Project Shades and Shield

Finally completed the minivan's removable shades for insulation and privacy.

It took a bit of effort over a couple of weeks (on and off). First I traced the shape of the windows using cardboard to create templates. Then cut out pieces of Reflectix, go back into the minivan to fit each piece against the windows and adjust as needed.

Could have stopped there, but I wanted to make the shades reversible. Thought about using this pretty fabric that would have matched the walls of the minivan.

In the end, I decided to stick with grey-black felt. Boring, but more inconspicuous when parked in a public area: the black facing outward would have looked like dark tint from afar. The felt was glued on to the Reflectix. I tried to sew fabric binding to the edges to give it a finished look but my sewing machine did not like the thickness of the layers. The shades should provide privacy and some insulation. Ran out of steam and materials, so I did not make a piece for the windshield. Will use a store-bought sun shield that is made of similar material.

My experiment to make a mosquito screen for the sun roof opening (inserted from the inside) was a complete failure. Instead I found a great product on Amazon that will allow me to keep the front windows open for ventilation but keep out mosquitos. It is an elastic window "stocking" net put over the door. The one I ordered was a perfect fit.

After putting it on, close the door and roll down the window partially or completely. The screen stays in place and allows air to flow through. The netting does not work for sliding door windows, but a hanging camping fan will keep air circulating.

Finally, Timberleaf emailed that my Arches conversion kit is shipping tomorrow!

Project Camouflage

The portable potty for my mini camper (still need a name) came last week. This is for when it is too dark/cold/rainy to hike over to the campground restrooms. Pretty nifty item, quite well designed (i.e. it did not break when I sat on it) and sanitary when used with disposable bags and commode pad inserts (coming this weekend).

I had to make a tiny modification to the inside lid which was too slippery to pull out. The problem was solved by gluing two small strips of scouring pads to provide traction. As it happened, I had a grey pad that matched the toilet.

The unit can act as a stool (no pun intended) when not being used for its intended purpose. I can't imagine sitting on top of the commode at the camping table. It was too obvious sitting out, and there would be no place to hide it in the minivan. A camouflage project was in order. I happened to have some upholstery fabric in my quilt stash, a round seat cushion sitting around, and with a bit of sewing, viola! I now have the perfect ottoman to put my feet up when reading. The fabric color even matches the walls of the minivan! And unless you look very closely, you may never know it is also a portable toilet.

Next DIY project: building removable insulation pads for the front, side and rear windows for temperature control.

Here's my Adventuremobile!

This is my new used minivan which will soon turn into a campervan! I had been going between a Toyota Sienna and a Honda Odyssey but finally settled on the Chrysler Pacifica.

I want to give a shout out to Sean, Marcelo (and Joe and Alex) at EchoPark Automotive in Laurel. Their company has an interesting model for selling used vehicles. Sean and Marcelo are experience guides (not salesmen) who are paid salaries (not commissions). I visited the dealership over two weeks ago, Sean patiently showed me three different minivans, provided a lot of information and together we compared the different features. We also talked about traveling, camping and fishing: there was no sales pitch. He and his colleagues were pretty good at client relationship management! I left with a positive impression, it also helped that their prices are very competitive. After looking at the three different minivans, I decided on a Chrsyler Pacifica because of the stow 'n go seats, and the Limited trim because of the panaromic sun/moon roof. Tuesday after the big snow storm, Alex informed me they have a couple of new Pacifica Limited vans in their Baltimore store and would be happy to get any that I like down to Laurel for a test drive. I selected this vehicle, Marcelo was my experience guide this time and we completed the purchase in less than 2 hours. Compare that with nearly 5 hours with the last vehicle we purchased early last year!

This is how the minivan looks with the 2nd and 3rd row seats stowed, which took less than 2 minutes. The 3rd row folds with the touch of a button, the 2nd row's two bucket seats are pushed in manually but it was really easy.

This is the sunroof over the 1st and 2nd rows, half of it opens out. I plan to put some mosquito netting under it when camping, so there is ventilation.

And here, in the back, is the moonroof over the 3rd row which cannot be opened. The front console and UConnect display have a lot of bells and whistles, it will take some time to figure out how they work.

The plan is convert this into a camper without making permanent modifications so that it can easily revert back into a minivan. The easiest and quickest way is to get a custom slide-in conversion kit. I ordered the Arches package from Riverleaf, delivery is expected in 2 weeks. Stay tuned. Now, I just need to get a name for the minivan.

First snow of the year

Glad I did not have to work today, wait, I don't have to work any day, I'm retired! This is my backyard from the sunroom. The bamboo is starting to droop over the wires which is worrying ...

What a contrast to yesterday's mid-60s. Went to the Governor's Bridge Pond to check out the fishing, a lot of tiny bites but nothing to take home. Beautiful views of the lake through bare branches.