I have created my 'weekender'

[user 11188]

It took a bit, but I have created my weekender to see how I like the van life before a full commitment.  It is a 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan (Carrie) with 136k miles.  I don't call this a build as it is more of a configuration.  It has a bed, storage for 2 weeks worth of food and clothes, a kinda toilet, and carries 6 gal. of H20.  My main goal for this experiment was to see how bat sh*t crazy I would go if I went off grid for a while.  More on that later.


The bed is an old twin frame that I cut down to 28" wide to fit the mattress that I already bought (Sometimes I do things in the wrong order)   I had to level it up so I did some 2x4 leg supports.
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I have a kitchen bin, two clothes bins, a small shovel, and a chair under the bed.  I took out the front stow and go seats for additional storage, and that is where I have my tools, jumper cables and other stuff that I don't use too much. 


My water storage is 6x1 gallons in a milk crate.  On top of that is another milk crate that can either hold food or my shower system and on top of that is a work surface.  


I have a poop bucket and a pee jar which has worked out fine so far.


As far as the configuration goes, so far this is a winner.  If I go longer term, I would like to add some solar, but for now, a battery pack is working fine for my limited needs.  I don't have a heater yet, and I just did a 32 degree night with the wrong sleeping bag so I need to look at that.  For cooking I have a Coleman single burner butane and I don't really need a cooler, but I use one to have some cold stuff on the first two days.  The experiment continues as the AZ temperature cools.  I started blogging about this and may start some videos on Youtube.  For now, I'm just starting out.  If you have questions, let me know.

 

[Firebuild]

Brad! Carrie looks great! What is that super cool old crate your poop bucket is in? As for heat, might I suggest a diesel air heater?

Congrats on the configuration!

 

[user 11188]

[font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]@Firebuild - it's some old whisky crate I had lying about.  I am using a 3 gal food grade bucket for #2 and a 32 oz yellow Nalgene for #1.  (not sure why I needed food grade, but that is what I went with)  For the heater, I think I will go with a Mr. Buddy unless I can find something smaller.[/font]

 

[eDJ_]

Congratulations !   This should be a fine example for a lot of others here who are wanting to pursue a "weekender", or a Bug-Out rig.   to get started with.   The way you are approaching "Van Life" is commendable too.  It is what some would call a "shake down tour",  which is giving yourself a chance to learn and adapt and see if it is right for you.  Then evaluating what worked great,  what could use some improvement,  what may be working but not well enough, and what is a sure fired failure and definitely needs to go.

The weekends of the transitioning climate this time of year are great times to make these evaluations.  Not only for you, but anyone else interested in doing this.

If you haven't looked at the two links below,  please give them a look.  You may find some helpful stuff in them.

Good luck with your beginner rig and all the best :thumbsup:

 

[Firebuild]

[font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]@Firebuild - it's some old whisky crate I had lying about.  I am using a 3 gal food grade bucket for #2 and a 32 oz yellow Nalgene for #1.  (not sure why I needed food grade, but that is what I went with)  For the heater, I think I will go with a Mr. Buddy unless I can find something smaller.[/font]

LOL well, food grade does give you some flexibility, I guess!

 

[Tony's Dream]

Looks awesome Brad! She looks like a sweet vehicle. I am basically doing the same thing......to see if I can handle the space without going crazy.

 

[tx2sturgis]

Looks great, word of advice: A Mr Buddy heater will put out waay too much heat in a minivan.

 

[user 11188]

Good point - I'm open to suggestions for something smaller.  Have not started my search yet.

 

[maki2]

in a pinch your single burner coleman will do the job. That is what Bob Wells uses for his heat. Of course he is in a larger van. I think he did a video showing it in his winter series either last year or an earlier year.

I am not going to say anything about the safety factors, look the video for that stuff. Fortunately I never got appointed to be the hall safety monitor in school.

 

[user 11188]

in a pinch your single burner coleman will do the job. That is what Bob Wells uses for his heat. Of course he is in a larger van. I think he did a video showing it in his winter series either last year or an earlier year.
...

Thanks for the tip.  I searched YT and found this

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[Qxxx]

Brad, I like your K.I.S.S. build. You have what you need to live on the road for months. You can travel and see how you like it, and will have plenty of time to make plans for what to do next. I have a GMC Savana van, we both will know the joys of "living outside" and sleeping inside, as they say. Get a couple of good sleeping bags. You can fire up the Coleman stove in the morning to heat up the inside of the van and make coffee, .

 

[Qxxx]

I forgot to mention, if you get a Jackery 500 power station and a 100W solar panel, you'll have plenty of power for a laptop and inside lights. I use a 60W-equivalent 120VAC Led bulb (actual draw 11W) plugged into my inverter.

 

[user 11188]

Heater update - Thanks to all for the heater feedback.  Going to try this for now.  Need to buy a fire extinguisher and maybe tin foil my roof, but this puts out some real heat.  Will try it with a thermometer and report back the results.  Not sure why I have the other bit at the end of the post.  Still working out how to do attachments.

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https://www.google.com/search?clien...UKEwixmcq74c7sAhWmIjQIHZ6QCXUQkeECKAB6BAgNECo

 

[bagabum]

Heater update - 

Can on top of stove.......Brad,  FYI, look up excessive CO caused by burning fossil fuels. You will notice that a clean burning flame generates less carbon monoxide if the flame temperature is not quenched with a cold surface.  Of course your going to generate more CO when cooking and having flame impingement on  pots and pans, but for heating, I'm wondering if the shroud is adding value.  Some friends actually remove the grating so its all open flame when knocking the chill out of the camper.  One of the corky dots for creating more CO on write up is   *[font=Verdana, Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Flame impinging on cold surface.  [/font]Others may chime in, I am by no means a CO expert but I did  come across a lot of information on this when looking up CO2 build up  in small confined areas from just breathing.  my2cents PS, good progress on your "re-configuration"!

 

[highdesertranger]

if you use a can you will be breathing all that junk on the can. now-a-days most cans are lined with plastic, then there is the shinny tin coating that you will burn off. highdesertranger