On to the back!
Just behind the passenger seat:
The brown bag is for recycling. The white bin behind it is a catch-all for tapes (electrical, masking, duct, packing, scotch, etc) and inbetween the bin and the seat itself is where I stash my laptop and charger when not in use. That's one leg of my bed, which is a massage table, and just underneath it is my main trash bin, barely reachable from the front or from on top of my bed, and easily if I'm on the floor or sitting on my food bin. There are more storage bins behind and to the other side of it.
I learned it's important my main trash can have a cover of some sort. So much stuff has accidentally fallen into the garbage and been tossed, which is why I eventually moved it to this location. I hope to eventually get one with a cover, but this has proved an adequate temporary solution.
Here's the view all the way back--that's the same leg of the bed as the previous picture. You've got the bed/massage table to the left, front-opening storage bins beneath it with things stacked on top, my little dehumidifier is taped to the floor just to the right of them in the picture and my fridge is on the far right, sunk into the "basement" hole left behind after the rear seats were removed. In hindsight I would not recommend the fridge being placed in there as it was a tight fit and there isn't enough ventilation for it to run as efficiently as it ought to.
The floor is a dreamy soft version of closed cell foam, the same stuff often used for sleeping pad insulation while hiking. I sampled about 6 different kinds before discovering a really soft one at
this place; their XPE version is incredibly soft and feels absolutely amazing on bare feet and insulates well, which is what I wanted. There are permanent dents in it from my setup, in hindsight I would coat it with something first to make it more durable. I'm also wrecking it a bit because I refuse to cut up the 2 yard piece I got, as my setup is still changing quite radically (e.g. for last summer there was basically no floor in the back, I made it all into a bed).
I never let shoes onto the floor in the back. Let's just say it's comfy enough for extracurricular activities and I like to keep it that way.
Better view of the bins:
Note how the design of the folding massage table interferes with access to storage under the bed. It's less than ideal.The blue thing is my current light, and LED light designed for hanging in a closet. There's also an LED strip light taped there that's no logner functional, hence the blue light as a temporary solution until I figure that out. Isn't my dehumidifier cute?? I taped it to the floor because it kept falling over or getting kicked over.
The yellow thing on top is a packing cube. I recently began keeping all my clothes in packing cubes--they're like zipping stuff sacks that not only keep things more compact but also in a in a functional shape!
I love the hard plastic bins. I use them to organize my storage unit as well. They're stackable, and all contents are accessible while they're stacked on top of each other, and have removable wheels. My tiny storage unit has these stacked up taller than me, and I simply roll them out to access everything behind them when needed.
Notice the water bottle at the bottom of the picture, these roll under the lip of the bins and stay there. when I'm hanging out in he back I mainly drink from these 1 liter bottles and refill them.
A more realistic view of the back. The pale yellow thing on he bed is the memory foam mattress topper with homemade cover, and there's miscellaneous bedding piled atop it. There is not enough room between bed and ceiling for me to sit upright (I'm 5'2"). Behind my bed becomes a catch-all for anything bulky that otherwise interferes with my living space. Currently there's a full size guitar (in case) and that green thing you see is a
Tubtrugs that I use ass a sink when needed, mainly in the summer..or in emergencies to contain extreme diarrhea.
The fridge has wires taped to it to get them out of the way so I'm finally not stepping on the anymore.
The white thing just below the window is the inside of my back window insert, made of corrugated plastic with Reflectix and then Duvytene glued to the back of it. Window inserts have been
incredibly stubborn in this van. Reflectix wouldn't hold its shape with repeated removal and insertion to the windows, causing it to bow and simply fall out.
Adhesives do not stick to the walls. I eventually managed to create part of a "lip" by using plenty of acetone first, then double-backed carpet tape, THEN putting gorilla tape over that. The result looks kinda cruddy but it works:
Unfortunately it's so labor intensive that with my recent health issues I haven't been able to complete it. As you can see from this next picture, with the insert in there's still some light leak (that's sunlight coming in, upper right corner where I didn't manage to create a 'lip' with tape yet):
The rest of my back windows are in similar states--mostly blocked but with enough light leak that I eek by on very dim lighting. The sole factor here is not having the time and energy to dedicate to improving that part of my setup yet. But I'd definitely recommend the corrugated plastic.
This is the rear driver's side of the van. In the lower left corner you see my fridge, then next to it is the panel where all my electrical stuff is mounted. My dad took a sheet of plexiglass and drilled it into the plastic molding, taking advantage of one of the rear side compartments so there was no need to remove any molding. Two of the three bags hanging up hold my undergarments, and another hold batteries and chargers. The paper towels are hanging from a strap I tied between the two handlebars to create more hanging options, helpfully illuminated by the blue LED stringy light wrapped around it. I used tape to hange the paper towel holder from it after various other solutions kept failing, and now I cut the tape apart to replace a role and re-tape it. The lights were a gag gift last Christmas that I capitalized on--powered by AA batteries, some nights they're the only lighting I use. Dim, but mostly doable. I also utilize a headlight (not pictured) that I keep attached to the handlebar at the head of my bed which I can always find in total darkness.
See a bit of plastic storage bin in the lower left corner of the picture? Those are the two smaller stacked bins. You can see them in the background of this picture:
That's the view of just behind the driver's seat. The ugly nub on the side of the seat is from removing the arm rest, the spigot is from the slim water container, the bin is my "food bin" containing everything except the bread and refrigerated items. The stacked bins in the back fit alongside the widest part of the van against the sliding door. They're taped together and held upright with bungee cords (previously with the seatbelt tied in interesting ways, which failed when I began loading the bins with heavier items). In order to open the sliding door safely, the bungee cords should be undone, then it can open fine. When stopped in an area safe for my setup to be exposed I open this door for easier access, as there is enough room between the two bins pictured to enter and exit with relative ease.
The side and back of the two stacked bins. A kleenex box is taped on--when empty I simply remove the tape and tape on a new one. Also taped on is a thermometer/hydrometer that displays highs and lows as well. I've found this important when my system is inadequate for the current temperature extremes to know exactly what I'm dealing with. The headphones are held in place solely by the bungee cord and very handy. To the far lower left corner is a pocket I made of gorilla tape that houses a packet of baby wipes and occasionally additional items.
The top of the upper bin serves as the surface of a nightstand, becoming a catch-all for small items. It also has the magnet base of
this O2Cool fan taped onto it, a solution I discovered at the end of last summer allowing the fan to both stay put but also be easily removed and temporarily placed elsewhere when needed. The fan itself is currently in storage but keeping the base here means come summer it'll be a breeze to set up again.
When I'm in the back, my EDC backpack resides on the hook as pictured above, remaining easily accessible yet completely out of the way. I'm not sure if all Sienna models have this, but my XLE limited has one of these hooks with every ceiling grab bar and they are both handy and strong. Even with a very full pack, including a laptop, I don't worry, it hasn't given me any indication of weakness.
Not pictured, but directly opposite to this is another one beside/over my bed, where I currently hang up my bulky coat, which keeps it out of the way and partially contributes to my warm covers at night.
