Just Some Scenery

A month on the road provided a lot of nice scenery. While on vacation across the states of Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Washington and British Columbia, I tried to keep my eye open for interesting places to snag a photo. Everything from the obvious: hey look - a volcano!, to the seemingly uninteresting, wide, flat prairie. I happen to like the big wide open spaces as much as the pointy mountains.

Sidenote: The trip also included visits with family and friends - whose importance easily outweighs the scenery any day of the week. That set of photos are not for the internet.

Mission Accomplished

Back in the day, when I was working for a living (IT, website builder), after finishing a project or launching a website, it was important to do two things, 1 - Celebrate, and 2 - Have a post mortem meeting. Almost always, there was some aspect of a project that exposed a problem, caused a delay, caused panic, or revealed an opportunity for improvement. So before too much time passes, I’m going to do both steps after building a camper van and taking a month-long trip. I’ve had several days home with time to relax, so consider the celebrating part complete.

Who loves data? Me.

• Distance traveled: 5900 miles.

• Average fuel economy:19.8 mpg.

• Best fuel economy: Eastbound on US 2, in Michigan UP where 60 mph is possible: 23 mpg. (Most of the Great Plains and Mountain West wants to go much faster than 60.)

• Highest fuel price: $4.39/gallon in Washington.

• Lowest fuel price: $2.69/gallon in Wisconsin.

When I left home, I had plans for the first 4 days, including camping reservations. After that, I winged it for 4 weeks. It was mostly camping, with a hotel night thrown in about every fourth evening. I also had some stays with family, which was nice.

Overall, I had no issues with the van, or any of the sub-systems in the van. Going on a handful of shorter camping trips during the summer helped to refine the experience. Most importantly, adding an additional mattress topper made getting a good night of sleep easy, no matter the temperature - which ranged from 37 to 100 degrees.

Here’s my list of things:

• The DC to DC battery charger worked even better than expected. I can easily go 3 days on battery power and fully charge in under an hour while driving.

• While my cooler worked well, especially with ice blocks, I am tempted now to try a 12V cooler to replace the melted ice for foods. Having a secondary cooler with ice for drinks is still OK.

• While my attachable awning works well, I think for next year having a rack mounted awning that is quick to deploy would be better and worth the investment - likely in the $1500 range. I would have used it every single day.

• I’m starting to research both heating and cooling solutions that can operate on a 12V system. I might need to add a dedicated deep cell battery, but it might be worth it, especially for a Texas trip.

• The National Park Pass is an awesome value, especially for retirement age people. I did not realize until I was underway that there is also a nice discount on the recreation.gov reservation system for NPS pass holders. $15 per night at many sites is a great deal.

• The quality of state parks is all over the map. I think some of this is just dumb luck - like timing a visit at a park that was fully rebuilt recently. I happen to stay at a couple state parks where all of the facilities were brand new (newly rebuilt). I just need to figure out how to find those in advance.

Now I'm A Van User!

I’m off to a good start with the transition away from building a camper van to using a camper van. I’ve had camping trips 3 consecutive weeks and feel like each trip has been a bit more organized. Here are some notes from my recent trips:

• Good news on the fuel economy front. I’ve been right at 22mpg. With that figure, the range is about 450 miles. I think that number would drop if I were on a faster interstate trip (going 75mph). The fuel economy wheelhouse for this vehicle is closer to 60mph. That suits my route making anyhow.

• I’ve adjusted the “stuff” I’ve packed to include a nicer camp chair. My compact moto-camping chair is still packed, but a more upright proper chair is nice to have.

• Bringing a bicycle is a nice addition. Especially at the larger state parks or for using bike trails, this adds a nice dimension. My van does not have a towing hitch, so potentially adding a hitch and bike rack would make sense. For now, the bike fits inside just fine.

• I can see why many vans have the easy to deploy wind/rain shade on the passenger side. My roof rack mounted Kelty awning works well, but does take about 15 minutes to set up or take down. And it is tent-like, so putting it away wet has all the problems of tents - with mildew lurking if not dryed properly. A permanently mounted rack would be nice to have. Here is an example from Thule Racks. The Kelty awning was $110. So if I feel like spending 10X for the convenience…well…not yet.

• My water and sink setup works well, but for longer trips, it would be nice to have an external (under van) gray water system and water filtering for keeping the drinking water safe. Generally, I am going to be OK if I have enough bottled water to drink and make coffee. Pretty simple at a state park. If I am at a DNR or more remote campsite, I’d need to upgrade or just bring a couple 2-1/2 gallon jugs. Running out of (fresh) water or getting sick because of spoilage is not really acceptable,

• Each of the first three trips included Lake Huron or Lake Michigan beaches, which means sand. Lots of sand. Sand everywhere. Having a little vacuum in the van would be nice.

• My battery storage system is working nicely. Running the roof fan full time and charging stuff, I am using around 20% of capacity per day. Realistically, there is enough power to go three, possibly four days without recharging. I haven’t had a chance to test the solar panels yet. The plug-in charging at a state park only takes about 20 minutes to get back to 100%.

The Kelty awning works well. Having some shade is awesome.

The Sleeping Bear Dunes Lakeshore is very scenic. The photos look like postcards.

Finishing Up The Build

It has taken awhile, but the list of tasks is shrinking. Especially the tasks that require lumber and painting. The important items are complete (cabinets, bed, electrical) and the loading and securing gear is up next. I figure the best way to test if I’ve forgotten anything is heading out on a trip.

Curtains added for nighttime privacy.

Humans inside, mosquitoes outside (I hope).

Coffee mug - check!

Storage boxes over the wheel-wells are completed. Plenty of space to store stuff behind the sliding doors.

Fastest Year Ever

It is hard to believe that a full year has passed since I began the van build. If I have a large shop that would have enabled working through a Michigan winter, I’d most likely be done. I didn’t really get anything done from November to late March.

We finally have turned the corner on weather so that all of the outdoor building activities can be accomplished (present rainy excluded).

As a reminder, this was the starting point - an empty metal box.

The current build is very close to being camp-ready. I even placed the new Pendleton wool throw on the bed. Looks nice and adds a little splash of accent color (their Yakama design).

Up next is building boxes over the wheel wells in the rear storage/garage area under the bed. I’ll also add some charging ports and lights for things like air pumps or even a 12V cooler, if I decide to travel with one. At least to start, I’ll just use I.C.E. technology.

More van parts are currently being primed and painted to finish up the storage area, This also will add another layer of soundproofing (less road noise). There is a lot of storage space back here, which I’m sure will fill up.

Does It Look Like A Camper Yet?

Day by day, progress is being made. I still have quite a list of tasks to complete, but it is nice to pause for a moment. As of today, I have all of the electrical circuits connected at the fuse panel and just a couple more plugs or lights to attach. I need to finish a couple walls sections and storage bins so there is a place to attach those things to.

Also interesting to note that as of May 20th, my furnace is still running. Which means it has not gotten predictably warm outside yet. Maybe next week…? That would be nice.

w00t!

I’ve been waiting for this install all Winter. I had the upper cabinet frame ready, the door was built, painted and ready weeks ago. Yesterday I installed the IKEA Utrusta hinges (door lifters), which are very slick. They open smoothly and hold the door panel up by the ceiling when open. They also close softly with no latches required. I have a little bit of priming and painting inside the cabinet to complete, but this feels good to be done with.

I have a similar (but wider) cabinet to install above the bed at the foot end, so hopefully that will go faster and smoother, based on getting the first one done. Less fuss on the 2nd one, for sure.