A Swankie Bunk (bed)

In the beginning... finally, as a result of a insurance settlement... I have my new home... and since my last name really is SWANKIE, what else could I name it but "SwankieWheels?"   Now to make it mine, really mine.  The build begins.

Sorry this one is blurred, but here is my new van (in 2009) empty… a canvas waiting for a master.  Yes, it was already paneled and carpeted like this with a very nice felt pad and rubber mat on the floor.  It had been customized for a key maker, who then did not take delivery of it. Next a guy got it to haul his motorcycle in.  He only used it a year and it was pretty new still.  Only had 24,000 miles on it.  Chevy Express 2006 Cargo van.  With my trade-in, it cost me about $9,000.  I have not spent one dollar on it in five years now, except for regular oil changes, tires, and regular maintenance.

Note the nice wheel well boxes.  The lids lift off.  There was a huge speaker on the front of each box, which I removed and gave away.  The driver side box has a second air conditioner/heater… hence the vents on the front of the box.  Note the black hole below the left hand vent… that a cold air intake for the heater. I only looked at one other van before this, and knew this was the one for me… so I just got it.

With the lid off, you can see the AC/heater unit inside the box.

I needed to do two things first 1) build a bed and 2) get my desk into the van (that will be a separate blog).  So, seemed to me, all I needed to do was put a 2 x 4 piece on the wheel well boxes… and then plywood on top of that.  I drilled three holes to run bolts through, large washers inside the box and bolted the 2 x 4 in place.  Decided the wooden grills needed to come off so the 2 x 4 would be flush.  Then actually, if I need to run that heater, the air would get out better, since these spaces were now partly covered by the 2 x 4.

I actually enlarged the hole on the right, to let more heat out… but in four years, I’ve only been cold enough to use this heater twice and not for very long, just to get the inside of the van above freezing.

I did all this work, on the sidewalk by my friend’s house, in Monterey, CA… just four blocks from the Monterey Aquarium.  It felt odd, and a little embarrassing, but I had no other options.

With the 2 x 4s securely in place, I cut plywood to span the gap.  As it turns out, I changed the height of the 2 x 4s twice before I was happy with the height of the bed, but it was easy enough to do, just drilling new holes and bolting it all down again.

See the upright 2 x 4 under the bed?  That was to be a leg brace, but it got in the way of storing stuff and just didn’t seem needed since the bed platform was reinforced from underneath, so I removed that.  No sagging at all… because the span between the wheel well boxes is so short.

I made the back section of the platform, a hinged piece that could be set up like this to be kind of a couch back… leaving room for tall things to stand up by the rear doors.  Cool idea, just didn’t feel the need for it that way and it seemed to be wasting a lot of space.  (that sheet was for a double bed, so later it became my bunk curtains)

The bed in place, I now had room to lay down and be comfortable and begin sleeping in my own home.  I altered the desk and got it inside with the help of a couple of guys passing by (details in the Desk Post later).  I then began fitting other things in place and trying it all out.

The key maker had had nice hooks placed all over, so most stayed in place (see whisk broom?).  Here you can see the details of the couch back.  I like my wood well sealed with paint… so I can keep it cleaner and keep dust down.

It was nice to have that space in the back for tall things, like chairs and tents, but I felt it was also not a good use of space.

Finally, I just left the back board down and it has remained that way for years now.  The space where the purple pillow is, now has my duffle bag of clean clothes, another bag for laundry, my DVD player and DVDs, and a stack of pants and jackets.  All that is level with my mattress, and my extra blanket lays on top of that and extends the width of the bed a little.  Everything is handy to reach when I get up to dress in the morning, or want to lay in bed at night and watch a movie.  I’m not feeling the need to change any of that.  There is now a cargo net across that back, at bed level, and netting over this door space.  I love to lay there with my head in the fresh night air.

Earlier view before the desk and cabinets went in. Note the painted 2x4 sticking out on the right side of the photo… I finally moved the platform forward to be even with the front ends of the wheel well boxes, giving me even more storage on top and underneath.  The bed platform is not screwed in to anything, it just rests in place and should I need to use the van to haul things, I could just remove the bed completely in a matter of minutes.

 

Later view of the bed space.  Behind the blue pillow, you can see the top edge of a Campers Closet, a very well designed canvas shelf unit with zipper closures and pockets.  It was hand, but I later gave it away, as it too seemed to waste too much space.  I’ve thought of having heavy vegetable bins in that space, but have not yet decided.

 

I decided to hang curtains with a bungee cord and cup hooks, so that I can close off the bed for more privacy or when I am up at my desk, I can heat the middle part of the van without having to heat the rear bed part of the van.  There are curtains behind the driver and passenger seat as well, so I am only heating 1/3 of the interior space, if I need heat.

