Cargo Van Conversion

To continue work on the bed, the 110V outlets are next. A small and simple job. The only 110V will be available at 2 outlets, one at the side entry doors and the other at the rear doors. They will both be connected to an inverter. I started with a shallow outlet box at the…

                Lately I have focused on finishing the bed, so I could use the van on its first trip to South Florida. Still very primitive, with my bed and toilet as only luxuries. It has worked out as expected and future trips are being planned. Now that I…

I first rounded the corners of the frame and then attached the cherry corners to it with glue and screws below the wood’s surface.     Each compartment access panel has a ¾” finger hole.             The cherry sides are about 4″ high, more than enough for the mattress to fit in….

The top of the bed is ½” thick plywood, to be subdivided to fit the compartments be low.     The two outside corner posts are made of cherry, to reflect the cherry plywood that will be attached to the outside of the bed frame.        

As always, I am already thinking about and preparing for the next phase in this project. Before going any further, I’ll have to finish the floor covering. The easy way to go is a cheap, lightweight carpet, but soon I started thinking about office carpet for its durability. Then other choices popped up: Carpet: regular,…

Just in time for the holidays my odometer stopped working. Quick research pointed in the direction of the speed sensor and the van’s maintenance codes confirmed that. A visit to the auto shop resulted in a new replacement part. 5 Minutes under the van at the transmission completed the job. I have to remind myself…

The bed is showing it’s final form. The 3″ overhang extends it’s sleeping surface, while minimizing it’s footprint.     The extension tray (above the toilet, but still under the bed) is planned to be used as a dinner or night tray.     The sliders are 16″ – 100 lbs, full extension, with an…

The area under the bed is divided in compartments, from front to back: batteries, toilet, inverter & solar controller and bed linens with some extra space available on top of the wheel casing. The battery compartment allows a maximum of 4 batteries with a vent hole to the outside. I put the toilet next to…

I am in a bit of a hurry, because I wanted to test the bed out on a trip to South Florida during the holidays. There is a lot of work, but fortunately much of the bed frame was pre-assembled of the last few weeks in my workshop. First I set up a few parts…