Cats Dog Van

[catmomtoo]

It started last July 2019 with a trip to the coast. I’ve been an avid camper since the age of 18, camping on the beaches near Santa Cruz California.  My first husband and I graduated from a Suzuki Samurai, to a Jeep CJ5 soft top with Jamboree Rack, gas cans, Warn Winch, 33” mudders. We belonged to a 4-Wheel club in Grass Valley, and were regular weekend warriors all over Northern California, and a memory-making trip to Bodi Nevada.  

[size=small][font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif][size=small][size=small]Next stage of life included several houses, a new husband, children, PTA president, a recession in 2000 to 2010, but we made it. Off to Denver for a few years to chase a career. That ended, so back to my beloved Oregon. Kids are grown and gone. I needed something to invest in. A project that would hold my attention as we know work is not everything there is![/size][/size]
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Last year my daughter and I were camping along the coast during the 4th of July holiday, so it was more busy than my liking.  We were moseying along the shores and I was looking at all the various rigs that fishermen and surfers were using to do their thing. I saw the camper van converted to living space and it HIT me!  That's what I wanted! I hate campgrounds (yes I'm a hermit!) so the dream began. I spent months watching Youtube to figure out a floor plan. I totally resonated with CRVL the "no-build" build.  I wanted recycled products, things I already owned, and use plastic instead of wood to save weight and gasoline. 

I will add more photos and the plans soon, and continue this post. Feel free to make suggestions or ask questions. Thinking out loud is fine too!  Thanks for reading.

 

[catmomtoo]

Photos needed to be included.

 

[Qxxx]

Hello catmom. I have a regular GMC Savana, bought 2 1/2 years ago, and have been through 3 revisions of the floor plan. Like you I've camped all my life, and chose to go the minimalist route on my build. Why spend thousands and expend months building it out, when you can be comfortable with less. My main furniture pieces are just a bed, a folding computer desk, and a folding chair.

Now that I've blown your photos up, I see you have windows all around, and the inside walls are nicely finished. I was able to put my bed across the back, as there is 74-76" of width above the wheelwells, but the finishing in your van probably precludes doing that.

So, my main advice is to create a build that gives you as much open floor space as possible. As I built nothing in permanently, each of my revisions was directed at increasing the open floor space. The more cabinets and whatnot you add, the less will be the floor space. Just a thought. Have fun.

 

[catmomtoo]

Thus begins my conversion of a 2000 GMC Savana 1500 passenger van with extended roof! Yes, drives like a couch. It has 107K miles on it. Mechanics have looked at it several times. Just needed fuel pump to pass DEQ. Idler arms replaced. Ready for our first trip someday we hope soon. 

I started sketching out floor planning ideas using Google slides (I'm a PowerPoint Super User) and created a document with ideas and photos that I snipped from various sources.  I kept working on my small floor size till I had 100% usable space (note I'm not done yet!). 

I’ll admit the original plans I had in my mind for months were meant for a Sprinter, and not a van with curved original walls and roof paneling.  The contractor I had working on the interior said he couldn’t make it look any cleaner than it already was, so I stuck with the interior for now anyway. 

Note as of today I have not yet slept in this vehicle. I’m quite concerned that I won’t be able to black out the sleeping area windows as the wood on the bed base comes right up to the windows. This will need future improvement and I’m not sure what that will look like when completed. I may convert to Murphy bed or slide out along the side.  Right now I luv the Love Seat - port o loo set up.  The love seat is for the doggo to call her own. The cushion slides off, and opens up to a storage bin that connects to the garage, and the port o loo has its own compartment as well. Super convenient for me, but maybe not the doggo...we’ll see.

The photo shows the wood bed installed side to side in the back. To the right of that is the Love Seat. It opens bat-wing style. Storage compartment on the left has access to under bed storage. To the right is the Port O Loo in it's own compartment. A better picture coming later on this to show TP storage too.

The piece of wood hanging down in front of the bed has been removed. I didn't like the results, so the table has been added to the donation pile. 

I will add more photos, share the backstory on the Eagle, and introduce you to the doggo soon. Feel free to make suggestions or ask questions. Thinking out loud is fine too!  Thanks for reading. Cat Dog Van

 

[desert_sailing]

I thought quite a bit about the bed set ups as well.  For me, a bed/couch along the side consumes far too much space... a 5-6 foot long couch is a space hog.. and to pull it out even more so. i like the notion of a murphy bed but that limited my options and doesnt really provide for a sitting area.

