Privacy Curtains and the Art of Recycling

We used to have a place on the island called the Exchange where we could take things we no longer wanted, but that still had a bit of life left in them, and where people who were looking for usable items could go to retrieve them.  It was a wonderful place and must have kept tons of stuff out of the landfill.  We've made both deposits and withdrawals from the Exchange over the years.  Unfortunately, the Exchange burned to the ground about a year ago, leaving us with usable stuff that we'd like to get rid of and wishing we could go shop the Exchange for a piece of metal, or 1 foot of pipe.  At least a dozen times while we were working on Buster, we've said, "dang, I wish the Exchange were in operation."

But, if the Exchange had been in operation this last year, we would have had to have done something different for our privacy curtains because I recycled a shade I took down in our kitchen.  Now we don't have curtains on our windows at home, but sometimes, in campgrounds, you need them either for privacy or to cut down on the light.

So starting with my old, stained, accordion pleated shade, I cut the metal top and bottom rails off it, and spray painted the interior side red.  (I  LOVE paint--it's transformational, and I am willing to try to paint darn near anything.).  Then I cut the pleated material to size, and sewed some industrial strength Velcro tabs on the curtain, and glued the other side of the Velcro to the van.  These meet my criteria for curtains:

• they are out of the way 99% of the time
• can easily be removed completely
• can be deployed in a snap if needed  
• AND, they were my favorite price, which is FREE.

Folded out of the way and held in place with little velcro strips.

pulling the curtain up

velcro tab on the back of the curtain, and matching piece on the metal of the van

The Bed

We are pretty pleased with the bed.  It takes about 5 minutes to set up, including putting the bedding on, and about the same to put it all away.

The table legs fold up, and the table top fits perfectly between the benches, resting on to rails that run the length of the benches. 

We use the big seat cushions for the middle sections of the bed, and the two smaller cushions for the head and foot sections.  I made the cushion slightly larger than the space, so they would be a tight fit and not slide around during the night.  Since the tops of the benches are covered in trunk-lining fabric, that also keeps things from shifting.

We sleep crossways...our heads where the small red cushions are in the photo.  Originally I was going to buy a double sleeping bag, but then nixed that idea in favor of making up a regular bed.  We put a mattress pad and bottom sheet on the cushions, and then cover up with a comforter that has a fleece duvet cover.  We are warm and cozy.  A sheet and duvet cover are much easier to wash and dry than a double-sized sleeping bag.

The final size of the bed is 60 inches wide and 74 inches wide--a short queen-size, but since neither of us are 6'2", it works for us just fine.

The Table

 Howard built the table top to fit exactly between the two benches to make a bed.  He topped it with white formica so it would have a durable surface.  We wanted a table that could be removed completely so we could use the van to haul stuff.  Also, we thought a table we could set up outside might be handy if the place we stopped had no picnic tables.  I ordered the folding legs on line.  They are very sturdy.

When we are underway, we strap the table to a D-ring bolted to the floor.  By the way, the floor between the benches is raised about 6 inches higher than the floor in the rest of the van.  The wheel wells dictated the height of the benches, but that left our feet dangling like Edith Ann.  Raising the floor also gives us a long thin storage area, accessible from the rear doors for things  folding sun chairs, and walking sticks.
In the photo you can see the rails that the table rests on when it is lowered.  I intend to paint the rails black, but haven't gotten around to it yet.

You can also see the open end of the bench on the right.  The lid of this bench lifts also, so items can be accessed from inside or outside the van.  We wanted a place to store mucky things like muddy boots, a wet awning, our shovel, axe, tire chains, and toolbox--things that we wanted to have accessible, but that we didn't want to live with.

Because Howard is a belt and braces man, as an after thought, he put a bar across between the benches on the forward side of the table to make sure the table doesn't come sliding forward when we are underway.  The bar is easily removable, but securely locks in place.  Next to the bunk on the left is our chest NorCold refrigerator that runs on shore power or 12-volt. 

To lower the table into the bed position, we fold the legs.  In this photo the legs are folded, but not locked in place up against the underside of the table.  We usual leave the legs like this when we make up the bed, because  it is easier to set the table back up.  We merely have to lift the table up, and the legs drop down into position and lock.

