Transportation | Mr. G's Mind

A couple of weeks ago, we dropped our van off at GTRV in Sebastopol, CA. GTRV specializes in converting all types of vans into campers.

There were vans from Utah, Texas, Colorado and other states being converted. I did not expect to get a call this soon to bring in the NV200, so it felt a little like winning the lotto!

Here is the NV200 as purchased — pretty bare bones.

A couple weeks after dropping off the van, I received an update text with photos. Wow! Window panels have all been cut and are ready for glass installation. It’s going to be nice to have all that light and actually see out the side when making lane changes.

Yep, it’s going to have a pop top too. It’s called the ‘Westy’ version. This will be so cool as I will actually be able to stand up inside! It makes a small van seem so much bigger. A 100V solar panel will be mounted on top for interior lighting.

The rear inside has been gutted and is ready for insulation and other support infrastructure.

Here is the fabricated interior wall unit. It’s equipped with sink, stove, and storage.

Can’t wait for the next update. It is really moving along and is going to be so awesome!

Very exciting to see the progress! Guess we better start planning some trips!

The small NV200 van I purchased is basically an empty box. I plan to get it converted to a camper van, but that will be months from now.

An empty van is not very comfortable to sleep in, so I decided to build a platform to support a comfy mattress. That would also give me space underneath the platform to store camping and travel gear.

As I wanted the platform to be hinged, I had to figure out where to make the cuts in the plywood. I used a single 4′ x 8′ x 3/4″ piece of plywood.

I cut the plywood so that approximately 1/3 of it could be hinged and folded back. This would give me easy access to place larger objects inside the van, when the bed is not in use.

I added 2″ x 3″ frames around the two pieces of plywood to attach the legs.

I decided that when the hinged piece of plywood is folded back, the 11″ legs should fold down. I rounded off the top of the legs, and added a bolt, washer and nut. I glued and screwed the other four legs to the larger piece of plywood.