Easy, Cheap Minivan Camper Conversion. Minivan Camper Tour. Toyota Sienna 2009. Solo Female Travel.

hi there this is danny and the channel is you and me living free i am going to bring you a van tour today yay uh everybody's favorite van tours and i'm going to get down to the nitty gritty so in each area i'll kind of give you just an overview for those of you who kind of want to do the quick thing and then you can skip and then i'm going to do in detail because i really feel like in a van there's only so many basic setups and things and really the power is kind of in the details and it's the details where uh where the refinements happen and where you really learn what works for you and what doesn't what things do you need to have handy what things can be buried what things need to be within arm's reach all those are very important questions and those are kind of those little things that i'm really going to get into and talk about today now i wanted to give us a scenic place to do the um the oh you can't even see that anyway this is an overlook in duluth and i just love this place so you can't there you can see it now that i get out of the way uh but it's on a scenic little highway and if it gets too loud or there's too many cars we'll go somewhere else but i thought it would be nice to have some place beautiful to do our van tour so here goes let's start on the the driver's side and see what i've got in here okay driver's side so here we go driver's side in the door first handy-dandy drink carrier the reason i have a drink carrier over here is because i had a nice little console over here with drink carriers and a little bin and everything but i had to take it out the reason i took it out was because i wanted to be able to move from the front to the back of my van without getting out that is very important to me that mobility especially being a female traveling alone if i am someplace that i don't want to get in and out of the van a lot and i want to be a little more stealthy or i just don't want people to know i'm alone then i took out the console it was a very nice console but i had to get rid of it so i got myself a drink holder i have another drink holder here but so this is what i replaced the console with but this moves easily so this is my trusty water bottle that i carry everywhere these are snacks and stuff if i need them right away i have my road atlas in here and my purse and then behind that i have my duffel with my computer and my bag and stuff so i have my valuables and stuff i'll either take them in with me they're handy right here or i'll cover them with a little um a little cloth or something which i have some of those around so that is that i have my drink holder i have quarters for tolls and things like that because you can never tell when you're gonna need some quarters i don't have anything in there i have this is like my little charging station so i have a little fan right now down there because my cooler spilled some water in the floor of the van so i have that fan running to dry out the air so this is one of those little inventions it's great to have be able to plug in two things at once i keep the front very simple here's another little charger that isn't all that powerful but i can use it to charge my phone a couple of times and it does come in handy or i can plug in my lit my small fan that one over there i can plug it in here and it'll run for hours and then i just recharge it these are the cords um for my jackery for charging it and stuff so that's pretty much it for the front seat here's another thing i have in the front seat this is pretty ingenious if i do say so myself well ingenius is too strong of a word but honestly i'm very happy that i have found this solution so this is just a nice place to pack stuff that i might need to have handy i've got a bag i've got an extra windshield cover here these these pink bags what these are is these are shipping bags okay these are shipping bags and so they're like envelope size but here's what i do with them i use them in case i have to go number two in the van i double bag it and then i put it inside here since these are shipping bags they're completely airtight and watertight and the smell does not escape these bags so anyway i just really thought of them and and discovered it i i haven't seen anybody else using the same solution on youtube so i was pretty proud of myself i used it last night for the first time and it worked great so i just have those and you always need an extra little rug whether it's to put outside your door or use inside so something doesn't get wet so now let's move on to the back so here we go i'll give you the brief overview this just gives you a really quick look and give you some idea of what i've got and how it's organized and then i'm going to go through everything specifically and give you all the details so let's start here to the left these are things that you need to have at a moment's at at just within arm's reach these things are always within arm's reach if i'm getting ready for a hike or if i'm leaving the van at all i come back here i've got my sunscreen i've got my bug spray wipes you can never have too many wipes my toothbrush underwear deodorant extra bags just literally the things you need for life always needing a pair of scissors