rooftop hangout

Now that we have a ladder on the back, I wonder how many times we're gonna walk out to find a kid just sitting on the roof ...

blue tape

We covered all the little holes in the CWV with blue tape to prep her for spraying foam insulation. The goal is to make it as quiet in here as we can. Finally another easy job with no strong chemicals  I could/would actually help with.

ceiling insulation

The foam for insulating the ceiling was laid out and cut into panels earlier. SBF got some spray glue and sprayed the ceiling, then the panels, and got them all stuck on there nice and neat. It looked kind of amazing, except ... about an hour later most of them fell down. Grrrr. I'll find out what kind of glue he used and post it. He's gonna try another kind tomorrow. Once all of the insulation is done we can figure out wiring and then cover everything to make it pretty. I'm so ready for that part ...

Before all the panels came down. Looks pretty good ...

welding holes shut

CWV has some random little holes in the floor that all got repaired today. This was kind of a big job. They had to be fixed from the top and the bottom. 

Super cool thing is Little Dude got to do some of the work!! 

Fixed!

Cleaning it off, then I think it will be smoothed down a little.

All geared up and fixing things!!

repurposing bench brackets

This is a milk crate full of metal brackets and hardware that was holding in the CWV's benches. I've been meaning to weight it because it is HEAVY!

These are screen grabs from a video of SBF sawing on metal to repurpose some of the bench brackets to use as spacers for one of the back seats. He needed something to level out the other side of the seat where he welded those plates to attach it to the van. It's a little complicated sounding, but I'm sure it'll all make sense when we see the finished product. 

insulation for the ceiling

Gia, doing her part to hold down the insulation so SBF can measure and cut. 

Denim Survey

safety first

SBF said I could get all up close and personal with the welding if I came over in jeans, close toed shoes, and a denim shirt. Really? Do people just have denim shirts in their closets? I do not. So instead I stood far back with earplugs and shades with green lenses plus this Scary Guy mask. (Pretty sure this is all I need for my Halloween costume this year. This over my face while SBF drives slowly through the neighborhoods in the CWV on Halloween night!!! Handing out CANDY! OMG I can't wait!)

Selfie.

The world through the green glasses. I would show you the world through the Scary Guy mask, but it's literally just sparks flying.

CWV through my glasses. 

welding things

Today when I went to visit, SBF was making brackets to weld into the van to bolt the backseat captain chairs into. The bolts on the chairs don't quite line up with where the benches sat, but of course this man knows what to do. 

It starts with drilling into metal.

Filing the metal.

And then you have this set up. (I think he had to make at least 4 of these.)

And then there is welding. 

Welding progress.

And into the van!!

the ladder!

This is  my favorite update so far. It's so fun to climb up and it's gonna lead to such an awesome place to hang out. Even tho that's not the priority here ... I'm sure it'll be solar panels and other more important roof things first, but this ladder is cool!

Found the paperwork at the workbench. Ours matches up to the drawing just right!!

new hitch

CWV got her a new hitch. It's the one SBF took from Sister Van on his first visit to the junk yard. Looks ready for a bike rack!!

outdoor kitchen inspiration

I've noticed a lot of traveling vans have kitchens built into them. Some of them are pretty elaborate. They look beautiful ... But it seems like that would make the van smelly or even humid and introduce all sorts of moisture. Like, wouldn't making tea or coffee in the morning just fill the space with wetness? We're leaning towards something cool and pull-out like this clever, inspirational kitchen. Plus I like going outside to cook.

This instagram feed follows a really cool van conversion. And so much YELLOW!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Das Postbus-Projekt (@der_willi_bulli) on Apr 16, 2019 at 3:20am PDT

Austin Auto Parts

Me and SBF have spent some quality time at this place. It's actually really cool and would be fun to explore all the smashed up cars one day. (Can you see the guy under the limo in this picture? I think he's just fixing it. But he was there the whole time we were so who knows.)

Also, the owner is extremely generous or just really, really likes SBF. After we pulled out the seatbelts he told SBF that he normally charges $75 a piece for those, "But for you, $25 each." Seriously. Apparently he gives that kind of "deal" on any and all parts. 

Pile of tires and junk AND a sink hole.

Vans are for grandmas...

Saw this comment on a Van Life Instagram feed and it made me giggle. We don't fall into either of those categories, thank you very much. But it does follow with my Creepy theme.

metric nuts

When my SBF and I show up anywhere now, the first thing my friends ask about is the CWV. It still seems to catch him a little off guard. But then he's got all the answers and it's fun to talk about the hopes, plans and dreams for this thing. It's a little bit famous in my small circles. And it definitely encourages progress so we can gush over the new changes. Unfortunately the progresses right now are not very impressive. Small things that require trips to the hardware store and supplies in the mail. 

I went over to "help" this afternoon, but SBF was trying to figure out where to put the second row of seats and realizing that all the benches holes don't quite line up how we need them to. Also, the seatbelts don't work with these seats' buckles. He's hopeful Sister Van will still be there, but I'm like where could she possibly go? Road trip in our near future: we need to take two of her seatbelts.

