Thursday, September 24, 2020

She's ready for a road trip

Hello all on this beautiful Fall day!

Well, it would be a beautiful day if it weren't for the smoke in the air, but it's better than it was last week, so one must be grateful right?

I promised some photos of our (somewhat) finished Van project - the bed anyway - and I'm happy to say it's done and ready to go!

Here's the "before" the bed went in............


And here's the "after"!!!!!!


All I can say is HURRAY... and I'm so happy and relieved it's done......

The mattresses fit side by side perfectly and are very comfy and firm the way we like it....

We used two twin sized foldable memory foam mattresses that I bought on Amazon - very good reviews on them.
We used two foldable memory foam mattress pads that I purchased from Amazon - they had very good reviews.
A queen sheet fits (almost).  The two mattresses make this about 5" larger than a queen bed! I'm so happy! We're used to a king bed.
Rudy likes it!

The bed is made up with nice soft sheets - this lady does NOT like sleeping in sleeping bags! I want my bed to feel like home. I mean, we will take one in case we need it for extra warmth on top of us, but I wanted our bed to not feel so much like we are camping. 

I sanded all the plywood and drilled holes in the end to hold it on the frames, so it won't slide around. The plywood on the frames is also in 3 pieces, so that we can, if we need to, remove one of the mattresses, and fold over the blankets and slide the middle piece to one side, so that we have an "aisle" down the middle to walk, or sit on the beds. 

I bought a large flannel sheet and a quilt from the thrift store, to put under the mattresses. The quilt was too narrow, and had scalloped edges, so I cut some quilt batting (4 layers) to fit along the side, so it would all be level. No lumps for me!

And voila.. it's ready!

Our heads will be at the end by the back doors, and there's just enough room at the foot of our bed (up front behind the seats) for stowing a few things, like our ice chest, water jug and porta potty (yes... we HAVE to have a porta potty!)  Doesn't give us much room, but it works.

We both use CPAP machines, and those will have to sit under the bed at our heads.. and the cords will run up front to where the two batteries and inverters are. We've had two extra heavy duty batteries installed, that are hooked up to the Van battery, and they will charge every time the Van is running. That way, we can be "off grid" if we want to or need to be. I'm anxious to try them out. 

They take up alot of room, but I think it'll be worth it. This way, hubby can take the Van hunting and park and sleep out overnight where there is no power. 

So........she's ready to go. There are nice blinds on the side windows and I have made curtains (temporary ones) for the back and side door windows. They are only temporary.. I made them last summer on the fly using some fleece blankets I bought, so that we'd have curtains when we (attempted) went camping in the Fall. 

My next project is to (somehow, not sure how to) put hooks in the Van to hang things on. I'm afraid to start drilling into the frame, but hooks are a great plus in such a small space........ I also need to buy some little baskets or tubs that will fit under the bed frames, to hold our things like food, clothing, toiletries, tools, etc. There's lots of room under the bed frames.  I actually have some Dollar Tree baskets that fit perfectly!


See the  foot stool? Of course we have to have a stool to get up into the Van.. and down again!

So she's ready to go... just not sure when WE will be. There's still alot of smoke here from the fire west of us.. and I think all of Oregon is under smoke, as hundreds of thousands of acres of forest land are still burning. It's so sad to hear about all of the beautiful forests that have burned up, towns gone, land burned, houses leveled, businesses gone, and people have died in the fires. 

Our moods right now aren't the greatest for wanting to take a trip, but I do hope we can find it in ourselves to at least try her out for one night, before the snows hit. It would be nice to find somewhere without smoke hanging over everything, but right now, I think that might be impossible. There's still lots of do to winterize our house which takes first priority.

But now I can at least mark one more thing off my "to do" list - "get Van bed done"!! (it only took me a year.........)


I'll let you know if/when we hit the road.........





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15 comments:

  1. Ok, don’t laugh but I thought you wrote ‘crap’ machine lol.

    It sounds like you’re going to have a blast. I’m jealous :).

    Maybe consider command hooks so you don’t have to drill. That could be tricky.

