Category: Van Life

Is your Instagram full of #vanlife? Do you dream of living in a van? I have not been nor do I think I could be a full- time van lifer at this point in my life. I have too many hobbies which use specialized gear, GEAR which takes up SPACE. Now don’t get me wrong, I love having a van, it just happens to be the biggest piece of gear I own. It’s great as a mobile home base and super useful for my lifestyle. I just don’t think I could live in it full-time, even though I stay in it for about 150 days a year and some of those days I am even parked in my own driveway. Hey, it beats carrying everything in from the van if I am only stopping at home for a few days.

If I were to be a full-time van lifer, I would just snowboard all the time. I mean I can see the appeal of driving around visiting the National Parks, but I did that when I was young enough to see them on foot. Driving from campsite to campsite cooking in a fancy kitchen, in a van, just does not entice me at this juncture in life. If I were to do this the van would become a house instead of a piece of gear! I get it, I could totally do the Apre’ ski with a fancy dinner and beer at the van. A life on wheels traveling from mountain to mountain would be amazing, but not for more than a season, because I have hobbies. Even with the above mentioned scenario I don’t really think I could spend the year just in the van. I feel I could come close, though. It’s not the living in the van that would stop me, it’s not having a place for my other gear. I would want to do another sport at some point, and lets face it, if I live in a van full time and am traveling odds are I won’t have everything I need to participate in what I want to do.

For my lifestyle, the van as gear works great. It provides me with transportation to where I am working at the time, allowing me to carry a large amount of gear with me. Once I get to where I am working I can unload all the adventure gear I need and have the van as a mobile base again. An example is when I worked in Oregon for the Forest Service, I drove 3,000 hard miles using the van as an extremely cramped bedroom. I had 3 kayaks, 2 sets of skis, 2 snowboards, backpacking gear, and on and on. Oh and, of course, work gear. The van made it possible to carry all this stuff but, I could not have managed to live out of it while traveling. Although I did once with another person for a month on the way back from a previous job. In that instance, however, I only had 2 kayaks and no work gear. The work gear put me over the edge of livability :). With this van as a piece of gear scenario I could then set off on my off time to explore the area and enjoy a multitude of activities which wouldn’t have been available if I was a full-time van dweller.

Maybe it’s the fact that I am an 80 percenter that I can’t commit to living in a van 100% of the time. I really enjoy having the versatility of it and I actually like sleeping in it, but I don’t see myself ever committing to being a full-time rubber tramp. Maybe when I am older it will be a different story, but for now I like the van as my most useful piece of outdoor gear.

Do you think you could live in a van full time? What makes you think you could/couldn’t?

The ladder took a lot of pondering. There was not only the decision of where to place it but also which ladder to get. In my mind there were three possible placements for the ladder; on the back right or left or on the drivers side of the van. The passenger side was not an option because of the sliding door. I went with the back of the van in case I wanted to attach anything to the ladder, such as a bike rack. I chose to put it on the right side for no particular reason, I think its because that is where I have seen them on other vans. (I think the hitch would be the best placement for the bike rack but haven’t gotten around to installing one yet. It would be best to have one that swings laterally so you can still use the rear doors.)

Now that I knew where I wanted to put it, I had to get the ladder. Since I have the shorter van, I actually think the shiny silver ladder you see on vans like the Ford Econoline would fit best because they have the hook that goes over the door to help support the ladder. I chose the standard black bolt on ladder you see on all the new camper vans because, hey what could go wrong with group think and my research informed me you could cut the ladder to the correct height. I decided just to put it on a little too long because it seemed easier than cutting the ladder off. The main issue I had was the attachment points on the ladder went really close to my window because of the short van. I drilled my holes at an angle above the window and the attachment still rests against the very top of the glass. I have had no problems with this other then having to buy longer bolts to attach it due to the angle I drilled it at.

I decided to add some more insulation to the van after my first winter staying at Mt. Bachelor. The front of the vehicle was letting so much cold air seep in along with the fan I installed in the roof. I kept the blinds in the back and front down to help hold in the heat during the rest of the winter. It didn’t help a lot but it was better than not doing it. When I got back to my home base in WV I used the leftover 1″ foam board insulation to fill the gap in my fan and also placed it on the front floor of the van, except the drivers side. I was afraid the foam would interfere with my braking ability. Reflectix, reflective roll insulation, was used to insulate the windows. I used rare earth magnets to attach it to the frame around the windows in the rear of the van. For the front, driver side and passenger side windows I just cut the Reflectix a little larger than the windows and jammed it into the windows with the tops tucked under the seams to keep it in place. I was surprised by how much of a difference this stuff makes in keeping the heat in, it also helps to keep it cool in the hotter months by blocking the sun.

