Van's done! - Almost..

Yay!!! The major painting on the van is DONE! It took two days to do the roof - I wanted to make sure it was dry before crawling up there again today. Cool weather made it so much nicer and although I got some sun, I didn't bake. I'm amazed how much cooler the inside of the van is now that it's totally white. At noon - with temps 80 degrees outside, it was still 65 inside and was sitting in direct sunlight. I think if I put the reflectix up it would have been even cooler. I still need to go back at some point, sand down the few runs, places where bugs and crud got stuck and touch up some things, but the bulk of the hard work is done. I can take my time on the other and it will give me something to do on the road when I get bored. I also need to touch up the area around the windshield and scrape the excess paint off of the glass. Piece of cake!

Now - moving to the inside. I need storage - more of it. Fortunately I've figured that out too. Just need to do the bed for the dog and a small box for supplies and I'm done. There's painting to be done inside and some cosmetic touches, but overall? I'm pretty pleased. I'm planning on a yard sale this weekend if it doesn't rain - then will head to TN for the week. Test run to see how the van will do.

The Plan

Okay, today I FINISH painting the van and if I have any energy left, I'll tackle the inside. I have shelves and storage to design and build and I need to figure out whether to take down the existing ceiling or insulate over it. One of the big problems on the road is stuff moving, falling, sliding, crashing as I drive. So, this time out - it all gets secured so taking a corner at 20 mph doesn't mean picking up everything I own at the next rest stop. I don't have anything worth stealing unless someone is into used books and clothes, but I have a small camera I'd like to not have to replace you know? So - finding a fairly easy way to secure some things in the van - like a passport or papers and my wallet and cellphone if I go to a gym to work out or something, would be nice too.

More later!

Why vandwelling?

People *get it* that I want to travel, see the country and have a great time. That part of vandwelling they understand. They don't understand the fact I enjoy living in the van, or having all my stuff within arm's reach, or being able to clean my entire "house" in 20 minutes. They don't understand that what I want to do isn't a year-long vacation. It's more.

I'm a story-teller. It's what I do - tell people's stories. I'm a writer, a journalist of more than 22 years, a photographer. What fascinates me are people's stories. This trip is going to be about "people's stories." Because I think stories spread ideas and ideas spreading creates change, which in turn creates a better life for us all. If you don't understand that, then check out this video of Seth Godin, speaking at TED 2009 in California:



If you're interested in what he's saying, read his book, "Tribes." Lots more details in there. By hitting the road and putting MY skills to work, I can help people I meet by helping them tell their story and get the word out about what's important to them. And that's a huge part of why I am doing this. I could stay in one place and do the same thing. But that's not me. I want more. Plus -it's hard to find a lot of people in one place that are really passionate about an idea. You have to move around. So I am. I hope you join me on the journey!

Rainy Days

After a three day painting marathon - I'm almost glad it's raining again. Water has beaded up beautifully on my new paint job and I'm relieved to see it. Now work moves indoors.

Today I'm finishing up writing projects and designing a kitchen. Can YOU design a kitchen that holds stove, propane, cooking utensils, spices and all things kitchen related:

Paper Towels
Aluminum Foil
Saran Wrap
Plates and bowls (usually paper)
Napkins
Can opener
Cups
Matches

and so on....and ONLY occupies a 14" deep, 18" wide and 2' high (approximate) space? It's like designing a "Transformer" from scratch. I've taken a basic box form and created sides that fold down - or up, doors that swing open to reveal spice racks on them, a shelf that holds a one-burner propane stove I can cook outside or inside with, and a drawer for all my kitchen utensils. Oh - and it can't pop open or rattle around much while I'm traveling and the van is rocking. It's a challenge. FUN, but a challenge. The next challenge will be building it and building it so it doesn't weigh a ton because weight is everything! It has to be compact, clean and able to be secure from dust and dog hair - yuck.

So it will involve lots of hinges and hardware I don't even know exists. It will mean spending hours in the hardware store (which I LOVE - seriously!!!) and lots of sketches. When the design is done - then it's cardboard mockup time to eliminate lots of costly and time consuming errors in paper first. Then - by the time the sun comes out on Wednesday I should have a design and be ready to build and money in my bank account to build it with!

Before and After

This is the van BEFORE my weekend marathon of painting. It has been this primer gray color for almost three years - which was better than the 16 shades of green that looked like a party of seasick tourists had vomited on it... but now it is ALMOST white! Only the passenger and side door panels and the roof remain to be painted. Intermittent rain, lots of heat, and hours and hours of sanding, painting, sanding, painting - ALL with a 3" foam roller (I kid you not) to achieve.....

The "after" almost white effect....




The blue around the edges of the windows is painter's tape. It will come off as soon as I finish touching up everything. What's left to do is paint the passenger and side panel and the roof. That's about a two-day job. I'm also considering buying a special reflective paint for the roof - so that means another delay in finding/ordering the paint for that. Then I move to the interior and finish covering the back doors with naugahyde and put up molding, slides under the bed for a drawer and some sort of storage in the front for the dog that she can lie on and I can store stuff in. LOTS to do - like these two panels and the roof, then go over the entire van again for drips and runs, thin spots etc. - which will need to be resanded and repainted. The photos don't do it all justice - the effect is like night and day!



Stay tuned for details and, of course, more photos!