With the bed and storage complete I could now move on to all of the smaller jobs required to make the van habitable. You can read part one of the conversion here.
First up was cutting the insulation to size so it could be pushed into the windows to make blinds. This worked well in the last conversion so I decided to stick with the same technique.
I used some left over material as extra insulation for the cool box. Every little helps after all.
I used some cord to create a curtain rail and Hilary very kindly sewed a loop in the top of some back out material to form a curtain. Continue reading →
After nearly three months of thinking about the van and coming up with a design, it was time to fly down to Victoria, British Columbia to start work. I had a week to transform the van into a camper for my and Carly's week long road trip back up to Whitehorse, Yukon, where I plan on living in the van all summer and exploring the Yukon and Alaska. Here is part one of the conversion.
I wasn't originally going to remove any of the van's panelling from fear of messing up, but as soon as I was reunited with the van I changed my mind. So my first move was to get destructive and remove all of Continue reading →
I haven't seen my new van since buying the it over two months ago, but I have been thinking a lot about how I will convert it into a camper. During this time all I have had to go on are the measurements I took before leaving. Next week I will be flying down to Victoria where the van is being stored and will have a week to work on the conversion. Carly will then be flying down to join me, and from there we will spend a week driving the van back up through British Columbia to the Yukon. I plan to spend most of the summer living in the van, so I really wanted to get the design right.
I have Continue reading →
A couple of years ago I converted a Plymouth Grand Voyager minivan into a campervan which I drove across Canada.
After being Astro-inspired by some friends I recently bought a 1997 GMC Safari (also known as a Chevrolet Astro van) while on a trip to Victoria. The plan is to leave it in Victoria til the spring, when I will fly down, spend around a week converting it to a camper, and then drive it up to the Yukon. This way I don't have to worry about winterising it (winter tyres/engine block heater), and we can take our time road tripping/camping up north when the weather is a little warmer.
This Continue reading →
The van has really come together in the last two weeks which has largely been down to Hilary, Richard's mum and her amazing sewing skills. When a couple of months back I mentioned that foam covers would have cost more than the foam itself (which isn't cheap you know) Hilary kindly volunteered to sew something together. If only she knew what she was getting herself in for!
She also managed to locate me some old sheets for the covers - some red and white bedsheets and as we were measuring up she jokingly mentioned that we could make the Canadian flag with these colours. Well I thought that sounded Continue reading →
I have been back in Comox a few days now and as well as catching up with a few friends I have also made some good progress on the van. I picked up the custom foam sections I had ordered which really transforms the van into a cozy camper (I am currently writing this while sitting on the now foam covered bench in the van) and I have sorted the blinds, which I thought were going to be a lot more complicated than they were.
The bench, now with foam (foam covers to follow!)
I knew I would need a covering for the windows in the van to keep light out and night and to provide some privacy. After Continue reading →
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