When spring came to the Bend, OR area I would spend the mornings riding on snow then either kayaking or mountain biking in the afternoons. The warmer temperature at the lower elevations was a welcome change.  However, the shoulder seasons are difficult if you are keeping all your gear in the van. The Thule rocket box helped a lot to keep all the slush covered ski/snowboarding gear outside of the vehicle.  The downfall was that all the kayaking gear now had to live in the van. All the wet stuff fits into the kayak so that is a plus. Anyone have any suggestions for all that gear storage?

After all the insulation, walls, ceiling and floor were installed I moved to the finishing touches, starting with the cabinets against the drivers side wall. The top horizontal cabinet was not partitioned, so as to fit snowboards or paddles. I did drill a couple holes and tie paracord on both ends inside of the cabinet so I could tie things down.

The vertical cabinet on the right has a dowel rod inserted in it so I can hang clothing while the one on the left is open with Tupperware stacked with various items in each ranging from toiletries to books.

Next I went to the passengers side and installed a whiteboard over the recess in the sliding door. I saw a friend have this in Joshua Tree and they were using it to set and mark off climbing goals. I thought this was a great idea, which it was in an arid environment, but not so much when it rains all the time. The fact that it’s on the door means that a lot of moisture comes in every time the door is opened and the sliding side door is an extremely convenient door to use. I don’t think I would do this again. Love the whiteboard concept but would stick it somewhere else.

Then came the pine trim to cover the gaps in the Luan. Sad to say but some of the trim is still laying around the house and will probably never get put on because I wanted bug nets with magnets and wasn’t sure how to put them in. A bug net is sold that goes behind the seal on the side door, but I opted to buy two regular door sized nets, trim them then attach them with Velcro. This works fine, the only thing is it doesn’t attach at the bottom, but could be folded under the carpet. I haven’t felt inclined to do so yet, that attitude is why I think the trim will never be finished.

Then came the decision about power…I did “some research” and decided I needed to do more research if I waned to install a solar system myself. However, since I am an 80%er I decided to just buy a battery jumper instead so when I killed my battery running stuff I could just jump it. Luckily my fan takes a couple days to drain my battery without me starting the vehicle and on the plus side the jumper came with an A/C port and 4 USB ports. All this for minimal research I call that a win! Seriously though I don’t think solar was for me. I would have cracked the panels with kayaks loading them on the roof by now if I had them. The option of a suitcase panels for when I am more stationary with the van is an option I am considering.

Roof racks and a ladder were next on the list. I got the Van Tech racks since they fit onto the van without any modifications. Really wanted a Rhino-Rack system but wasn’t sure if it would fit over the fan I already installed. The Rhino-Rack has a platform and almost every add on you can think of. I added a couple deck boards to the Van Tech racks to give me room to walk but it is far from a platform. I don’t have an awning on my van yet, with the way the roof drains on the ProMaster 1500 2016 all the water would come down where the sliding door is anyway and run between the door and the awning. If I were more ambitious I could probably make something to divert the water, but then I would miss out on another day of adventuring.
The ladder….. To be continued

I used as much recycled or scrap material as possible for environmental reasons in the van build. That said, unfortunately I still had to purchase a majority of the supplies.

I stripped the van, cleaning it, and adding a insulating carpetish floor before adding the same bed to a different location. It was moved from behind the sliding door which was great for views, but terrible for functionality to the rear of the van positioned across the back with your head towards the passenger sidewall and feet towards the drivers sidewall. It is not always comfortable to sleep in this position since some times the vehicle is parked on an angle causing your head to be positioned downhill, but this is more comfortable then smacking ones head on the cabinets that run almost the length of the drivers sidewall about halfway over the bed. I fabricated the cabinets this way, so I had room to store snowboards inside if need be.

Bed legs new placement

Attached directly to van new placement

Old bed placement

The bed was attached to the wall on the drivers side by bolting it directly into the van; the other side has legs. I chose to have legs on one side so it would allow the bed frame to move a little while driving and absorb some of the road vibrations. This took up some space with legs sticking down, but I thought it was better than the bed frame cracking or breaking. If I build another van I would position the bed to sleep longways sacrificing the room, because at 6’1″ I barely fit diagonally.

Cabinets

Dry fitting first one

Cabinets

Cabinets

Cutting, varnishing, and fitting the cabinets took some time. On the plus side, I managed to get a discount on some of the wood because I got blemished material. They did not fit flush on the first dry fit attempt because of my decision to orient the bed width ways and my height did not allow for framing. It took some time but eventually I got square things to fit in a curved space. The cabinets were mostly attached directly into the ridges on the van. Would definitely frame out a van in the future to make it square before trying to build cabinets.

