FloorPlans-Layout drafts - requesting input

[gizmotron]

Fantastic video. Thanks for sharing this.

 

[maki2]

You have left a very sheltered life if you are amazed that a young woman can do that work. I was building Boeing jumbo jets along with thousands of other young women in my 20s back in the 1970s.

 

[CosmickGold]

You have left a very sheltered life if you are amazed that a young woman can do that work. . . .

It's true. My mother sheltered me so much, I remember one time her own bother became angry with her for being too afraid to let me cross the street by myself.

And being so "sheltered" until I was 21 took a toll on my understanding of life, making it hard to adjust to social norms when finally out in the "real world" alone. People did indeed think I was strange (which was not fun for me).

But it's not my mother's fault. She in turn was given a highly sheltered life and would never dream of taking on such a task as what this girl did to convert her van. Imagining my mother doing that is like looking at a surrealistic painting in a museum of famous art.

 

[CosmickGold]

Layout drafts - requesting input​

I fully agree with what Bob Wells and others have said: It is best NOT to do a permanent buildout until you've already lived in that exact buildout for at least a few weeks.

In my case, I started by creating a Van in my Bedroom, and lived in it for several months before acquiring my real van. To my surprise, I needed to change the layout FOUR TIMES before discovering what I really needed. Then, when it came time to build and move into my real van, I already knew exactly what I wanted, and got everything right the first time. Now, three years later, it's still exactly right, with no significant changes.

 

[user 29855]

I didn't make any permanent changes in my G20 hightop van for a year, because I kept having new thoughts about what I needed v/s what I had v/s what I could do without. Also, what would last. I have changed my bed size and location three times finding that the best solution was having the bed across the rear of the van. Then realizing that the height of the bed depended not only how much length I could have (The sides of the van "bow") and what height was best for storage. Take your time. You can do a lot with a sleeping bag with padding underneath.

 

[AmargosaWayne]

In an average size bedroom is one thing,
inside an actual van is a whole 'nother thing.

 

[CosmickGold]

In an average size bedroom is one thing,
inside an actual van is a whole 'nother thing.

Are you responding to my comment? About perfecting my van layout in my bedroom? If you watch the video I made with Bob Wells about it, you'll understand that I
(1) First went online and found the floor measurements of the van style I wanted. Then used masking tape to mark the floor with those exact measurements, and then used the backside of tall furniture to close the internal space to those exact measurements.
(2) Then I even used a portable toilet (pooping included), showered, prepared and ate my food, all inside my bedroom van. So,
(3) Moving it all into the actual van was not "a whole 'nother thing" as I had not been living in "an average size bedroom".
(4) After I emailed Bob Wells pictures of what I'd done, he asked me if I'd work with him to create a video about it, which we did. He believed my process to be a great way to help others discover what the inside of van life is like by experiencing it firsthand, and also gaining "hands-on" experience at solving design and living problems before hitting the road, even before purchasing a van.
(5) It certainly worked for me. I'm now a truly happy camper.

 

[user 29503]

My personal input is I am a tall guy, and the bed on the side option does not work for me. I have a G10, all the Sprinters were pretty beat up and in the "problem zone" as far as mileage goes in my area, so that's what I have. The bed on the side option is only possible in two ways for me: a Murphy Bed that saves space *which would be more of a Murphy Cot in my scenario), or the bed on the side over the wheel well. The latter will have my head touching the ceiling at it's lowest installation over the well. The Murphy bed doesn't work because my ribs end at a half ellipse type void which cause all of my 71 inches to overlap storage and the kitchen area and it makes it awkward.
Therefore......I am more a fan of your bed-across-the-back design. It allows for some more creative problem solving as to how to use the space as opposed to a single isle. That is what I am doing. However, I'm traveling alone and was a Submariner, I was brainwashed into being a minimalist, so I'm going with a 24" mattress. So my idea of space could be different than yours. Enjoy the process.