Big Blue version 3.0

[decodancer]

Putting this on my Amazon wish list. I'm taking my toaster oven for my 2 month job at Amazon but this will be perfect for the trip to the RTR as I plan on casino camping most of the way and will not have hookups. Pineapple upside down cake anyone?

 

[LughTheBard]

I'd love some!

 

[LeeRevell]

My Stansport propane stove/oven combo is very similar. Not installed yet. I figure the oven can do double duty as the storage cubby for the pots & pans. ;-)

 

[Van-Tramp]

Sounds like we need a thread on recipes for van-cooked foods.

So far I've made some cookies and rolls and each have come out great. I did have one instance in which my timer goes off and I look over to see the cookies still completely uncooked. It turns out that the flame went out in the oven. It wasn't wind as I was indoors... I suspect it was just a fluke happening. Still, loving the oven!

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I took a few more pictures of the new (final?) interior

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hmmm, Oh I see... wrong URL

 

[decodancer]

That is sleek! Quite the bachelor pad.

 

[janncoo]

Van-Tramp, I love the finished and organized look of the inside of your van. How are the curtains hanging behind your new stove? I am salivating at that stove. Jan

 

[LughTheBard]

Damn VT! This build just keeps gettin more and more awesome! You're gonna have me remodeling my van once I get it back from the shop. I keep looking at yours and thinking, "I want one!" Your space utilization is so great! Functional has never looked so good!

 

[Van-Tramp]

Thanks all.

Curtains have the no sew snaps and buttons (similar to these found at Walmart), two at top bottom and middle so it can be snapped on at the shape of the interior.

The curtains themselves are quite unique (thanks to my Ex for making them for me). They are actually two layers with one of the four sides open so I can insert foam into them. The idea was it create a thick insulating curtain for those super cold nights, while easily converted to a flowing curtain for summers when I may have the bottom snaps unbuttoned to allow maximum air flow while maintaining privacy.

You may also notice the window "inserts" (they are blue in color) which are actually remnants of left over foam from the seat cushions when I recycled the four smaller cushions into the two large cushions (new upholstery was required... thanks again to my Ex). Anyway, the blue inserts are 2 inches of foam wrapped in a form fitted fabric that then insert into the window frames. They kill 100% of light and make the van much warmer on cold nights. From the outside they are unnoticeable thanks to the tint on those windows. When I want more light or air flow, I simply grab one of the inserts and pull. They double as a great back rest when reading or movie watching

 

[caseyc]

Yeah, nice laptop table setup there! Dang, you sure have more space than me! I'm jealous! It helps you have a reclining sofa/bed to afford more working space. Fortunately or unfortunately, I chose to add a full time bed in my van which takes up around 80% of my usable rear interior space. Oh well, the choices and compromises we all have to make.

 

[Van-Tramp]

Caseyc, in my version 2.0 of the van interior the rear couch/bed was similar to you... full-time in bed mode. I rarely used it as a couch, so it simply stayed out. I never considered it as space-well-spent during the two thirds of the day that I am not sleeping.

One goal with this rebuild was to eliminate that issue. Placing the bed where it is now (as opposed to at the rear running across the width of the van) was so I could lengthen it. I am 6' tall and prefer to be able to stretch out. On the flip side, I'm not a very large man in the waist line, so I did not need a lot of width to my bed. The seat cushion of the couch/bed was just roughly 26 inches wide, making it the same basic size as a sleeping bag, which I am accustomed to sleeping in, so I only needed that amount of space. So, my couch-bench was built to handle that width along with a few extra inches of elbow room (29 inches total). I sleep on it without pulling out the "bed" 99% of the time. However, once or twice a year my son and Ex do come out with me on a weekend road trip, so I needed the ability to sleep two more in the van. My son has always been comfortable in the passenger seat which folds flat, and even though she is my Ex, we are more than comfortable sharing a bed when the need arises, so I made sure to include that ability in the build.