Note the plastic drawers on top of the microwave… they are held in place by super Velcro and bungee cords… and have stayed secure for four years.  Amazing.  Note the green skirt on the desk (right side) my little one burner butane stove slides out from there, and heating up water for cocoa and hot cereal, heats up this center part of the van.

After three years, I decided to modify my bed because my mattress kept slipping off the platform.  Much nicer being able to do this in the desert near Quartzsite, AZ than on the streets of Monterey, CA.  No one thinks this is strange in the desert. So I dug out the tools, I've been thinking about how to do this project for three years... and finally worked it out in my brain.  I cut a piece of wood to fit between the wheel well boxes (width of van is 5’7” and I am 5’6 3/4”, width of the wheel well boxes is 12” x 2, so width of bed platform is about 3’7” or so).  I used L-brackets to fasten it to the bed platform and also to the wheel well boxes.

It worked splendidly, however after living with it a couple weeks, I decided it was too difficult to slide off over the board, and the board needed to be cut down.

 

That was fairly easy to do… I actually did it in place without removing the board.


And so here it is... my new bed rail/bumper and is now perfect.

My curtains also went from floor to ceiling, so I cut them down to just go to bottom of the bed. Sleeping better now and not feeling like I am sliding off the bed anymore.  Closing the curtains at night, keeps my body heat in that bedroom… and I love the coziness of it.
And that cost was for a couple 2 x 4s, some plywood, six bolts, nuts and washers, and a few angle brackets, and a little paint, which I already had.

Projects sometimes have to grow on you.  I sketch out my thoughts, then measure things, then re-sketch.  Then I think on it, sleep on it, and once I reach a level of comfort with the concept, I just build it.  Not always a fast process… evolving over a period of 3.5 years, but I think it will serve me well for years to come.  If not, modifications are easy and possible.  Not worries, mate.

For more details on my rig, click on The Rig tab at the top of the page.

That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.  (Truly, life doesn't get any better than this, until tomorrow.)

A Swankie Desk

I lived in Prescott, AZ the winter of 2004-2005.  This was my apartment.  I marvel, looking at this now, at all the stuff in this picture that I no longer have (chair, TV, monitor, PC, books, that printer, the file cabinet, and most of the papers… gone).  But the desk, not getting rid of it… it’s a work of art.  Made by an octogenarian (well he was probably younger than that when he made it), he gave it to me in 2004 and I love it.

The desk then lived in a storage unit for some time. Then I went to stay at a friend’s home in Monterey, CA…  to get some surgery and recover.  The desk  moved into my room in her home.  Barely room for a twin bed, a desk and chair and a few other small things. But the recovery time for the surgery, had me going from the bed to the desk, a few steps to the bathroom, and I got used to having everything within arms reach… good training for becoming a vandweller.  Note here, the carving work on the end of the desk.

Finally, in 2008, I got the van I had been dreaming about for years and was at a stage where I could transition from sticks and bricks to mobile living.  The process had begun… the desk now had to move into this space one way or another.

Others had suggested building a cardboard model of the things you need to place in the van, so you can work out how they will fit, so I did that.  Note the rounded thingy cutout.  I don’t know what it is, (probably the gasoline intake) but I know I had to cut a hole in the desk to get it to go against the wall.

Taking the cardboard back into the house, I laid it up against the back of the desk… and just sawed the wood off… holding my breath.

Here the desk is standing on one end… and I have determined that the top of the desk will need to be sawed off, and shortened in order for the desk to fit in the van.  Now, how to do that?  Looking back, I’m not sure how I did it, but it worked.

I then took the top outside where I had a nice picnic table to work on… and cut the legs off about two inches.  Oh, this was scary.  Was I destroying this lovely desk?  Would I ever get it all back together again, inside the van???

I was trying to walk this bottom part out the back door, down off the porch, and across the concrete patio and realizing I bit off more than I could chew, I flagged down a couple guys and asked them it they would carry and lift it into the van, and they were happy to help.  So there it is, in place.  Note the bottom shelf on the left, also had to have a notch cut out of it to get it to fit.  But, it’s in the van.

Notice the very artistic drawer pulls, made of gnarly old desert wood, which are fastened on with copper wire.  Love it.

Here you can see why the top of the desk had to be cut off to fit under that carpeted piece at the top, and come forward to fit the curve of the van wall.  I can’t tell you how hard this was to do, but after adding a few angle brackets to reattach it to the bottom of the desk, all is securely in place and NOTHING has moved in four years. (not saying it would all stay in place if I wrecked and rolled over like another vandweller did, but I have no plans to do so)

The desk top was then secured to the walls of the van with angle bracket and washers.  That is a little frightening too, and you have to know where the ribs or studs are in the wall… wasn’t hard to find as you can see where the screws are for the paneling (covered with tan plastic caps) about 10” directly above the washers.  Also larger L-brackets attached the desk itself to the floor of the van.

