The event Tuesday, January 30, we left Mazatlan, the bucket of our dry toilet on the roof stuck in one of the spare wheels. Having needed to use it in the morning, I cleaned it in the ocean. Quick U-turn on a boulevard in the middle of Mazatlan, telling Laurent, I think I heard the bucket fell from the roof, we turn back watching for the low sides. I can see a man crossing the …
Sorry, this entry is only available in French. For the sake of viewer convenience, the content is shown below in the alternative language. You may click the link to switch the active language. C’était le dimanche 12 mars, une tempête de neige commençait et nous venions de finir notre déménagement, tout ce que nous avions se trouvait maintenant dans l’Escargot, notre nouvelle demeure depuis 4 mois. Ça ne s’annonçait pas évident, l’émotion était présente, les …
One thing that we love is food and maybe our origins has something to do with that. We don’t eat processed food however or anything we don’t know the origin of. Food is our body’s fuel, so it’s important. Since we eat 3 times a day, we needed an adaptable system that would not take up too much room, that would be accessible and could be set up easily. We got inspiration from pictures we …
Il y a parfois des choses que l’on veut parce que l’on s’en fait des images, des idées, c’est parfois aussi simplement des lubies. Cependant, ayant la chance de travailler à La Patente et que celui-ci possède entre autres également un atelier de métal, pourquoi ne pas en profiter ? Dès l’achat de l’escargot, le nom de notre camion, Laurent avait l’idée de mettre un rack, les photos de gens mangeant sur leur toit au bord …
Once the different structures were done, we could better determine how we were going to organize the space. It was difficult to go by things that had already been done and shown on the internet, because what is out there is for bigger spaces, or refurbishing for short-term stays. The structure for the bed was already made, and we also had two other structures made, but we had yet to see what exactly we would …
When you go on a long trip like we’re getting ready to do, even though there are many important things to think about, the bed is one of the most important ones. If we think about our activities on any given day, it will be the piece of furniture we use the most. We thought about several different setups. A lot of refurbished vans use the classic “bench” setup, with benches set up around a …
Refurbishing a van is done in several phases, and progresses according to your priorities. As members of the Atelier Co-operatif La Patente, we were lucky enough to have a garage to keep the van in so that we could work inside when it was necessary. The first steps of this refurbishing were focused mainly on insulation and working directly inside the van, as you have seen from our earlier blog postings. The farther we went, …
Now that the insulation is done and the major part of the van is covered by plywood, it’s time to hide our mistakes. That’s one of the tasks that are less pleasant, because you don’t see the progress as easily at the end of the day. However, for a good final product, it’s an important step. In woodworking, when you make a hole in the wrong place, or a piece is worn out and you …
It took us a few days, but we are making progress in installing the plywood. In hindsight, we can ask ourselves if it was the best solution, but installing the plywood everywhere will give us a cozy place to stay in, even if it’s hard to attach the wood to the metal structure exactly. Most of these things have already been said in earlier articles, so this article will give way mostly to photos..
Installing a plywood floor is not an “easy peasy” job; you have to deal with the different curves that a van like this one has. Even though we striated the planks, it’s not always easy to get the curve right or to properly screw in the plywood. The pieces that were framing the Savpropeana don’t always stay in one piece, and sometimes you can make a mistake when cutting it, and the plank blocks your …
