The Ceiling

   Hey everyone!! Welcome back to my Blog, thanks for being here! In this blog we will be working on the ceiling.

I got her back from the paint shop and she looks great with that wrap finally gone. I then took her straight to the RV shop to have the Max Air Fan installed. Cutting a hole in the roof of my van just wasn't something I was comfortable doing plus I didn't have the right tools for that job.

I am trying to come up with a name for her. Nothing comes to mind at the moment so I just call her "Her" for the time being.

Now that she is back home I can start on installing the ceiling. Once I get the ceiling done I can start putting the inside together for my first big trip. I'm so excited!! She will not be finished of course, but good enough to take Her out for a road trip. Plus I would be able to see how I needed to arrange things inside. I have made several changes to the interior since finding what works best where, and you will too when you build your van, it's an adjustment period.

The ceiling also has hollow ribs that I attached the boards to, I didn't build a frame for this. But where the cab meets the back of the van it didn't have any ribs to attach the boards to so I only had one screw holding the boards up on one end of the board only. Then I realized I could stuff the front end of the board under the vinyl cab part for more support. Here comes another tear out! I removed all the boards, cut some longer ones. Stuffed the front end under the vinyl cab then attached the other end with a screw. That works, it's much sturdier now. Like I said I don't want anything falling down while I am driving!

The ceiling wound up being the hardest part for me to do. It's not easy being on your knees looking up and working above your head. I finally tried sitting on a 5 gal bucket and that really helped. With the ceiling done I moved on to putting up all the trim boards. There, it's all done, I had my subfloor, walls and ceilings in. I was ready to start getting Her ready inside for our first trip together.

I had put the bed frame in as a twin size, I needed a mattress now. I went to Walmart and got a twin size memory foam mattress. It was about 4" to long. I used an electric carving knife to trim it down to size. I put the mattress in, then made up the bed. I was getting so close to being ready for my first trip.

I used that countertop I got from the broken down van mounting it on 2x4's. I mounted a one burner butane stove to it. I grabbed a few plastic window planters to store things in, this was a temporary solution. I put the ottoman, then my fridge and freezer in. Behind the fridge and freezer you can see the blue portable bathtub. I had planned on using that for daily showers. I have a USB charged shower head. Just drop the motor in a bucket of heated water, turn it on and you have running water. The tub would fold down when not in use. Even though it folded down and didn't take up much room to store, it didn't really work out for me. It was just too big and awkward to pull out. I never used it.

For power I had a 500 Jackery Portable Solar Power Station that I used to power my Max Air Fan, lights and charge all my devices. I also have a 1500 Jackery Portable Solar Power Station that runs my fridge and freezer. These Jackery's are awesome. I can charge them while I'm driving, with solar panels outside, or I can remove them and take them in a house to charge them also. I put shore power in my van later so if I have an electric hook up I can charge them that way also. Great for your house if you lose power, will run USB light bulbs.

Now I'm ready for my first big trip! I plan on going from NE Georgia to NE Mississippi for a family reunion then on to Watertown NY on the Canadian border to see my grandkids. I'm from NE Mississippi, I have traveled the Natchez Trace South from Tupelo MS till the end but I have never gone to the end in Tennessee traveling North. I will be checking that off my bucket list on this trip. I have many places I want to see on my bucket list!

Now it's finally time! I am leaving on the first leg of my trip. I hit the road going to NE Mississippi to a family reunion. No stopping to sight see on this leg of the journey, I have made this trip a 1000 times going home to see family. It's a 6.5 hour drive.

I did stop at lunch time for a meal in the van. I had a hotdog with mustard, pickled Vidalia onions and chips with a popsicle for dessert. Quick, simple, easy, then I hit the road again. I went to my brother's house for the night. Then on to the family reunion the next day.

That afternoon after the reunion I took the Natchez Trace making my way towards TN. It was at this point the freezer stopped working, the one I had gotten from the broken down van. I had to throw away my popsicles, bummer.

The Natchez Trace has so many interesting places to stop and see. The highway is a beautiful trail that is roughly 400 miles from Nashville TN to Natchez Ms. The traffic is light, you can just mosey along and enjoy the wildlife and scenery.

Join me in the next blog for some more adventures we find while on this trip. It was amazing, to me anyway!

See you in the next This Van Life of Mine

And Remember

Life is a Journey….Sometimes the people around you won’t understand your Journey! They don’t need to, It’s not for them!

A Business Opportunity:

Changing Lives One 🅢🅣🅡🅘🅟 at a Time!

Contact me for more Information.

monacoll59@gmail.com

See you next time!