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The plan for the van has been to do a short term conversion on a shoestring. This way we can decide what works and what doesn't and enjoy the van over the summer.
Total spend so far:
2 cabinet hinges - £10
2 metres of paracord - £2.50
1 pack of sewing machine needles - £2
everything else is just stuff i had hoarded in the shed, admittedly I have just finished doing up the house (well, nearly) so i did have a lot of wood, paint and ironmongery lying around.
The big chest over the driver side wheel arch, the one that Jen is sitting on, has a fold out top. When its doors are wide open they support the top and this, in conjunction with the back seats, in folded down position, forms a double bed base. I have constructed the fold out top with two sheets of thin ply that's reinforced in-between with batons, this way is isn't ridiculously heavy, shouldn't warp and is strong enough to support 2 people (and a dog).
I've tried to make everything as strong, but light, as possible. The big grey chest isn't particularly well finished but it is reasonably well engineered, the light blue 'kitchen' unit, on the other hand, has turned out quite nicely, so even though it was only supposed to be a prototype we might just keep it the way it is.
The awning is made of some thin canvas we had, i think it's called cailico, and I suppose I'm going to need to shell out for some waterproofing, so that's probably going to double the spend total.
Total spend so far:
2 cabinet hinges - £10
2 metres of paracord - £2.50
1 pack of sewing machine needles - £2
everything else is just stuff i had hoarded in the shed, admittedly I have just finished doing up the house (well, nearly) so i did have a lot of wood, paint and ironmongery lying around.
The big chest over the driver side wheel arch, the one that Jen is sitting on, has a fold out top. When its doors are wide open they support the top and this, in conjunction with the back seats, in folded down position, forms a double bed base. I have constructed the fold out top with two sheets of thin ply that's reinforced in-between with batons, this way is isn't ridiculously heavy, shouldn't warp and is strong enough to support 2 people (and a dog).
I've tried to make everything as strong, but light, as possible. The big grey chest isn't particularly well finished but it is reasonably well engineered, the light blue 'kitchen' unit, on the other hand, has turned out quite nicely, so even though it was only supposed to be a prototype we might just keep it the way it is.
The awning is made of some thin canvas we had, i think it's called cailico, and I suppose I'm going to need to shell out for some waterproofing, so that's probably going to double the spend total.