Cabinets

When I think of the shelves I first installed in my van last year -- a rickety construction of plywood held together with L-brackets and improperly-sized screws -- my first reaction is to wince inwardly. My second one is to feel slightly proud of how far I've come with my woodworking.

Since returning to Florida, I dove into my new-found woodworking hobby with gusto: I built my own kitchen table from scratch, and constructed a planter box of my own design for my mother as a gift. Once I got started with my van design 2.0, I built my bed frame -- the one you saw in a previous post -- and began building my cabinets. Behold:

It's a simple enough design; some plywood, 1x4's, and a face frame. Here's a few progression shots to give you an idea of how I built them:

On my second cabinet's face frame, I neglected to follow the golden rule of woodworking: "Measure twice, cut once." I cut my 1x3's an inch too short, so I had to rip a scrap piece of 1x4 down to size and then *correctly* make my final cuts. I am pleased with the result; such a failure in the past would have sent me back to the store for more wood. I'm grateful for the knowledge I've gleaned from so many YouTube channels and web sites I've visited.

For the counter top, I toyed with the idea of using plywood and finishing the edges with laminate. Instead, I opted to go with a top made of 1x6 boards.

The doors, oddly enough, were the hardest thing to get just right. The way they look and contrast nicely with the rest of the stain is pure happenstance, for which I am immeasurably grateful. The insets on the doors are not stained - I only applied some wood conditioner and a wax finish.

The next thing I need to do is install my entertainment unit. So far, much of that work has been me sitting on the bed in the van, staring at the wall opposite me, and visualizing different designs that would work with the current counters. I already know that this one is going to be a pain until I can get out of my head and put my hands to work.

Until next time...

Starting anew

I've been thinking and re-thinking about the interior of my camper van since returning to Florida last July. I sketched out a motley assortment of ideas, designs, and thoughts on what worked while I was on the road -- and what definitely did not.

I continued refining these designs on paper, sitting in my van for hours at a time, visualizing and mulling it over in my mind. It took several weeks to finalize the layout on paper. This time, I said to myself, I would build it right. It would be high-quality, well-made, and efficient.

The first thing I did was gut the interior -- all the way down to the insulation. A deep cleaning of the van was definitely in order, so I did that, and then I checked all of the solar wiring to see what needed to be adjusted or repaired.

After that, I built the frame for the new bed. Mind you, the "old bed" was nothing more than a camp pad and a mattress topper supported by some plastic storage bins. Let me tell you: that did NOT work for me. It was quick, easy, and horrendously messy. Taking apart my bed to get to my clothes was the epitome of poor design.

The new bed is still the same twin-size, camp pad/mattress topper combo, but it is sturdy. has easy-access storage, and doesn't drive me insane. I'm calling it a success. I'll be constructing a padded headboard for it in the future. This is going to be quite the cozy camper van.

I'll have more to share with you soon. I can't wait to show you my cabinets. As of this write-up, the lower cabinets and counter top are complete - stained, sealed and all. I still want to cover the shelves with some noise-dampening material, such as felt. They look fantastic, if you don't mind me saying. In the future, I'll be adding smaller cabinets on top of them, rather like a built-in entertainment nook, with a dedicated charging station and all. Here's a preview, and another shot of the bed (and Poquito, my mother's Chihuahua):

Note the vanity license plate hanging on the bulkhead. :P

Mark II

Details soon. Stay posted!

Rethinking the van

Since I returned from my cross-country adventure, I've had a different vision for my van stewing in the crockpot of my mind. Today, I started stripping the interior to help me better visualize where I'd like to go with the design. It's strange to see the van without all of my camping stuff in there.

Right now, my inverter is sitting on a shelf just above the left wheel well, and there is a media shelf and counter top built over the opposite wheel well. I'm going to disassemble these so I can build a long couch on one side and a larger entertainment unit on the opposite side.

Think of it as being less "doomsday prepper chic" and more "party bus." I want to install some overhead LEDs, a place to store beverages, and a sound system.