just little toiletries there's a little um you know thing to start fires so there's the stuff that has to be within arm's length distance here's a couple other little things this is a little detail that will help someone okay i have two little spray bottles right here the blue one has just regular water so if it's a really hot night i can spray myself with water and then put the fan directly on me it cools me down a lot and if i have ice and stuff in my cooler then i can use really cold water that feels great too the other one this blue this green one here is peppermint oil and water and what it's supposed to do is repel like bugs and insects but in like a natural way so for ants and for any insects and stuff the strong smell um repels them or it's supposed to okay so let's go here to the other side of the door this is stuff that has to be handy as well there's my fire extinguisher these are my bags i'm always getting out of the van and needing a bag either i'm going on a little hike here's my backpack or i'm going into a truck stop here's a bigger bag so i have those handy i have my my oops i'm not paying attention where the camera is okay so i have my um mace or pepper spray i forget which one it is uh here and sometimes i'll take it over on the side to bed with me this is an ingenious little thing okay this little bag here it's just right here on this little on this little carabiner at top and this bag is where i keep my stuff for going to the bathroom when i go to the bathroom in the van so i can have toilet paper i can have bags and all of that stuff and it's super handy and even if it's three in the morning and i have to go to the bathroom all i have to do i know i'm talking about the bathroom a lot but if you're really interested in van life then you want to know these things then even at three in the morning i can reach under here i can grab my little female urinal i can grab a couple little bags and i can do everything that needs to be done and be in good shape i can do it in the dark i don't need to see anything and it works really well so it's all about what needs to be handy and what doesn't okay so here's my first little storage container this is everything i need to go to the bathroom and shower and then i've got a couple miscellaneous so here's my little stain stick thing stuff here's my quick dry towel i've got a couple of those they come in handy for more than just showers here's literally what i use to take a shower is this and some wipes and a little nail brush and then in here i just have my you know my razor and my deodorant and things like that that i need and i have usually have duplicates of the things i use every single day i'll have duplicates up here because i have my i have another toothbrush i have more deodorant and everything just to keep it simple so here's the next storage thing the good thing about this is my toilet is underneath so that's a one of those collapsible um toilet seats which i dearly love and so it fits right in there and then this is some of my cooking stuff i have my my pans that i cook with i don't have camping stuff i have regular or not i have really good non-stick stuff instead because i just don't cook on the open campfire very much i usually am cooking with my little propane and so it so helps to have the non-stick cleanup is so easy and then here's my um you know dr bonner's and here's my uh collapsible dish pan thing that i use for that and then there's some extra food back here also under here i have this is a little expandable table that i'll use to set up outside to cook on sometimes and then under here i have my jackery 240 which i love everybody's seen those um that is wonderful i use it for everything um i literally use it for everything so i love it and here's my main one that i am in and out of all the time this little bin look at this so if i'm gonna make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich or something i can literally grab everything i need right here i've got plates i've got napkins and bags and everything there's my napkins i've got extra cups but usually i just use my my insulated one that i showed you in the front i got some bread i got spices if i need them there's my peanut butter i got some nuts and stuff and so this is my go-to and this actually being in this first spot right here i can literally be sitting in the driver's side and reach back and grab a knife and a plate and a and a um napkin is so good i just if you're not going to put the kitchen in the back which is a decision i have made not to put the kitchen in the back because i want to have access to it all the time then that's a really good thing to do i think so in the back of the passenger seat is my trash bag now this can swing around when i go to bed at night because of course my feet are here but if even if i'm in the driver's side i can reach over and throw something away from the back of the van i can reach i can reach this from anywhere in the van it's very handy and i love it i have a little hook i have two little hooks on either side that's actually where i put my curtain rod for privacy at night but when i'm not having my curtain rod there i can put hats and things and then here's my lucy light which i love i would not be without a lucy light there's a little drying there's a little bungee