finally hitting the road. 9.2.14

Because we'd worked well into the darkness the night before we intended to leave, after arriving back at my apartment to load up all our stuff and Loulou, we decided it'd be a lot smarter to leave a day later than intended to give us more time to prep and not rush.

Loulou wasn't exactly stoked when we first hit the road.

Loulou finally got settled right where she likes it…in the driver's seat.

Main streets don't have to be paved.

Christian consults Loulou the Navigator.

We headed north from Edwards, Colorado to Steamboat Springs and eventually found ourselves driving alongside their local stretch of the Yampah River. Readily equipped with our river gear and a Hyside shredder we'd borrowed from some of our good friends, we scouted the takeout, left our bike chained up to run shuttle and headed up to the put-in to pump up the boat and start paddling.

Our Campbulance quickly attracted a local's interest when we had parked and were prepping to get on the river.

Pumping up the shredder with our hand K-pump. Thankfully, it's a small boat.

The river was barely high enough to get through some spots, but luckily, a shredder handles shallow water extremely well and we were able to enjoy the sunshine and chilly water on the four mile stretch we paddled.

The weather couldn't be more perfect and as we rounded a bend, we noticed some natural hot spring pools so we pulled over to jump in and take our first river dip of the trip.

"This counts as a bath, right?"

My brand spanking new PFD made the hot spring experience even more relaxing.

They had some fun play waves along the way and a friendly sunbather offered take snap some photos of us attempting to surf.

After we dried off and got back on the road, we aimed toward Dinosaur National Monument for the night. We'd read about some BLM campsites just outside the boundaries of the monument on a Free Campsites website so we followed the directions to a beautiful secluded spot under the stars and made our first dinner on the road.

Our outside kitchen space makes cooking around a campfire pretty darn easy. Just pull up, open the hatch and get started!

Our first camp spot couldn't have been a more perfect start to the trip. Next update...onto Utah and another river adventure!

bad photos of our last minute projects. 9.1.14

A few people have said that they've been left completely unsatisfied by the recent posts because it doesn't show any of the interior progress we've made. I was able to unearth a few iPhone photos of the interior that I took on September 1, right before we left on our trip and right after our last push to finish up the major projects.

In this photo you can see the turquoise painted peg board we installed against the cab's rear wall, the basic kitchen framed out and the bed unfolded into its open position (slightly hidden underneath pressboard and a paco pad.)

Here you can see the new vinyl quilted upholstery I put on the doors in place of the old grey padding that was there before.

Christian cutting some more finishing wood parts out for the kitchen.

A wide view of the Campbulance right before we wrapped up the projects and took off on our road tirp.

last minute preparations before the fall road trip - 8.31.14

On the day before our intended departure, we worked long and hard to finish a handful of important projects necessary to us before we hit the road.

Below are photos of Christian working on a few framing projects to complete the kitchen (or at least get it a little more completed).

Working in a boat house means there's always someone around to spectate. 

One of our favorite tools we got for the project is a Pocket Hole Jig I found while doing some research on rv conversions. It makes nice clean inlaid screw holes for wood working. Christian bought some prefab wood pins that fill the holes and we're currently undecided on whether or not we'll use them. For now at least the holes look clean and professional.

We'd ripped the door padding off of the interior doors to replace the foam covering. Sadly, the inner part of the door padding that I'd hope to salvage were rotted beyond saving, so I had to cut new pieces using press board. 

Cutting window holes in the new door padding backboard.

Cutting foam-backed vinyl upholstery for the new door pads.

We were literally so elbow-deep in our projects this day that we didn't revisit the camera until we'd finally hit the road, so photos of the projects will come in the form of photos of the Campbulance on the road over the course of the next few days.

everything but the kitchen sink...oh, and that too!

Two nights before the big Gore Canyon Race (a race down a Class IV-V stretch of whitewater on the upper Colorado River), Christian was planning his lines with his R2 buddy Shawn (you'll also recall he was the one that convinced us to rip up the subflooring) and then to distract from his fear, helping me install the new Rocket Pump we'd bought for our almost finished kitchen.

Shawn and Christian getting to know their race boat and talking about their lines. 

Christian wanted to make sure that I mentioned that he and Shawn won gold in the R2 division. They're unsure of their time, but they were definitely first (...because they were the only boat in their division to finish).

This is Shawn and Christian about to huck a 12-foot waterfall rapid called Tunnel Falls. (I was lucky enough to get taken into a the canyon by a railroad truck to photograph this spot for the race.)

Kitchen counter in the foreground, Campbulance in the background.

A very big drill bit.

Making the hole for the Rocket Pump.

Prior to ordering the Rocket Pump, Christian had done some Googling to see what kind of instructions, etc he could find on the subject. There were none. Turns out, it's because you don't need any. The pump is literally installed with two screws (included) and you simply jam the water hose up onto the bottom and boom, installation complete.

Installing a Rocket Pump = drilling a hole and screwing in the two screws it comes with.

Getting ready to test the pump for the first time.

I think I was a teeny bit annoyed that the one photo taken of me during this project was of me vacuuming up the aftermath. I promise I did more than just take photos! (I think...it's been a few months...I could be wrong.)

bed building and [as always] getting distracted.

It's time to finally start updating again. Sadly, these updates are going to be 4-5 months old as we slowly catch you up on our progress and post photos from our glorious fall road trip.

One of the biggest and most important projects we needed to finish before hitting the road last fall was the bed. As fun as it was to sleep on the floor and/or hang from the grab bars in a hammock, we wanted to have a proper sleeping area for what was soon to be a month+ on the road.

We'd already done a preliminary dark stain on the wood, but still had some cuts to make to allow room for it to open and fold out once hinged into place.

Christian restaining the edges of the newly cut pieces.

Putting a gloss coat on.

Not surprisingly, while escaping the heat to take some measurements, draw some diagrams and let the newest coat of sealant dry on the bed, Christian spotted another element of the interior that he decided needing some adjustment.

It's amazing what happens when you're just sitting in the Campbulance looking around. Every tiny little project seems to bare its ugly face and convince you of its immediate need for attention. In no way did the electric panel need to be addressed at this time, but alas, that's just how things go, so attend to the electric panel we did.

It turned out to be more than just a little hassle to remove it.

Meanwhile, I was measuring the back interior wall that butts up to the cab to prep for installing the peg board we had in mind.

A new cubby created and a reinstalled electric panel! (Only took a few hours.)

Our bed wasn't fully installed on this day, which probably isn't surprising given our lack of attention spans, but at least we got the bulk of the work done in prep for it.

Coming up...kitchen, counter, sink install and running water!