I already have the foundations laid out for me; it's just a matter of finding the time to work on it and learning a few more skills -- upholstery being the main one. I'm lucky in that I still have leftover wood and other materials from the first conversion. Less money to spend!

This is a long-term project, so expect updates to be sparse, but detailed; much more so than when I first converted the van to a camper.

Marooned in Shoshone!

From my travel diary - June 17:

I'm camping in Shoshone National Forest tonight. It's rainy and moody and altogether frigid; I find it to be gloriously beautiful. I'm warm and snug, nestled inside the van. Tonight I am wearing my socks, pajama bottoms, a tee shirt, a pullover, and my fleece hat to keep warm. I have my 15 degree sleeping bag and a fleece blanket over it. Snug, indeed. I am reminiscing about the day's events.

I was driving through Shoshone National Forest today, stopping every few minutes to stumble out of the van to gawk at impossibly large mountains and winding rivers, when I spotted a forest camp site. I immediately turned onto the forest road in search of the evening's free lodgings. It was a steep, winding, rutted road that led up through a series of switchbacks to a point I never actually reached -- because I got stuck in the mud (remember what I said about it being rainy? Yeah.). At first I wasn't worried; I had seen other people get out of muddy situations before. Apparently it's not as easy as it seems, because before long I was truly in a mire.

Woops.

 Luckily, my phone was working; I don't know what I would've done if I did not have cellular service up there. I called my sister and asked her to look up the Shoshone Ranger Station's phone number, thanked her profusely, and went about getting myself out of that situation. Big thanks to the people at the Wapiti Ranger Station for all their help and concern! I love you ladies. In the end, I dialed my insurance company, who offered roadside assistance. 

While I was waiting for my insurance company to arrange for my tow truck, I wandered around the area near the van. It was icy cold, and there was snow on the ground. Fog descended, and it started to rain -- and then the rain turned into snow. Here I was, marooned in grizzly country, and it was snowing. I laughed. What else could I do? Having a sense of humor about ridiculous situations can be sanity-saving.

Once my insurance company arranged for my assistance, my knight in 4x4 armor arrived within minutes, and he helped me get my big muddy van out of the muck. Thank you, thank you, thank you, to Bull's Conoco and everyone who helped me out today. Here's a few more photos of my muck-up:  

I decided to make camp at the base of that same forest road -- this time with all four (now filthy) wheels safely level on a gravel surface. Goodnight!

Van Update

The van's come a long way. I put up another batch of insulation, leaving me with two layers of reflectix and some styrofoam board sandwiched in between. The difference in sound-deadening and temperature control is incredible. I still have to insulate the doors, but that's a minor project that I'll tackle later.

I picked up some cheap foam-rubber interlocking flooring from Costco and started the installation thereof. I also completed the bed this weekend! My storage bins ended up fitting in there perfectly, side-by-side, and with enough room left over for AGM battery storage. The top of the bed opens to the front, allowing full access of the interior storage.

I ended up making the bed narrower, and leaving some space between the bed and the back doors. I will use that space for more storage as well as enabling me to carry a bike inside. I'm happy with the change.

There I am, flushed of face and exhausted after spending the whole weekend tackling various projects in the van.

The Van

I already started putting up the insulation before I realized that I hadn't taken any photos. You can see the first layer done on the roof. I'm using old scraps of Reflectix to start the walls while amazon.com takes its sweet time sending me the rest of the rolls I ordered.

Already, this conversion is proving to be so much smoother than the first one I did years ago. It truly helps to know what one is doing. If you want to do your own camper van conversion, I cannot stress highly enough the importance of doing your research. Watch YouTube videos, subscribe to blogs, search for web sites on the topic. You also might want to become familiar with basics on construction, plumbing, and gain a general understanding of how electricity systems work -- even if you don't end up installing any of these things yourself. Knowledge is power.

I'll be sure to add a post to the blog with any further updates on the conversion. In the meantime, here's a "bonus lizard;" this cheeky fellow lives in a Christmas cactus outside my front door.