Fitted pieces

Taping insulation scrapes so not to wast much

Placing insulation in recesses

Cutting insulation

Once the cabinets were made and dry fitted, the insulation was cut and added to the recesses in the van with spray foam added to the ridges. I was able to get some free expired cans of spray foam for the cracks and crevices. I chose 1″ foam board insulation, with an r value of 5, because it fit flush in the recesses of the van. This was again chosen because of my height and trying to sleep width ways. In the future I would just spray foam everything and frame in the sides of the van.

Cardboard used to protect van

Hope I don’t fuck up

Going good

Silicone for the frame of the fan

Clamping it for a good seal

Siliconing the screws

Right before the fan is installed

Wiring the fan

Hopefully this keeps it from leaking

After the insulation was cut and dry fitted, I cut a hole in the roof to install the Maxxfan. I tried to minimized the paint and rug damage that the grinder caused from sparks being thrown everywhere as I ground through the ceiling. Cardboard was placed and taped at strategic locations to help with this. I would say cutting through the ceiling was more nerve wracking then drilling holes into the frame to attach things. I mean if I fucked up the screws made small holes compared to grinding a massive square, hopefully square anyway, hole in the roof!

Hope it holds the insulation

reclaimed wall

Pine trim

It seems to be holding

Blocking to level out the wall

Hardware for attachments

Fan and ceiling

Last coat of varnish on Luan

More hardware

All the insulation was installed with a Locktite type Silicone, this would make sure it stayed in place until I could get the reclaimed walls and mostly reclaimed ceiling into place. The walls are older beadboard that had to have mold sanded off and the ceiling is Luan. After multiple coats of varnish they are screwed into place with self taping screws.

Build to be continued…..

Skiing Around Crater Lake

Day 1

I arrived at the Crater Lake station just before it closed for the night. I needed to get a back country permit for the next three nights. I opened the door to the ranger station and walked down a short dark corridor before entering the more modern part of the building.

There was a couple in front of me getting a back country permit for the night. They were doing an out and back snowshoe. I looked at their down parkas and then downwards taking in the rest of their winter outfits. Then looked at my attire consisting of river shoes, jeans and a long sleeve shirt. I was crunched for time and had not planned for this trip.

For the past few days I had driven across the country from Morgantown, WV to Glide, OR, so I had most of what I needed, more or less, in my van. I had stopped at Crater Lake the day before and the gate was locked, so I had hiked the 6 mile round trip. A ranger informed me after that hike I could ski around the lake. Usually one has to camp a certain number of miles from a paved road but almost all the roads were buried under several feet of snow, so I could pretty much camp where I wanted. So here I was getting my back country permit, the very day I checked in for my new job hours before. After meeting Janie, my new boss, and getting a briefing about my new job, I had informed her that if I did’t show up for work Monday morning it was because I got lost or died. She starred at me blankly as I relaid what the ranger at Crater Lake had said. I am sure she thought I was an idiot. At last I decided to fork up some cash and stay at a campground the night before so I could shower and I wouldn’t show up at my new job smelling as though I had just driven across the country I thought as I bolted out the door to make it to Crater Lake.

The ranger asked me the standard questions you would ask anyone about to go on a three day ski tour who was wearing open river shoes in the winter. “Do you have any clue what you are doing?!” I replied “Kind of.” Then he asked, “Do you have a GPS?” “Yes at home” “well do you have a good map.” “Nope, can I buy one?” “Here is one for $12”

By the time I tore everything apart in my van looking for and packing what I would need, a little over an hour had passed. I started my climb a little aggravated because I had planned to park at the top because the gate was open, but the ranger informed me I had to park at the bottom and re ski the 3 miles I had hiked the day before. I ended up passing the couple who had gotten the permit an hour or so before me.

There were whiteout conditions and route finding was hard once I passed them. I got to the top and decided to drop down a mellow slope and do some turns. I got slightly lost and could here the couple talking so they passed me on my way back down the mountain. Since it was snowing and windy, I thought it would be ridiculous to pull out the map I had just bought and not looked at yet. I followed the sounds of where I had heard them talking on my way down. The snow crunching under my skis and wind blowing it around made it hard but I finally caught them again after adding about four extra miles to my route.

