Two weeks later…we've made HUGE progress!

Sorry for the nearly two weeks in delayed posts, but we've made HUGE progress and it's time to update! I got punched in the chest with a massive cold a week and a half ago, which took me out of circulation for literally anything beyond a quick get-out-of-bed-and-critique-Christian's-carpentry-skills-and-decisions before I circled back into bed and under the influence of cold and cough medicine.

Hiding spot!

That being said, Christian made a ton of great progress while I was under the weather and when I was finally able to muster up enough energy to be upright for more than ten minutes, we started screaming through the build together.

Bedside clothing storage.

A very specific fire was lit under us when we got word that the potential buyer we'd been in touch with about Stubbs the Bus was coming out to visit on the 13th, so we knew we wanted to be well on our way to moving into Little Foot by then.

More hiding spots!

Our big projects to complete to get it move-in-ready were the storage on the driver's side of the bed for our clothing and the kitchen shelves/storage area. We built a shelf that would be the perfect depth for those standard fabric boxes you can buy at Walmart, thinking they'd be the perfect solution for clothing storage.

The same bedroom clothing storage, nearly installed.

The kitchen was mostly just a series of shelves with some slide-out counter space. The upper part is the backing of the shelving unit for our clothing storage beside the bed.

Kitchen, sliding spaces hidden.

Kitchen, sliding spaces exposed.

With the bed folded down into the "sleeping" position, the shelf looked great and it was all starting to come together.

A big finishing touch we needed to get done before moving in was painting all the wood. We opted to not go with stain because we would've needed more than one step (stain, sand, stain, sand, polyurethane…) to make it look like we would want it to, and we didn't get great quality of wood, so it wouldn't have turned out amazingly clean looking. Our other option was paint, and I'd had my heart set on a color since we were leaving the box interior the stark white that it came to us in. We considered grey for a heartbeat, but in the end navy blue won out. However, if you've ever been paint shopping, you know that there are hundreds of different shades of each color, so we didn't know how to narrow down our navy choice after staring at paint chips in the stores. Luckily, one of them was named Epic Adventure, so our decision was made for us.

After painting the shelf I was fairly convinced I'd made a huge color choice mistake. 

After the whole structure was painted, I was equal parts disappointed and optimistic that I could save it with filling it with our stuff. Choosing colors is tough.

I'm still of the opinion that it might be a little light for my taste and that stain might have suited it better, but it's done and painted now, so the would've could've should've's get to be buried as we continue the project with it coated in Epic Adventure blue. 

Super cheap tension-rod-and-brace storage solution. Remember kids, always rig to drive.

Beginning to load our stuff into Little Foot really made a difference. As soon as we put some fabric cubes and books into the shelves we noticed it starting to feel less "cartoony" and more homey. I may always regret my paint color choice just a little, but it'll have to do.

One of the coolest things about the box that is on our Pinzgauer is that it was originally a workshop for the Swiss Army. It was originally filled to the brim with shelving and drawers, many of which actually ended up in our hands when we purchased it. We couldn't stand to not reuse some of the original drawers, so we have slowly been finding ways to incorporate them within our structure.

Even more hiding spots!

So we've made progress but nothing is anywhere near done yet. We know we're halfway through the build marathon, and there will be more later. Stay tuned!

A day late, but a bed is built!

A day late! We've been so good about posting on Mondays, but alas. We were busy from building, that will be our excuse.

We started building the bed platform last week. Our ideas were hatched before we had seen Little Foot in person, and for the most part they went unchanged. Our priority list determined our constructions plans:
1. Maximize available storage space.
2. Unfolding/deploying the bed should require as few moves as possible.
3. Construction must be strong and simple.

With that in mind, we cued the music and got to work.

Supplies and an outdoor workshop.

Front frame. The hatch cover in the foreground is still accessible. It currently holds a petroleum-fueled space heater, but that will be removed soon.

One of the "T" shaped frames.

The frame was constructed from white pine 2x4s, each one costing us a mere $2.69 at the local lumber yard. The frame is relatively simple, and held together with some galvanized framing braces. There are three separate frames that support the bed; the rear and middle frames are shaped like a "T", and the front frame is a rectangle. The front frame places all the weight on the fiberglass benches, rather than the floor, because it rests above an access panel for the transmission.

The frames were eventually anchored to the Little Foot's fiberglass box by riveting angle aluminum to the walls and floor, and then screwing the frame to the aluminum. It worked well, but I probably wouldn't have been happy spending the money on the materials if I had to buy them. Aluminum is spendy, but thankfully Little Foot came with a whole box of original fittings. I hacked up the original stuff to make my braces.

The bottoms of the frames were wrapped in neoprene to prevent chaffing on the fiberglass and gelcoat.

Looking through the frames. You'll notice the access panel under the front frame; the transmission is under there.

With the frames in, Chels could gingerly climb on top and test the load distribution. It was pretty good from the start, with minimal bowing in the 1/2 plywood. A few late addition braces helped what little flex there was. You'll notice that we should have just enough room to sit up in a hunched-over position. We thought long and hard about finding a proper balance between storage room and comfort while sitting, inches spent either way meant compromises.  

A birds-eye of the platform and the separate pieces of plywood we needed to cut.

Measure many times.

Cut only once.

With a plan in hand, we measured many times before we cut even once. After converting two other vehicles, we've learned to measure many times, and measure well. We found construction in the Pinzgauer body to be difficult due to the uneven nature of the fiberglass. Nothing was level, nothing was on the same plane, and everything sloped. It's tough to keep angles at 90° when nothing lines up in the first place.

Finally we just clamped it all in place and started fastening everything together.

In this shot you can see the aluminum braces I riveted to the walls of the fiberglass box. I tried to minimize the number of rivets used, so as not to turn the box into swiss cheese.

We strengthened the far lip of the fold-out foot of the bed with a 2x6, and then mounted the stow-away support legs to that. I am a large man and I can sit on that 2x6 with no bowing in the wood. 

Our solution to maximizing sleeping and sitting room was to have roughly 20 inches of the bed hinge out of the way during the day time. Chelsea came up with this idea, drawing from her year spent living in 1979 Ford Econoline/Okanogan camper in San Diego. Part of her bed hinged up and out of the way, and that solution fit well in out design for Little Foot.

The moveable part of the bed is attached to the platform with 48 inch piano hinge. The hinged side is supported by a 2x4, but the very foot of the bed was left hanging in space. We knew we probably needed some sturdy legs, and found them at S&S RV Supply in Kalispell, MT. They were supremely helpful. If you're in northwest Montana and need some RV equipment, head to them.

Chels grinding away, making custom bed legs. We had to cut them to size, and Chels reminded me often that, "Its easier to take away metal than it is to add it after its gone." Very true. Measure, measure, measure.

Frame and platform installed, legs and all. The legs are designed to stand at a slight angle, don't worry.

A leg, standing tall and proud. They're strong, and we are satisfied.

With the legs in place, the bed was finished. It took a lot of work. Days of measuring, and more importantly weeks of thinking, went into this small part of the conversion. However, now that its over, we know our spacial limitations and can start work on the outdoor kitchen, the drawer storage, the heating solutions, and so on. Look forward to more building in the coming weeks.