2014 Chevy Express 2500 Van Build: Luisafernandes

[jonthebru]

You took a lot of time planning and installing the insulation. It is paying off right now! This is how its done folks.

 

[sassypickins]

This is great!

I get my maple syrup from Vermont, too. I made real-deal pumpkin pies with it for Halloween. Yum.

 

[Luisafernandes]

You took a lot of time planning and installing the insulation. It is paying off right now! This is how its done folks.

Thank you[emoji779]️[emoji106]
It is paying off, big time [emoji91][emoji4], I'm at least 20 degrees warmer than the outside, give or take [emoji604][emoji736]

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This is great!

I get my maple syrup from Vermont, too. I made real-deal pumpkin pies with it for Halloween. Yum.

Well, now that your secret's out, you have to let us have some [emoji6][emoji400][emoji513]

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I don't know if I mentioned this before, but my doors aren't insulated yet, and won't be till sometime in the spring or summer when it's warmer.
I can feel a draft coming through the side doors and it's this much warm inside, how much better will it be then[emoji845]

 

[akrvbob]

You poor guy, you are really suffering in that van aren't you?!! :0
Bob

 

[Luisafernandes]

You poor guy, you are really suffering in that van aren't you?!! :0
Bob

Actually Bob now that you mentioned it, I was kind of cold last night.
I'm sleeping in my 50 degree bag with a new 90" by 90" fleece blanket I just bought. The fleece makes the bag very comfortable [emoji91][emoji4]
My problem last night, and I just noticed it when I got up to turn on Mr buddy, is that the temps are really low;

That was the actual temp with wind factor.

And that's what I had in the van. No wonder I felt a little cold [emoji300]️[emoji34]
But...I'm still 23 degrees warmer inside[emoji4][emoji91][emoji4][emoji106]

 

[Luisafernandes]

In this episode of cooking in the van; organic oatmeal, organic blueberries, organic raspberries, organic plumes, tea and orange juice. And it's 76 inside and...very cold outside[emoji91][emoji4][emoji502]

 

[cinemaphonic]

Woke up this morning, checked under the mattress and...[emoji724][emoji705]no moisture! Let's hope my new Swiss plywood works.

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Still pondering what type of heat system in going to use, and I should ponder faster before winter's over. [emoji475]

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Do you guys think something like this would work under the mattress? I don't think I have the room to build slats.

These are pretty cheap at Home Depot.

http://www.amazon.com/Crown-Safewal...TF8&qid=1416421781&sr=8-12&keywords=mat+holes

 

[Almost There]

I'm pretty sure it wouldn't work. The slats or 'swiss cheese plywood' (like the name btw) works because it allows the air temp to stay above condensation point under the mattress and the bed. The rubber mat over a plywood base would not do that. All it would do is allow the condensation to pool in the holes of the mat on top of the plywood.

The only other solution to condensation is to somehow heat the underside of the bed unit so that the two temperatures (mattress and above/below the bed) are a smaller difference.

Hanging in a hammock has taught me a whole lot about condensation issues. I had no problem with wetting of the underquilt or the protective layer of silnylon until sleeping in temps that approached or exceeded freezing. At that point body heat in the sleeping gear exceeded the outside temp by so many degrees that condensation formed and of course collected in the water repellant silnylon.

35 years of custom vans and I never had a problem with condensation under the mattress. Why - well because I was always a fair weather camper, that's why.

The best possible solution is to head for warmer weather but that's not always possible.

 

[Luisafernandes]

It's been a few days since I Swiss cheesed the plywood under my mattress and removed the floor foam because of moisture. I'm happy to say that after getting up (relatively speaking[emoji41]) every morning I check under the mattress, whether it meets the plywood; no moisture[emoji779]️[emoji106]
Again, so far I'm very happy with the van and the build. Everyday I tweak something. Be it where I store the food, to cookware, to where I sit. Everyday is a new challenge. Then again, it's not really a challenge, it's living.
I live the same way I lived when I had a home and my family with me. I get up in the morning, drive to work, eat breakfast, work, leave work and go home to my family. Except now I don't have to drive far to get to work, for the most part I make my breakfast in the homemobile, I still have to work[emoji34], but I don't drive home to my family[emoji20].
The only thing I wish I could change would be the height. It would be nice to be able to stand up [emoji124]and walk around[emoji125].

 

[Luisafernandes]

Very cold again last night and my abode even without having turned the heat on, still stayed well above outside temps.
So the answer is a definite YES, if you're planing on living or staying for long periods where it's cold, insulate!

Those were the temps this morning. I'm about 20 degrees warmer inside, and the two front windows are open about an inch [emoji91][emoji41]

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

Very cold again last night ...

Luis, you don't know what cold is Was below zero here in Northern Minnesota last night, -20° wind chill last weekend.

I noticed in some of your pictures you are cooking with the camping isobutane cylinders. You can get stabilizing feet for them at REI and other camping stores. Makes the stove much more stable, especially with that frying pan.

-- Spiff

 

[Luisafernandes]

Luis, you don't know what cold is Was below zero here in Northern Minnesota last night, -20° wind chill last weekend.

I noticed in some of your pictures you are cooking with the camping isobutane cylinders. You can get stabilizing feet for them at REI and other camping stores. Makes the stove much more stable, especially with that frying pan.

-- Spiff

-20 is cold! I've slept in minus -15 in a minivan with no external heat, just my -15 sleeping bag[emoji300]️
I have the mini rocket stove that I've done must of the cooking with, and I another stove at home that just sits on top of a one pound propane bottle. I did see those stabilizing legs you've mentioned but haven't decided to buy them, yet. And REI is where I bought my mini stove.
Stay warm[emoji91][emoji91][emoji91][emoji91][emoji4]

 

[Luisafernandes]

Gourmet dinner tonigh[emoji478]. Chicken noodle from the can[emoji79] cooked outside.

Hey, it's a hot meal.

 

[Luisafernandes]

Just bought an ottoman at Walmart I can sit on while doing my cooking, and will also serve as a hamper. [emoji5]️

This will much better than my laundry duffel bag.

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As I settle more and more in the van, the house is fast becoming useless to me. With no heat, the only thing I'm still using it for is the flashing toilet and the electricity to charge my battery. Everything else that I haven't been able to sell I'm packing to donate. [emoji56][emoji736]

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Here's some food for thought; how about porthole by my desk[emoji780]

I'm not sure if it would fit in that space but it would be a nice view of and when I'll actually use the desk as intended.

 

[Luisafernandes]

In this episode of "cooking" in the van (more like eating in a van [emoji6]); hot sweet potato[emoji4]

 

[highdesertranger]

dang more food, I am hungry again. highdesertranger

 

[sassypickins]

Now whenever I see a Luis post, I get a Pavlovian rumble in my stomach, knowing there will be a tasty food photo.

+1 for porthole

 

[Luisafernandes]

Now whenever I see a Luis post, I get a Pavlovian rumble in my stomach, knowing there will be a tasty food photo.

+1 for porthole

Pavlovian hey? I actually had to look that one up [emoji251][emoji1]
I love to cook. Now I just have to be creative. Maybe one day I'll have something bigger where I'm able to stand up and cook on a real little oven[emoji844]
I was just looking up portholes and I noticed that they come in different sizes and shapes, and they would fit in that space. [emoji106]. I wonder if they come in double pane[emoji57]

 

[Luisafernandes]

If Sharing my van build and how I cope living in it can help at least one person, or brighten someone's day, then this thread has been worth it.
Thank you for taking your time to read it.

 

[highdesertranger]

luis this thread has been a pleasure to read, lots of great info. even though I get hungry every time I check in on it. highdesertranger