This past weekend, we took our camper on its first trip: Myschievia. Hippie camper, hippie/burner camping. It seemed fitting. And we met a lot of people who stopped to look because of the art & the general cuteness.
It was so nice not having to put up a tent in the dark (we didn't arrive until almost eleven o'clock), and to be able to get a full night's sleep every night. We could shut out music from the sound camps (both burns I've been to so far, we've been next-door neighbors to Resurrection, which is full of DJs) and block sunlight in the mornings. The bed was even fairly comfortable, considering it essentially was cushions on boards. Much faster to set up than an air mattress!
I'm glad we used it before we started modifications, because we now have an idea of what we need to do to make the space livable (i.e., not cramped & cluttered) when it's in use. Use the existing cabinets more efficiently. Hanging closet organizer for packing clothing. Have one dedicated spot for Kyro to put his phone. Smaller space heater. We're also thinking about removing the propane stove to have more counter space, and adding a permanent chest, ice or otherwise, to the outside for food storage.
One of my favorite things about it: protection from all sorts of weather. Days were warm, evenings were cold, and Monday morning we woke up to rain. The only leak we noticed was water dripping in through the vent above the stove. For a camper that's older than we are, I'm impressed.
I love it so much already, as it currently is. I can't wait until we finish the caravan project!
Friday, October 15, 2010
Sunday, October 3, 2010
And we have a winner!
Our new base for the caravan is a thirteen-foot Boler travel trailer. It's absolutely adorable. If you can get past the hippie paint job on the outside, courtesy of its previous owners.
It's a fiberglass camper, with a bench at the front end and a dining area that converts into a bed at the other. Tiny little kitchen area—just a sink & stove top—and a narrow closet. Such great potential for decorating. I know I want to recover the existing cushions and replace the curtains with something a little more "us," meaning probably greens and not-so-garish plaid.
The beauty of this trailer? I don't have to clean out little gecko ghost bodies before we can use it! Also, it's very lightweight, meaning we can lift and move it by hand if needed. (That's how we managed to get it the rest of the way into Kryo's covered parking spot.)
The "before" photo set can be found here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/54525421@N02/sets/72157624964943027/
It's a fiberglass camper, with a bench at the front end and a dining area that converts into a bed at the other. Tiny little kitchen area—just a sink & stove top—and a narrow closet. Such great potential for decorating. I know I want to recover the existing cushions and replace the curtains with something a little more "us," meaning probably greens and not-so-garish plaid.
The beauty of this trailer? I don't have to clean out little gecko ghost bodies before we can use it! Also, it's very lightweight, meaning we can lift and move it by hand if needed. (That's how we managed to get it the rest of the way into Kryo's covered parking spot.)
The "before" photo set can be found here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/54525421@N02/sets/72157624964943027/
Monday, July 19, 2010
All's Quiet on the Vardo Front
There hasn't been any work on the vardo since the last week of May, and with good reason: being used twice in one week was too much activity for the lift system. It died a painful death two days before we were scheduled to leave for Flipside. 2 AM the day of found me in the third Walmart of the night buying a tent (I never thought it would take that much effort to buy a simple tent!).
After a long discussion, we've settled on two options for the Apache. We can either repair the lift system and pray it works for every event we take it to, or search for a different camper to use as a vardo base. Considering how much stress Kyro went through while working on the lifts the first time, going through that again everytime we have a malfunction is not a pleasant prospect. And as much as I love the Apache, my attachment to it is almost entirely due to the fact that my dream of having a vardo is finally starting to take shape. I would much rather love my vardo than hate it every time I looked at the finished product.
So, the search is on for a replacement camper. Something one-piece that doesn't require ancient lift systems to operate would be nice.
After a long discussion, we've settled on two options for the Apache. We can either repair the lift system and pray it works for every event we take it to, or search for a different camper to use as a vardo base. Considering how much stress Kyro went through while working on the lifts the first time, going through that again everytime we have a malfunction is not a pleasant prospect. And as much as I love the Apache, my attachment to it is almost entirely due to the fact that my dream of having a vardo is finally starting to take shape. I would much rather love my vardo than hate it every time I looked at the finished product.
So, the search is on for a replacement camper. Something one-piece that doesn't require ancient lift systems to operate would be nice.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
All We Want for Christmas (and birthdays & other gifting occasions)
Dear families/friends/millionaires,
We know we can be hard to shop for. Our hobbies are unusual and involve skill toys—poi and specialty hula hoops—that you can't find on the shelf at Target. Geeky, tech items can be difficult to select when you don't know what we need. Buying us books seems like an easy option, but what if we already own multiple copies or borrowed it and hated it? And clothing is rarely a good idea (just ask Rachel about living with Old Ladies Buy My Clothes Syndrome).
Instead, we would like to offer up a suggestion: Buy us parts. You don't even have to buy us specific parts, although we'd be glad to give you a list of what we need for replacing the lift system and mending other parts of the camper. You can just send us money on occasion to put towards the items we need. (There's a handy little donation button to the left.) Otherwise, we'll have to survive off of ramen and pasta dinners for the rest of the year.
Remember how, as we were growing up, you always told us that you wanted us to be happy in life? Turning this Apache Ramada into a gypsy caravan makes us happy. Sweaty, covered in grease, and having to make up repair processes as we go along, yes.* But also happy. Having a little help now and then will make us even happier. (And mean fewer ramen meals.) In return, we promise to call & write on occasion, and keep you updated on our progress with the geek caravan project.
Love,
Rachel & Kyro
*Yes, Mom, even me who hated getting dirty as a child. —R.
