know for sure will just run and not be our fault if they stop working. But this will power the computers, this will be like the computers, the RGB, all of the fun stuff coming off of this. Cool, so we can just turn it on then, I assume? Yeah, all right, let's try and fire them up. Oh, that looks flipping awesome. This is sick. So legit. What is a Zen screen? This isn't gaming, is it? It isn't technically gaming, but also it's 1600p.

and 120 HZ, so might as well be gaming. So it's a portable monitor, yep, right, but also you've got a stand for it, yep, and that's just like a quarter inch, so you could kind of mount this on anything, yeah, very cool. Wow, okay, cool. It's got inputs on both sides. That's legitimately really handy for a portable monitor. I mean, you know how DisplayPort is. It probably won't work, so I'm going to reboot it just in case. Just hold on, just hold on. It's going to work. It looked like it was going to work if what we were trying to do was get the screen to restart over and over again. Hey, mission accomplished. Wow, that looks great. Yeah, and we hot glued down the spacers so that we don't have to worry about them moving around as we put all the stuff in. I guess we figured out the GPU priority output issue. Do you want to know what the problem was? BIOS setting. Someone didn't put the PCIe riser in.

the way you built that one. No, you built that one. No, you built that one. Oh, look, I definitely, that's my Tesa tape job right there on this side. No, I built that one. No, I built this one right here. This is without a doubt my Riser. Uh-oh, I may not have a counter to that. Oh yeah, no, this is definitely mine. You didn't take off your peel. Yeah, okay, yep, yep, yep, yep, yep, yep, yep, yep, easy fix. Yeah, that's great. I've been tasked with extending the length of the power button lead on one of the systems 'cause right now he no reach. Um, but rather than going and finding exactly these colors of wires in this gauge, I found a dead power supply. So I'm going to hack it together. Y ha, all right, we're good. We have two computers and they both work. I shouldn't have given him this side quest. We have a lot of actually important things to do in that van. I'm having fun. Not my finest work but

realistically, if Alex wanted my finest work, he wouldn't ask me on a Friday. We are now roughly like 40% through the time that we have with lonus, and we have gotten this. You say that like it's a bad thing. I'm having fun. Yeah, I'm having fun. Can we finally have the fun of looking at the projector? Yeah, sure, that sounds great. Heck yeah, we can't do it anywhere than this bed mechanism. So I think we got this. Yeah, look, you can look at our mechanism. Oh yeah, yeah, that's suitably adequate. Oh, oh, where's it go? That's why there's a leg. Hey, oh, how you doing? Oh, oh, hey, that's pretty. No way, yeah, we used the magnetic cable management, and look how solid that is. That is freaking awesome. That's, oh man, I love it. Okay, so this is gaming desk land. [Applause] Slash, whoa, that is not secured to anything. I guess this is what we're doing. Yes, nice. Ooh, this is cute. This is that.

little Ben Q projector right yeah 1080p small Auto Keystone autofocus and I love this 3D printed mount for it. Did you guys use the 3D scanner for this again? We did. It's like perfect though. Yeah, it has no right to be this perfect. So basically it's just going to go up here. We bolt that in and we're g tog. Is this plugged into the DJI? Is it ready to power on? Yep. Oh, hi. Yeah, she's she's doing great. She's doing great. Yeah, it's uh, it's not laser, which is good, but it is bright. Oo, it comes with a little Streaming Stick. So about that, the first thing you have to do when you open this up is take the side off and just jam the Streaming Stick inside of it, and that's how you get a smart projector. Please don't make me hold this while you log into Google. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah, bud. Oh, yeah, bud. Oh, she's in there. She's great. Hold on. Hold on. She's great. Like you were saying.

