After our first “van” trip we had a list of things we wanted to change/add. This process will never end. The tweaking process reminds me of one of our daughters’ favorite books when they were young: Mrs. Armitage on Wheels. Mrs. Armitage liked to ride her bike, she also liked to add stuff to her bike. She would say: what this bike needs, and she would add something. She added so much that she wrecked it and decided to buy roller skates. What these skates need…
What Blaze needs….
Leann decided that we needed a holder for the Atlas and made this and mounted it behind the driver seat.What Blaze needs is a living room when wind, rain or bugs try to ruin the day. We bought a cargo rack to carry items we need every day including propane. Not sure I like this hanging on the back of the van but time will tellA majority of the time we plan to camp in state parks, most of these have showers. We did not want to waste precious space in the van for a shower that would not get much use. We love the outdoor showers at the houses in Ocracoke Island and thought we would do that for the van. This will be used when we visit remote camp sites. Leann attached magnets to the material so it goes up quickly. Just fill the blue container with hot water and turn on the battery operated shower. Key item is to only use all natural, biodegradable soaps Leann added cargo nets to the cabinets above the fridge, this should keep things from flying out on bumpy roads.We were looking for a way to carry our bikes and I really liked the Yakima EXO system. The system is modular so you can mix and match different carry options. The entire rack swings out of the way so we could easily get access into the back of the van. Sammy went with us to REI to get the racks and it was 20% off, nice. We got home, mounted the swing base and ran into a problem. The right side door hit the pivot pin so we could not get the door open. We took the rack back and purchased the KUAT PIVOT 2.KUAT has better fit and finish, the pivot engages and disengages easier and the door does not hit the pivot pin. KUAT pin is flush, the Yakima sticks above the rack.Our KUAT bike rack will mount to this easily. The major downside to the KUAT, you don’t have a storage bin option. Can’t win them all.I like coffee and was debating on the best way to get my daily fix. I stumbled on a YouTube review of this collapsible filter from GSI. This is even compact enough to take backpacking. Looks like I will be drinking pour over coffee, can’t wait to try it.We might be getting a little anal on our “tweaks.” This is the back of our headboard. I ran speaker wire in the groove of the horizontal piece of IPS. We decided to cover it with a nice piece of trim. I think it looks nicer.We added a towel rod behind the driver’s seat, we are trying to find uses for every last bit of spaceWe added (OK Leann) added a shelf to the “garage”.Leann sewed a curtain for our “bathroom”, this is about the same size as a phone booth. Remember those? We like music and we had a pair of Bose speakers so I wired those for rainy nights in the van. We added a shelf above the toilet to store toiletries and suppliesLeann enclosed the front of the kitchen cabinetWater bottle mounted by the toilet, this how we “flush” the toilet.This is a Weber Go Anywhere Charcoal grill, there is also a gas version. We have a Weber Q, gas grill that works great but it takes up too much room in the van so we needed something smaller. We both like food cooked over charcoal and wood so stay tuned on our feedback. First impressions: this packs down small and still has room to store fuel, utensils, etc. inside. This appears to be well made with quality materials. Big bonus it was Made in the USA.Leann did a nice job sewing this cover for the kitchen cabinet. It uses Velcro so we can take it on and off easily to fill the water tanks. This is step 1 in keeping out bugs when we have the door open.Finished “screen door” that is held closed or open with magnets, this is more good work from Leann.Screen over the back by the bed so we can get gear in and out of the garage without letting lots of bugs inside.Leann’s sewing skills are really paying dividends. She completed these window screens after making our daughter’s wedding dress. I guess the wedding dress came first. She used E-Z cool on the side facing the outside and a lightweight vinyl facing the inside. This will reflect the sun on hot days and keep us warmer on cold nights.
I will keep this page in What’s New because there will always be changes.
