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About  Us

The Drifter story blends craftsmanship and adventure—born from a deep passion for building and a love for life on the road. Our team brings experience in construction, design, and van travel, creating custom camper vans that feel like home, no matter where you’re headed.

Our Mission

At Drifter Vans, we believe exceptional camper vans begin with quality materials, intentional design, and skilled craftsmanship. Our team of designers, interior designers, engineers, and craftsmen understands that the freedom of van life means more when it’s paired with comfort, functionality, and beauty.

Our mission is to ignite a passion for life on the road by crafting vans that make exploration feel effortless. Each build is visually stunning, high-quality, and built to last—designed to deliver joy, reliability, and freedom, mile after mile, year after year.

Blueprints of a camper van layout, showing detailed floor plan designs including bed, kitchen, storage, and system placement.

A collective of craftsmen and gearheads from the Motor City, the Drifter team covers every detail of custom camper van creation—from frame to finish.

Drifter Vans employee cutting wood inside the workshop, preparing custom cabinetry or interior components for a camper van build.

Whether you’re talking cabinetry, upholstery, electrical systems or interior design, we have the skills to bring your dream van to life.

Our Team

Paul Domish

Founder - President

Paul Domish, the founder of Drifter Vans, was a later comer to travel—strapping on a backpack and heading to South America in his mid-thirties. But he quickly made up for lost time, spending over a year traveling up and down the continent, living simply and embracing the freedom of the open road.

When he returned home in early 2020, the world had changed—COVID had closed borders, grounded flights, and put global travel on hold. But the desire to explore hadn’t gone anywhere. So Paul turned to a few trusted collaborators with an idea: to build something that would let people experience that same sense of freedom, right here on the road.

That idea became Drifter Vans.

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Our Team

Kim Lucine in Europe gently touching a reindeer, captured in a peaceful moment surrounded by natural scenery.

Kim Lucine

Partner - Operations manager

With a lifelong passion for sports, backpacking, and adventure, Kim brings global perspective and energy to Drifter Vans. A former professional figure skater and avid traveler, he met Paul while journeying through South America—just before completing his master’s in business.

After graduating, Kim moved to Detroit to join Paul and help build what would become Drifter Vans. Today, as co-owner and operations manager, he plays a key role in guiding our team and ensuring every van reflects the quality, care, and spirit we stand for.

Kathleen Nalli

Interior Designer

Kathleen, interior designer for Drifter Vans, standing in front of a mountain formation, surrounded by rugged natural landscape.
Lauren, interior designer at Drifter Vans, smiling while sitting at her desk, working on a custom camper van design.

Lauren Neal

Interior designer

The build team

Drifter Vans employees posing for a group photo inside the workshop, standing in front of a Drifter Vans banner.

Google Reviews

Jos. Pellerito

2025-11-11

Drifter Vans is truly a hidden gem right here in southeastern Michigan. My wife and I are lifelong Michiganders, yet somehow we had never heard of this remarkable upfitter until recently. Our story began when we drove our van all the way to California to have it professionally upfitted for long-term travel and living. Unfortunately, that experience was devastating. After weeks of waiting and a long cross-country journey, we discovered that roughly 80% of what we had paid for had not been completed. We left California heartbroken, exhausted, and unsure of what to do next. By the grace of God, we found Drifter Vans in Southfield, Michigan. From the moment we met Kim, everything changed. Kim greeted us with genuine care and immediately understood the frustration we had been through. He, along with Billy, Garrett, and the rest of the Drifter Vans team, stepped in and completely turned our situation around. They not only corrected many of the costly mistakes made by the previous company but also finished several key upgrades that had been promised to us and never delivered. Kim’s communication has been exceptional—clear, prompt, and consistently reassuring. Every step of the way, he has kept us informed and involved, making the process smooth and transparent. The professionalism, craftsmanship, and integrity of this team are unmatched. They didn’t just fix a van; they restored our trust and reignited our dream of life on the road. We are finally traveling again and experiencing the our beautiful country we had envisioned from the start, all thanks to Drifter Vans. Their kindness, expertise, and dedication have made an enormous difference in our lives. I could not recommend them more highly for any and all van upfitting needs. They are, without question, the best decision we could have made.