yeah, yeah, that's what I was saying. That was the demo I was doing. It's good. All right, I am happy with it. It's actually not that bad. In a perfect world, what you would do in a situation like this is you would either use an ultra-short throw projector, but we couldn't really do that 'cause it would have to be here, or what you would do is you would use a mirror. So you use a higher-end projector, you'd bounce it off the one side, and then you we're not doing that. So that's the size of their screen. This is cool though because I guess the idea here is that when we want the gaming setups, we just pop the monitor arm onto it, yeah, and it just what, uh, locks into place somehow, and there's a little screw. The screw is kind of annoying, perfect. Okay, and then when we don't want it, we just put the little cover on, and I guess we would do that whenever we want to fold the table up, yeah, so we just actually took the bottom.

of this stand, yep, and just screwed it in right there. Oh, it's not the dumbest thing. Well, that's the goal, right? Yeah, you don't want to build the dumbest thing unless that's what you set out to do. That's on there, and he adjusts. Oo PIV. Oh, uh, are you mangling it? It doesn't pivot. It does not pivot, no, but it tilts. I mean, anything pivots if you push it hard enough. Realistically, 99% of the time, they're probably just going to use the little built-in flippy stand, but hey, at least we thought of this. This is really starting to come together, isn't it? Yeah, it's not too bad. Is there a plan to keep this up here? Uh, there's a couple of different things we could do. So, that's a long way of saying no. Yes, these things are legitimately extremely flexible. You can use them for on-site power, which is obviously what we're doing with them, but if you only need something like that very occasionally, they can also operate in

UPS mode, which is as simple as just plugging it in and leaving it plugged in with all of your devices running off of the DJI power 1000. In the event of a power outage, it switches fast enough that even something like a connected computer won't experience a loss of power. And it also has quiet charging and dual 140 W type-C ports that can charge two 16-in MacBook Pros to 50% in just 30 minutes. Pretty cool. So you're really not going to like the plan for mounting these. We're just going to screw these into the floor and then strap them down. Well, I was planning on going into these 2x4s but uh, okay. So what we're doing this by hand then we probably should pre-drill it. I hate you so much. I don't hate you. Actually, that's good. I genuinely like you. Not right now. Is that secured that thing up there? What thing? That thing on the thing. Oh, okay. Cool. Yeah, if it falls, it'll probably hurt. Okay. No, no. I'll have.

my feet here to catch it. How's it going? Two of these will run their gaming rigs for over 3 hours. One of them will run their gaming rigs for about 2 and 1/2 hours. Really? So, 5 hours with two of them. That's freaking awesome. And in the future, if they ever wanted to add like solar P PS on the roof of the van or something like that, I know. Oh, wait, they have them already. Oh, sick. So they can charge these off solar during the day, game all night. Correct. That's the life, baby. All right, awesome, man. I can't believe these take the place of these gigantic batteries, all of this crap over here, and it's all just self-contained. Dang, lithium, you cool. Hey, I remembered how they work. Go team. Well, that's not going anywhere. Ah, oh yeah, but sick, man. When you're not gaming, you can run off these things for a long freaking time. We've been using this to power everything in the van for the entire shoot, and we're still at 51%. Do I

need a special cable to daisy chain these things together. No, just that. Oh, wow, so it really is as simple as just a standard C13 power connection on the one. So you just plug that into the charging port, and then you just go to the AC output on the other one. Yep. Oh, all right. Well, that's pretty simple then. Cool. It's also super nice that these get charged just using a standard C13 cable. Some other battery banks you have to use like a power brick and a special adapter and crap. All that's integrated into this. So just boom, use this, you're done. Before we get to tidying everything up to reveal to Emily, we got to try out the passenger seat gaming setup though. Hold on. Let me just see if I can ah, get in here. It's not really meant to be climbed into from the outside. I don't think. This is not bad. Do we have a mouse pad for this though? We do. Oh, yes, the stealth mouse pad from LTD store.com. If you don't like any unsightly branding.

