We’d had a look at a number of old, cheap vans during our hunt. Most of them had been used by backpackers etc, and so already had frames, mattresses, and all the gear one might need. They also tended to have hippy backpacker paint jobs, both inside and out… (yerck).
We decided, however, that we’d rather try and find one that hadn’t been modded so we could do it ourselves. Also, we felt that some back seats would be useful for when the various hordes and crowds of our family and friend types arrive, so the car can safely fit more than 2 people in it. This we found!
She’s a Toyota Hiace 1988 GL (diesel), silver, with blue and red stripes along the sides. I’ve taken to calling her Old Bess (god knows why, it just popped into my head), although Simon, who’s car she actually is, says he’s waiting until he knows her personality better before he names her. I reckon he’ll always call her ‘the van’, though. She hits a good 100km/hr tops on straights, although I have, briefly, gotten her up to 110 on a downhill, but she only does 50 (max) on uphills, generally billowing smoke. We’re thinking of putting something pithy in the back window to alert other drivers to her slowness on uphills (note: early April, and we still haven’t), although one would think the smoke is a clue to her doing her level best. She has no working radio (we do intend at some point to have the dashboard off so we can have a look at the radio and see if it’s fixable), but in the meantime, we’ve hooked my old computer speakers up to an extra leisure battery, (connected via a voltage sense relay to the starter batter), and are using an inverter (my my, but I am learning things), and we just use our various mp3 players. It’s also come in handy for doing things like charging mobile phones, etc.
More about the base…
The second row of seats, happily, fold forward, meaning there is enough leg room in the back for Simon, plus a little extra – w00h00! Before leaving Auckland, however, we realized we would have to build a base for our inflatable mattress, as it fits the width of the car, but the wheel arches were getting in the way. Enter Cedric and Maria, neighbours of James who’ve been living in the area before almost anyone else was. Their generosity was, well, very usual amongst New Zealanders, but quite a surprise for us! We (well, mostly Simon) then built a base which, in a wonderful case of serendipity, is even cooler than we had thought it would be! The design’s simple, but allows us to use the base as two benches, a base for a bed, and still have the movable middle pieces to serve as a table, extra space to put things on, etc. It also, in conjunction with a mattress which can be stored away, means the van looks less like a camper van, and more like a normal/work van, which we think is probably a good thing.
Design of the base
We keep the two side pieces where they are (although they can be taken out), and the three middle pieces are removable. Most useful!
(Note: we’ve since painted it a fetching white, which is very cool…thanks Gregg!)
We’re still very much in the process of optimizing how and where things are stored – but we’re definitely getting better!
On a happy note: Kilou’s stopped throwing up in cars, which is awesome J Actually, she never has in the van – something about the fact that she can see through the windows, perhaps? She’s taken to lying like a sphinx on the back seat, which is quite cute.
We decided, however, that we’d rather try and find one that hadn’t been modded so we could do it ourselves. Also, we felt that some back seats would be useful for when the various hordes and crowds of our family and friend types arrive, so the car can safely fit more than 2 people in it. This we found!
She’s a Toyota Hiace 1988 GL (diesel), silver, with blue and red stripes along the sides. I’ve taken to calling her Old Bess (god knows why, it just popped into my head), although Simon, who’s car she actually is, says he’s waiting until he knows her personality better before he names her. I reckon he’ll always call her ‘the van’, though. She hits a good 100km/hr tops on straights, although I have, briefly, gotten her up to 110 on a downhill, but she only does 50 (max) on uphills, generally billowing smoke. We’re thinking of putting something pithy in the back window to alert other drivers to her slowness on uphills (note: early April, and we still haven’t), although one would think the smoke is a clue to her doing her level best. She has no working radio (we do intend at some point to have the dashboard off so we can have a look at the radio and see if it’s fixable), but in the meantime, we’ve hooked my old computer speakers up to an extra leisure battery, (connected via a voltage sense relay to the starter batter), and are using an inverter (my my, but I am learning things), and we just use our various mp3 players. It’s also come in handy for doing things like charging mobile phones, etc.
More about the base…
The second row of seats, happily, fold forward, meaning there is enough leg room in the back for Simon, plus a little extra – w00h00! Before leaving Auckland, however, we realized we would have to build a base for our inflatable mattress, as it fits the width of the car, but the wheel arches were getting in the way. Enter Cedric and Maria, neighbours of James who’ve been living in the area before almost anyone else was. Their generosity was, well, very usual amongst New Zealanders, but quite a surprise for us! We (well, mostly Simon) then built a base which, in a wonderful case of serendipity, is even cooler than we had thought it would be! The design’s simple, but allows us to use the base as two benches, a base for a bed, and still have the movable middle pieces to serve as a table, extra space to put things on, etc. It also, in conjunction with a mattress which can be stored away, means the van looks less like a camper van, and more like a normal/work van, which we think is probably a good thing.
Design of the base
We keep the two side pieces where they are (although they can be taken out), and the three middle pieces are removable. Most useful!
(Note: we’ve since painted it a fetching white, which is very cool…thanks Gregg!)
We’re still very much in the process of optimizing how and where things are stored – but we’re definitely getting better!
On a happy note: Kilou’s stopped throwing up in cars, which is awesome J Actually, she never has in the van – something about the fact that she can see through the windows, perhaps? She’s taken to lying like a sphinx on the back seat, which is quite cute.
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aimee
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