My son in law is back from out of town work and has drawn up the first stage of my fitout. This is the bed and storage underneath which will go right down one side of the van from front to back. The end draw will open when I have the back door open.
He will get the framework made for me, will measure up on friday for exact measurements.

At last.  Been waiting impatiently.

  Can't wait to see the final Pics Marj.

Cheers,
Sheba.

Its a very slow project Sheba with son in law being away but he will do a good job. I would throw a mattress on the floor but he will do it right.

Looks like he will take advantage of all the nooks and crannies for you mate, congratulations.

Yes, he will firefly. He has been camping all his life and has the back of his Nissan patrol all decked out with drawers, fridge etc. Plus has all the camping gear that anybody can use. He tries it all out just because he can.

My brother's like that Marj. His name is Les so we call it "Les-ifying". My eldest son is pretty good at it too, so his is "Dan-ifying".

I still don't have my fridge sorted..been waiting on my son-in-law, as it's stored at their place. So now it's going to be "Dan-ified" instead!

Beth, I have a brother called Les, lives in NZ. Has always been able to turn his hand to anything. In fact built his own campervan from chassis up quite a few years ago now and still has it.

Ah Well, just have to be even more patient won't I ?

Cheers,
Sheba.

Ok, I took a couple of photos of the empty inside of the van today. Will load them up now to give you an idea Beth and Sheba.

-- Edited by Happywanderer on Thursday 27th of January 2011 08:59:30 PM

These are the photos I took today. The before photos. After will be coming later. Could be a long process.

Lucky we all so patient thats for sure.

Ok, theres a parcel barrier between the front and back behind the seats. I have at the moment stretched some octupus straps across and in there I have my table and chair held tightly. They may get moved to somewhere else. The red stringy thing lying in a heap on the floor is a net which my son in law is going to stretch up top to the inside of the roof for storage. Will hold any tents, mozzie nets etc. The blue steps I bought from Bunnings the other day when I bought the net and the octupus straps. By the way the red net is actually a trailer cover net for holding stuff in the trailer when carting things around. The green mat rolled up is a camp mat I bought at Big W as thought it would give extra support under the mattress, is supposed to help with condensation etc so the mattress doesn't get damp. The green square is a set of 4 that jigsaw together, thought they may be good as some sort of floor somewhere. and lying on top of it, the blue thing is a 3 compartment material laundry basket that usually sits in a wooden frame. I am going to use it for clothes storage and it can be hung against the wall using octupus straps and is very light weight.

The window on the left hand side is in the sliding door and on the right hand side I would like at a later date to put in a push out window with security mozzie net in the open space. Saw it done in the Combo Conversion I have saved in my Favourites.

Right down the left hand side outside I am having a canopy built on. Its 2 metres long and will go out 2.5 metres. Will also get a mozzie net that zips right around. And a skirt tha goes down to the ground so the mozzies can't come in the bottom.
So if its a hot night I can throw the mattress out there and sleep thew night under the stars.

-- Edited by Happywanderer on Thursday 27th of January 2011 09:24:57 PM

That will all come together nicely mate, when do you think you will hit the road?

I'm heading up north in April firefly, so have until then to get it how I want it.

Looking good Marj.  Thanks for that.  You'll have to call in if you get up this way.[Rocky].

Don't think I'll get away before then.

Cheers,
Sheba.

Hopefully will get up through Rocky as have a friend in Townsville I would also like to drop in on. Have a list of people all the way up. Also got my first car decal today. " Nanna with Attitude " in Purple and is going on my back window. Give everyone something to read when they are following me. Will get s.i.l. to put it up tomorrow arvo and I will photograph it.

This photo from a conversion shows the net up in the roof for storage, mine should look similiar.

This pushout window in a conversion photo I would like to have fitted in one of the squares down the right  behind the drivers side.

Goodonya HW! Looks fantastic! Choosing the fitout your self gives you everything you want and nothing you dont!!

What do you call that Net Marj.  I tried a black Cargo Net, but couldn't get it to fit right.  Was going to put it across the middle above the bed area.

That's when I decided on the Drawers.

Cheers,
Sheba.

sounds like everything will start happening soon, thats great, I bet you are getting itchy feet !! looking forward to watching how all the fitout goes.

Sheba the net I got was a trailer cover net, 8.98 at Bunnings. The weave is not as close as I would have liked but will do for now. My s.i.l took all the measurements today. We went right over the van working out the best to do. Looks like we are going to take the parcel barrier out for two reasons. 1. the bed can be a better length and 2. it means if I get into trouble staying somewhere I can climb through to the front seat and drive off without having to get out and walk around to the drivers side. I was warned that can sometimes happen with roughies coming into the free park, making a ruckus or wheelies etc and I might want to leave in a hurry. I also put up my Nanna with Attitude sticker so will take a photo of that tomorrow.

I like being able to get to the drivers' seat from the inside for the same reason Marj.  Have never had a problem yet, but I like to have that advantage, just in case.

Cheers,
Sheba.

Hi Happywanderer, I was going to suggest you take the cargo barrier out too. I like the ability to be able to get away quickly too. Don't forget the danger of unsecured stuff if you have to stop quickly. Its great you have someone who is keen to help you out. Have a wonderful time travelling around.

Congratulations HW, it's all coming together you must be excited.

I think you will put the cargo barrier back in after your first trip, I would not drive without my cargo barrier, I have never had problems with free camps, so no need to get away quick, you just make sure you free camp with other campers your own age group, if there are only young ones there then find another free spot.

One thing missing from the inside of your unit is pictured below

_wombat_ wrote:

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Congratulations HW, it's all coming together you must be excited.

I think you will put the cargo barrier back in after your first trip, I would not drive without my cargo barrier, I have never had problems with free camps, so no need to get away quick, you just make sure you free camp with other campers your own age group, if there are only young ones there then find another free spot.

One thing missing from the inside of your unit is pictured below

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I agree. Not that I've personally done a lot of free camping yet, but sis and b.i.l tell me they've never had a problem either.

As for the cargo barrier, I'd keep it too. You may be able to secure things from coming forward if you have to break hard, but if it's a roll over (heaven forbid) the stuff goes every which way!

 

A couple of points there. One is: there is no cargo barrier in a motorhome or campervan. How do they manage? I remember seeing an accident on the news where a campervan had gone down beside a bridge in to the creek below. All the kitchen ended up on the front seats. Two is: If I was in an accident and the front was too badly damaged to get out, without the barrier I could get through to the back to get out of one of the two back doors. Hopefully I won't be in an accident, haven't had one yet but never know. Thirdly: the bed can only be 1500 long with the barrier in and can be 1650 with the barrier out. Fourthly: just for wombat, Punky will be sitting on the front seat beside me in her carry case not stuck to the side wall. hahaha

Point taken Marj.