Kitchen

Thinking about our kitchen layout, need to start building cabinets...

We are having troubles deciding which fridge to go with, our options include a top load Sundanzer 1.8 cubic foot 12v fridge from wegosolar or purchasing a fridge freezer and having it converted to 12v.

We are also planning on getting the RV package from we go solar. This is a little blurb about it on their website...

"The RV-80 Kit keeps your batteries charged and healthy to run TVs, DVDs, Lap tops, lights and more. The Solar Panel provides 4.63 amps of charging power while the panel mounting hardware mounts your panel securly down without worry of leaks.

System also includes a 22 amp flush mounted, MARK-22 battery charge controller with digital system monitoring of battery voltage, solar charging current, and charge set-point calibration. The perfect solar charge controller to prevent over charging or under charging your batteries. Also if you want to expand your system in the future this controller will handle it."

Still thinking about our sink and water tank. We may just used the same system that we used this summer, a crock pot that accept 18L bottles and a bucket underneath to catch the grey water. Simple solution while we design our system.

Bed construction and teenage wannabe hoodlums

Woke up this morning to discover that someone had tried to break into the Dart! They yanked on the doors from the outside while they can only be opened by the driver from the inside. So one door was slightly gaping open while the other remained closed. Not sure the true extent of the damage because Martine pushed it back into place and it seems fine, but who knows? Guess what they stole... the fire extinguisher. That's how I know they are teenage wannabe hoodlums. You guys are not cool. Mama Lau is going to sleep in the Dart next weekend and burst out of it waving a machete and drop kicking like mad if you come around again. And Uma will back me up by screaming like a banshee (what she has learned to do lately). And fly-pooping in their faces. Yes, I will save up all her poos of the week in a bucket, pop out of the hatch and dump it on them when they try to vandalize the Dart next time. Am I angry? Yes, I am. Am I joking? Only kind of...


The other downer today is that we left some windows open, (and the hatch) and it rained last night. Got home from our plywood shopping mission last evening kind of wiped out and totally forgot to check these things. So it's a bit wet inside, and we can't tell if Martine's work on the hatch fixed the leaking problem or not. A little bit of water is no big deal, I guess. At least they didn't break the windows and steal all the tools. I'm thinking that we might have to rethink where we park on the weekends. Maybe right in front of the house rather than on the street that is just flanked by bushes.


Or maybe I really will have to sleep in there, wait, after today maybe we'll be able to! Martine is at our friend Amos's workshop today. Amos is a carpenter and helping us doing some of the building inside of the Dart. They're going to work on the bed today, the storage under the bed (we decided on big rolling drawers that pull out into the aisle and compartments which are accessible when you pull the bed aside). And cabinets right above the windows on both sides, kind of like airplane luggage compartments. So we will see what the boys can get done today and tomorrow.


I would have liked to have gone and helped but Uma needs some quiet time at home after yesterday's outing. She kind of freaked out in Home Depot. Not like crying tantrum meltdown but just acting really strange, screaming and kicking and panting. I think she was overstimulated by all the lights and people and activity. Maybe there was just too much going on for a baby to comprehend, because while we were waiting for one of the staff to get back to us about the drill we wanted to buy, I started to notice other children wailing in the background, sounding just as desperate as she did. So we went back to the bus to regroup, change, feed, etc. while Martine got the plywood. We also looked at the cork flooring. It's nice, and pretty expensive. $4.99-$7 per square foot. Compared to laminate which is only about $1-2. Going to shop around a bit cause we like the cork and we only have about 50 square feet to cover anyway.

 We now have seatbelts so Uma can sit in her car seat instead of my lap. Poo training going well. She pretty much never poops at home except for in the bucket. Just some surprises when we go out sometimes. She got a hand-me-down Jolly Jumper and has been enjoying that as well. Boing boing boing. Oh yeah, and we had a 100 day old birthday dinner for her, and she wore a dress!! I can't turn off this black highlighting or get any of these photos where I want them????

Sky light/Hatch repair

Seems like the multiple layers of silicon put on the hatch over the years is not enough to keep the hatch from leaking, so yesturday I opened a can of worms. Dissasembled the hatch and attempted to scrape all the rubber off the roof, in the process I scratched some of the paint off right down to the steel. The rubber was definitely strong, but didn't prevent leaking. So strong that I couldn't get it off, had to cut it off with a knife and now I'm in the process of sanding off the bits that the knife couldn't get. The origional install 7 years ago used some sort of rubberized putty, thick and excessive which caused the current issues, bending the hatch in the process making my resealing a little more challenging. This morning if the weather holds I'm hoping to clean the rest of the rubber off and then paint the spots where I scratched down to the steel to prevent rust. I'll use a rust protection called tremclad. Then I'll clean up the hatch which is covered with a fine algea and dirt around the seal. I'll put a bead of marine grade silicon where the hatch will sit, then place the hatch down and fill in any remaining gaps. It is important that this job is done perfectly because we can't afford leakage once we get on the road so I don't mind spending a bit of extra time on it. better get to work...and work

Jobs that also need attention in the next couple of days.
Water build up in one of the lights
general cleaning needs to be completed, washing floors, walls and in all the cracks
floor needs to be patched where the seats where taken out.

Slowly gathering the pieces...

