Bed.

Again, do not let us stay at your house. We might stuff goodie bags, we might do bike repair, we might even build a bed. Realizing that we are living in this van for the next few months, we decided to make it more comfortable. Usually at night, we sleep in the van instead of our tent. That would require us to pile up all of our bags on one side and sleep on the floor. That was after we were smart enough to remove the seat.

The first step was to go to Home Depot and buy the lumber.

We had no sketches. No plans. Didn't know anything about building, cutting, or hammering. We stood in the lumber section trying to do calculations on our phones or in our head of what we would need.

We took it all "home". 

Then we had to see if our plans would work out. The first thing that I forgot was nails. I guess I thought that it would hold together with good luck. We got that situation figured out quite easily.

Then I had to re cut the 2X4s because we didn't get it right the first time. 

The guy at Home Depot was interested in the vagabond lifestyle. I was surprised to find out that he wasn't homeless himself. He looked like he could be. In fact, his mother had done triathlons and had also run the Boston Marathon.

Laying the top on was easy. 

Hammering the nails in straight was difficult. Having nails of different lengths made life a bit easier.

It seemed like a good idea to attach the legs.

That gave us 16 inches underneath to store all of our stuff. We felt pretty professional. We had measured the dimensions inside the van to maximize the surface area of the bed. No point making a bed that was small we figured.

We had to re attach the legs.

The doors are not as wide as the interior. Throw on some legs that stick out and you can not fit through the van doors! We held the bed (about 50 pounds) while kicking off the legs that wouldn't fit. Then we squeezed the frame inside and did some more hammering. We found a killer deal in Santa Barbara on a mattress and box spring. It was a few hours south, but on our way to our campground. I called Olga and her husband whose name I cannot pronounce or even figure out how to type (Russians). and picked up the set. There were two dilemmas. One: Olga's mother was sleeping on the mattress. Two: It came as a set with the box spring underneath. Problem one was solved when I convinced them that I had nowhere to sleep but on my wooden frame. Olga's husband told his mother in law that she would be sleeping on an inflatable mattress for a night. The problem of the box spring was a little more difficult to solve. It wouldn't fit in the van. Nor in the trailer. So we jumped on it, breaking every piece and shoved it in their dumpster. We did this around the corner so they wouldn't know. Then we left. Picking up some a pillow case, comforter, and lights, we are making it a home.

Here you see the bedroom with the kitchen in the foreground.

 

The bedroom at night. Mood lighting.

 

This is the side view.

There isn't much room from the bed to the seats. All of our bags are underneath. So far it has worked out. We are happy. It is better than inflating an air mattress or sleeping on the floor. Next problem, how to cook warm meals. We need a propane stove I think. Now we are at my ex step grandmother's house. It is an awesome place on Sunset Beach California. Neighbors include a guy from The Offspring, Jesse James, and Sandra Bullock. Swam and ran this morning. Got to surprise some of my family lounging on the beach. Tomorrow looks like a good time to ride  fancy bike.