We last posted daily during our Norway Cycle Tour and have been quiet since then. Over the past weeks we made a quick stop in the UK to see Viki’s family, went to Chicago for Jon’s wedding and spent two weeks in Vancouver recuperating from the bike tour and preparing for our next adventure – a 2.5 month road trip from Vancouver to Panama and back.
Our first order of business once in Vancouver was to buy a van. We settled on an in-between, not a car, not a full campervan, but a minivan. This would be relatively gas efficient (25mpg) but would have room for a bed and adequate storage. Two days after arrival in Vancouver we found ourselves to be the proud owners of a 2006 Dodge Caravan with a few dings and 200,000kms on the clock. This set us back $1,650 (all currency from now on in CAD) for the vehicle plus around $400 in taxes and 3 months of insurance (the minimum purchasable in BC).
Other the course of the following week-and-a-half, we set about camperising the van (in between trips to Whistler and hikes around Vancouver). Our two main priorities were a bed of some sort that allowed storage underneath and curtains to make us stealthy (to allow us to sleep in the van without attracting attention).
For the bed, we were very fortunate. Andrew’s neighbors in Vancouver, Heidi and Grant, had an old metal bed frame that fit the exact width and length of the van and kindly gave it to us. Even more fortunately, Grant is also a carpenter, and very kindly offered to build a bed and shelving unit for us. We put together a design with specific dimensions. We went for a panel which folds up with hinges to form a bench with the middle section as a backrest. The shelving unit sits beside the bed blocking access to the right sliding door but giving us valuable storage space.
For a mattress, we were again very fortunate. Andrew’s sister Annie had a 4inch thick 4ft by 6ft piece of foam that perfectly fit the bed and she was willing to give to us. We cut the foam down to fit the 3 panels of the bed and Viki, recalling her sewing machine skills from school, sewed pillow case type covers for each foam segment. We opted for a wonderful dinosaur and castle print cotton purchased at an Indian material store (at Main and 49th).
Finally, the most time-consuming task was that of the window covers. The main requirement for these was stealth. We wanted them to be completely black so that an outsider looking in would only see their reflection as though the windows had severe tint. Following a video from YouTube we went with a five-layer design. Each window cover is cut to exactly fit the pane of glass so that it pops in to place. The five layers of each cover from outside in are as follows:
- Black fabric – for stealth
- Insulating material (Reflectix) spray painted black – to keep out heat and for added blackness
- Cardboard – to provide an airgap, improving insulation
- Reflectix
- Blue fabric – to look pretty ?
With the bed and curtains complete we moved to the next order of business – shopping spree!! We would need many things for our life on the road. Between Walmart, Amazon and the Thrift Shop our purchases included a set of camp table and chairs, a USB powered light and fan (for the hotter days), cooking pots and utensils, bedding, a “Welcome to Canada” sign, and many, many storage containers (for organization).
Finally, after much deliberation over what exactly should go into each box, we were ready to head off by the morning of September 19th!
Good luck. Have another wonderful adventure and stay safe xx