A Big, Fat Van Post About Big, Fat Topics: Van Progress and COVID-19

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The next step on the van conversion is to build the bed. I’m just now realizing that I never included a post about my planned layout, at least nothing in detail. And even if I did, it would have been a year ago, or more. So here’s the general idea for the bed/dining area:

I’m going with a U-shaped bench with a table that will fit into the gap to form the bed. The benches will be high, with a platform down the middle that will hide a large drawer that slides out the back for extra storage. It’s basically four boxes. One large bench on the driver’s side wall, a matching one along the passenger’s side wall, a platform down the middle, and a third, small bench on top of the platform and between the two side benches at the back.

Original bed design (right) and more recent design (left). Having the platform span a full 5'+ turned out to be too difficult, unwieldy, and space-wasting, so I decided to have the two side benches go all the way to the floor.

Building a box is fairly simple: 4 walls, a bottom, and a top. But these boxes are going to be regularly supporting human weight. I’m not just going to be sleeping here, but eating here, relaxing here, and working here. I expect that most of the time I spend in the van, I’ll be sitting or laying on these boxes. I also want to be able to invite friends I make on the road over for dinner or games, or have friends or family join me on the road for a week or two. Sometimes, these boxes will be supporting hundreds of pounds, plus they’ll have all the stuff inside them constantly shifting as I drive. They need to be strong.

Part of that is making sure they’re square, which means checking and rechecking, problem-solving when need be in order to fix something that didn’t come out right. It also means cross-beams and a divider down the middle to provide extra support. They go over the wheel wells, so I made wheel well covers and have to install those to the boxes, as well, and then they need to be sanded down, the edges of the plywood taped over with birch edging, and sealed to make them look good and protect them from the rough life they’re headed for.

Finished and installed driver’s side bench already put to work storing construction supplies (left).

Sanding the driver’s side bench prior to installing it (left).

Passenger’s side bench in-progress as I prepare to install the wheel well cover (right).

View of the cross-beams and divider in the driver’s side bench (right).

Once I finish the passenger’s side bench, I’ll start on the platform, which I’ve decided to simplify by doing just two cleats attached to the side benches with subfloor on top. It’s eventually going to be covered by top floor anyway, and the subfloor is cheaper and sturdier than the birch plywood. Besides, I’ve still got some leftover.

My amazing and wonderful friend, Nicole, endured an extended rant about Danica (my van) when we met up for drinks one Friday night, and had an incredible, brilliant, star-studded idea. She suggested I leave the front side of the platform (closest to the cab) open, and store a couple baskets down there (held in place by a couple of pretty-colored bungee cords). This allows me to put in a vertical support 12"-18" into the platform, where most of the pressure from people stepping on it will fall, and keep the area in the front accessible (with a peek of cute baskets under the step) while shortening the length of the drawer that will come out the back, saving me literally hundreds of dollars on those drawer slides.

It’s a win-win-win-win.

I definitely need to install the drawer slides before putting in the top of the platform, so things might stall a little while I wait for them to arrive, but I hope to work on some of the other parts of the build while I wait.

There’s the back bench, which I could cut the pieces for and even put together, since I’ll have certain measurements with everything else finished, the platform just wont be fully installed.

There’s the table, about which I still have some decisions to make. How will I get it out of the way so people can actually sit on the benches while still having it fill the entire empty space between them? What kind of support system will be sturdy enough to keep it in place while driving but easy to dismantle when it’s time for bed? What sort of material do I want to use for the surface, that will be cheap and still look good?

I still have one wall panel to finish on the sliding door, and I’ve been going back and forth whether I really want to buy another sheet of 1/4" plywood to cover the space, or if I’m ok with using the leftover pieces I have which are about 2" too short. And then I have to decide if I’m willing to trust adhesive and nails to hold it up, despite the road vibrations, or if I want to play it safe with screws, which aren’t nearly as aesthetic.

After that, I’ve got to do the sink cabinet. This one will probably be the most complicated. It needs to open from the side, and there’s this weird 4 inches of dead space that I haven’t entirely decided what to do with. Nicole had another cool idea about this, but I’ll have to see if it will work when I do a more detailed measurement and sketch of the space.