cord that i use for like a little drying rack or when i need to hang things or just kind of set things around here is my beside the bed table my nightstand in the first one i'll put my insulated water and then i put my phone right here so it's always handy and then in here i have my candle and i have my sleep mask and then what i do is i hang my keys i have my lanyard around my neck show you this and i put my keys there as i sleep because then i could have my car alarm right here just in case i need it so this is kind of the back of the van what else right back here so right back here i have a little table it you know it's so nice to have table space in the van so have my table and when i get to the back i'll actually take these out and show you in more detail but i have my clothes all in here everything i need for clothes is right here i have dirty clothes there and then i have down below i have all my extras and doubles i have extra toilet paper there's an extra water jug extra toilet paper extra bags extra canvases for throwing over getting shade extra napkins extra everything and then on this side if you've watched another one of my van tours you know this is my favorite purchase ever it's a little candle remote control candle it's much more fun at night but just trust me it's awesome and then sometimes i put a book or something in here but right now there's nothing in there and i have my little dream catcher that i just put up what else okay next i'll go to the back of the van and show you back there we are ready for the back looks like kind of a mess back here but we've just got a lot of stuff so i'll just take you through one bin at a time i love these bins like this because they can hold a lot but they're very flexible so i can i can if it were completely firm i wouldn't be able to slide it into this place to see how it's bending over a little bit but it's not good for carrying a lot of really heavy stuff it's mostly just light stuff but i can lift it up i can put it anywhere i want but this has just got extra little things i've got my fan an extra book like i was saying another cloth paper i've got a little an extra light and a little project that i'm working on a little storage project that i'm working on is in there and here's my camp stove that i use all the time this is just an extra bin so these are extra shoes and extra warm clothes just in case i needed them i haven't really but anyway this is a bin that i can use for overflow extra food or anything like that but right now i came from my mom's house and you know how moms just give you stuff a lot of times when you go there well that's full of stuff that like my mom gave me and stuff i'm not using right now and then down below well you can't really see but if you want to stick around till the end of this segment i'll pull out these bins and i'll show you okay this is one of the biggest most awkward things to carry in a van but i cannot help myself this is a great big coleman um camp chair it's one of those kind of deluxe it has the side pockets and it's okay for extra sturdy for the big girl that i am the heavy girl that i am so even though it is awkward as heck and it takes up so much room i still have to bring it because it's the most comfortable thing and i love a good campfire right here's an extra canvas because you can never have too many here's the mats that i use when i set up my shower and so this is my dirty clothes bin and i have my detergent and my dryer sheets in the bottom of this bag so whenever i get to a laundromat i just pull the whole thing out and i'm good to go this is my clothes as you saw from the front and in here is the extras i told you about extra wipes extra cups extra extra everything you're going to need here's another little table i have about three little tables because you can never just never tell they come in handy this is a this is a tray table so that i can sit on my bed and open up this tray table it's like a little lap table here's my jackery portable solar panel 60 watt and here's my shower portable pop-up this is it was one of the cheaper ones it's not amazing but it will do the job if it's not too windy out and and it'll do and i use it then for my shower and also for a private place to set up my bathroom if i want to in here i have some more charging stations and stuff they're a little more powerful because the jackery can't be in all places at once so sometimes i need to charge a couple different things and i have some different options here um back here is just my i have a light for making videos and i have a tripod and things like that back here for making videos but i haven't even gotten them out and or tried to use them because like you know i kind of suck but anyway okay behind here also is my curtain for the one that i put across the front of the van when i want some privacy like i did last night when i was sleeping at a rest stop so i just have the the blackout curtains mine are gray and then i just prop this up back here okay i think that's a pretty good view of the back so here you can see the water bins and how easy they are to get in and out we got a little extra cubby there i i don't have anything in it right now but you know it'll get filled up okay so here's the deal with my passenger seat this is a little tray that i can hook