Our big project

The story of our big project is just beginning, so hold on! There will surely be more to come. It started when my husband began spending a majority of his time in the United States for work. Naturally, he began thinking about buying a car. In our minds, a car has to be completely practical, otherwise what’s the point? After some discussion we were stuck on the idea that nothing could be better than a van!

As soon as we decided on a van, our project was born.

And the best part is that we are both working on it. Together. We are converting our van into a fully-functioning mobile home, with the idea that it will give us complete freedom.

My husband did most of the conversions himself. He pulled out carseats to make room for gas and water tanks, he installed a refrigerator, oven, heating system, solar panels and ventilation. It is hard to imagine, I know, but don’t worry, there will be many pictures to come!

He constructed and isolated the water tanks carefully, and the bed has hinges so we can put it up when need to fit our bicycles or something bigger. 

My expertise comes in for the phase of making it nice and cozy.

I glued yoga mats to the ceiling for insulation, followed by wood paneling for a sleeker look. We even left holes in the ceiling for lights. We liked the idea and look so we continued it on the sides of the van and around our bed. The trickiest part so far has been constructing the drawers to fit perfectly in the shelves, while also not taking up too much space. Cutting it close while using all the space! That was the mission.

The precise measurements haven’t been the only thing that’s made us suffer.

The gas refrigerator just wasn’t working for us. Even after we measured everything perfectly, there wasn’t enough ventilation. We thought it was an easy fix, so we drilled more holes in the roof to increase the air flow, and it still didn’t work! By that time we had the mirror fixed to the front, and the shelving unit surrounding the fridge was completely finished. It was frustrating to realize it wasn’t functioning properly after such careful planning, but in the end we had to deconstruct it and rebuild it with a smaller fridge and new measurements. And although the shelf and mirror were already finished, it also feels good to know that we solved a big problem.

That moment was a good reminder that sometimes we need to take a step back and look at things from a greater distance to discover an improved solution.

We are not finished yet, but we are already proud of the results we’ve gotten. Have a look at our homemade mobile home and let us know what you think!

Pureearthwoman

Translation with the help of Ellie Farrier