The makings of a camper van

Hello friends, Dave here. Anyone who has been around me for the past few months has most likely had to listen to my newest plans of renovating the van.  As Meg said, I can get a bit obsessed with things, and with nursing school I really needed a nice diversion to get away from tests and clinicals.  The van obsession all started with this blog (http://thegroveguy.blogspot.com/2011/06/toyota-sienna-van-conversion.html) where a guy pimped out his minivan. His website has been somewhat of a guide to the minivan conversion world (I emailed him to get some more details--nice guy).  So, with the help of his pictures, I took up shop in my friends' primo garage (thanks Stines!).

And thanks to Richard Fox and John Haas for the help/tools.

First, I took out all of the seats, even the third row of stow-and-go seats which were tricky as they are spring loaded. This gave us the ability to have more storage in the back.  Then, I started with the frame where I used 2x2s.  The dimensions were roughly 6.5 feet long by 48 inches wide, with about 11 inch clearance in the front. Some tips: park van on level ground, leave enough room in the back for bins, in the front for any storage device you'd like to slide underneath, have an idea for any shelves and build that into the structure, and don't build it too high in case you want to make it into a foldable chair (see later pics). 

 

Here is the "bed layout" in the early stages.  After the frame was built, I cut and placed the plywood to make sure everything fit.  There were 3 main parts and one smaller one I used to attach to the frame.  The back hatch is attached to this secured part by hinges (seen in the pic).  You'll notice the front corner doesn't have a leg yet...

Folded into chair mode.

I made cushions out of a memory foam mattress (full size) that I cut into two pieces.  One for the front chair section and one for the back to go over "the hatch."  I put the shelves in to add a little space for all of the random stuff: water jug, bins with books etc. 

A table with leg that folds up and latches to the back of the table.  (cabinet latch- the same kind that is used to keep the front leg up when it's in chair mode.

Bed mode with retractable leg.  A boy who is obsessed with the van.

When in chair mode, the wooden blocks are place to give support, and piece of hardwood across the top to provide more support.

Back hatch is hinged to have easy access to store large bins.

A woman's touch.  Looking good Meg!

Minivan Conversion

Our home on wheels: Desy

This past winter, Dave and I started thinking about buying a home. We were married last June and decided then that Dave would move into my small one bedroom apartment. The idea of buying a home while also planning our wedding sounded like a lot of hassle, and we figured we would be better off to buy a nicer home once Dave finished nursing school the following May. After surviving the winter of all winters, spring finally came and we started thinking about where we'd like to live for the next year. Our lease was up at the end of May and we knew we didn't want to stay in our teeny apartment, as wonderfully cheap as it had been. We began browsing homes online and discussing realtors, price range, location, and all the other considerations that go along with buying a home. As we started planning visits to look at a few places, I felt anxious and underwhelmed by the possibilities. Something just wasn't right. I timidly shared my feelings with Dave, worried that he would be disappointed. To my relief, Dave was feeling the same way! We agreed that we would hold off on buying a home, but then thought, "Now what?" As we pondered the possibilities, Dave non-nonchalantly mentioned traveling for a while. Could we really do that? For how long? Could we afford it? Abandon responsibility? After much deliberation, it turns out we could do it! Over the next couple of months, we hatched our plan. We quickly decided traveling in the United States was the best option for us. With little time to plan, a trip on our home turf seemed more manageable. Plus, there is so much we still haven't seen in our own country.

From there, we started thinking about how we would get around. Car camp? RV? Teardrop trailer? Ultimately, we decided that a minivan would be the best option for us. Not just any minivan. The minivan of all minivans: a Honda Odyssey. Dave has this wonderful tendency to throw himself into a project and research the pants off of it, and this was no different.  After reading website after website, Dave narrowed it down to the Honda Odyssey or Toyota Sienna. For those of you thinking you just might want to head out on your own adventure in a mini, know that these two vans are the largest, most reliable vehicles with a lot of stowing capacity. Trust us, we KNOW.

I'll leave you with a photo of us and our beloved Desy, the Odyssey, and continue the next post with the transformation of our new home on wheels.