You guys….Vannah White is finished!! We opted for a different layout that is perfect for us and our two fur kids. We have storage now which helps us feel less agitated because everything has a home and can be organized. We’ve taken her out a couple times and wow…what a difference! It’s so nice feeling like we have space especially since we’re in a 144 low roof Sprinter. We wanted to maximize the space as best as we could and Launch Vans came through for us!
So how did we decide on our layout? We used the dang van… empty… for almost a year trying different ideas with our totes and a mocked up bed to decide where we liked things best. We changed our minds I don’t know how many times. We knew we wanted to keep it simple so decided from the beginning against taking up space with a bathroom. But I did want a toilet. We weren’t even going to have a sink because we didn’t want to mess with plumbing but, as you’ll see, we ended up with one that will allow us to have running water without having to winterize anything.
Alex and I drew up a rough sketch of what we wanted our layout to be. Vannah is no Pinterest van…not with two big dogs and two messy, clumsy humans! So we wanted to keep things simple and maximize our space. We wanted a bed that didn’t take up too much room, a toilet, and STORAGE. We have bicycles we take on occasion and Alex has a kayak he’ll take if we head out to a lake. We didn’t want the dogs to be stressed out by having things fall on them (it’s happened, poor boys!) so space for them was important as well.
Alex M. at Launch Vans helped finish the walls – insulated with Havelock wool…. and he wrapped the panels nicely. He even wrapped the wheel wells with sound deadening materials. They installed our heater and solar panels, our inside lights, and laid down the coin flooring. Having those things in place allowed us to take Vannah on the road in February where we spent 4 nights in and around Stanley, Ketchum, and Sun Valley, Idaho. We were warm but still pretty disorganized despite our totes and planning. Thankfully we decided to leave the boys at home for that trip and I was glad that we did. It would have been too much with them in there with us trying to figure things out.
The next step was to work with Jake at Launch Vans. We gave him our “sketch” and asked him to help us turn our vision into reality. We had actually seen a Murphey bed he had built for another build and loved the concept and room it provided. So with that in mind, we talked things through with him. He listened, made notes, offered suggestions, and got to work.
As I’ve mentioned already, storage was critical for us. Jake and Alex M. talked about potential galley options with plenty of storage for dry food and kitchen essentials, utilizing the benches the bed would lay on as storage areas, and splitting a planned bench in the back to allow the toilet to be stored in it.
Alex and I stopped in to check on the progress one day and were so excited to see things coming together! Our dream was becoming a reality and we probably were acting like kids in a candy store. We were even excited for the prospect of having running water and Jake walked us through what ours could look like. We ultimately settled on having 2-5 gallon water containers placed underneath the sink that were removable. This would keep things more simple for us because we wouldn’t have to winterize any plumbing and could refill the containers very easily. We wanted a butcher block type counter to top things off and maybe a table that would allow us to have an area outside the van to eat.
We were a little nervous about how much space all this would take up. Would we still have enough room to haul our bikes and the dogs comfortably? Would we have the space at night to all sleep comfortably and move around? What about the heater? With our more unusual setup (our bed is in the front vs. the back), the heater would need to be moved. Would that negatively impact the ability of the heater to keep the entire van warm? Would the bed be long enough for Alex to sleep comfortably? The crew at Launch Vans reassured us and continued to patiently answer our questions and offer suggestions.
Well…we got everything we wanted. Storage! Organization! Space! Running water! A toilet! A bed that didn’t take up too much room yet allowed us plenty of space when sleeping! To say we were stoked was an understatement. When we got the van home, we were like kids at Christmas, opening all the drawers, grabbing our gear and deciding where to place it…it was so much fun! We were going camping that weekend so we put everything away knowing we likely would move things around once we were in and using everything.
We still need to get some nice, thick foam padding for our bed that we’ll have wrapped in durable fabric. For now, we’re using our old foam pad as our base and laying a faux down comforter on top of that. Our warm sleeping bags double as blankets and we always have plenty of pillows at our disposal. It’s pretty dang comfy!
We have the pups sleeping pretty comfortably as well. Clyde gets to sleep on top of the back storage bench where his comfy bed fits perfectly; Ovi sleeps on his bed on the floor between the galley and bench Clyde is on. We still have room to step around Ovi to use the toilet in the middle of the night if we need to. Let me tell you….not having to go outside in the middle of the night is priceless! Love our Laveo Dry Flush toilet…like an adult diaper genie!
So the takeaways from our experience are: 1) Find a builder you trust and who will walk you through the entire process and willingly and patiently answer all your questions; 2) Don’t be afraid to experiment with different layouts until you find what works for you; 3) Think outside the box. We never would have thought about a Murphey bed but it works perfectly with what we need and wanted; 4) Have fun! Let’s be honest….stress can get the best of anyone on a bad day. Just keep the end in mind and have fun in the process. It will be totally worth it!
So who is ready to get their van build on? Maybe you’ve already built yours. What did you find the most helpful during the process for you? What did you learn that you could pass on to others?
We’d love to hear from you or answer any questions you might have. We look forward to our continued adventures in our completed van…maybe we’ll see you all out there!
Happy exploring!
