Day 11

Today was an awesome day!
Sleep in until nine then got underway with the small list of thing I had to get done today.
Grabbed the icebox lid that had been sitting gluing overnight, tried it in and fit like a charm, was a pain in the ass to get out though until I get some knobs or handled fixture ect. I quickly stained a few extra trim for the edges of things and fired the nail gun up to finish it off.
Next I did some washing of the sheets and my clothing from the cabin where I have been staying for the past 10 days, Then headed down to the shop to fix up the bill and put in the propane tank and hinges.
Hung out down there, getting all the messages out for my birthday tailgate/campervan party in Rossland organized. I am going to visit Steph and Brenda on with way back ( friend from Red ) that live about four miles out for hunters, see their property and vineyards.
Got some amazing news as well, They granted me another two year visa for Canada from November and Sam emailed me about tree planting camp location for the next two months!
So this birthday is really coming together, so much happier celebrating it in Rossland than Vegas like last year... After lunch put in my propane tank and all the hinges for the cupboards, couldn’t find the right attachment for the propane connection I have to order directly from Coleman.
When I got home I started moving everything from the cabin into my van, cleaning as I went.
After I got all my stuff in, it defiantly looks like home! Kathy did her mum thing and started coming out of the woodworks with all sorts of useful things for the van, including a can of sardines … so cute!
She gave me some candles, storage baskets, towels, kitchen cutlery, saucepans and bedding… These guys are truly amazing!
Got everything in and then did a wipe down of all the dust on the dash and windows, just like a real home! Then sat down with Kathy and a glass of homemade wine and helped with artichoke dinner , which was amazing then finished of watching Avatar…
Time to set heading for north again, I have to drive up to 100 Mile by the night of the 26th to start work on the 27.. looking forward to this next adventure with the still to be named amazing campervan of mine!


Eleven!

Day 10

Today, today, today! 10 days down one to go!
Thanks Carmen for your comment it made me smile, and I can help out on tigger forsure!
Another early rise hopefully last one for the week, It was a cold morning but the final touches needed to be done. I started on the facer for the bed, cut out two access storage holes in it and used the purple shagg carpet for the lining around it. Great Result.. The piece I cut out I will hinge onto the frame and stain to keep the wood grain theme going.

Next was the insulation again for the ice box, which always sketches me out considering it’s so fragile and one slip up and you have to start all gain. I cut the bottom piece for the box and the top, then had to use the jigsaw to cut out the bit for the lid :S.. after some nervous corner cutting it went off without a hitch, wood glued the insulation to the lid and let it sit until tomorrow.
I headed down to the shop to get some silicon for the ice box walls and to install the drainage tube, after making some minor adjustments with a knife on the insulation to make the tube fit better started by siliconing the crap out off all the walls to make it water tight. By the end of the day I had put three coats on not just to keep the water from leaking but the heat out, am really happy with how it turned out.. One brick of ice should keep in there for about three days brian thought. The deliveries came in during lunch and got my outdoor power lead, which we had to cut off the female end and connect a male adaptor too for the exterior power outlet. Plugged it in and gave it a test! 120v in the van! Took a drill in there to test it, worked a charm, both battery were charging too everything is working awesome!
Headed back up the valley to do the stain, chose a dark walnut and used a rag to rub it on. Two hours later Wow! It finished it all off amazing. Applied two polly pro (waterproofing varnish) to the top with the sink and icebox, then cut and stained some trim for the edges.

Tomorrow 6pm is the D day, I think I have pretty much done it though, just have to attach one more piece of trimming and some hinges. Everything has come together amazing still can’t believe from looking at the pictures 10 days ago where it has come from to now! Time to celebrate my campervan will have the same birthday as me!

