My biggest WW project ever

[Patsfan]

no problems with the bracing as the van heats up in the sun, then cools down?

[MsNomer]

Bracing? There is plenty of expansion room on all sides. I will fill the gap with foam rods.

Figured out what I did wrong with the pictures:

[Scott W]

Thanks and please keeping sharing the pictures of progress.

[Cian]

This is so cool. Added to Favorites.

[ianab]

Excellent project.

I can see the point of having a smaller van like that on a trip. It drives like a regular car. No worries about taking it any place you might drive in a regular car.

If you go to a bigger vehicle, where do you park when you stop in town for supplies? Like you say, that size camper is popular here in NZ because it's so practical. Not "All the comforts of home" maybe, but then you are camping... Warm, dry, comfy bed, drink holders at a sensible height
Good to go.

[MsNomer]

Drink holders at a sensible height?? Imagine sitting upright in a chair and having to reach for your drink on the floor a foot or so out. Impossible to keep eyes on the road while doing this. The Feds should not have allowed it. Cup holders were my first mod.

We know that European models have storage where our cup holders are--where are these drink holders at a sensible height?

But yes, it drives easy. Shorter than my single-cab Tundra and turning radius that rivals the Corolla.

[Arlin Eastman]

Very nice work Carolyn.

Do not sell yourself short I know you can do the windows in wood even if you have to ask questions for help.

Arlin

[MsNomer]

We leave three weeks from today for 3 months in Europe. My near goal is to at least spend one night in the van before we go, thus I want windows and support for the bed. I may make it.

The 48" x 72" mattress will lie crosswise. The head 2' can fold over without disrupting the bedding. Folding it over exposes a walkway between front and back. Underneath is a maze of storage places with specific purposes--our years of camping in the truck tent have given us a pretty clear notion of what we want where. In this diagram, yellow is the bed. All cabinetry under the bed is 28" tall. The sink cabinet will be 36".



The "boxes" are 12”x18"x9" wooden boxes that are so familiar we can't imagine camping without them. They will stack 3-high on angle iron supports. "Boots" are shelves to store our boots. The "pull-out table" is a torsion box made from Luan and insulation board--amazingly strong for its light weight. It will pull out like a cutting board in kitchen cabinetry. The "drawers" will be on slides; I haven't decided their sizes yet--I'm still absorbing how luxuriously huge that space is. The dead space to the left of the sink cabinet will be accessible through a trap door in the bed. Storage above the wheel wells is very specific: Each space will hold 8 soft drink cartons. Not only am I a MountainDewaholic, we also use the cartons for other items such as cups, bread, fuel, etc.





. (Back wall will be finished later. And end piece trimmed.)



ONE BOARD took me two hours!! A matter of personal pride, I wanted that board just inside the side door to be as close to perfect as I could make it. Nobody else may ever notice, but I will. It I was the toughest scribe I've ever done with crazy coping on the back, but it finally turned out well:



Then attaching those shelves--another challenge. The wheel wells have 15° sides, thus the shelves have 15° sides. The first time I ever had the situation where if the board looks like it's too short, cut some more!!

Now I'm about to the painting stage. Hopefully, I can do some packing while the paint dries.

Oh--we pick up the windows tomorrow. Motion Windows T-sliders all around.

[digger]

Great job. Thoroughly enjoying your build. Have great time in Europe.

[Bill Holt]

Interesting...we leave the same day but for only 10 days. Most of it will be in Vienna.