Not new but, it's been some time...

[sunnyslife]

Life happens, (i.e. divorce, birth of grandbabies, loss of daughter, etc...), and I have had to abandon many dreams, (some permanently, some temporarily), but here I am again, holding on to my dream of living a "free" life.

You may, but probably not, remember that my last endeavor on my journey was a van conversion. Well, after I finished the project I discovered that the van I had would not make it to the RTR and back to Ohio so, I sold it.

The only things I got to keep in the divorce were the 2005 Envoy and my personal belongings. I am about to scrap the Envoy though - needs way too much money invested to keep it on the road. But, my mother gave me part of my inheritance early - it is a 1999 Dodge Dakota Extend Cab - Florida truck - new motor put in 2 years ago and hasn't been on the road since - and, it has less than 70,000 miles on it.

I have thought long and hard and decided that I don't want to tow anything and a truck cap would not due for converting so, I am planning on starting a build next week, weather permitting, on a permanent "slide-in" camper.

Anyway, I just wanted to drop in and say hello, let you know what I am doing, and warn you that I will no doubt have lots of questions - LOL.

Have a wonderful day.
Barbara

 

[travelaround]

Hi Barbara! Welcome back! I don't remember you from before because maybe I wasn't on this forum then. Good idea to have a camper on your truck. I'm just now starting my first van conversion... just building the floor right now, in anticipation of my first trip.

 

[sunnyslife]

Thank you.
I loved my van conversion when it was done but...now my ex-BIL is living full-time in it in a friends yard so at least it wasn't a total loss.

 

[travelaround]

So, what kind of work did you do to convert your van? I'd like to hear all the details. How did you install your floor, for example?

 

[highdesertranger]

Welcome Barbara to the CRVL forums! To help you learn the ins and outs of these forums, this "Tips, Tricks and Rules" post lists some helpful information to get you started. We look forward to hearing more from you. have a mechanic go through that Dakota. a vehicle sitting is worse that a vehicle driven. as far as that Envoy I would try to sell it as is because you are only going to get a couple hundred junking it. if it runs you should be able to get a couple thousand out of it at least. highdesertranger

 

[cyndi]

Nice to have you back, Barbara! I'm sorry for all you've been through. The loss of your daughter breaks my heart. I can't imagine.

I'm sure glad you haven't given up on this particular dream

 

[sunnyslife]

Sorry for taking so long to respond.
My van build was all but perfect but would have worked. I took out both back rows of seats - ripped up the capet and insulated and laid new subfloor - then I drilled holes in the interior walls just big enough to use foam insulation.
After all that I built a wooden box bed with a lift up lid for storage along the passenger wall - behind that I put a piece of plywood across to make a wall that left me about a foot and a half in the hatch - and I put another piece at the very end that was a fold down work space - in between the two boards was my camp stove, pots & pans and so on - that was my outdoor kitchen. I had the hatch to attach tarps to if needed for the weather.
Next to the bed against the wall was a utility cart with drawers for my personals.
I had plenty of space to keep food and some crafts in the front passenger side.
Lastly, I was going to add a rooftop carrier to store my fishing and metal detecting gear.
Oh, and refletix on thr windows.
I hope this didn't get boring - lol.

 

[ckelly78z]

If you are able to, post pictures of your build so we can see your progress. Be careful on a Dakota build, they don't have a big carrying capacity, and squat under a moderate load.