Less is More
Two weeks ago, I set out on my search for a vehicle. I started by looking at the camping and conversion vans on the market. While they sounded and seemed promising, once I set foot inside I was immediately disappointed. Main reason? SPACE! While it seems nice to have an oven, microwave, bed, table, etc in your vehicle, practically speaking, these items are large and take up 90 percent of the available space. Now, if you were just heading out on occasional weekend ventures, perhaps this would be a good set-up (although, if only doing that, would you really need a microwave!?!). But for a longer trip, what we really need is storage space - and lots of it.
I mean, there is hardly any room for clothes, let alone food, wine, camping gear etc.
It seems like we need to think about what exactly we are looking to do, which is sort of hard considering we are going to diverse places. Here are some questions I asked Jess and myself.
Do we want to be able to sleep in the vehicle?
Do we want cooking facilities?
Do we want bathroom facilities?
Sleeping: My initial thoughts are that it would be very nice to be able to sleep in the vehicle. I did some truck camping in WA, OR, CA, TX one summer and found it was quite helpful to be able to just crawl in the back and sleep, especially for the places that we only wanted to stay one night. Setting up camp really only seemed worth it if we were staying for awhile. I am also a little worried about the sleep comfort of tent camping which is another reason why having an available bed seems like a good idea.
Cooking: Would we use a stove inside our vehicle? While this seems like a good idea, I am a bit concerned that it is not worth the space it takes up. Would a one or two burner camping stove be just as useful (and portable/storable)? Also, it seems like the smells of cooking inside the vehicle could be an issue. I am not sure we want the inside of our daytime vehicle always smelling like last night's broccoli. Not to mention the bear factor.
Bathroom: As I said before, I am concerned about traveling with a toilet on board. I am just not sure I am into any sort of sewage management. But perhaps it's not as hard as it seems - I mean plenty of people have been traveling around with rv bathroom facilities so I have to assume that most of the kinks are worked out.
Water/Sink: In some ways I think this would be quite useful - for potable water and also for washing dishes, etc. However, I also think that water is quite heavy and having holding tanks full of water seems like it will affect engine performance (up mountain roads) and possibly gas mileage.
In light of these things, we pretty much realized that less is more. Changeable, more low-key for the Central America trekking, and the option to tow some sort of camper should we deem that appropriate. I decided to change my tactics. I saw an ad on craigslist for a Dodge van with a homemade camper bed built in the back. My dad and I drove up to Bothell to check it out....and boy was it a winner.
1992 Dodge Van, 5.9L V8 engine, 98000 miles, new tires, brakes, starter and shocks, impeccably maintained.
We pulled out both rows of back seats and fit the custom bed in the back.
The bed is constructed of three sawhorses for the frame and two pieces of finished plywood for the platform. It leaves 3 feet of space between the front seats and the bed, a huge 78x46x16 space for cargo storage beneath the bed and 15 inches on passenger side of the van.
The owner also included snap in curtains, a Yakima roof rack and a soft Thule cargo roof bag. He was also willing to let us leave the two bench seats with him, which was nice since we would have no use for them.
After considering the storage possibilities, I decided installing a dresser would be nice. Sounds strange, but I am fairly certain it will be awesome on the road for clothes storage - keeping them clean and organized.
My dad used L brackets to secure the dresser to the side of the van and hook & eye latches to keep the drawers shut while driving. The dresser also has the added benefit of keeping the bed platform from sliding forward should we come to an abrupt stop.
With the bed and dresser in place, we have the backbone to a sweet DIY camper van. Let the gear hunt begin!
I mean, there is hardly any room for clothes, let alone food, wine, camping gear etc.
It seems like we need to think about what exactly we are looking to do, which is sort of hard considering we are going to diverse places. Here are some questions I asked Jess and myself.
Do we want to be able to sleep in the vehicle?
Do we want cooking facilities?
Do we want bathroom facilities?
Sleeping: My initial thoughts are that it would be very nice to be able to sleep in the vehicle. I did some truck camping in WA, OR, CA, TX one summer and found it was quite helpful to be able to just crawl in the back and sleep, especially for the places that we only wanted to stay one night. Setting up camp really only seemed worth it if we were staying for awhile. I am also a little worried about the sleep comfort of tent camping which is another reason why having an available bed seems like a good idea.
Cooking: Would we use a stove inside our vehicle? While this seems like a good idea, I am a bit concerned that it is not worth the space it takes up. Would a one or two burner camping stove be just as useful (and portable/storable)? Also, it seems like the smells of cooking inside the vehicle could be an issue. I am not sure we want the inside of our daytime vehicle always smelling like last night's broccoli. Not to mention the bear factor.
Bathroom: As I said before, I am concerned about traveling with a toilet on board. I am just not sure I am into any sort of sewage management. But perhaps it's not as hard as it seems - I mean plenty of people have been traveling around with rv bathroom facilities so I have to assume that most of the kinks are worked out.
Water/Sink: In some ways I think this would be quite useful - for potable water and also for washing dishes, etc. However, I also think that water is quite heavy and having holding tanks full of water seems like it will affect engine performance (up mountain roads) and possibly gas mileage.
In light of these things, we pretty much realized that less is more. Changeable, more low-key for the Central America trekking, and the option to tow some sort of camper should we deem that appropriate. I decided to change my tactics. I saw an ad on craigslist for a Dodge van with a homemade camper bed built in the back. My dad and I drove up to Bothell to check it out....and boy was it a winner.
1992 Dodge Van, 5.9L V8 engine, 98000 miles, new tires, brakes, starter and shocks, impeccably maintained.
We pulled out both rows of back seats and fit the custom bed in the back.
The bed is constructed of three sawhorses for the frame and two pieces of finished plywood for the platform. It leaves 3 feet of space between the front seats and the bed, a huge 78x46x16 space for cargo storage beneath the bed and 15 inches on passenger side of the van.
The owner also included snap in curtains, a Yakima roof rack and a soft Thule cargo roof bag. He was also willing to let us leave the two bench seats with him, which was nice since we would have no use for them.
After considering the storage possibilities, I decided installing a dresser would be nice. Sounds strange, but I am fairly certain it will be awesome on the road for clothes storage - keeping them clean and organized.
My dad used L brackets to secure the dresser to the side of the van and hook & eye latches to keep the drawers shut while driving. The dresser also has the added benefit of keeping the bed platform from sliding forward should we come to an abrupt stop.
With the bed and dresser in place, we have the backbone to a sweet DIY camper van. Let the gear hunt begin!
Comments