is the mouse pad for you. It's the same high-quality mouse pad you've come to know and love with absolutely no branding on it. Okay this, oh, oh it's, oh it's quite adjustable. Oh that's not bad. All right, this is kind of an awesome little display dude. Oh yeah, like, like it kind of rocks 1600p and 120 HZ, pretty sick. Oh yeah, we don't even have the top on it yet and it's really quiet. That's pretty freaking good. Just putting some little finishing touches on it so it's nice and ready for the big reveal. I'm just scared about [Laughter] trying, he's so sketchy. Oh bud, I'm, I got lots of room, room bud, I got lots of room. All right, here we go, this is scary, yeah, scary. I don't know what it's going to be. All right, he made it out, that's fine, it's not broken so we're good. Your gaming dream machine has pulled into the station. Come, come, come.

come come come come come come come come come first of all, I would like you guys to notice that Alex is not just sitting backwards in the front seat. Go go go look, he is gaming oh backwards in the front seat hell yeah. All right, okay, that's pretty cool so far. I like that. What we got, we got curtains, you got curtains, got a gaming. Alex, did you just say curtains because I think you mean RGB. Look at the fans though, those wait, what, look at the fan. That's so cool, wait, that's awesome, why it's so cool. So there's two full PCS in here. Well, what we're just going to put one. No, it just, it looks cooler than I thought. I thought it would look way more Jank than. Alex, are you going to take that, are you going to sit there and take that like it's fair enough. But wait, there's more. Once we stash this away, obviously, you've got to be wondering where's the second system at. Well, we don't want just one of you to

be able to game. Remember you guys talked about how this bed is also a futon? Yeah, well now this bed is also a foo, a desk. That's sick, let's go. Oh my God, I'm going to have you guys try it. Okay, so up here, you're going to find your gaming peripherals. Did you guys notice the RGB? The RGB is so much better than it was. So, you got to grab your USBC cable. It's a one cable solution. It does build power and display port to your monitor. Sick, there you go. Love that it's on the side. Where is it? Nice and convenient. Let's see some gamer skills. Gaming camper van, let's go. That's the Crosshair. I got that. Thank you. You should see her play Overwatch. No, not everyone has played these two levels of Doom Eternal a thousand times like I have. Hell yeah, pretty smooth though, right? This is running amazing and honestly, this monitor is fantastic. It's small, but yeah, another word for small is compact. But wait, there's more. W this is

you put a game in front of a gamer just sorry my brain cannot just zone out. Okay, okay, we've got another trick that's awesome: movie night. Okay, so the projector is not Ultra short throw, oh, so don't be disappointed when it's not quite the whole size, but look, it's bigger than the screen you had before. Okay, this is true, this is true. So you just open up this bad boy. It's better than an iPad, that's what we're up against. We're up against an iPad. Would you believe that none of this is feigned? These guys actually sight on scene just allowed us to do whatever to their van. It was kind of scary, it was very scary. This is fantastic. Like, I would game on this. This versus iPad. Ah, okay, big bezels, but we didn't have a hydraulic press to put it in, so there was no way to make it smaller. Of course, you know, you're not necessarily going to game when it's, you know, time to spend quality time on the couch watching a movie.

sure, so go ahead and shut her down and we can watch our favorite movie crab. [Music] R. I'm actually so surprised by the speakers on that projector. That's sick, not too bad. And when you don't want to look at it, boom, there you go. Of course, we haven't even shown you guys the best part yet. Under where you guys are sitting, you now have up to 2200 watts of output, the ability to tap into your existing solar system in order to charge them. We didn't want to mess with what you kind of had here currently, so that's something that you guys are going to kind of want to figure out in the future. And simple, just C13 plug-in charging whenever you guys are at home. Nice. They're a little on the heavy side, and the mounting system for them is in there. Oh yeah, there you, but that's a lot of power you guys got sitting under here. And what's great is they're pretty much exactly the same form factor as your existing batteries, so if you guys ever