As I mentioned earlier, I had weeks until I was headed west as a seasonal employee for the Forest Service in Oregon. Staying in and using the van for about a year gave me time to get a feel for how I wanted to build the van, but at the same time limited me on my ability to build it all at once. I would be returning home in the winter months without a garage to build in and would be traveling in it the rest of the time, so I would not have the tools or ability to work on it long enough to complete it in one push. All in all this led me to have a build that was more for an extended weekend type as opposed to the full house like builds you see all over the internet. This actually ended up working in my favor and fitting my lifestyle a little better, since I didn’t have a second vehicle with me while working out west and I used my van to run shuttle for whitewater (ww) kayaking. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this, ww kayaking normally involves two vehicles. You drop one vehicle off at point B, the takeout, where you finish and use the second vehicle to drive back to point A, the put, where you start. So, having the room to jam at least one kayak inside greatly improves my functionality at the loss of a built in shower, computer stand, sink, solar panel, battery and TV which I am okay with. I would have liked to have had the solar and battery, but it wasn’t worth it to me to lose the roof space. I am, however, still looking into a suitcase solar panel. If you do not participate in multiple adventure sports that are gear intensive I could see the draw of these other comforts, but to me the van is just a place to store for gear and often times a very cramped bedroom.

I got the chance to experience the van wide open without the build and I must admit I miss the functionality, but not the condensation build up dripping on my head in the mornings or at 1 pm on winter days when the van finally warms up enough for all the frozen moisture to begin dripping down from the ceiling. Or the coldness felt from accidentally touching the bare metal everywhere when I would roll over to protect my head from the drips with my sleeping bag. The area carpet I added and the meal boxes I slept on added some buffer but not as much shielding as an insulated van.

On my return trip home to WV from working in OR, I first went to White Salmon, WA for Thanksgiving with friends before driving south to San Diego to visit my family and to avoid as much snow as possible as I worked my way back across the US for about a month.

When I arrived at my brothers in late November 2017 I added the first thing to the van, a bed frame! I placed the frame to look out the sliding door just behind the front seats. I really liked being able to lay in the bed with the sliding side door open peering out as I had been accustom to without the van build. I didn’t think this would be super functional, but wanted to give it a try. I spent hours laying there for about a year envisioning how I wanted my van to function then trying to make the build around it. March 10, 2018 8 days shy of a full year from when I purchased it the actual build begins! Unfortunately the bed couldn’t stay behind the front seats, even though I loved the view from here, it just wasn’t accommodating anything else.

I have dreamed of having a van since I was in high school. My parents had a blue Ford mini van, with seats that would fold down to make a bed. I remember borrowing it to go on a skiing trip. It was spring or fall in West Virginia, in 1996 and I packed it with a sleeping bag, pillow, Ramen Noodles, peanut butter, a pair of ski boots a little too small for me that I had bought from a flyer I had seen posted at work. This was before Craig’s List, hell the internet wasn’t even a thing where I lived! Well actually it still sucks in rural WV, often times more of a pain in the ass then what it’s worth. Anyway back to packing the van. I also got my skis and bindings where I worked, as a lifeguard at a pool in a gated community, that happened to have a little ski hill. It actually snowed here back then so they operated it without snow guns. The skis that were Fisher brand, white with rainbows on the tips; they were really cheap okay; were the last things to go into the van. I started my journey by driving south to Snowshoe, where I produced one of the multiple letters I had from the ski hill for my first free pass. It now cost around $20 even being a member of Ski Patrol. Next I would ski Timberline, Canaan, then finally the Wisp. I was in love with this van!!! That was the last time I would use it, life happened. Fast forward 21 years later and I finally have a van!!!!!

I purchased a 2016 ProMaster 1500 short low top for $20,000 with taxes, new tires, and all the extra charges. I would then build it out roughly to my needs. I used as much recycled or scrape material as possible for environmental reasons. I will provide a detailed list of the cost of  the build in future posts. I had to forgo some things I wanted because I built it out over 3 years. I was leaving shortly, headed out west to Oregon to work as a river ranger. I piece mealed it together over that time sacrificing some comforts, so I would not have to keep tearing it apart to add stuff. I would highly suggest building it all out at once, so you can get what you want! 

Since I was leaving in about 3 weeks and hadn’t started packing; the only thing I did to the van before I left was throw down a rug, put in a new head unit with a USB input since the one in the van didn’t work, hang an organizer off the drivers side behind the seat, build a fold down table on the backdoor, and load the van with kayak, skis, camping stuff, well lets just say almost everything I owned. In lou of a bed platfrom because of lack of time and space I layered these commercial type MRE’s under a mattress and carefully pulled them out as I went so I wouldn’t have a sloping bed for too long as would happen when I almost finished a layer of the meals. After 7 months I finally added a bed platform after finishing off all the meals that were my bed. Once I made it home after a few more months of traveling I finally started the actual van build before for the next trip out west.