Waiting for the Chilean border to reopen is hard. There’s no information published by the government that suggests when non-residents might be able to return to the country, just a long series of 15 day extensions of the border closure. So we’re in a kind of limbo while we wait – we might be able to head back to Chile in two weeks, or we might not.
First steps- remove all of the back seats and thoroughly clean the inside of the minivan
Since the waiting is driving us crazy, we decided to do something about it. That something is buying a minivan and equipping it for camping. The result is a used 2007 Toyota Sienna with about 130k miles that we bought from a nice couple via Craigslist. Conveniently for us, the color is Nautical Blue.
Starting to build the bed/couch frame
We’re hoping to have some good adventures with our new minivan, so we’ve christened it Adventure Van, or AV for short.
Putting the pieces together
Originally, we planned to just haul the surfboards around in the van. But some quick web and YouTube research showed that we could build a simple bed and storage system without too much effort. So, we spent about a week cleaning the van interior, pulling out the seats, and constructing a simple frame with some hinges to access storage and to convert the front part of the bed into a couch.
Making sure the surfboards slide in and fit under the bed before attaching the legs
A trip to Ikea for a foam mattress and some sheets, to the hardware store for some insulation for window covers, and to Angie’s parents stash of old camping gear for a camp stove, and AV is complete (enough) and ready for her first adventure!
Checking to see if it is level
The end result- a cozy bed for sleeping in AV
Ready for a road trip!