Day 9

Only two days to go! But things are really coming together, started the morning by cutting out the faceier of the side table and icebox and then did some dishes for b & k before heading to the shop to finish the electrical. After having to make a quick switch back to the house to pick up the terminal kit for the wiring, I grinded off some of excess metal around the external sockets to make it sit better. Drilled some holes in the van for the waterproof casing to sit in and attached the case and silicone the edges to ensure it was water tight.
After lunch we started on the final bit of wiring up In the engine bay with the isolator and house battery to starter battery. The system we did was that when im plugged into a exterior socket both battery charge as well as running 120v outlets in the van, but the isolator stops the house battery from running out by only allowing current to flow in one direction. We got that all done and I installed and wired the 12v outlets in the van before heading back to the house to finishing off the afternoon projects.
I decided that I had to get the shelves in for the bedside table and the facer for the storage area in by the end of the night, with some contemplating and the mind wandering I got it done. Then spoke to bri about the icebox idea, he put me on the right direction so I cut out four walls of the icebox only leaving the top and bottom for tomorrow. Let me tell you now, insulation doesn’t taste very nice alittle to but texture hahah. Tomorrow im going to put on the polish, finish the icebox, attach the hinges and finish the bed front covering.. Then the last day will be for cleaning and final touchups around the van and the house. I can’t believe it’s only been 9 days from when I had a non working van, that was full of crap to now nearly complete campervan that’s running like a beast! I would like to thank some people for getting me this far,
My mum and dad for helping me on this endeavor! It has been the best birthday gift ever!.. I love you guys so much..
Brian and Kathy without you guys I couldn’t of ever made this happen and you guys inspired me to get a campervan to start with and I shared that with other that have let to getting a campervan too!
Carmen and Jen, my two campervan buddies from Rossland, BC.. I know we will have our first campervan meet sooner than later! Love you kids!
All my friends back home in Aussieland, even though I don’t see you very often I think about you every day and I want you guys to see that anything is possible when you put your mind to it! Especially you mia, you can do it girl!
My adopted family from Chilliwack, Rob and Robin.. I saw you guys have joined up to follow my adventures, I will come visit you guys soon.. I had a blast with you on Christmas Day driving from Van to Chillia I time I will never forget, that trip defiantly made me a stronger person and I’m happy I got to share it with you guys!
Please stayed tuned everyone because the this summer is going to be a memorable one for sure, And I would love to share it with you all!
Let the light shine and take you where you dreams dare to go!
TWO DAYS!!!!

Day 8

Made a good start this morning, tackled the storage cabnets and bed side table. Took the four pieces I cut yesterday and alindened them to cut some 2x2 groves to slide in to bolt it to the van wall, after cutting the wrong side of all the pieces i decided to go down to the shop until I came up with an idea to fix it. Before heading to the shop I stopped in at hunters and picked up another 2x4 and ¼ ply for more facers, filled up the rear tank of the van which cost me $52 for 17 gallons ( van mileage is around 10 mpg = miles per gallon ) The van has two tanks front (23gal) and rear (20gal).
Brian was super busy with customers cars all day so I did some basics like put in the battery mount, mounts the isolator and put in the new battery, Then went back to the house to finish the storage wall. I delayed abit to finished off the kitchenette area, put the cutlery draw in, put a base on the stove and cut out and installed the sink and pump and put it all together.. so kitchen all done!
made some adjustments to my mistake earlier and came up with a plan to make it stronger with the pieces I had put extra on to it. Screwed it all together and got brian to help me maneuver it into the van until I bolt it down and finish it tomorrow morning. He also found me a spice rack and shaving mirror from his old RV that I can put into mine.
3 DAYS TO GO!! EEKK

Day 7

After a semi sleep in (8am) woke to another amazing day in Turk, WA.. whereas brian told me today it receives 250 days of sunshine a year!
Skipped breakfast and went straight to work, measured and cut the stove and counter facer, with a knife draw and a garbage disposal spots in both. Can tell I’m getting better and better with the jig saw the beveled edges are looking awesome. Slightly modified yesterdays template for the opposing wall which will make up the storage area and icebox, did the cutting of the four pieces need put them in the van to get an idea of the sizes.
After a quick bite of left over pizza for a late breakfast I headed down to the shop find brian to help me with the electrical before I mount the storage area. Had to run down to Hunters 3 mil down the road to pick up a few more hardware parts, but good news the converter and isolator had arrived so we were good to go. I ran the 12 gauge on the underneath of the van to the engine bay and then also up just behind the driver’s side door to connect the converter ( 120 v to 12 v ) that will charge the house battery wile plugged into an outlet. Wired up two more 12v outlets one near the bed and other where the under wires pop out, next was to mess around with the outlet for the external plug in. Drilled two ¾ inch holes in the side of the van for the sockets and attached a box to the frame, also wired in two other 120v outlet one next to the bed as well as the 12v and other in the kitchenette area for other appliances.
Just have to do some minor adjustments with the external outlet to make it fit better tomorrow with brian, finished of the day with a beer, chilli and some natgeotv with bri and kath.
then after the electrical is all done the storage can go on, finish off the facers and hinges for the draws and cupboards. Just odds and ends to be done. So looks like im going to make it only thanks to brian and Kathy great help and hospitality!

