Sleeper Sleeper: Toyota Sienna Campervan Build

Back from a 2-week MO - MI - MO trip.

Was hoping for a nice fall color tour but overall the MI weather was crappy - pretty much rained a little each day, some more than others.

It became more about people - we visited my parents, my son/girlfriend, two different couples that we've known for years, an old high school friend, and sister/brother in law.

This was a "work while traveling" experiment that went mostly ok. We moved more often than I'd like, trying to fit everything/everyone in. I worked in 3 different libraries, a co-working office, other people's houses, and a little in the van.

We spent 5 nights in campgrounds ranging from $5 city park overnighters to $35 MI state parks.

Overall, weather aside, it was a good trip with lots of tasty meals and beverages.

My thoughts about this rig have changed. Initially I wanted a weekender/stealth camper. But two things happened: I learned I don't sleep well in stealth mode (basically the more windows we plug up the worse I sleep), and my job changed to be more flexible.

Two weeks was a bit long - it was only really tolerable because we spent so much time at family. MsBoyink would sleep inside their house, I did better back in the van.

So now I'm thinking this is a 5-7 day rig and we'll try to find one place to be during that time. Less moving will help keep up the work schedule.

But to be somewhere longer I'll probably need to carry a bit more stuff, so I'm thinking of adding the half-a-Ranger trailer into the mix, using it to haul bikes & kayaks + related gear, plus a screen tent, etc to use at the campground. It's going to take some mods, but should be doable.

Along the AuSable river in Ludington State Park:


Lake Michigan at Ludington State Park


The Au Sable with a hint of sun that quickly went away:




DeZwaan windmill in Holland, MI. I lived within 5 miles of this for 40+ years and only just now went inside.

 

Platform bed/ kitchen drawer painted/polyurethaned:



Getting ready for a week-long trip to San Antonio over Thanksgiving. I booked camping at a COE park north of town, and bought tickets for the illuminated holiday floating parade on the Riverwalk.

 

All painted and put back together.





I attached a cutting board for a place to set hot pans or just make a sandwich without having to get a plate out.

Drawer has three spaces, one for utensils, one for the dishpan/dry sink, and the rearmost for the campstove.

The mattress just shoves up out of the way when you want to cook.




Trying to show organization. Brown bag in front of the cooler and up is our Zip-Dee camp chairs. To the right the blue a Meori foldable storage box with a picnic organizer - it holds dry food in one half and plates/dishes/spices in the other. Forward/up from that in the black bag is a folding camp table thin enough for the drawer to close over.

I also cut out a rubber floor mat for this back trunk area - the carpet was kinda nasty and this should make cleanup easier.



I have a small screen room coming for our next trip. I'm hoping it will stow next to that camp table.

 

We've been to San Antonio a number of times in our travels - toured the Alamo, some of the Missions, enjoyed the Jim Cullum Jazz Band (RIP), and found our favorite restaurant (Rosarios).

It's probably our favorite "big city."

 

Back from our holiday in San Antonio.

Our campsite on Canyon Lake. Scenic. Quiet. Hardly 50% full.

But windy as he**. I just bought this screen room hoping to be able to work in there while MsBoyink went out shopping, etc. After a couple hours watching it dance and squeeze in the wind I pulled it back down. The constant wind killed any chance of sitting or eating outside.

It also took 2x as long to cook anything because it blew the heat away from the stove.

Which became a problem. I used more butane gas than I had budgeted for. And could NOT find more cylinders anywhere - stopped at or called 10 different stores. Ended up buying an electric kettle to make coffee and make the box-mix Thanksgiving meal we had brought.



Nice sunsets though.


Our night on the Riverwalk was fantastic. What I like about San Antonio is that even for big events like this you can get in and out of town quickly. Food was good, had a Shiner Bock, found a Jazz band, and enjoyed the parade through the eyes of a fun five year old who sat next to us.


Starting to think about building something bigger again though...

 

Yea - I know propane would be an option but I'd struggle to find a spot for a tank that big. And I'd have to buy a new stove. And setting up would be a pain - as it is I just pull out the drawer, and light the stove.

Amazon has - supposedly - the butane cylinders. Just ordered a dozen. I can find several spots to stash extras - just need to be better prepared than I was.

 

No problems getting a 12-pack of butane cylinders from Amazon. Not sure what the store issue is.

 

Dunno - these just get clamped into the stove by a lever on the front of the stove, no threads. No issues yet.

I'm at the limit space wise for carrying much else. The only room I have left is on the floor between the bed and front seats where it would constantly be in the way. I really don't want to have to stack a bunch of stuff on the bed during transit.

And I've learned - I need to leave with some extra capacity because we tend to come home with more than what we left with....

I know I could do a roof-pod, etc. And I am still considering adding my half-a-Ranger trailer to the mix for carrying bikes or kayaks. At that point a secondary cooking source might make sense.

 

Just booked a week of actual vacation time for late March (it's probably been over 20 years since I had a paid week off).

I found camping at a National Park in Ocean Springs, MS (about an hour west of Mobile, AL).

Reconsidering the whole bikes and kayak in the trailer idea.

Looks like a decent eBike is $1K/each. The inflatable kayaks we like are about the same. Then factoring costs of adding the trailer hitch and modifying the trailer to carry and stow it all securely....

Close to that campground I can rent a tandem kayak for $75/day. Bikes for $40/day.

I can do a lot of rentals before I'd be losing money, and not have to carry/stow/maintain it all.

 

Yea, I know that's a risk. We'll see what happens with this trip. I plan to reserve online if possible - maybe that will alleviate some of the hassle.

Another downside to owning the gear for me is that there's no close-to-home use for either bikes or kayaks. Any trip is going to take enough planning that the risk is even by owning the stuff we wouldn't use it.

Don't ask me how many miles I carted bikes around on our travels vs. miles actually ridden....

 

Up in MN for a conference. Camping -> Hilton -> camping.

I've several changes in mind for the van once I get the book finalized.

 

We head downtown Minneapolis today, hotel/conference for two nights, back to this campground Thursday night, then head out Friday.