We haven’t fell off the face of the earth, we managed to do some work on the van today! Other things seemed to become a priority so we decided that today we would make something for the van and also make the most of the good weather.
After having a few trips out in it, we decided that we needed some sort of surface to put plates and to prepare food on as well as the shelf that we have the stove on. Joe had some pine in the garage and some ideas so we (read: him whilst I drank gin) set to work.
It’s been such a lovely day that most jobs could be done outside in the sun, with the help of a little someone…
Joe sanded the pine smooth and the edges are lovely and curved. I stained it the same colour as the walls so it will blend in, dried super quick too which was great as we weren’t having to wait around for paint to dry
The basic idea was to have the wood hinged so it folded down off the wall. Our slight hinderances were how to make it level once it was folded down and then how to keep it clipped in place when we wanted it folded away.
Our first idea was to use a metal bracket to keep it level when folded out but that meant it was screwed on show and it just looked a bit odd to me
Don’t get me wrong, it did the job but I just wasn’t happy with it. Joe did manage to find some clips (the ones we were originally going to use for the drawers under the bed) so we had a way of clipping it up when not in use. We are hoping that it will be strong enough to hold whilst driving, time will tell but we don’t see why not!
Joe’s idea as an alternative to the metal bracket was to make one out of wood
It may be bigger than the metal one but I think it flows a lot better and is a lot less obvious than a random piece of metal stuck out.
It supports it a lot more too, gives it more strength than just the small metal one.
(Excuse the shoddy wheel arch boxing, it’s in need of another coat of paint)
We both sat down on the sofa and it’s the perfect size for eating and also preparing food.
We are planning on a surf trip next weekend (weather and waves permitting) so will be trying it out properly then to put it to the test!
Becky&Joe
Caddy Camper 