In two weeks I'll be leaving for a trip from Northwest Illinois to the Olympic Peninsula in Washington, then down the coast into Oregon and maybe Northern Cali, then home again. I've got 3 to 4 weeks to make the trip and will probably drive over 4,500 miles. Lots of sights to see on the trip, and I will be staying in the Astro every night.
So this thread is about a quick, low budget conversion from working van to camping van. I'm trying to plan it so the changes I make will keep the van functional for work when I return, and so in the future I can be ready to go camping anytime just by repacking.
Here is the list of things I'm working on and hope to accomplish before leaving:
Obviously I need a bed. In the past I've thrown an air mattress on the floor but now I want something comfortable, big enough for two, and convertible into seating space.
I need a roof vent with a fan. I've slept in the van before and it gets hot with no ventilation.
Also for good ventilation I need to put screens on the tip-out windows and mosquito netting for the rear hatch and maybe the sliding door.
An easy to set up awning for the side of the van.
I need to add a pushbutton inside the rear hatch to be able to open it from inside.
I'll be adding a house power system to power led lighting and the vent fan. Also an inverter to keep the laptop charged. I'll be carrying a Honda super-quiet generator to run a microwave and whatever else I may think of. The Honda can also charge the house battery so I may avoid having to do a charging line and battery isolator.
The headache wall is coming out for the trip and I plan to make a swivel base for the passenger seat so it can turn to face the rear.
I'll need privacy curtains and a way to block the rear hatch window. Side windows are already blacked out. I expect to be doing some stealth camping en route.
I've got some of the work done but it's been too hot to work on it for too long. With two weeks left I've got a lot to get done. As I pick away at my list I'll take pics and post progress.
So this thread is about a quick, low budget conversion from working van to camping van. I'm trying to plan it so the changes I make will keep the van functional for work when I return, and so in the future I can be ready to go camping anytime just by repacking.
Here is the list of things I'm working on and hope to accomplish before leaving:
Obviously I need a bed. In the past I've thrown an air mattress on the floor but now I want something comfortable, big enough for two, and convertible into seating space.
I need a roof vent with a fan. I've slept in the van before and it gets hot with no ventilation.
Also for good ventilation I need to put screens on the tip-out windows and mosquito netting for the rear hatch and maybe the sliding door.
An easy to set up awning for the side of the van.
I need to add a pushbutton inside the rear hatch to be able to open it from inside.
I'll be adding a house power system to power led lighting and the vent fan. Also an inverter to keep the laptop charged. I'll be carrying a Honda super-quiet generator to run a microwave and whatever else I may think of. The Honda can also charge the house battery so I may avoid having to do a charging line and battery isolator.
The headache wall is coming out for the trip and I plan to make a swivel base for the passenger seat so it can turn to face the rear.
I'll need privacy curtains and a way to block the rear hatch window. Side windows are already blacked out. I expect to be doing some stealth camping en route.
I've got some of the work done but it's been too hot to work on it for too long. With two weeks left I've got a lot to get done. As I pick away at my list I'll take pics and post progress.