Then he asked if I wanted to go to Home Depot (I've already been this month, so maybe he should ask me again in 2 weeks.) so he could find a nut for this giant bolt, which amusingly enough is metric. He kind of laughed about that and then he had to explain. Because it's a Ford. I still didn't really get it, but I'm sure someone at Home Depot will.

Once a few more of these crucial logistical things get figured out I think the progress will be more fun  ...

SBF was testing where to put the seats and this is a picture of the inside with the regular camera.

And this is with the fish eye.

van names

I've been brainstorming van names. At first we thought we'd just call her the Club Wagon, but yawn.

Some are pretty obvious and some are likely already van names, but I did't look any of them up, so if they're copies it's completely by accident.

• VANa White (or VAN-uh White)
• VANessa
• VANpire (or VANpire bat-mobile)
• VANquisher
• The VANdal
• iVANka
• iVANia
• eVANgelica (or something with evangelism, but I was also thinking of Angelica from the Rugrats)
• the galliVANt
• the nirVANa

everything but the kitchen sink

The main reason that my SBF wants to make the CWV the ultimate road tripping machine (Besides the fact that converted vans all over IG are insanely awesome.) is that he wants to bring all his stuff. Single retired men in their 40s have a lot of cool stuff for maximum comfort and fun on the road. This came to light last year when we invited SBF to road trip with us and he said YES, but he'd follow along in his own truck, thank you very much. (Part of that might have been just the idea of being trapped in the same car as me and my kids for 2 solid weeks. Nah, probably not.)

I've been road tripping and/or planning roads trips pretty much my whole life. My family took lots of adventures in the car, quite a few that I don't even remember because I was so little. But I do remember road tripping to and from Wyoming. To Yellowstone National Park. To Disney World and the beach. To New Orleans. To Carlsbad Caverns. As young kids, there were usually hotels involved. When I was in high school we were tougher and I remember sleeping on picnic tables one night. They were always an adventure.

After high school I planned my first big road trip with three other friends. We drove all the way to Canada with stops in Colorado, Wyoming, and Idaho along the way. We came down through Washington and California, stopping at every skate park we'd ever heard of. Four of us packed into a 4-door sedan with a trunk full of clothes and whatever random camping gear we could find. Plus some skateboards.

Since then I've planned or helped plan at least one big road trip a year for the last 20 years. Usually they lead us to the same places, with one or two new places mixed in. It's easier to plan for places I've already been, so I lean heavily on that.

All that said to point out that when it comes to road tripping it's always been about what we DO and WHO I am with more than where we go or WHAT we take with us. This year, the plan is for all of us to ride in one vehicle (yikes!) and to bring EVERYTHING. A big ol' thick mattress for the tent. A FRIDGE. A shower (or two). Maybe a toaster oven and a blender. And 5 bikes. One of us thinks he needs 2 bikes. And actually, I would be surprised if two of us thinks he needs 2 bikes. And I'm excited for it. I'm excited to have my best people in all the best places AND A SHOWER! How many more days til summer vacation?!?!

crazy garage

I like this crazy garage picture. All of the captain chairs are pulled out right now and just chillin in the chaos. I'm pretty sure the only thing that would make this manageable for my SBF is that, at the very least, all the tools are in their right places. That's a thing that people who work with tools REALLY CARE ABOUT. I mean really, really. 

The fabric chairs on the left are from Sister Van, and the plasticy ones on the right are from CWV. Eventually the fabric ones will go in the front and the original chairs will shift to the back.

bloody finger

This is CWV related because my SBF took one day off from hands-on van work after he sliced his fingernail in half on the diagonal. (And part of the finger.) He was building a bicycle and got his finger a little too close to the rotor. (In case you didn't know, a rotor is another name for the brake disc. I didn't know what it meant, but I acted like I did when he told me. I mean, I had an idea, but I still looked it up to be sure. It is sharp. Sharp enough to slice your finger if you're not careful!) Anyhow, I don't know if he's impervious to pain or if it was shock but he didn't even flinch when I poured 70% isopropyl alcohol on it and then hydrogen peroxide. (We used all the good germ killers.) 

He did go home and order some insulation for the CWV ceiling online. I knew he couldn't completely stay away ...

The sliced nail.

Another angle.

A rotor, in case you need a visual.

Finally! The floor is gone!

All the seats in the CWV were attached to these brackets that were bolted down with these huge bolts. They didn't have the tool size we needed to remove them at the Home Depot so SBF ordered one from the Internet. Unfortunately, that one was too big. Grrrrr. However, that man is super handy and made do with another tool.

The brackets were like this ...

And this ...

The tool we needed was one just a little bit smaller than THIS one.

All the bolts and brackets pulled!!

The moment we've been waiting for. (Well, one of the moments.)

It wasn't as bad we expected. Lots of dirt, some pens, an old SweetTarts packet, but otherwise pretty good.

 The emptier it gets, the more exciting it is!!

Oh! And some random plants were growing under there. Apparently moisture can be a big problemo with these vans, so if this is all the plant life she grew (no molds!) then we're doing pretty good. We haven't pulled the carpet from under the front seats year, but that's happening soon.

The next steps are more cleaning, some sanding, and addressing the rusty spots.