Sleeper Sleeper: Toyota Sienna Campervan Build

Yes..and....

No.

Keep in mind at least 1/2 of our use is going to be urban trips - visiting towns/cities then overnighting at Walmart or Cracker Barrel, etc. I don't plan to have any extra structures to setup.

Not sure if the concern is odor or privacy?

Odors can be dealt with in various ways.

Privacy...well...let's just say that in the RV we had a standing house rule that you had to pretend you couldn't hear the conversation in the living room while you were in the bathroom. The walls were a facade in more ways than one...

In the Class B ...well..I couldn't even use the "bathroom" with the door shut. I always said it looked like a magic act when MsBoyink did.

In the van my hope is that we can move one of the front seats forward and make room in the "corner" for the potty - and have that be away from where our heads are while sleeping.

 

Thanks...I saw that in my searches. I liked it but trying to keep our costs down too. That will be a good plan B if this one doesn't work.

 

With it sitting on the floor of the van I think it'll be OK. Has to be about the same height as the 2nd row seats.

 

That was a Class B, so it was a van. Basically.

And while I didn't fit all the way into the closet they called a bathroom, I made it work. Actually this setup might end up more comfortable in that regard.

Getting up 3-4 times a night to walk into Walmart isn't high on my list of fun stuff to do.

But, it's also why I like the idea of a folding potty so we can use it or not as the situation demands. I expect we'll find some NF, State Parks, and other more rustic areas to explore as well. Those cases might call for an enclosure - we'll see.

 

Those don't offer any advantage over what I ordered?

No way MsBoyink is going to use an "in the open" potty. Bumper dumper would require me to install a hitch too.

 

It was a drippy weekend so not too much visible progress on the campervan.

I did get the rear hatch debadged - so you know, important stuff. I also bought a mitre saw to ease the construction work.

And just for inspiration, signed us up for this "Wild Bacon Wine Trail" event.

Wild Bacon Wine Trail - Bacon Events - Hermann Wine Trail

It's the 1st of May and just over 3 hours away - so should be able to have something workable by then. Even if it's just a mattress laying in the back of the van...

 

Ah yes - the Vagabonds. I've run across their story before.

The toilet came yesterday, so I experimented with placement. The blue tapeline is about where the edge of the bed should be (I may extend it just far enough to cover all of those seat mounts - they look like toe stubbers to me).

With the passenger seat all the way forward and the console pulled out the toilet fits nicely into that corner. The legs allow it to straddle the seat slider on the outside.

I'm going to make a new console (it's removed in the photo) - this one takes up a lot of space for the storage it provides (who needs 6 more cupholders?), and it's too low to work as an armrest. The seat armrest is about pointless for me too.

At the rear, our Zip-Dee camping chairs fit nicely next to the cooler so they'll probably live there, spaced up closer to the edge of the hatch and with some storage under them.

 

Got a start on the bed yesterday - basically taking the approach in this YouTube video, but modifying it a bit since they based off of a framework/lid in the trunk area that I didn't have or want to build:



Basically - bed in three sections (I need to make the front section yet).

Front and rear hinged, middle fixed. I liked this build approach because it allows access to the "trunk" area, and the front section can flip back allowing us to haul pretty big things - maybe even getting the second row seats back in if need be. I was also concerned about losing easy access to underneath the middle section but this should allow access from either the front or back, I think.

Height-wise I can still get into the cooler without raising the bed.

Plans are for a drawer unit on the right side with 1-burner stove and some sort of sink fixed in place.