Another goal in the build was a dedicated desk space, which has been working out wonderfully. The only issue I had been having was carrying around an extra folding chair just to use at the desk. It was *always* in the way. One day when I opened the desk drawer I realized that if I placed a plank of wood on it, it would serve as a desk while sitting on the couch. I happened to have a plank sitting right there; my removable table (but it was too short). I went ahead and re-cut another plank of wood the exact dimensions I needed for the desk-extension and it doubles as that removable table depending on the mood. It really is a genius plan and I'm quite proud of that one

Since I have installed the over-counter-storage (food and microwave) and the new under-oven-storage (pots and pans) my normal pantry areas (the 3 cabinets on either side of the fridge) are bare. The new oven/stove combo allows me to remove my 2-burner stove from the counter top, freeing up a lot of counter top space. I actually have *more* space than I need right now! How amazing is that? I'm considering bringing the microwave back down to the counter top, and enclosing the over-counter-storage so it is not all out on display to everyone that walks past my open side door. Not sure on that yet, but a possibility while I am still sitting still for another 2 months.

 

[janncoo]

Van-Tramp, thanks for the info on your curtains. I have been trying to come up with something and I think these options might work. Jan

 

[caseyc]

Van Tramp,

Very nice. It's always so satisfying when things fit together, especially when it's unexpected! It's funny you mention your ex sharing the same bed. When I first started out, I installed a regular twin size mattress and twin size bedframe that I got from a bed store cuz I thought it would only be myself. Turns out that my GF stays with me at least half the time, so we are both sharing a twin size bed. Good thing we are both on the thin side, otherwise we'd have problems, haha!

Had I known she would be spending so much time with me, I might have gotten the next larger size up which I think is a full size mattress. I'm used to sleeping on a queen size bed for many years, so it really took awhile for me to get used to downsizing. Ahhh, the things we do for the sake of living the life of rent freedom.

By the way, you should see my "computer chair". It's actually a Thetford porta-potty which I velcro taped a Kensington seat cushion to the top lid so it doubles as a seat. My double-duty toilet/seat is right up against the laptop table and bottom of bed frame. I wish I had more space sometimes, but oh well. It will have to do.

Is your van an extended length van? I'd imagine so versus my Ford E150 conversion van.

 

[Van-Tramp]

Yea, I am extended (12 feet from rear doors to the back of the drivers chair) The back 5 feet (and all width) used to be all bed... basically a queen... and it was a huge waste of space.

You have any pics of your van build Casey?

 

[caseyc]

Hi Van Tramp,

I figured yours is extended. Mine is the regular size. The way I can tell if a Ford van is extended or not is the extra set of rear windows typically used for vanpool vans. I'd love to have that little bit of extra length, but then again, it's already a pain in the @ss to parallel park in city streets, haha!

I will be taking new pictures of my interior very soon. I'm in the middle of doing some "home remodeling". Sounds funny to say that, hyuck yuck. I just recently took out the 10" bass subwoofer box enclosure which was taking up a bit of space that I could use for other things. But now my stereo doesn't have that boom boom power bass sound anymore. Sad.

On the plus side though, that has allowed to me use that space for other things. I now put my Sears 1150 Diehard (battery jumper) battery in the spot where the bass box used to be. The Sears 400 watt inverter battery will be used to help power my laptop and other small devices. The Sears battery in turn will be charged up via the auxillary battery and 2,000 watt inverter installed into the van. The reason I'm not relying on the aux battery as the only source of power is because I believe I'm already killing the battery, having overtaxed it whereby it's now having a hard time keeping a full charge, or even half a charge. I will be replacing the Group 27 AGM battery soon, but that's another matter for a different thread.

I will also rearrange my portable electronics (eg: portable printer, portable scanner) so that it will sit directly above on a shelf above the Sears battery and will be connected to the laptop. Right now, the printer and scanner are resting on a tray on top of my Dometic fridge, which is not ideal. Due to such limited space, all my appliances and electronics are all bunched up right next to each other and/or on top of each other.

