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. 

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.)

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.

Kitchen counter in the foreground, Campbulance in the background.

A very big drill bit.

A very big drill bit.

Making the hole for the Rocket Pump.

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.

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.

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.)

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.

Christian restaining the edges of the newly cut pieces.

Putting a gloss coat on.

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.

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.

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.)

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!

a big ol' update.

/

Christian and I have been working around the clock at both of our jobs as well as on the massive projects we'd mapped out for the Campbulance. A typical day in our lives has us each prepping to be and then being on the river (well…I'm beside it with a camera) from around 9am to anywhere from 5-7pm. As soon as one of us is off, we're elbow deep in the unending Campbulance projects spanning before us.

Christian has had a bit of a luckier timeframe as guides typically aren't on the water for two trips in a day, so he had a few afternoons off and was able to get some massive work done without my supervision or trigger finger on a nearby camera. Luckily, I have an extra camera I keep in the Campbulance for just this occasion.

The following photos are taken by Christian of the work he was able to complete on his own. Towards the beginning of the season, I was always super bummed to miss out on any aspect of the project, but as we both got worked to the bone and saw no progress being made, I eventually got to the point that I was eager to know he'd have an hour or two to devote to it. As the season began winding down and I still found myself without spare time, I was almost insistent on him getting work done without me. Hence the massive progress that's been made in a few short weeks.

Because of the sheer quantity of photos I'm about to include, I'm adding them as a gallery. I'll write a short outline below of the work he was able to get done and what you'll see in the photos.

…

The first gallery shows the progression of our bed. For months it's been one sheet of plywood. We'd cut a second piece knowing our future plans, but hadn't had time to realize them. We found a local welder that was able to do some exact cutting work for us on the aluminum box below the bed to help facilitate the arm supports we'd wanted to swing out and support the center weight once the top half of the bed was attached to fold out.

This second gallery shows the work Christian did to put together our kitchen. Since one of the contributions I can make in my spare time is shopping trips to Home Depot (it's much closer to me than him) and ordering things from Amazon.com, I enjoy buying things to facilitate progress even if I can't be present for the realization of it. A few of my most recent purchases have been a trigger clamp, a 90º clamp and a Kreg pocket hole jig. All of these tools were essential to a decently built kitchen structure, so once Christian had these in his possession, the kitchen came to life fairly quickly (though he might argue otherwise).

We received our fridge/freezer, which is a Whynter 45qt fridge/freezer that runs off of 12 volt or 110 volt. Being the crux of our kitchen, once we received the fridge, we were able to truly map out and plan the structure around it. I'd dreamt of a pull-out solution for the fridge since it is a top-loading cooler setup, so we'd already bought some heavy duty sliders from Home Depot in prep for the build. The following photos show Christian's build of the kitchen.

Months ago on our road trip, we'd bought a few beautiful enamel bowls while visiting Christian's mom in Vermont. Thinking we'd found the perfect vessel for a kitchen sink, we hadn't revisited the notion until it'd come time to drill a hole in one of them. Turns out, it's incredibly difficult and expensive to drill a hole in enamel because of the type of metal and the easily chipped coating. After doing quite a bit of research, we finally resigned ourselves to buying a cheap stainless steel bowl from Walmart to serve as our sink. It was a bummer, as the bowls we'd picked were beautiful, but sometimes you've got to go with what's most logical. The following gallery shows the process for the sink. I love it and it works well, but it's just a bit small in diameter. The next size up in the same bowl is deeper, which neither of us want, so we're currently in search of another bowl, but until then, this one works just fine. 

replacing the light covers.

/

After multiple failed attempts to order replacement light covers for the red lenses we had to remove when we first got Campbulance, Christian and I hit a wall of frustration. The lens covers were not only impossible to find, but all the ones we'd thought would fit were expensive and usually specialty orders, so we were often unable to return them for a full refund and sometimes not at all.

After the latest fail, it was decided that we'd just be better off spray painting the old covers and putting them back on. The poor lights had been covered by painters tape since the day we picked Campbulance up on May 1. What was once bright purple tape had now faded to white from the days spent drying in the sun. It was time to get that stuff off.

After discussing our color options, we decided to go with silver. After two thorough coats, we reinstalled the lenses and basked in one less thing we'd have to spend money on replacing. They're not the fanciest looking things in the world, but they'll do for now and I can finally take a break from my relentless Googling of lens covers.

We tackled this project and a few other small things in the heat of the day after spending the morning rafting a class IV section of the Arkansas River, so once the covers were back on, we hightailed it out to the local brewery for a beer and some grub and totally dropped the ball on getting "finished" photos on the rehabbed lenses. Oops! I promise to post some soon.

flooring = laid.

/

Christian and I finally buckled down and spent a rare afternoon off together laying the wood laminate flooring that's been sitting in my garage just begging to beautify the Campbulance.

I promise I did a lot more work than this one photo portrays.

After some preliminary sanding of the seams created by the new sub flooring, we busted open the first box to gaze upon our new floor. Christian was impressed, but still not convinced that gravity alone would hold it down. (The flooring we used sticks together, but not to the subfloor itself.)

One of the many reasons I love him…

The beautiful "Rosewood Ebony" flooring.

The flooring we chose was the same flooring I'd used when redoing my 1979 Ford Econoline camper van three years ago. The simplicity and flexibility of the planks made it easy to install and no tools beyond a straight edge and box cutter were needed to cut the pieces to size.

I'd ordered two boxes. According to the square footage, it was just barely enough to completely cover the floor. Sadly, when we opened the second box, nearly half the planks were either cracked or completely broken. Discouraged, but backed into a corner by a half-finished floor, we knew we couldn't leave the job unfinished long enough to special order an entire new box. We decided to find a way to make it work and removed the sections that were broken and used a few of the cracked pieces with hopes that it wouldn't compromise the overall project.

Broken and cracked pieces of flooring greeted us from the second box.

When all was said and done, we used every last inch of usable flooring to cover the subfloor. Christian and I both have had a blast showing it off to the folks who have been around to see the project from the beginning. It's amazing what a difference flooring can make.

With the flooring project done and the hardware for building out the second half of the bed recently acquired, we're both itching to continue working on her. Rafting season is in full gear, however, so we'll have to be satisfied with having accomplished this one project for now.