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    Replies
    1. Doreen.. sometimes those CPAP machines ARE crap! Ha ha.... takes alot of time to get used to using one and sometimes you just want to throw the whole thing across the room! Trouble is with command hooks, you need a "wall" I think to put them on. All we have inside is that felt type of lining fabric on the walls and ceiling so no flat surfaces to put a command hook on. I'm going to go look again and see if there is any surface I could use for one.... Have a good weekend! Marilyn

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  2. Looks wonderful and I hope you can find a place to head out before snow and cold to test it out. Happy Thursday Evening. xoxo Kris

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    Replies
    1. Kris, I do too. Snow can hit early here sometimes. One year we had about 8 inches of snow on October 10th! Ouch. My hubby goes hunting for a week starting Oct. 3rd so doesn't leave us much time! We'll try though... Marilyn

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  3. Oh Marilyn! This looks amazing! You have done SO MUCH WORK to make it such a sweet and cozy place to camp in! I pray for continued rain over Oregon, and for the smoke to dissipate so that you and hubby can take off and enjoy a camping trip together! You have certainly thought of everything in making the bed both comfortable! Your bedding looks wonderful, and I can't wait to hear that you are able to take the van out for some fun camping adventures! I would try command hooks to hang things, as Doreen already mentioned. I'm just so happy for you, and will pray for the Lord to make a way so that you can getaway for a night or two in your van! Much love to you :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Marilyn.. thank you for the good wishes and prayers. We did get a little rain over some of the fires here in Oregon, so that is a VERY good thing! More came today too.. didn't hit Madras but did hit some of the mountain areas! I'm so so thankful! Yes.. the Van bed looks so inviting, I can hardly wait! We're aiming for next week hopefully.. for a couple of nights out. Keeping my fingers crossed! xoxoo Marilyn

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  4. Looks like fun. I would be happy for a day trip at this point. xo Laura

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    Replies
    1. Laura, I know what you mean. I'm hoping for at least one overnighter trip.. we have 3 cats so can't leave them for very long unfortunately. Makes it hard to go anywhere. Take care.. have a nice weekend..... xox Marilyn

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  5. Your camping bed looks pretty comfy and cozy, Marilyn. I'm sorry about the fires. My friends in Wallowa County have talked a lot about the lingering smoke. We've had our share here in Colorado, too. I hope you soon will be able to get away for a time of relaxation and restoration. For sure, you are ready to roll! Hugs, Nancy

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    Replies
    1. The smoke is finally mostly gone from here for now. We even had a day of rain which is so unusual for here! I haven't gotten my overnighter yet, but hopefully soon. Hubby used it for hunting in the mountains, but came home early as he got sick. Now I'm tending to him and my two sick kitties! Always something......... xoxo Marilyn

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  6. Marilyn: I am so happy for you. It looks very comfy and soft. There is nothing like sleeping in the out of doors and I bet you are excited to try it out. Hope there is someplace pretty for you to go with all the fires that you are having. What a shame. We have smoke again from the fires in the wine country. It feels hopeless sometimes. But, just go out and do it and you will have such a good time. We had a van once with a porta-potty by the back doors. I have to go in the night and lost my balance, my hand hit the door and it blew open and there I was in all my glory. Luckily it was dark so I don't think anyone saw me, but I was very careful from then on. I'm like you, no sleeping bags or paper plates for me. Just because you are camping it doesn't have to feel that way..Stay well..xxoJudy

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    Replies
    1. Oh Judy! I had to laugh at your van back door falling open story! I could just see something like that happening to me! Thank you for sharing.. now I'll be careful of those back doors, but I have our potty behind the driver's seat by windows and no doors! The smoke is gone from here now.. lots of winds and some rain.. I think fires are still burning but lots of rain has really taken care (mostly) of the ones in the mountains. Not sure how much contained the one to the west of us is yet. Hubby went hunting and took the van, so he got to use it.. and then got sick and came home early.. no deer.. and he was so upset and sad. So I've been nursemaid to him and two sick kitties so right now, no going anywhere or having an overnighter in the Van. I sure need a vacation though! I'm staying well so far.... xoxo Marilyn

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  7. Oh, no, Marilyn. I hope it wasn't the virusand hope he is feeling better. I am late getting around to everyone again. I don't know where the time goes, evidently more places than me!..Stay well..xxoJudy

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    1. Judy, no it wasn't Covid. He was tested and he was negative! Thank the Lord. It's been 3 weeks and he's just today feelng, he says, about 10% better. I'm so glad. Has been a long haul.. it was bronchitis and asthma problems all mixed together, from breathing alot of dust up while he was hunting. Yes I am slow too.. need to do another blog post but just can't get motivated! I'm moving very slow this week! Hugs.. Marilyn

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