I'm also taking out my Toshiba 19" flat screen TV because I found I haven't been using it, plus it requires the freakin' inverter to be on to use it. I hate turning on the inverter, and try to avoid doing so in favor of 12 volt outlets instead. I've decided to use my Sony 14" laptop with a built-in BlueRay player for watching movies instead of the Toshiba TV. Plus I also have a 12" AudioVox flip down DVD/TV player installed on the ceiling, so I have too many duplicate devices for watching movies as it is. Sick, I know.

So for now, the space between the back of the driver seat and the end of my bed is in a state of flux. I'm looking forward to removing items that I don't really need, as it will simplify my setup and utilize my limited space more efficiently. Good thing I don't cook! At one time I contemplated installing a sink and stove. That would have been a complete waste of time since I never cook as I always eat out. There are so many things I'd like to install, as money is less so a concern versus space limitation.

Oh well. I only use my van for sleeping at night anyhow. Otherwise, I'm not in the vehicle for most of the day. That's what I keep telling myself, haha!

Casey

 

[Van-Tramp]

Yep, I can understand those decisions. Every time I consider buying something new, I have to think about whether or not it serves a single use or multiple. I do not have the space for single-use items (such as a DVD player, or even TV). I already have a lap top (two actually) that can watch movies... and much more. TV removed years ago and I am happier for it.

I even went through my plates, cups, bowls, and silverware and eliminated... well, most. I kept only 2 coffee mugs, 2 glasses (actually they are jars), 4 of each piece of silver, and 4 plates/bowls. I figured; how many times have I had to feed more than 4 people at one time? Never.

Items as little as a spatula have to go through rigorous consideration. Even my portable BBQ has been nixed (too much space and only a single purpose) over a dutch oven (multi-use by far) and now my oven (I will be leaving my dutch oven behind now). Phone chargers go in the trash in favor of a single USB cord that has multiple ends for both my MP3 player, camera, phone, etc. I have decided many times against a sink as I simply use a small plastic tub which has many more uses than a sink and stores away while a sink does not.

In all honesty, some of the most enjoyable time I have in my van is adding/building onto it to better use space, and reducing the amount of items I carry. I can keep myself more than entertained sitting completely still with my trusted jigsaw and a sheet of good wood. Although, I must admit that I sometimes lose a lot of sleep due the the amount of thought I will put into a project. This Version 3.0 was more than a year of planning and considering how best to do it for the lowest cost... and many nights of lost sleep.

 

[caseyc]

That's funny. I think what we both have in common is that we can easily agonize over seemingly small details. Sure drives my GF nuts sometimes! However, my only saving grace is that I don't lose sleep over it, but I will certainly think about things excessively sometimes. The only time I usually lose sleep is Sunday nights when my mind starts thinking about the upcoming weekly job grind. My mind sometimes gets so agitated about work tasks that I will wake up in the middle of the night and have a hard time sleeping again. Then I get to work all worn out from lack of sleep. Depressing.

 

[sassypickins]

Mad skills, Van Tramp! Time well spent... or is that sleep well lost?

and looking forward to your pics, caseyc

 

[stude53]

Casey,
Here's some bass for you,

http://www.gizmag.com/jawbone-jambox-small-size-big-sound/17230/

Bob

 

[caseyc]

Thanks, I already have the small version of the BlueTooth Jambox. Puts out pretty good sound given its small size. The larger version puts out even better sound and bass, but at a much larger size. The thing I don't like about the Jambox is it doesn't have buttons for Next and Previous tracks, whereas other similar devices do. I have a friend who has the $300 Bose Bluetooth speaker, and it blows away my Jambox any day of the week, haha! Seriously though, now that I'm doing this "life style" full time, I really can't turn up the volume or bass as it would cause a nuisance in quiet neighborhoods. Plus another reason I removed my 10" subwoofer box is because it chewed up extra power from my battery/inverter. My auxillary battery is already overtaxed as it is.

Casey,
Here's some bass for you,

http://www.gizmag.com/jawbone-jambox-small-size-big-sound/17230/

Bob

 

[akrvbob]

Let's be careful not to hijack a great thread!
Bob