Day 6

A late rise to an amazing breakfast with bri, Kathy and kara. Today has to be a productive day I feel im falling behind on some things have have to kick myself into gear. Got the bed in the back yesterday and still waiting on a converter for the electronics, so started making a template of the van wall for the kitchenette area. By noon I had pieced together everything for the area, needed brains help in designing a way to attach securely to the van he came up with some bolts into the metal which worked like a charm.
Next was too install the shelves in the pantry and cut and design the counter top with the inbuilt stove and sink, I came up with an idea of being able to replace the wood on top of the stove when it’s not in use to ultsitlize more counter space. After some careful cutting and a nice sand job finish it was looking great, on to the pantry facer next. By the end of the day I have done nearly the entire kitchen and drew up plans for the underneath’s of the counter to incorporate a cutlery draw and a garbage disposal area that is close to the door for easy disposal. Spend from 11 till 7 working on and around the van today was really happy with the progress I made, should be able to get all the cutting done for the storage area on the other side in the morning then head down to the shop to do my electrical system.
With only 6 days left things are really starting to take shape, all I need now is to find a name for my campervan and get the stickers sticking.. Yay 6 days till my birthday !!

Day 5

After a few too many glasses of wine last night, it was alittle struggle to wake up by 8 but work had to be done..
I was looking into the electrical system by brian decided that we should wait till monday when we received the converter, So started pulling up the carpet to put down brian and kathy special carpet. After pulling up and putting down the new stuff, re attached the trim to make it look good again.
Started working on the bed frame for the back of the van, after a few problem ( putting the legs on backwards) got it done just after lunch. Decided not to fasten the 3/4 ply on top until the electrical system is up.
Taking the afternoon off to shoot some clays with brian and kara thats visiting from Idaho..

Day 4

Trip to spokane to grab a bunch of supplies for the shop and the campervan with kathy and register the van. After an early 6 am start we went the back was along springvalle over the pass, after an hour and half we were in spokane. Visiting too many shops to remember but got all the stuff i need for the campervan except the lights. It was a 13 hour day by the time we finished.

Day 3

Today was a late start, got all my clocks wrong so got into the shop around nine.
Spend the next hour finishing off the spark plugs right at back of the engine, which was a pain the ass not much room to work with at all. Bri and I fired her up and it kept dying after a few seconds or when we put it into gear, after he tinkering around with the idle speed got it purring like a kitten. What was happening was when we switched onto gear the idle would drop too low making the engine stop.
Next we bleed the breaks to find out where it's leaking and to get rid of the air in the breaks, had a small oil leak but it was only a loose hose so that was a quick fix.
I tackled the interior lighting thats not working for the rear two lights, after pulling off some of the wall interior to find the wires. Decide that i didn't want roof lights anyway and started design some diagrams to put LED strip lighting along the walls to make it more ambient lighting that just a central glow.
This afternoon i have compiled a list of things i have to get from spokane tomorrow, im going to have to get the whole wiring system in before i start the carpentry but ill still get all the 2x4 i need for the framing tomorrow.
Next week i have to also make an old school ice box for my cold items, which should be fun. Picture below!
Kara is coming up on saturday which is sweet, brian and kathy never disappoint with a great meal when guests are here, looking forward to shooting some clays too!
Have a great DAY!



Ice Box



Wiring Diagram



Design

Day 2

Woke early this morning ready to get a start on the campervan, but the goats had had two babies this morning in the barn and they born pre maturely and weren’t in good condition. We weren’t sure If they were going to make it though the day and they didn’t unfornatuly.
But that is life on a farm, you can never tell what is going to happen..
after the morning events I started work again on the van, we were still waiting for the fuel pumps to come in at noon so we looked for the valve to bleed the breaks .. after 20 mins of trying to work out how to loosen the impossible placed screws we decided to give it a miss.
Lowed the van from the hoist to give it a full clean out, took the rear AC and heating unit out and got rid of the rest of the junk from the back, spent the next hour on the phone to the Washington insurance agency working out about insuring it in here until the tags run out in November.
By the time I sorted it all out the parts had come in, Erik helped me put the fuel pumps in the tanks and I was in charge of putting the tanks back on the van and re attaching all the intakes and pipes.
Lowered her down again and started her up, after some readjusting of the idle she was running well but revving higher than she should have. Brian sent me out to get some mileage on the van to get everything ran though and moving again, put about 30 miles on it during an afternoon cruse.
After coming back he put the idle speed back down but it kept cutting out like it did before so I took it out back to vacuum it while he worked on another vehicle in the shop, pulled her into the shop after that to take a closer look.
We added some accelerant to the fuel which is a mix that enhances the fuel and makes it run better in the engine; Brian took a closer look at the spark plugs and decided that we need to replace them.
The next hours was spent burning ourselves on the hot engine while trying to replace the plugs got 5 on out the 8 before calling it an afternoon with some beers in the shop, the rest we will leave for tomorrow!
Nearly finished of the plans for the interior tonight, working out how much 2x4 ill need for the job and what else i will need on our trip to Spokane on Friday with Kathy.
Another tough day working on the rig but it will be a very rewarding in the end.

