Multi-Purpose Worktop

I'm going to call this one a success. While the build quality is such that not even a charity shop would try to sell it, the unit I have constructed (and I use that word very loosely indeed) does the job I wanted it to do.

There were one or two minor glitches during the process - one misread measurement, one careless swipe of the hand leading to laminate embedded in a fingertip and a wonderful discovery about using dowels - but in the end, the unit was completed.

The worktop is just the right size for either the laptop, wash bowl or gas stove and the stove fits perfectly on the shelf when it's not being used (which it should as the unit and the shelf were built specifically around the stove's measurements). It's the right height to use while sitting on the bed and is small enough to slide up against the back of the seats when I need the floor space for shopping or recycling.

I tested the stove today at lunchtime and discovered that I can use it quite safely without melting the picket placards - I mean window blackouts. It warms the van up nicely but of course I remembered to leave the door ajar to avoid a build up of fumes. 

Although I was parked right outside work and could easily have made a coffee in the office and brought it out to the van, there's something intensely satisfying about doing it this way.

My Next Project

Since the day I brought Tyrion home - actually since the day I saw him on the trader's website - I have been going through designs in my head for a storage unit with a worktop. There are lots of different ideas out there on the internet but none that meet my needs. Tyrion has to be ready to become a car again at a moment's notice and even when the bed is in the back, I still need to make sure there is enough room for a week's shopping.

I have come up with an idea for a unit that provides a worktop and which has a shelf for my stove (which will free up valuable space in my under-bed boxes). If my plan comes to fruition, this unit will be able to move from one place to another according to needs.

When in full bed mode (i.e. whenever I am not taking mother shopping, the glass for recycling or some rubbish to the tip) the unit will sit over the nearside wheel arch, up against the back door. The nearside sliding door will then be my entrance and exit. Positioned here I will be able to use the bed as a seat while I am cooking, washing or using my laptop. It will also make a useful surface to dump my pockets out on when going to bed.

However, this will be no good when I go shopping, so my plan is to make the unit the right size so it will also fit in the space left by the single rear seat when it is folded up. This way the storage will still be there, the unit won't have to come into the house when I need to use the van for other things and I will be able to get the shopping in through the back door.

I measured yesterday evening and started drawing up ideas. This afternoon I drew up a final plan then I hit B&Q's offcuts bin this evening and bought a couple of likely-looking chunks of wood. I picked up some brackets and screws while I was there, so I now should have everything I need to make the unit (apart from the knowledge and any real skill with woodwork or tools, but I'm planning to worry about that later).

Here's an image of what the final unit should look like - although I am much better with Google Sketchup than with a saw and a screwdriver (as my bed base efforts have already shown).

So if you have a free hand this weekend, please cross your fingers and perhaps say a little prayer as I start hacking up cardboard templates, sawing into chunks of wood, cursing wrong screws and bad weather and arguing with my missus about sawdust all over the conservatory carpet.

Wish me luck.

Some Winter Usage

I don't like winter, but now that Christmas and New Year are behind us the days have started getting a little longer and I'm pottering around in the back of the van during the evening again. Yes, it's dark by the time I get home from work, but between the outside light on the drive and the head torch I have just about enough light to work by.

Yesterday I put the bed back in. I know I posted about it being unsafe, but if I put it down the other side I can't have any back seats up at all and I can't see any sensible way to carry it on it's side, so I'll just have to hope that nobody hits me in the rear hard enough to ram the bed forward - for now anyway.

Having taken the mattress and bedding out for the winter it seemed silly to put them back in just on a whim, so I have inflated the airbed and am using that on top of the bed frame. I figure that not much can happen to a plastic airbed in the cold and damp (although if something does I will call it a learning experience and head to Asda for another one).

An airbed in a van - neither are mine,
just a pic from the net to break up the text

So today's lunch break was spent lounging in the back of the van, propped up on a rucksack full of spare clothes, drinking coffee and watching Netflix on my tablet. It was more comfortable than sitting at my desk (we have no staff room), quieter than Starbucks (or any other coffee shop or restaurant at lunch time in a busy city centre) and afforded me some privacy.

I have experimented with different storage options, starting out with a single plastic tote with a hinged lid. When I started planning the bed I hoped to store the tote underneath it, but this didn't work out so it slid around in the back of the van, sometimes on the top of the bed and sometimes beside it. 

I had to add a second tote when I bought more gear and new then that something had to give. Although they stacked beside the bed, there was no room to move around them and they had to come out if I needed to carry anything else.

I may have too much stuff in the back of my van,
but at least I know mine will never be this bad.

Recently the totes were replaced by a pair of folding crates and these took up less space, but still didn't work around the bed very well. Last week I came across under-bed storage boxes in Asda for three pounds each and bought a couple. Most of my gear is now stashed in these and they both slide under the bed and out of the way. I still have a few things in a folding crate, but have an idea to get rid of this and to gain a worktop which will support either a laptop, wash bowl or gas stove and which will store the cooker and gas underneath when not needed. This will free up a lot of space in one of the under-bed boxes, which means I can get rid of the last folding crate.

Of course, like many of my ideas this may not happen, but I will be popping into B&Q tomorrow for a dig in their offcuts bin.

I've added some random pictures from the web but I wanted to add a couple of my own. I got a Selfie Stick for Christmas, so here are a couple of 'in the van' selfies taken this evening.

Winter Hiatus

Changing the Bed Again!

Tyrion has been in car mode for the winter. All the soft furnishings (bedding, mattress, etc.) have been taken indoors for the duration and the hardier gear has been boxed up in the boot. This has given me some time to think about how to move it forward when the weather improves.

The bed that I had in there for a while is standing on end in our spare bathroom, but I am wary about putting it back in the van because I suddenly realised how unsafe it is. 

Because the bed reaches from the back doors to the back of the driver's seat, if anyone were to drive into the back of Tyrion, the force of the impact would travel through the bed and straight into my back. I could avoid that by putting it on the passenger side, but that would then offer the same risk to anyone travelling in that seat. 

So for now the bed will stay in the spare bathroom unless I need it for a solo trip - and then I will have to pay attention to how I travel with it - but for longer term I need to return to the drawing board and come up with something else.