decide to ditch these. You can just put those right where those are, and you can get all your storage space back. Cool, that's really cool, so cool. Oh, is there an even bester part? What is this? This looks awesome, what is this? Well, you know you don't want just RGB fans, right? There, so someone can be like, what the heck is that, and go and steal your gaming computer. So, we have a privacy panel here, you go. Oh, oh my God's it, what is this? Oh my gosh, it's the what. Of course, you had to bring the worst part about rocket leag. You got your rocket League, this is amazing. We had to cut out the fans, so we got some holes out of that, and they were coaster-sized, so we made you some coasters. Oh no, no, what? No. Why? You guys can game on these systems just off of battery for about 5 hours continuously, although we found out the RGB draws like close to 150 watts, so maybe turn those off. Oh, go RGB gaming. Massive thanks for real to DJI for.

sponsoring this Tech makeover by the way. You can fast charge drones on it. I don't know if you hit that talking point. Super cool. We couldn't have done it without them. If you guys enjoyed this video, you might enjoy the time that we checked out a boat.

The Ultimate Gamer Camper Van

Linus Tech Tips is a passionate team of "professionally curious" experts in consumer technology and video production who aim to educate and entertain.


Linus Tech Tips

Transforming a Camper Van into a Gaming Paradise

DJI is sponsoring the project to build a high-powered gaming PC setup in a camper van for Emily and her partner.

The challenge lies in creating efficient, heat-reducing systems due to space constraints, with a design featuring intake vents, mini ITX B650 boards, and a Cooler Master 1100-watt power supply.

The setup aims to be unique by using the RTX 4060 TI and Ryzen 7 CPU for a camping-friendly, power-saving solution.

Two individuals are discussing the efficient mounting of I/O and GPUs in a PC build, including the use of thumb screws and a 3D scanner for the back plate.

There is a debate about the use of washers, thermal pads, and cable management for the GPU, as well as the method of testing the setup.

The conversation also touches on the power supply bracket, the cramped spacing, and the incorporation of RGB components in the build.

Setting Up a Computer with Aesthetic Monitors and Power Supply

Using a single cable for the monitors makes the setup neat and efficient.

The decision to use AIOs for cooling is driven by the need for better cooling surface area and consideration for vibrations.

The power for the computers and RGB components is provided by lead acid batteries, an inverter, and a solar charger, offering a reliable backup system.

The issue of the GPU priority output is traced back to a BIOS setting and the absence of the PCIe riser.

Collaborative Computer Building and Projector Setup

Two individuals work on building and setting up computers, enjoying the process.

They use a 3D printed mount for a Ben Q projector and improvise a smart projector setup using a Streaming Stick.

The team expresses excitement and satisfaction with the results of their work.

Setting Up a Flexible Gaming Space with a Unique Monitor Mounting Solution

The setup involves using a monitor arm that can be easily attached and detached, offering flexibility for gaming.

The DJI power 1000 provides on-site power and can also function as a UPS for occasional use.

The plan for mounting the equipment involves screwing them into the floor and strapping them down for security and stability.

Powering Gaming Rigs with Lithium Batteries

Two gaming rigs can run for over 3 hours, and one for 2.

The batteries can be charged with a standard C13 cable and used to power everything in the van.

The gaming setup includes a stealth mouse pad and a 1600p, 120 HZ display.

Innovative Gaming Camper Van with Dual PC Setups

The van features two full gaming PC setups and a multipurpose bed that transforms into a desk.

A one-cable solution provides power and display to the monitor, offering a convenient gaming experience.

In addition to gaming, the van offers a movie night experience with a projector, providing a versatile entertainment space.

Upgraded Home Theater System with Power Storage and Privacy Panel

The new projector system offers up to 2200 watts of output and can be charged using the existing solar system.

The power storage batteries have the same form factor as the existing ones, allowing for easy replacement.

A privacy panel is also included to conceal the gaming computer and the system can run on battery power for about 5 hours, with the ability to fast charge drones.