I had at one time thought I would go with a dinette  that lowered the table to make a bed.. Would be great to have a place to sit and eat always and an easy bed to drop down..but at 6'1 I wouldn't be able to sleep comfortably. I did however find a pretty nifty video on youtube of fella in  a minivan and his bed couch build.
youtube.com/watch?v=h7dM4afXiq8

This is what I put into my build. It allows for me to stretch out. It takes very little floor space. My counters/shelves/storage are still accessible when in bed mode.. AND i get TWO couches.. one viewing inside and one to the outside for those beautiful days. I made the box/frame differently than the video and have tons of storage underneath.

This is a link to my build status here on crvl if you want to take a look. It may serve as inspiration. It was super easy to make with rudimentary skills and tools...AND pretty darn cheap.... the hinges were the most expensive part.  

cheaprvliving.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=39952

Good luck in your build ..the whole bed/sitting area seems to be the most critical..I hope at the end you AND I made a good choice..LOL

 

[Qxxx]

..the whole bed/sitting area seems to be the most critical..

Yeah, everything else ends up adapting to how the bed is built.

You can actually put a fold down bed "lengthwise" in a high-top van. Originally I had my 38" wide single mattress lengthwise, but the top was too low, and the mattress too wide to be able to flip it up. It's also possible to use a 30" wide mattress, which is one of the standard widths for truckers, so you should be able to easily find fitted sheets for that size.

Also, if the bed is a little on the short side, many people sleep at an angle. A regular mattress 38"x74" has an 83" (6' 11") diagonal.

 

[catmomtoo]

I thought quite a bit about the bed set ups as well.  For me, a bed/couch along the side consumes far too much space... a 5-6 foot long couch is a space hog.. and to pull it out even more so. i like the notion of a murphy bed but that limited my options and doesnt really provide for a sitting area.

I had at one time thought I would go with a dinette  that lowered the table to make a bed.. Would be great to have a place to sit and eat always and an easy bed to drop down..but at 6'1 I wouldn't be able to sleep comfortably. I did however find a pretty nifty video on youtube of fella in  a minivan and his bed couch build.
youtube.com/watch?v=h7dM4afXiq8

This is what I put into my build. It allows for me to stretch out. It takes very little floor space. My counters/shelves/storage are still accessible when in bed mode.. AND i get TWO couches.. one viewing inside and one to the outside for those beautiful days. I made the box/frame differently than the video and have tons of storage underneath.

This is a link to my build status here on crvl if you want to take a look. It may serve as inspiration. It was super easy to make with rudimentary skills and tools...AND pretty darn cheap.... the hinges were the most expensive part.  

cheaprvliving.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=39952

Good luck in your build ..the whole bed/sitting area seems to be the most critical..I hope at the end you AND I made a good choice..LOL

Thanks for the tip! I'm subscribed to that channel but had not yet seen the video. Eric Enjoys Earth made it look simple, and that even an aging person could manage the pull-out.  You'll have to see what I went with in my upcoming saga... my contractor had a youth bed that his kid didn't need anymore. He suggested adapting it to the van, no cost for materials so of course I said "sure!"  What I have is a twin size storage bed with drawers added on top of a mid-profile garage frame out. It is tall enough in spots to accommodate bottle of antifreeze and coolant. The drawers are deep enough to hold stacks of towels, blankets, or jackets.  >>>If I don't like the size of the bed I'll be looking for a Plan B.  :thumbsup:

 

[catmomtoo]

..the whole bed/sitting area seems to be the most critical..

Yeah, everything else ends up adapting to how the bed is built.

You can actually put a fold down bed "lengthwise" in a high-top van. Originally I had my 38" wide single mattress lengthwise, but the top was too low, and the mattress too wide to be able to flip it up. It's also possible to use a 30" wide mattress, which is one of the standard widths for truckers, so you should be able to easily find fitted sheets for that size.

Also, if the bed is a little on the short side, many people sleep at an angle. A regular mattress 38"x74" has an 83" (6' 11") diagonal.

I'll have to say being 5'3" is a benefit when planning a single occupancy rig. I have suspicions that when I include a pillow, the layout will be too tight against the side windows and then I'll be planning my re-do.  I have a custom mattress that fits just inside the bed frame, with a cover and then using any sheets I have.  BUT since I haven't yet slept in it, I'm not there, and      I don't want to jinx this whole project yet.

 

[Qxxx]

Don't worry about jinxing anything. This is all a big learning curve. Take incremental steps, try something out "temporarily", and if you don't like it so much, try something else. Easy peasy.

As I noted I went through 3 different revisions of my build, and each time I got it to be more like what I was satisfied with. I have a regular length GMC Savana van (came with bulkhead behind the front seats), and I now have 4'x6' of open floor space, and I love it. In my first build, the floor space was only 3'x3', and I could barely turn around. Foo.

