Life in the van #1 - Space (the final frontier)

I thought it might be interesting to depict what living in the van is like. Let's start with the physical stuff - space.

The van splits into two separate spaces, the driving bit and the living bit. Unlike many vans these really are separate, you can't access the cab from the back or vice versa (unless you are an Olympic gymnast). I won't bother describing the cab, it's a standard van cab, driver and passenger seats, driving bits etc. Many campervans actually have front seats that rotate so they can be used in the rear but not so in ours. However you can reach over the seat backs and dump stuff on them, handy for coats, shoes (in a bag) etc.

The living space itself consists of a gallery address (0.65m0.60m) and a seating area with table (1.70m1.55m) giving a totally lining space of 3.0 sq mtrs - or 1.5 sq mtrs personal space each! You really do have to be on good terms with each other, there's nowhere to sulk!

That space also includes storage space - cupboards in the galley, and lockers under the seats. There's also a large (a relative term, nothing in the van really merits  the description "large") storage "Luton" area over the cab. More about storage in a later blog entry.

The galley has a fridge/grill/2 ring cooker on one side and a sink with loo underneath on the other side. The seating area has a 1.7m bench running the length of one side and two seats astride the table in the other. At nighttime the seat back will close the gap between the two seats transforming that side too into one long bench. The central aisle is then filled with the seat backs from the bench side to make one large 1.7m * 1.5m double bed across the entire width of the van. A little extra length can be achieved by making sure the driver and passenger seats are as far forward as they can go and filing the gap between them and the bed with boxes and cushions to match the bed height and so be suitable for placing pillows on.