Yesterday we made a trip to an auto wrecker in Abbotsford who had RV's, hoping to salvage some parts. We were looking for a propane stove and fridge, an awning to attach to the side of the dart, table, seats, seatbelts, sink, tanks... it was a long list and we didn't find most of the things because everything was pretty picked through and thoroughly trashed. Most of the RV's were filled with garbage and the remenants of the previous owners, their clothes, shoes, (all dirty), jars of food, books, cd's, bedding... was kind of scared to go in to some of them they were so gross. I had Uma in the front carrier and she, on the other hand, loved it. Squealing and laughing in one particularly dirty RV. Not sure what she's thinking there.

We came away with a really decent looking stove. Runs on propane, 4 burners, has an oven (yes! baking on the road). 4 seatbelts that we think we'll probably just attach to the exsisting bus seat (because I decided they are actually quite comfortable), and a folding table. Plus the wrecker guys threw in a mirrow for free. Not sure where we'll attach that though, there's not a lot of wall space, since the windows are so big.

The big windows are sure awesome when you're driving though, it's like being on a tour bus! Every window slides open at the top, and each side has an emergency window that opens on a hinge from the top and will be great on hot days, propped open. We drove around with Uma just on my lap since there are no seatbelts to attach the car seat with yet, and it felt pretty weird. But I guess that's what one would do with a baby on the bus, and while I would prefer to have her in the car seat most of the time once we get that set up, it was sure nice to be able to feed her while we were driving when she needed it. She seemed to enjoy the perspective too, and was so good all day. Just sitting or sleeping on my nap, didn't fuss or cry at all!

Speaking of Uma, her potty training is going well. I'm catching her really routine poops in the bucket, which is about twice a day, right after she feeds after a big sleep. These have been consistent and she seems to understand and even enjoy it. It never takes more than 30 seconds after I put her over the bucket and when she's done she always looks up at me and laughs or smiles. I think she appreciates not having to poop in her pants. I mean, who wouldn't!!! When we go out with her it messes things up a bit because she doesn't sleep for as long of a period of time when she is out so she makes little poops throughout the day but when we are just at home, I can catch her big poops, which are the messy ones to clean up anyway... so I would say it's a pretty good start! Not bad for a 3 month old!! It makes sense to me that it would work even though I've had some people say that they think it's pretty advanced for her age. If dogs can be trained not to poop in the house, I think babies can be trained not to poop in their pants. It's just natural for them not to want to, and it's up to us to help them because they can't help themselves.

I'm sure Martine may have more to add but I will let him do that later. These are my thoughts for the last couple of days.

Details, Missed the big picture!!

So we are now in possession the Handy Dart, and like any used car there are problems. So far it seems like minor problems, but still things that need to be dealt with non the less. We were told that the vehicle would be cleaned, but aside from a few chemicals spread around the dash to make it look shinny and a quick moping, the bus is filthy. Only one of the lights is working, the one near the back door, which has water in it!! There are a few other issues that need to be dealt with but lets talk about the positive.

This morning we ordered our vegetable oil tank from planet drive. We decided to go with a -10 internal tank for the time being which will probably be installed near the heater blocks to decrease the time to switchover.

Planet Drive 60L tank (the one we purchased is a little different, it "Comes with UNHEATED pickup tube installed")

This is great, we have the dimensions for the tank and today I'm off to the wreckers to see what goodies I can find. I'll be looking for Bench seats with removable table, Propane stove, propane fridge, Water tank, cabinets and maybe a bathtub.


Also we are thinking we will install a cork floor over the existing floor. We liked the idea of Cork because it provides insulation, its comfortable, easy to clean and it will look great!!! So I'll make a stop in richmond on my way back to see what the best price is. We will be going with floating tiles, not glue down.

We are also still trying to name this beast so if anyone out there has any ideas please post in comments.

Time Begins and ends at the same time...

And so we begin preparation for our journey. Right now we are focusing mostly on our transportation/home for the next little while. On Tuesday we put the down payment on our vehicle, a E350 20 passanger mini-bus which was formerly used as a Handy Dart/community bus. The plan is to camperize it.



We will be installing a wood stove, propane stove, propane fridge, solar panels, bunkbeds, bench seats with table, and much more.

The "next stop" ding bell will remain in place and be used for bathroom stop warning instead!! "DING"

We are also planning on adding a fuel tank for waste vegetable oil so we can use desiel for warming up the engine and then run on vegi oil from there on in.

We went to look for stoves today and found a great option, Jotul F 602. Jay gave us some good options for running the pipe trough the roof, he has had some experience with wood stoves and vehicles in the past.

The next step is an RV wrecker to look for Propane stove, Propane fridge and bench seat, and what ever else we think might be useful such as a ladder to get the roof so we can add longer stove pipes when burning the wood stove and adjustment of solar panels to catch maximum sun.

One of our biggest questions is how we are going to wash diapers. This procedure currently requires lots of water, a washing machine and dryer. How to make the procedure easy on the road, simple, don't use diapers at all, just a pee bucket. How would that work you say? Today we had 2 successful attempts at the beginnings of potty training. Uma usually poos right after she feeds in the morning, so this morning we feed her and then held her in a squat position over the toilet. She didn't seem to like the toilet so Joyee went to get a bucket instead to make it a little less intimidating. Then you simply make the constipated poo noise and she will poo right?? Wrong, she will poo on mummy's leg while she gets the bucket. Some of it went in the bucket at least and we considered this fairly successful. Next attempt came just hours later, after Uma had a nap. Martine went to change Uma and she wasn't wet, so over to the bucket she went. same idea except this time you make the "ssssssssss" noise, IT WORKED!!!! she pee'd. One diaper saved!!!

Preparations are going well so far, lots to do still, lots to think about, Lots to process and digest..

There is a time and place for everything, and that time is always now.
(You'll get used to these cheesy quotes)