Once the sink cabinet is finished, it will be time to install the sink and water system, which will probably take some time, and make a counter top for it to match the others I’ve made (have I posted about my countertops, yet? They’ve basically my favorite part of the build so far, so if I haven’t, you can expect a post solely dedicated to them soon).

There’s one more cabinet which will go on top of the counter, just behind my driver’s seat, and a shelf that will go along that wall.

Then it’s on to the top floor, making the cushions for the bed, the cabinet face frames and faces, installing drawers and shelves (which I probably should have done already, honestly), and the finishing touches, like making the step at the side door pretty, installing crown moulding to cover the massive wires in the upper corner, and decorative touches.

I think that’s everything.

It’s still a lot to do, but considering everything I’ve already gotten through (if you’re new here, I encourage you to look over some of the previous blog posts), I’m definitely on the home stretch.

Besides, it’s good I’ve got plenty to do, since I’m out of work for at least three weeks.

Plague, Inc.

When I was in high school, everyone was playing this game called Plague, Inc. You could make different kinds of illnesses, changing symptoms and how it was passed on, and then pick a manner and a location in the world for it to start. Then, you watched it spread. The number of infected would rise. Someone infected would get on a boat or a plane and suddenly red would splash over the screen as the virus went, well, viral.

I don’t know, exactly, I didn’t have a smart phone back then. But it seemed like nearly half the school was obsessed with the game. I remember watching as little planes and boats would jet around the world, and suddenly one would come up red, signaling someone on board was sick. Fake news headlines would scroll in the ticker tape along the top of the screen: “Ten thousand dead from mysterious illness!” “Schools close across America!”

We’re officially living in a video game.

Schools, both K-12 and colleges and universities, are shut down. Anchors on Sports Center look wide-eyed into the camera as they try to think of something to say, with everything except the WWE cancelled or suspended through April, the headline beneath their shocked looks dramatically declaring it “The Day Sports Died.” Stores, from Mom-and-Pop Groceries to Walmart, are emptied of cleaning products and other staples. Shopping centers are ghost towns, stores still open but barely a handful of customers perusing the drastically marked-down wares. Movie premieres, plays, gallery openings, concerts, are all cancelled. Fast food restaurants have taken their sauce packets and plastic utensils behind the counter. Travel from Europe is suspended, countries have closed their borders.

In a lot of ways, it looks like the end of the world. I’m not a doctor. But I’d like to remind everyone that the regular old flu kills thousands of people every year, just to provide a little perspective. It’s good to be cautious, to practice social distancing, wash your hands thoroughly and often, and avoid touching your face. Especially for those who are older or have other health issues, it’s probably a good idea to stay at home as much as possible.

Be careful, but keep in mind that this is not the end of the world. If you actually need toilet paper, by all means, buy toilet paper. But if you already have enough to last the next three months, skip it. Make sure you have some hand sanitizer on hand, and carry it with you. But one bottle will last a surprisingly long time. Twelve is unnecessary. Make sure you have cold and flu medicine in your medicine cabinet. But don’t buy more if you already have some. There are a lot of people who need it more.

I’ve heard a lot of churches are doing online or call-in services, and that’s awesome. If you have any sign of a cough or fever, or if you’re older or have other health concerns, utilize these services, even if your church doesn’t offer them and you need to temporarily switch churches.

I’m not looking to give a lecture, and I already did a little half-satirical, half-serious commentary on Coronavirus in my newsletter (you can join here, if you’re interested). But since then, the cancellations, closings, sell-outs, and restrictions seem to have gotten even more severe, so I wanted to touch on it more publicly.

Besides, I’m a substitute teacher in a state that has closed all its schools. So I’m out of work for the next few weeks. I’m hoping to take the opportunity to finish as much as I can on Danica, which will leave me open to work more when the schools reopen (of course, after three weeks off, who’s going to need a sub?).

As long as I’m healthy, and the construction stores stay open, I’ll be working on the van.

Stay healthy, stay sane, and stay tuned.