We know we can be hard to shop for. Our hobbies are unusual and involve skill toys—poi and specialty hula hoops—that you can't find on the shelf at Target. Geeky, tech items can be difficult to select when you don't know what we need. Buying us books seems like an easy option, but what if we already own multiple copies or borrowed it and hated it? And clothing is rarely a good idea (just ask Rachel about living with Old Ladies Buy My Clothes Syndrome).
Instead, we would like to offer up a suggestion: Buy us parts. You don't even have to buy us specific parts, although we'd be glad to give you a list of what we need for replacing the lift system and mending other parts of the camper. You can just send us money on occasion to put towards the items we need. (There's a handy little donation button to the left.) Otherwise, we'll have to survive off of ramen and pasta dinners for the rest of the year.
Remember how, as we were growing up, you always told us that you wanted us to be happy in life? Turning this Apache Ramada into a gypsy caravan makes us happy. Sweaty, covered in grease, and having to make up repair processes as we go along, yes.* But also happy. Having a little help now and then will make us even happier. (And mean fewer ramen meals.) In return, we promise to call & write on occasion, and keep you updated on our progress with the geek caravan project.
Love,
Rachel & Kyro
*Yes, Mom, even me who hated getting dirty as a child. —R.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
An... Apache Caravan?
We are now the proud owners of a circa 1973 Apache Ramada hard-body camper!
Yes. We know it is not a vardo. But we have plans.
A few weekends ago we drove out to Quinlan, TX to view a hunter travel trailer Kyro found on Craig's List. Very tiny, but cute, complete with water and propane hook ups. The owner built it off of an old Coleman camper whose canvas sides rotted out, by keeping the base & the roof and replacing the walls with board. In the end, we opted to not purchase it, but decided that the idea was good enough to borrow. Not having to learn how to install electrical wires or propane lines? Win.
Last Wednesday, Kyro discovered our current camper (Craig's List, again). In his words, it's "funky and needs some work." A little bit of an understatement, but I think it'll turn out awesome in the end. And worth it, since we wanted something off of the ground for when we go camping Memorial Day weekend in the middle of a poison ivy-infested pecan grove. And then for another camp out at the end of June at Lake Texoma.
Right now, we're just concerned about getting it cleaned up enough to spend five days camping in, and in good enough condition to be usable. (I found a newspaper dating back to 1988, so it definitely needs some care.) After that, let the caravan conversion begin!
Yes. We know it is not a vardo. But we have plans.
A few weekends ago we drove out to Quinlan, TX to view a hunter travel trailer Kyro found on Craig's List. Very tiny, but cute, complete with water and propane hook ups. The owner built it off of an old Coleman camper whose canvas sides rotted out, by keeping the base & the roof and replacing the walls with board. In the end, we opted to not purchase it, but decided that the idea was good enough to borrow. Not having to learn how to install electrical wires or propane lines? Win.
Last Wednesday, Kyro discovered our current camper (Craig's List, again). In his words, it's "funky and needs some work." A little bit of an understatement, but I think it'll turn out awesome in the end. And worth it, since we wanted something off of the ground for when we go camping Memorial Day weekend in the middle of a poison ivy-infested pecan grove. And then for another camp out at the end of June at Lake Texoma.
Right now, we're just concerned about getting it cleaned up enough to spend five days camping in, and in good enough condition to be usable. (I found a newspaper dating back to 1988, so it definitely needs some care.) After that, let the caravan conversion begin!
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Other Vardo Blogs
We won't be able to truly start on building our caravan until after Memorial Day weekend, so right now we're just planning and researching. Fortunately, there are a lot of people who have documented what they've done with similar caravan projects.
Bow Top Caravans
Gypsy Caravan—One of the first blogs I found about building a caravan using The New Gypsy Caravan book, plans, and template. Also, probably the most detailed when it comes to adaptations made (an air conditioner unit!) and the building process in general.
SuperTroll's Bow Top Vardo—A variation of Lemke's bow top. There are a few pointers in his message board thread, but most of the documentation is in the photo album in the very first link.
Small Adventures—Yet another vardo builder following the plans from Lemke's book. He's at roughly the same stage we are at the moment: planning. (The Vardo label is just posts about the project; the rest of his blog is about SCA involvement.)
Woodsong's Vardo—A bow top with a twist: it folds down when not in use, as a result of space (and neighborhood) limitations.
Canvas Caravans—
Other Style Caravans
Rachel the Goatwoman's First Vardo—A pop-up, Ledge-style vardo. Her first one, which eventually lead to...
Rachel the Goatwoman's Second Vardo—...a second pop-up vardo. This time, designed so that just one person can raise it.
Bow Top Caravans
Gypsy Caravan—One of the first blogs I found about building a caravan using The New Gypsy Caravan book, plans, and template. Also, probably the most detailed when it comes to adaptations made (an air conditioner unit!) and the building process in general.
SuperTroll's Bow Top Vardo—A variation of Lemke's bow top. There are a few pointers in his message board thread, but most of the documentation is in the photo album in the very first link.
Small Adventures—Yet another vardo builder following the plans from Lemke's book. He's at roughly the same stage we are at the moment: planning. (The Vardo label is just posts about the project; the rest of his blog is about SCA involvement.)
Woodsong's Vardo—A bow top with a twist: it folds down when not in use, as a result of space (and neighborhood) limitations.
Canvas Caravans—
Other Style Caravans
Rachel the Goatwoman's First Vardo—A pop-up, Ledge-style vardo. Her first one, which eventually lead to...
Rachel the Goatwoman's Second Vardo—...a second pop-up vardo. This time, designed so that just one person can raise it.
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