There is a popular youtuber named Caravan Carolyn who over the course of 2 years or so, kept ripping out her build and totally redoing it. All the time while she was living in the van in the desert. She has now gone nomadic to static however, so you'll have to go back about a year to find her desert days.
https://www.youtube.com/user/kamsmomusa1/videos

 

[catmomtoo]

Thanks for that. I spent the day trying to think my way out of this. I was a step away from considering selling it and start over!  Realized the bed is too high and needs to be dropped a level, or completely changed.
 
I've found a few local FB groups that may be able to help with carpentry and finishing the solar. 
BUT I'll take measurements this time, and not build so tall. I'll check out Caravan Carolyn. Sounds like tenacity would be inspiring.  

Here's a photo of the interior mess. Ugh. 

Be well!

 

[catmomtoo]

Hello catmom. I have a regular GMC Savana, bought 2 1/2 years ago, and have been through 3 revisions of the floor plan. Like you I've camped all my life, and chose to go the minimalist route on my build. Why spend thousands and expend months building it out, when you can be comfortable with less. My main furniture pieces are just a bed, a folding computer desk, and a folding chair.

Now that I've blown your photos up, I see you have windows all around, and the inside walls are nicely finished. I was able to put my bed across the back, as there is 74-76" of width above the wheelwells, but the finishing in your van probably precludes doing that.

So, my main advice is to create a build that gives you as much open floor space as possible. As I built nothing in permanently, each of my revisions was directed at increasing the open floor space. The more cabinets and whatnot you add, the less will be the floor space. Just a thought. Have fun.

Hey there, do you have pix somewhere of your completed project?  Looking for ideas  :idea:

 

[Qxxx]

I don't really have good pictures. Just imagine this. Minimalist and cheap. I probably have only about $500-600 in the build. I cook outside on a Coleman stove. Lifetime campers don't need much. First, a plain cargo van with interior 6'x9' behind the bulkhead.

1. a bed across the back, sitting on a simple platform above the wheel wells (which are 12" high). Mattress is off-the-shelf 8" thick foam 38"x74", and being foam, it conforms to the curvature of the van walls. The top of the bed is approximately 20" above the floor, so you can sit on it as normal, and your head does not hit the ceiling of the van, which is approx 58" high. Also, since the bed is always down, I can hop on it in 1-second to take an old man's afternoon nap.

2. the only other piece of furniture is a beautiful wooden folding computer desk along the left side. There is a folding deck chair to sit at the desk or to take outside. The table was $96 when I bought it on ebay.
https://jet.com/product/Sampson-Folding-Mission-Computer-Desk/feef0017dc094c52a98132badcd5d55f
https://www.theclassyhome.com/Product/WNS-81140

That leaves an open floor space of approx 4'x6'. Under the bed goes 90% of my storage, and some also under the computer desk.

In my 2nd revision, I had a a small cabinet 13"x19" that held the solar controller and batteries. and which took up approx 1/4 of the floor space. However, before the last trip I built a small wooden box for solar that hangs on the wall, and moved the batteries next to the bed. Just 100W of solar, plus a pure sinewave 120VAC inverter gives me enough juice for a reading lamp (120VAC 60W Led bulb that draws 11W), and the laptop. Some people swear by having everything 12V, but I only use 120V stuff. All in all, very minimalist.

 

[Qxxx]

BTW, I mentioned Caravan Carolyn mainly because she tried out several different arrangements in her van, which might give you some ideas. She was lucky to be traveling with lots of other people back then and had help with her builds. Also, Simple and Serene has a lot of pointers for doing things the easy way. Good info one power sources, like the Jackery. Smart lady.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCG_GabIBd_cIU6mKckySX0g/videos

I can't quite make out what's going on in your pictures. That's the trouble with cameras and vans, you cannot get good perspective shots. I think you may have mentioned the no-build-build that Bob Wells did for ideas that are simple and cheap, but give you the basics.


Since you don't have a lot of tools or space to work, I would say you might "initially" do something very minimal that can get you on the road quickly, and then worry about refining it later on after  the current mess has hopefully subsided. That's what I did on my first iteration, as I wanted to travel, rather than sitting at home messing with a fancy and expensive build. Some people spend many months and many thousands of dollars before they ever leave home. OTOH, I built the basics, and headed to Arizona for 2 months. 

Here is an idea which would allow you to be on the road literally tomorrow. Not fancy, but does the job. Most people use plastic totes from Lowes and Home Depot for storage. Well, they can also be the bed frame .... Arrange a few totes, put some cardboard on top to form a smooth surface, and use foam or air mattress on top of that. The totes will slide in and out easy, and you'll still have lots of open space in your van. Just an idea.