A Girl Lands Her Van

This post is more of a sneak preview of a work in progress. There's really not much to show yet, but I'm so obsessed excited that I couldn't wait. My gypsy side has long been drawn to romanticized visions of road trips in VW campers. So far, an Impala is the roomiest vehicle I've managed to traverse the country in.

But I'm nothing if not persistent. With a just a touch of practicality. Eventually, I had to admit that I would never have it in me to care for a VW. I don't have a mechanical side. Or patience. Or that kind of cash. However, with this epiphany, a new traveling dream was born: Converting a van into a mini-RV. I ruled out pop-ups, because it still means airing something out after a rainy camping trip (might as well be an oversized tent). And hauling any trailer would raise my stress factor too high to enjoy the drive. Ditto for full-sized campers. Luckily, with a little ingenuity, conversion vans offer a compromise. The rear benches fold into BEDS. Well, bed-like structures that could benefit from being longer and plusher. Like so...

Oh yes I did! After a year of on-and-off looking on CL, I took the plunge. With winter here, I wasn't even searching. Till out of the blue Kevin sent me a few links of vans for sale on CL. Which of course meant I had to take a peek at what else was out there. And lo and behold, there she was! In all her green glory-- a 1998 Dodge Ram 1500 with Mark III high-top conversion package. For only $2,500. With only 75,000 miles. THEN it turns out the owner works near my house, so it was easy to check out. THEN it turns out that he and Kevin used to work together, and that the guy was my son's friend's drum teacher. Clearly, she was meant to be mine. 

While I've spent the last week drooling over camper van renos (who knew van dwelling was so huge??), we won't make much progress until it warms up. However, Kevin made one of the most crucial pieces today: a 65" x 16" platform that I'll cover in foam and slide behind the bench. This will extend the bed space enough that we can *hopefully* sleep peacefully together. 

The ends are hinged so that:

1. When folded, the platform will slide right out. Otherwise, it's wider than the door frame and could be a hassle.
2. We can store items below, and still access. The van is huge, but only until we start putting stuff in it. Organization will be everything!

He also reinforced the platform underneath in case anybody sits on it. While that's not the purpose, I figure it's pretty much inevitable. I ordered a lot of supplies online today; does that count as progress too? Of course, given that it was 9 degrees this morning, we have a bit of time before we'll be ready to camp, even with the new "camper."

(This is Big Sheila parked at the end of my friend's street. I was staging it to take pics so I could list it for rent on Just Share It. Note to self: Visit my friend more often. What a view!)

Crafty Kivik, Making Short Stylish

I have to say Kivik is my favorite sleeper couch that I've owned. No pokey springs or saggy, inch-high mattresses.

To turn this hunky couch (ok, maybe chunky) into bedding, pull the bottom front of the couch out to reveal a wooden slat frame. Then, flip the cushions, made of memory foam, over. They tuck into the frame, becoming half of the mattress. The other half, also memory foam, is underneath them, exactly where they need to be, at all times.

The pic above is an old one from an Ikea showroom. Mine of course came from Craigslist. (It recently occured to me that all of our bed frames and three of our four couches were CL or thrift finds. Cheap or savvy? Hmm...) Where I found a steal on the exact cover I wanted, a tweed-ish charcoal grey. The cover is removable and washable. And if that is not enough couch-cleverness, check this out:

Why, yes, that IS a hidden storage compartment on each side of the couch. Those Swedes are a crafty bunch! Sadly, Ikea discontinued this Transformer of a sleep sofa, though you can still get it as a regular couch.

Either way, it turns out that its stylish utility comes at a price: The Kivik sofa bed is way short. It's stubby legs are less than two inches tall. Meaning you sit low, and you practically sleep on the ground. My husband is on couch-strike until I make it taller. 

The problem is, Kivik is no ordinary couch. The legs are each made from one piece of plastic, with a dowel-like protusion that slips into a hole in the bottom of the frame. Which means you can't simply screw in new, taller legs. I guess it's time to do some idea hunting on Pinterest...