Finishing Touches and Creature Comforts

You know the part where I said we wouldn't be posting again for awhile about camper rehab? That was just for fun. As someone told us recently, you never quite get finished perfecting your vintage camper.

Custom battery box on '61 Mobile Scout

The past couple of weeks, the Hubs has been hard at work completing the 12v system so we can camp without shore power. His latest awesomeness was to customize a Harbor Freight tongue-mount box to match Sweet Melissa, and also hold the two deep cycle batteries to power that system. I think he did an amazing job, myself.

His next task was to connect LED strips under the shelf at one end of the bed, on the over-sink shelf and above the dinette. We tested them that night and they give off plenty of warm, comfy illumination for camping 'off the grid'.

Remember that nifty Avanti fridge we bought that runs on 12v or 110v? He's got that hooked up, too, so that we'll have food safety without coolers no matter where we camp.

He's also taken care of our old, leaky roof vent with the installation of this new one, purchased at Trailer Parts Supply in Wichita. The fan is hooked up to the 12v system, as well, so even if we're camping far from electricity, the air can flow freely.

Which is particularly important with the addition of our heating system, a Mr. Heater 'Buddy' propane fueled catalytic heater. Great to use in a camper IF you provide adequate ventilation while it's running and IF you install a carbon monoxide detector. The new ones, like ours, have an auto shut-off feature if the C0 level gets too high, or if the unit gets knocked over, but we believe in being extra safe.

What else have we accomplished? Oh, yeah, curtains! While my seamstress-new-mother-of-twins-systems-administrator-just-sold-her-house-and-moved daughter takes a well-deserved break from sewing the REAL curtains for the camper, I had to come up with something reasonable to cover all those windows. Especially since WE'RE GOING CAMPING! Stay tuned for more on that after the weekend.

I went to the source of all things crafty, Pinterest, and found a page that showed how to make curtains without sewing. Then I made a(nother) trip to Walmart and bought pink and aqua towels for $2.87 each. Since I made two curtains with each towel, those are pretty cheap window coverings, even adding in the iron-on hem tape. I know, I know, my seamstress wizard fellow glampers are going crazy right now, but for a girl who can't sew a seam, I thought they were pretty cool as a temporary solution!

 So, with the bins packed full of groceries, first aid supplies, health and beauty stuff, extra propane cylinders and tools, we are ready to roll on our first camping weekend. We'll post pics of our Ozark Trail camping kitchen that's perfect for holding a Coleman stove and everything I need to cook at the campsite, when we do our first camping blog.

Looking forward to the weekend, fellow campers!