onto my steering wheel that i can sit there and read a book or eat something these are my front window covers these are things i need to have handy i keep my cooler kind of covered with a blanket or something usually so this is my cooler it's new but i think it might be too big and i have this towel here because there's a drain down here for the water out of the cooler but unfortunately it dripped on my seat and down here yesterday when i wasn't paying attention so this is one of those quick dry towels so i'm using it to soak everything up and then i can hang it outside for literally like half an hour and it'll it'll clean everything up okay we got another little drink holder here's a couple of really good things this is a really good shovel so i pulled the shovel out so you can see it in my hand here is it here it is on my seat you get an idea of how big it is it's probably about as it's nice and sturdy if i'm digging a hole that's got to be six to nine inches deep then i want something substantial it has great leverage it works wonderful the end is really sharp the edges are serrated i know it's kind of dusty now trust me that's not dirty with you know what it really is dust i should have wiped it down but i was kind of in a hurry at this point those are magnets over here and the magnets and then this green stuff is the um what i use for my mosquito netting so that i can get a breeze in the van so i have two of them i have i have like eight magnets plus this and i can double it over and i have another one right here so if i use them on my two big side windows then that works perfectly and i can get some breeze and [Music] get some sleep and not worry about those mosquitoes because i do hate me some mosquitoes someone who's with me on that okay so i have pulled out the two bottom bins so that i can go through and show you the nitty gritty this is just for anyone who is really interested so this is another camp chair but it's a tiny one and then this big black bag is full of projects and miscellaneous stuff that i might need for the van that i have used um when i'm working on the van so here's another little mesh bag like the one that i have on the side that i showed you here's another one uh so i may put that up and use it and then in here i literally have like command strips and tape and velcro and extra carabiners and hooks and all kinds of stuff like that and then i have these hooks i'm going to hang some stuff up with these and then i have another little project i need to do is to restore my headlights because they're all foggy so i keep thinking sometime when i'm camping i'll be able to just pull that out and do it i have some contact paper i have a hacksaw a little craftsman saw so in case i get a chance to collect some firewood or something one of these times when that's okay this is actually daisy chain daisy chain with carabiners i was going to hang these in the back either from side to side or from the hand rail to handrail and i may here's some extra bungee cords and here are some led lights that i have not put up yet so this this whole um bin is kind of like my projects and the things i want and need to do um in the van when i have time which has this is the one i was telling you just has all my extras all my doubles all my um uh extra stuff so of course you know we have wipes and stuff but we also wipes also we have little cups i use those to brush my teeth and rinse out my toothbrush this is so this is a jump starter i don't need another car or anything i can just jump my car with that um these are some more magnets that should actually go in the project pile because i'm going to use the magnets for a project i have a um tablecloth and some little grippers in there i have my first aid kit back here you know what now that i'm thinking of it though i'm gonna put my first aid kit in the front i was looking for this the other day and couldn't find it and so i'll put the first day get in the front i'm gonna find a place for it up there anyway these are just extras and then another little thing i have is this is a this is a great big blanket for putting out on the beach or at a campground where i can just have some place to either walk or to sit on the ground and it comes with stakes or it actually comes with these bags on the side where you can put sand or rocks in them and just hold it down here's my carbon monoxide detector but it isn't really going to do me much good back here but i haven't actually decided how to use it or anything i need to do a little more research on that and extra garbage cans and stuff extra extra just like i told you guys extra little stuff and of course those canvases which they can be pulled over for an awning they can be used to put up under my tent to keep it from getting wet they can be used as kind of a patio floor if it's a muddy area or something so this canvases can be used for a lot of things that's why you'll see i have like three or four around so that's it that is the total of van tour thanks so much for sticking around and um you made it to the end of another video thank you see you next time you

Channel: YouAndMeLivingFree

Views: 22,771

Rating: 4.9340448 out of 5

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Id: bZqx3-TYRCc

Length: 25min 16sec (1516 seconds)

Published: Tue Jul 13 2021