just for the fun of it
This van is our home away from home on most kiteboarding trips. Everything you can imagine is there; just in small form. Here are some pictures and details. When you see us, ask for a tour.
Ready for wind* (* indicates photo taken by Brian Goldsburry of Kite World Magazine)
Getting a little work done using the table & 110v inverter. Photo by Anne Hanovich
The foyer welcomes*
Maintenance and repair drawers to the left of the foyer*
Under the left side of the bed are drawers for:
Kitchen utensils, oatmeal etc.;
Toiletries;
Nuts (5 kinds);
Shaver, mirror etc. (closed);
First Aid.
The table, on edge to the left, is held in place by velcro (black) when it is not in use. Photo by Louis Self
Gadget drawer with blue kitchen cabinet to the right*
Under bread shelf: kitchen cabinet w fine dinner wear and narrow roll of paper towels.* You might want to look at the Health and Fitness section of our Smart Stuff web page.
The Oregon Scientific WMR-90 weather station monitors the wind, humidity and temperatures outside the van, inside the van, in the refrigerator, in the pantry and other places.*
Office drawer is above the pantry drawer, which is opened here*
Two-level single-temperature refrigerator*
The Board Room is under the couch/bed. We spent 10 nights at home in Phoenix on our kitchen floor engineering the bed and ended up with a bed that was more comfortable than our real bed.*
The mattress
is one inch relatively soft foam on top of a semi-inflated four-inch self-inflating air mattress. A wide bed is not necessary for tossing and turning as this bed elimates pressure points. Photo by Louis Self
A carpet non-skid mat keeps the mattress from scooting around while driving. Photo by Louis Self
To the left is all the kiting equipment and in the background, top-to-bottom: closet, linen shelf, emergency road service box beside the gym bag, tool box & long-term storage bins. The white wet bin
among the kites accommodates sandy and wet harnesses, pumps etc.*
RUNNING WATER: is in the blue jerry can. Six gallons lasts about ten days.*
This little $30 water pump was added to a modified jerry can to provide running
water. No more getting out of the van to fill water bottles. We're either getting lazy or getting smart!
Ready to press the red button and fill my water bottle. This square bottle (by Hawaii Water) doesn't roll around the van and fits efficiently into its water socket.
The convience of a single-stream shower outside for rinsing off feet and equipment while conserving water.
| 12/120 v single-temperature refrigerator |
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The little single-temperature refrigerator was expensive (currently costing about $720), but was well worth the money. It cools like a refrigerator should cool, uses very little battery power and takes the place of about 1100 pounds of ice on our spring trips.
In the same space that used to be occupied by two super-insulated ice chests, we now have the new refrigerator and the office and pantry drawers.
The refrigerators come in various sizes. Here is some information for the current model like we have, available at Beverage Factory. Similar refrigerators are available from J C Whitney, although their paper catalog has a better variety and prices than their online store. You might want to give them a phone call at 800 603-3898.
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Cloudy headlights can make a vehicle look old before its time. We wet sanded the plastic lenses using progressively finer abrasive paper (400, 1000, 2000 grit) and finished off with Mirror Glaze plastic polish. Photos by Louis Self
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Tire-pressure-indicator valve stem caps are a quick way to monitor your tires' pressure and may save your tires. We bought a set of four for about $5 at Walmart.
Nick has an excellent blog with pictures on the work he did on his van.
(* indicates photo taken by Brian Goldsburry of Kite World Magazine)