On the Road with the BusterMobile

We took Buster to San Juan Island and camped in the county park.  All systems worked well, we slept like logs, and those expensive batteries ran our little fridge and lights just fine...so we're happy.

We do have to report one rather large design flaw...mistakes were made, I blame myself!  Originally, on my paper mock-up, I made the tall cupboard 12 inches deep.  Then I thought it should be deeper, because that would give us considerably more storage space.  So I extended the cupboard to a depth of 20 inches.  The cupboard is great, however, I didn't adjust the length or placement of the table, which means there is now only about a four inch gap to squeeze into the dinette on the driver's side.  

Fortunately the table isn't fixed in place, so it can be tipped up enough to squeeze in on that side, or we can do some acrobatics and climb over the end of the table if we feel flexible enough.  When we are under way, the table is held down with river-rafting straps so it doesn't launch itself through the front of the van on a panic stop.  But when we park, we unstrap it so it can be tipped up easily.  Also, we can get into the dinette through the back doors...but of course not when we are rolling down the highway of life.

Flooring for Buster

We hemmed and hawed over what to put down for flooring over the plywood subfloor.  We had carpet in our old van, and that was pretty bad.  Keeping the pine needles, sand and mud cleaned up took a fair bit of effort.  Other flooring solutions--linoleum, vinyl, wood, bamboo either weighed a lot, or cost a lot or just didn't look that good.

We think we found a great compromise--looks good, is really light weight, was super easy to install, and feels great under foot.  It's EVA matting that fits together like a giant jig saw puzzle, is soft and cushy like a yoga mat, but looks very wood-like.  We think it also adds a bit of insulation and sound deadening.   It's a snap to clean up--just a quick swipe with a broom.

 The matting comes in colors, but the colors are mainly primary colors.  We like the wood-look, and it seems to go pretty well with the gangster-stripped suiting on the cushions.

As you can see, the color scheme for the whole project is black and white with some red thrown in for good measure.

Furnishings for Buster

The dinette benches are done.  I found the fabric online at The Fabric Guru which sells end-lots of fabrics.  You kind of have to sort through to find which pieces you like AND that have enough yardage left on the bolt for your project.  I got 13 yards at $6 a yard...more fabric than I needed, but the price was right and the shipping was really cheap. 

The fabric is a nice thick wool blend that looks a lot like banker/gangster (they are kinda the same these day, no?). business-suit fabric. I painted the walls behind the benches simi-gloss white.  We still haven't worked out the dimensions for the overhead cabinets

The foam for the seat/bed cushions came from Foam Factory--I bought a queen-sized slab of semi-firm foam, 5 inches thick called HD36-R foam, topped it with a one inch layer of super-soft latex foam, and wrapped the foam layers in a one-inch thick blanket of acrylic batting--It's kind of a Princess-and-the Pea bed.  I glued the two layers of foam together with spray glue from the foam factory, and lightly tacked the acrylic wrap in place with spray glue.

The benches are really comfortable to sit on, and when made into a bed,  are  60 inches wide by 74 inches long bed--just about queen-sized.  They form a supportive, but cushy bed--just like sleeping at home, which was a major criteria for our little rolling home-away-from home.  The bases of the dinette/bed benches are covered in trunk liner from the Auto Trim Store.  It covers up any rough carpentry, looks nice, and helps with the sound deadening.

The galley is done now.  The drawers and doors are installed.  The sink and the water pump are working.  The tall cabinet still needs doors.  In the photo we have a piece of canvas hanging over the front of the cabinet just so the batteries aren't visible.  Today Howard is working on shelves to go in the cupboard, and doors.

On a recent short road trip we tried out some of Buster's amenities, including make a cup of tea in the ferry line. 

Note the unfinished wall behind the galley.  We plan to put a window there, but still haven't settled on which one.  Howard still lusts after a Dometic Seitz window, like these from an Australian supplier, but they are not available in the US.  To order one from Europe or Australia and have it shipped is hideously expensive.  So we are still shopping for a window.