Campervan Day 1

So arrived in Fruitland late last night after a 2 n half hour drive from kara grandmums house, Settled into the cabin before day one of campervan reno.
Day 1 - Started by checking out the van, it was alot bigger than what i though it would be. Speaking with brian to told me that it stopped running after a minute or two and though it was the fuel pump but they had just replaced it a month ago.
So I started some measurements on the truck and cleaning up abit, we pulled it around to the shop and put it up on the hoist to find and fix the problem.
Started but loosing the old rusted bolts from the two gas tanks to get to the fuel pumps that are inside them, after removing them with the jack and emptying the tanks we tested the pumps.
The second tank which hasn't worked in years obviously need replacing so pulled that one out, and the first tanks pump wasn't getting a power so it was just a faulty pump.
Ordered the parts and they should be arriving by noon tomorrow so we can get her running in the arvo. Next i took off the old nut and drained the oil for the change and installed a new oil filter, lubed up all the front and rear suspension with a lube gun.
Spent the rest of the arvo gutting out unside of the van to get it ready for the carpentry work.
Brian and I made up some home made pizzas for dinner and called it a night eairly after drawing up some designs with the measurements i took from the van.
Hope you enjoyed day 1, I have alot to do in a short amount of time but it gonna get done.

Schweitzer Last Weekend Trip With Kara!

Good Afternoon SamTV..
After a great patrol party on Friday night catching up with some more great people before i took off on my adventure, Went touring with kara early that day up Granite waiting for a sled to pick us up on the way but no luck. Still a good ride down after a liquid lunch on southside road.
Spoke to Sam about Treeplanting camp for the summer.. I haven't told you guys yet but i scored an amazing job working at a summer camp out east, it's working with kids affected by poetry in the Toronto area. The camp name is morelands and i think it's going to be an amazing experience but tough at the same time.
Just like to put a big thanks out there to Chantal and Steve for putting in great reference for the job, you guys sold it for me!
I told Sam about this job and she was so excited for me and still wants me to come out until i head out for summer camp, I accepted without a second thought! I think hanging out with Sam, Louie and Zac will be a blast!
After a semi sleep in i leave Rossland for the time being with Kara and set foot for south east to Schweitzer Ski Hill, we arrived around 1pm after a long drive we were ready to shred. The winds up there were blowing a gale, they had received 3in fresh the day before but alot of it was wind blown and very inconsistent but still a bunch of fun.
Went back to Kara house for dinner she cooked up an amazing Curry dinner and we chilled out with her friend Haylee from Whitefish and her awesome parents.
They are very characteristic people, never a dull moment! After a few games of categories (which i need to practice at) and a ward burning off sesh we called it a night.
They have a beautiful house on the outskirts of Sandpoint ID, with the cutest dog named lucky!
The next day we rode in our most retro getups and showed the Schweitzer crew how to shred Retro Style, After starting up a massive game of flipcup and increasing beer sales 5x at Thors pizza for two hours we went to catch last chair! Meet Thor the owner and he is a cool guy, supplied kegs for the liftie part that night !
We caught second last chair to the lifies and enjoyed another awesome last run of the season!
Now i find my self in a worn out but very content mood in Coeur d'Alene College ID, waiting for Kara to finish her school meeting. Then were heading over to her grandmas for another great meal and finish up by driving out to meet brian and kathy in fruitland after the first attempt failed with driving in the wrong direction for 1 n half... ahhahahah
The adventure continues and what an amazing person to spend it with! Kara is a one in a million alway fun times when shes around! Fav Idaho-in for sure!
Take call all hope your enjoying im blog, feel free to leave your comments.
Cheers



Kara and Me



Lucky!



There House



It's not a roadie with out neon guns

Random Idaho College Girl!

This is Gretchen!!
On my endeavors of hanging around a college today this character of a person approached me.. Drawn by my camera, cartoon and i guess my creative look!
We chatted about all kinds of random things, traveling, canada, photography & man other random things..
Her ice breaker which mate me laugh was "whose gonna take a photo of you?" then proceed to put her pink jacket on me and take pictures! then she asked me to take a picture of her. She asked if we could catch up next time im in town and gave me her number..
That is my random story of my day at College!!
Happy Endeavors To ALL!!

Post Deck Party and The Slow Goodbye

The deck party at red went off last night, rocking your sock off.
Awesome djs and it was puking wile everyone was dancing.. reds biggest day of partying for sure!
Today is the last day of operations and im running a silent auction for charity on the deck with the lost and found items, and getting a few runs in for the arvo. Some beers with justin and carm on the heli pad, and the last run down golden chariot.
Everything is done on my list of things to do, worry free ! ! Nothing but the future a head.. I am so lucky to be in this time and place!
Not to be tied down with anything, the world at my finger tips..
Next week should be an amazing time down in fruitland with brian and kathy..
can't wait!