A journey
Warning – a long one!
So – it’s two days after the op. Our appointment was early Wednesday and I didn’t want to risk getting delayed an hour in traffic (entirely possible with the area’s track record lately) so we set off Tuesday tea time. We spent what was actually a really pleasant (despite the reason for the trip) Tuesday night on the edge of Plymouth. On arriving we cooked up some chicken for a late tea then walked the woods until around 10pm. A cosy coconut laté snuggled in a blanket helped us (me) to chill out before bed time.
The night was pretty hot: still 19 degrees out at 22:30 but bearable (I swear I was born for a warmer climate). It would have been a decent night’s kip if it wasn’t for my 4 legged Beastie jumping down to cool down, then back up to cuddle, repeatedly, all night!
Although admittedly an early morning stumble through the woods in pyjamas was a fantastic way to wake up!
So – we’re home safe and sound, the patient is impatient to run, jump and overdo it, and I’ve spent a bit of time on the van, so I’ve added to the video I’ve been working on, because I’m feeling positive for the first time in 10 months. I don’t want to use the word Hope since she’s a backstabber, but this little road trip has made me think that as soon as Beastie’s recovered there might be a few more on the cards!
Anyway, here it is: I’ve uploaded the short to YouTube because my original website was hosted with IONOS and I couldn’t upload the video – so now you get two options – watch or read on!
A necessary new toy
My old van has so many happy memories in such a short time (2 years), but costs for repairs were startig to build up, and there were some electrical issues that could have taken a lot of time and money to sort out. Still, I’m using her as the donor van for the interior, so that has saved me a fortune in timber, electrics and fabric. It’s also saved me brain strain headaches and many days head scratching and figuring out!
Collecting the van via bus wasn’t that awful. It put me in mind of mad trips across Greece and Albania. I was also struck by the fact that, with enough cash a change of underwear and a passport I was on a network that could take me anywhere in the world!
Gutted I couldn’t take my best friend along with me to collect it, but she was still at odds with the muzzle #sunaksucks. Still, she had plenty of time to check it out when I got back. Before the end of its first day in a new home the bulkhead had come out (£35 if anyone is in need – email me)!
The First Night
Our first night in the van wasn’t planned – we had a couple of appointments up at Plymouth, but it was raining hard. By the time we got back to the end of the valley road the river had burst it’s banks. We parked up in a layby and spent the night on underlay in blankets, squeezed between boxes. Fortuntely I had water, snaks and dog food packed in a crate, although I had to improvise a dog bowl! The cold woke me just before 5 and we were home in bed by 5:15! It was pretty cosy if not all that comfy!
Tennis Elbow
Then the really hard work began. I procrastinated a bit, because I didn’t want to start ripping apart my old van with awesome memories, but I made a start. And found that half the screws for the bed were 6” long and glued in place. Just for fun they also used screws with weird flower shaped heads, but only for a random 25% of the job. Needed the hammer action on the drill and all my weight behind it!
Starting chin ups and unscrewing the bed frame caused me to re-refer to physio for a few weeks for tennis elbow! But stubbornness, elbow grease and reverse hammer curls prevailed, along with some help from mum to manhandle the frame out and into it’s new home.
Kitchen storage
The old van had a hinged storage space at the back end. This van was a foot and a half longer but I wanted storage at the driver end too, so I measured up and adjusted the existing storage as I removed it and eventually managed to make it all fit. I picked up a nice little hook / mirror rack from a charity shop (£1.50) and used a leather thong and old shelf bracket to hold up the doors while in use. Admittedly I did this with the door open and didn’t account for the hinge being in the way when the door was shut, but it works, if not as easily as planned!
Living in the old van it bugged me that there was no shelf at that end of the bed for evening use or entertaining (not that I’ve done much of that!). My brother donated a bit of salvaged flooring for me to make a couple of table tops. It folds down for travel and when I need to use the storage. My hinges are improving!
I’m adding photos and post cards from past trips as I go along to motivate myself – do a bit more, add another photo to remind myself that it’s worth the brain and muscle ache!
Electrics
I’ll be honest, I haven’t really started yet! But I have uninstalled the wiring from the old van, labelled it, and put the leisure battery in place. I think there was an issue with the old installation so I need to look for a diagram to make sure it doesn’t cause a problem. I’d also like to disconnect the rear lights from the doors and connect them into my leisure battery. Ford seem to be keeping their diagram a secret.
Light switches were at the tail end of the old van so I chose a more practical placement for this van. They’re now next to the bed so I don’t have to play twister with Beastie in order to get up and switch the lights out. This also meant I have a ‘head’ to each end of the bed (the last one used to steal my pillows down the back of the driver’s seat ) and a handy shelf for some of my more regularly used bits. I reused the 4 way stretch felt that was on the old bed pannels to cover these bits, and a can of grey paint to cover any other sins.
Flooring
The floor wasn’t in bad condition, but there was a join and weak spot in the ply right where most people step up through the side door. I didn’t want to do the whole floor again (I couldn’t get the screws out anyway) and didn’t want to add the weight of an extra floor, so I cut a panel to fit where I’d planned to put the carpet and screwed it in place.
It’s done the job! Some nice thick underlay that I had in the shed went down on top of that, and eventually some hard wearing carpet that was left over from my brother’s Sprinter conversion. There was enough left over to cover the wheel arch too!
The hard flooring was also donated by my brother, along with the gripper. That was a pain to cut with a blunt jig saw blade that I’ve since discovered was for metal… It also didn’t do my weak elbow muscles any good. I swear I’ve shortened them by doing T Rex impressions my whole life!
I still need to cut the last hard floor pannel and the edge trim, but now I’m armed with a basic set of blades for the right purpose I’m good to go! Thanks Toolbase up Estover way for advice! Thanks brother for donating carpet and bits
Home Comforts
I’ve removed a few other bits from the old van. The table is so necessary and the perfect size to fit Guen or I under (why do I know that?!) Installing the hinges was a learning curve. I’d really like to replace / recover the top. I just haven’t decided how to do it yet.
I’ve added a few photos from previous adventures, and to remind me of why I come back! Also a painting from Uganda. The back door handle is the leather plaited dog handle from my first dog’s lead
Future plans and finishing touches
She’s not quite finished: I’ve yet to decide how to do the roof, and there’s the floor edging and wiring. The door neds replacing because I had an argument with a short post I didn’t see, and I think I do want to put a window in. Stealth camping is ok, but I don’t really want to park where I’m not wanted, and we both prefer having a view and some ventilation!
A small log burner might fit perfectly in the rear corner, although that may be a project for another year!
But for now, she feels like home!
I’m aware this one has been a bit of an info dump, and is nothing to do with leather, but I’ve enjoyed the process. I’m proud of the result so far. And for some reason my non-business social media posts and blogs get more views!
I may follow with a much shorter “Essentials for van life” – watch this space. I’ve steered clear of essentials such as toilets on this one!
