Abby Berger 3/2/22 Abby Berger 3/2/22

Not A Lot of Privacy in the Plains

Finally out again in the van!

Abby Berger 2/28/22 Abby Berger 2/28/22

Sometimes You Sleep At Overlooks

Finally out again in the van!

Abby Berger 2/27/22 Abby Berger 2/27/22

& We’re Off Again

Finally out again in the van!

Abby Berger 2/7/22 Abby Berger 2/7/22

This is My Nightmare

What comes next can only be described as a series of very unfortunate events and truly my exact nightmare when it comes to buying a van. Buckle up. This is about to get bumpy.

Abby Berger 11/17/21 Abby Berger 11/17/21

The Shake Down

My shakedown trip was about 2 weeks long. Just enough time to figure out the kinks with the van and make some adjustments before heading to St. Louis for Thanksgiving. After making my first stop in Knoxville, I kept heading east toward the Smoky Mountains. If you want to put a new van to the test, take it through some windy mountain roads.

Abby Berger 11/3/21 Abby Berger 11/3/21

First Night Out

First Night Out in the Van

Abby Berger 9/7/21 Abby Berger 9/7/21

Kitchen Build

Abby Berger 8/10/21 Abby Berger 8/10/21

Bike Brake Emergency Exit

Bike brake used as emergency exit in van

Abby Berger 8/6/21 Abby Berger 8/6/21

Installing New Header

Installing a new header for additional storage

Abby Berger 8/4/21 Abby Berger 8/4/21

Installing Sliding Passenger Door Window

Installing a window in the passanger sliding door.

Abby Berger 8/3/21 Abby Berger 8/3/21

Work Space & Closet

The next project was building a full size closet and workbench in the van! Since I work remotely, it was very important for me to have a place to both hang and store my clothes and have a separate place to work including a charging area with an additional computer monitor.

Abby Berger 7/30/21 Abby Berger 7/30/21

Wall Installation

After getting the bed in place and finishing the garage storage in the van, the next project was tackling the walls. Again, I used knotty cedar tongue and groove planks from Lowes to create walls in the van. We again used wood glue and a nail gun to get these boards up on the walls.

Abby Berger 7/29/21 Abby Berger 7/29/21

Garage Storage

I knew I wanted to have room for my gear in the garage of the van. When I really started thinking about it, I knew I wanted shelves so that the space could be best utilized and I wanted it to pull out so that I could easily access everything.

Abby Berger 7/27/21 Abby Berger 7/27/21

Bed Build

The BED. The center of it all. When designing the van, I decided I wanted to have a lofted, stationary bed. There are so many options online about how to build the bed but the best advice is to pick a design that works for you.

Abby Berger 7/23/21 Abby Berger 7/23/21

Van Insulation & Ceiling Installation

I decided to remove the header (the storage unit about the driver seat) and create my own with more storage. After removing the header, we used ¼” knotty cedar tongue and groove planks to cover the roof. This was a big challenge since the roof bends so much at the front of the van. In order to get the wood to bend enough to attach to the studs we had to stream each piece to make it more pliable.

Abby Berger 7/20/21 Abby Berger 7/20/21

Electrical Installation

This was probably the most daunting of all of the projects I did in the van. I have absolutely zero experience with electrical so this project took the longest.

Abby Berger 7/16/21 Abby Berger 7/16/21

Building Structure

We decided that we needed to add studs into the van so that all of the important elements like walls, bed, cabinets, and everything else that would be added to the interior would be safely secured to the outside panels of the van.