Erika Marsh

2025-11-01

We recently picked up our new custom van from Drifter and are incredibly pleased with the quality and customer service. We are loving it! We did have a few issues (expected in a brand new build), and they were taken care of quickly and with expertise. Kim and the team were GREAT to work with. They are a top notch company and I am so glad we chose them after looking at 10 other custom builders.

Micaela Dodson

2025-10-29

I had the pleasure of working with Kim at Drifter Vans while exploring options for a new camper van. He went above and beyond, answering all my questions and even organizing a thorough overview of the different build options they offer. Kim was thoughtful, diligent about gathering the right details, and endlessly patient with my many questions I asked along the way. If you’ve ever had the privilege of hitting the open road behind the wheel of a Drifter Van, you know they’re simply the best in the game. Thank you, Kim, for helping chart new territory!

Jim Erickson

2025-08-12

We are the second owners of a custom built Drifter Van. We had originally been looking to get a new van (Drifter was not on our radar at that time), and after settling on a builder, began to realize it was a bit pricey for our needs. We found this used Drifter Van and purchased it. We are so happy with it. It is a great design and everything is very well built - cabinets, shower, bed, etc. Since we were in the area, we decided to stop into Drifter's shop to ask a couple of questions. We met the two shop Supervisors - Billy and Garrett. They couldn't have been nicer. They spent a good chunk of time with us answering questions, going over some of the things in the van, and they even fixed and upgraded a fan that wasn't working - for free. They welcomed us to the "Drifter Family". We are very proud to have the Drifter Van name and logo on our van. Looking forward to our new adventures.

derek sarno

2025-04-02

Love my Drifter Van build and working with the Paul, Kim and the team to design it to what I wanted was awesome. They're attentive, explain things, follow up and made it super easy. The only hard thing for me was waiting for it to be finished which it was in a very timely fashion mind you. I need some work on being patient but it's hard when doing something this exciting that I've been dreaming about for years. Highly recommend. And I'd do it again.

A JP

2025-03-31

Thank you Drifter Vans! My van is absolutely beautiful and exceeded my expectations! I’m so glad I took the leap of faith and decided to invest in me and purchase a Drifter Camper Van. Kim and the Drifter team were wonderful to work with through the entire build process and during my trip to Michigan. Once I picked up the van, if I had any follow-up questions, they were (and are) always available and willing to help. If you are looking for a quality custom build for your camper van, I highly recommend Drifter Vans! Adrianne

agnes ;D

2025-02-28

If you’re looking for one of a kind, quality, beautiful, impeccably built van, Drifter Vans is your builder. From the beginning, this was a unique process and collaboration where I really felt that I could hand it over to Drifter and trust that the outcome will be beautiful and suited to my needs. I wasn’t wrong. The outcome was exquisite!! The build is not only beautiful, unique, and personalized, it’s also outfitted with top notch and user-friendly systems. The finishes and the materials are very high quality. This isn’t your off-the-shelf van, there’s just no comparison. Every little detail is looked after. Working with my designer was such a joy, and a very fun process!! She did a truly amazing job, and made it very special. I am in awe of all the details. The reveal and the element of surprise was so worth the wait! Meeting all of the welcoming and friendly people at the shop was icing on the cake. Everyone was instantly very helpful with the finishing touches and during the walk through. Shout out to Billy and Garrett! Recognizing that many crafts people were involved behind the scenes, I can’t thank you All enough! Paul and Kim were awesome, patient, and available from start to finish, and afterwards, which is very much appreciated with such a big project. They really listened to my needs, and I am so grateful. This was a process with much of the guesswork taken out of it for me, to my relief, and the outcome was just stunning. The van represents freedom and ability to me, nature is a great healer, and there is so much to see out there. The awesome community is a bonus. Thanks a million, Drifter Vans !!!

The Drift: Stories, Tips & Life Behind the Build

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