Finally, with everything secure, I could begin tweaking it all and finding a place for everything, and putting everything in it’s place.  The scalloped board was found in the trash, and fit nicely there (thinking I could mount a led light behind it something).  I built a box for the solar controller in the corner so I could monitor it while working at my desk.  Oh notice too, this was an old computer desk, and it had a keyboard tray with a power strip.  The power strip has since died and been removed, but the tray is still in place and most handy.  It’s my dinner table, work space, etc.  My laptop usually sits on the desk itself, but as I type this, it is sitting on the keyboard tray.

Still tweaking.  Loose stuff on top of the shelf would not stay in place.  I added a strip of yoga mat material to the top shelf and to all the shelf and desk surfaces.  This is really a great thing, as nothing slides around.  It was glued in place with the sticky glue stick and easily peals off, and some pieces just stapled on with a paper stapler.  Nothing fancy and it works like a charm. 

To the top shelf of the desk, I added quarter-round molding to keep things from sliding off to the front or side.  This is the space that now houses my negative and slide flatbed scanner.

The spacing didn’t suit me, so I raised the shelf, so the slide scanner just fit there, I take it out when I am scanning, and that left just enough space under the shelf for my All-In-One Printer/Scanner.  (Yes, I’m in the scanning stage of my life and didn’t want to waste another year remaining in sticks and bricks and paying rent to scan all the things I need to scan (40 years of genealogy research and hundreds of historic family photos and documents).  I’ve said for years, once I could afford the technology to hit the road and have a mobile computer lab, I would hit the road (this is the prime reason this desk was so important to me… it would house it all).

Boy does it fit well in the van… and I love it.  Notice on the left end of the desk, a space between the desk and the bed… that’s where my sanitation area is now located.

Evolution is a fickle thing.  The PC did not hold up well to all the vibrations of the road, and the hard drive finally died.  So, bye bye PC, speakers, and keyboard.  The large LCD monitor was almost new, so it is well padded and remains in that space, fits right in that curve of the van wall and takes up no extra space.  It was great to have it on hand this past winter when my laptop screen finally died… and I just plugged it in to the monitor and could still work, save files, and function until my sister and her marvelous hubby gifted me with a new laptop.  Warning… electronics are not made to jiggle and bounce around on the back roads of the wilderness.  They will fail.  Ron McDowell (RIP Ron) told me to replace the hard drive in the PC with a laptop hard drive (which would fit in one of the open slots like where the DVD and CD drives are).  He said that Laptop hard drives are made more sturdy and will take more abuse.

I loved the set-up but things just keep evolving.

I added some scrapes of wood to the front of the top shelf, to hold things in place and finally came up with those freezer container which fit perfectly and hold things like sewing supplies.  My address book and misc. other things are always handy. The little top shelf could not be more handy if I had planned it that way… just a happy accident.

I had decided I wanted to have a slide out board in the desk for my stove, but it actually took me about three years to work the design out in my head.  I found these grooved pieces of wood, and knew they would work. As you can see about four photos back, it was just one open shelf so I needed to find a way to put a divider in to attach the right runner to, which was the hardest part.  I bought a finished laminated white shelf board from Home Depot, added a door handle to it, cut the extra length off the back end of the board, and just slid it into place.  Again, a piece of Yoga mat material, keeps the stove from sliding around and a bungee cord goes across the space when the shelf is pushed in, but the shelf is tight and doesn’t jiggle out.  By the way, the vent fan is right above the stove, I couldn’t have planned it that way, it was just another happy accident.

My feet were always cold so I insulated the space under the desk.  Speaking of space, it was really all wasted space, since I had the keyboard tray, I never scooted all the way under the desk. The keyboard tray pulls right out into the isle. This too took me about three years to realize, but why not build shelves under there for food and canned goods.  So this past winter, I took on that little project (thank you for dying PC).

You can’t even begin to know how much food fits on those shelves.  It is amazing.

In conclusion,  you don’t need to have things all planned out perfectly before you hit the road.  Just get the basics done and hit the road.  For me the basics were 1) to be able to afford the technology to have a mobile computer lab, 2) to ensure fresh air by installing the Fantastic Vent fan, 3) to have a comfortable bed and 4) to get the solar and last but not least… to have a desk to work at.  The desk is now my computer lab and my kitchen all wrapped in the same space.  I have almost as much space as I had when staying with my friend in Monterey, but there are wheels under my floor.  It just doesn’t get any better than that, until tomorrow.

That’s my story and I’m sticking to it, again.