Van Life

I never thought I'd say, "We bought a van." But that's exactly what we did last fall.  It's a Nissan NV200 cargo van. Basically the smallest Andrew could find to fit our needs/wants and still get reasonably decent gas mileage (7.8 litres/100 km average thus far).

The inside was a "blank canvas" that our construction-talented friends, Ian and John Mollison, worked their magic on. Andrew gave them ideas on layout and design and, after a bit of back and forth adding thoughts and suggestions, they beautifully made it happen. 

A sleeping platform with various storage compartments underneath; a living room with a table that serves as dining room, kitchen, office and charging station. 

We went to Century Textiles in Saskatoon and picked out foam and fabric. I had a momentary, fleeting thought that I could do this myself but quickly abandoned that idea! So glad I did! They recommended a guy named Bernie who could do the upholstery for us and he did an awesome job. (I think he's a retired upholsterer but still does a few side jobs in retirement.)

The front has two cushions, one over each of the front storage areas. The back has four: two over the side storage/seating areas and two smaller ones in the middle that serve as back rests when the table is up. It's easy to throw the cushions where ever needed when accessing the storage areas.

I did make curtains (essentially rectangular pieces of cloth with strong magnets sewn into each corner that simply attach to the metal inside the van) but since we were never all that close to other people to need the privacy, we didn't use them on this trip.

Food, large water containers, stove, fuel and "charging gadgets" storage is at the back. And, if you happen to be travelling through British Columbia, a wine box fits perfectly!  :-)

The front edge of the platform is a bit higher so that the cushions don't move forward. In front of this is the perfect spot for boots/shoes, laptop/book bags and water bottles. You can also see how Bernie designed the cushions to fit nicely around the curves of the van rather than it being a straight rectangle.

The table can either rotate side to side or be locked in place. We often just left the table up during the day if we weren't travelling too far.

Ian and John also put insulation on the ceiling (covered by a white panel) to help with warmth and to decrease road noise, and a vent with a fan that can be plugged in to either the vehicle battery or a separate battery (see below).

One side storage area holds paragliding gear; the other side holds sleeping bags, clothes and miscellaneous other items. The storage areas can be accessed either by lifting the whole top or just pulling up the side.

A Goal Zero Yeti 400 lithium portable power station and Nomad 100 solar panel help keep our gadgets charged when we're away from any power supply for a few days.

I gotta say . . . I love van life! It's just so much easier than setting up a tent and blowing up sleeping pads every night. No shivering over breakfast and supper. No soggy tent after a night of hard rain. A comfortable place to sit and read, work on photos/video, enjoy a cup of tea or a glass of wine. Of course, maybe I'm just getting wimpy in my old age!  :-)