After I bought my Town & Country, the next thing I got was a spiral notebook of graph paper. I've almost filled it with plans, dreams and schemes for creating a camper interior for my van. I have a space approximately 4 feet by 7 feet to work with, so graph paper allows me to keep things within scale and realistic. The plans range from the most simplistic to the most complicated. The simplest, of course, is a folding camp cot (which would have room underneath for storage tubs for my stuff), a sort of commode/bedside table that would house a portable toilet, a folding TV table to eat on or use the computer on, and that would really suffice nicely. I used it that way once and found it nice, because the cot also makes a nice inside seating area. Perfect for simple, solo trips. I'm on a budget -- the wooden components I have designed won't cost an arm and a leg, but will take more time to assemble. And I'm still working out ideas before I begin constructing the components. The interior space is small, so real cabinets and such that I'd put into a larger van just aren't all that practical. I MIGHT be able to build a narrow counter along one side, if I cut down the size of my bed to 3 feet wide, which would narrow down to a two-foot-wide seat along the other side. Sitting down, I could set that up for my camp stove and maybe build in a little sink. An ice chest for food would stow under the bed, or become an additional seat during the day. For anyone now in the designing stages, I suggest sketching out all the alternatives you can think of, and figure out whether or not they'll work for you, before committing yourself to any one plan. It's the pits to spend a lot of time and money only to find out that what looked brilliant on paper just isn't going to work well. I've spent a lot of time looking at ideas online, too, from the most primitive (a sheet of plywood on milk crates) to some beautiful ideas. For something the size of a Chrysler or Dodge minivan, it's worth looking over pictures of interiors of the Volkswagen Westphalia campers, because their space usage is brilliant, and is about the same size (minus the pop-top the VWs have). If you love woodwork and designing, the whole project can be really fun and something to be proud of. If you don't mind primitive, though, and use budget plywood, you can still come up with good ideas. For comfort, however, I suggest sanding down rough surfaces, rounding corners, and using a little finesse. If you're living or camping in your vehicle, slivers and snags on rough corners and surfaces will take the fun away quickly. Also, securing stuff is essential, because the last thing you need in an accident is being impaled by something or regaining consciousness with all the contents of the porta-potty dumped all over you! The reason I'm using wooden floor panels is to have a way to secure everything as best I can. So, with planning and at least a little finesse, anyone can come up with something workable and practical as well as aesthetically pleasing to spend time in. And when it comes to actual construction, your most important tools will be your square and your measuring tape, as well as pencil and paper. Something as little as a half-inch off may well turn out not to fit at all as you planned. Every fraction of an inch counts! It's a lot easier to do something right the first time than to try to do it over or make adjustments later.
