Moving Forward

Here are my initial feels about the rusted holes of Frank's floor.

YIKES.

We took a good week or two to decide on a solution for this one.

Weighing all the variables.

Of course, weighing our egos, too.

Sometimes, taking responsibility for life involves throwing in the towel.

The foundation of anything, especially a van home, is just way too important.

Quality work is essential in this phase.

Rather than "DIY" it

(no matter how much I wish we could)

we've decided to hire a professional for this one.

&

It's happening this weekend! 

HOORRAAAAYYYY

Now that this vital part of the process is moving in the right direction,

I'm feeling another gust from the winds of inspiration.

Mmmmm.

Stay tuned!

After the welding job, 

Tom and I will try our hands at insulation.

If anyone has a space heater we could borrow for 1-2 days,

HOLLER!

SUPER AWESOME VAN PLAN CONTINUES

yeeeeeeeeHAW.

Living Adjustments

We are still deciding what route to take as far as the rusty floor holes go. 

Of course, we want the repair to be done well, to avoid later issues down the road. 

Only after the floor rust is under control, 

can we start adding layers of 

insulation, vapor reduction panel, and sound absorbing panel to the interior.

So for now, I am giving you a window 

into how the thought of living in a van 

has already began to transform our lifestyles.

Tom and I had been brainstorming and toying with the idea of tiny living. 

We both see great value 

in simple living and minimalism as far as material possessions go. 

Now that we have a van space with realistic measurements of storage space, 

we have really started the refining process of our possessions.

I don't have much, but when I look at the van

I still think there is so much more that I could get rid of.

I've managed to shrink my entire wardrobe into this little set up pictured below.

It includes all underwear, outerwear, tops, bottoms, both warm and lite.

Also included is by BJJ bag and a bag for dirty clothes.

Plus, the cat, who insists on photo bombing as much as possible.

This is everything in the "packed-up" phase.

Shoes to left

Laundry below shoes.

Mani standing on clothing boxes.

BJJ Bag at my feet.

Coats in grey bag to left of BJJ bag.

Here's how I've narrowed down everyday clothing.

Tops in the top bin.

Bottoms in the middle bin.

Underwear/Swimsuits in bottom bin.

At some point, I think it would feel good to layout all my possessions.

Take a little inventory to see exactly just what I need.

Will post an update photo of that whenever I do it :D

Stay tuned for more happenings with our

SUPER AWESOME VAN PLAN.

xoxo DM

Bodywork Pt 2

This weekend we found some time to add more primer to spots we'd already sanded down.

We also revisited the failed Bondo job on the holes near the exterior wheel wells. 

Bondo is super interesting stuff.

Its this clay looking slime, mixed with a red looking slime.

It starts harding into a bonding hardened surface that allows for sanding.

Once sanded, it becomes nice and smooth.

HOLES GONE!

Then it called for some primer as well.

Tomorrow we plan to add another coat of primer.

Our next step is to address the rust holes on the interior.

We have a few options;

1. Spend lots of time and effort fitting sheet metal to the floor bed.

Sandwich the holes between fitted metal with heavy duty adhesive and drilled screws.

2. Inquire about the cost of having a professional do a welding repair.

3. Buy floor bed sheet metal already shaped, and weld at my dad's shop at work.

Remember, towards the finish of the van, I will release a copy of the total expenses.

In case you're thinking about trying out this project, too.

You'll have some idea of how you can budget and make your van dreams come true.

Stay posted on what happens next as we continue to fulfill our 

SUPER AWESOME VAN PLAN.

Bodywork Pt 1

Whew! Bodywork part 1 was a success! 

Because we were limited on time this weekend,

we decided to focus on rust removal on the outside first. 

We figured we should take advantage of the nice weather 

and handle as much of the outside rust as we could.

We are not rust removal experts...nor auto body work experts.

BUT

We are good listeners and skilled at researching.

Thanks to YouTube tutorials we managed to get some initial rust maintenance finished.

Step one involved using an angle grinder to grind the rusted metal down to just metal.

Power tools are seriously the coolest things.

Of course, I had a healthy dose of fear before trying to use one.

Luckily my courageous man was up for the job.

Once we found out how easy it was to use, we decided to rent another one.

Now, at this point we are both looking and feeling hella bad-ass

power tooling the shit out of all the rust above the wheel wells.

We attempted to use Bondo to fill in a small hole near the wheel well.

I was in charge of that.

I quickly found out that we may have skipped a step.

We forgot filler, so I just put plain ol' hardener in the hole and called it good.

We're gonna have to revisit that job some time soon. 

After grinding, we did a bit of fine tuning with sand paper. 

Then we wiped down the van to remove rust/metal dust.

Then it became time to tape and cover up around the areas we worked on.

Tom took charge of priming all the spots with one coat. 

Enjoy the tape job.

We aren't perfect, nor professional contractors.

We are well aware of our limitations, but choose to learn through them

Rather than become defeated by them.

Stay tuned for bodywork pt 2.

We will be working on the inside to patch and secure some decent sized rusty holes.

According to Tom's research this should be a fun one.

By fun, I mean super involved, tedious, and time consuming. 

Here is a before picture...just to get you all excited :D

I will do my best to document.

I must mention how difficult it is to take pics and vids during this.

Mostly because by the time I think to do it, I'm super dirty.

AND it's so much fun that documenting looks to be more of a hassle in the moment. 

SUPER AWESOME VAN PLAN CONTINUES <3

Initial Preparation

There is quite a bit of preparation involved in converting a van. Firstly, we had to do the basic adult-ing tasks of getting it insured and registered with the state, which went rather smoothly. 

The van also came with quite of bit of extra stuff. There were mounted shelves, drawers, carpet, random washers and screws, even a bit of change....which we accounted for in the initial van price. It took a little while, about an hour or 2 with the help of my pops. 

Second order of business was mechanical maintenance.

Believe it or not, the van has the exact same engine as my papa's truck.

My pops has been a mechanic for 30+ years and his truck has been running forever.

So he has taken the role of our mechanic guru.

With his guidance, moderate-max assist in therapy lingo, we performed an engine tune-up, an oil change, and a front break job.

A few of the mechanical tasks will wait until Spring/Summer when we are getting ready to adventure. 

Once we got the van cleared out by removing all the built-in structures, and handled the mechanical maintenance, it was time to clean house. We spent about 2-3 hours cleaning. There was A LOT of dust. First we swept, then we sprayed it down with multi-purpose cleaner, removed at least 80% of the grease and grime, and then a final water wipe-down. 

I have a feeling we are going to be doing this a few more times. 

We super cleaned the driver's cabin and hung a cotton candy air freshener up.

It already feels more like a home. 

This weekend, I had the best joy ride of my life with my best friend in my home town.

Every drive in Frank feels like adventure.

I couldn't be more excited than right now, 

at the foundational stages of SUPER AWESOME VAN PLAN.