Self Converted High Roof Ford Transit Connect

foreign [Music] I really didn't want the expense of a big van I didn't want the nervousness of driving one so I really do most of my cooking on the outside of the van the gas mileage is good the traveling with the dog he's got his space I'm not uncomfortable driving it it's easy I'm Cynthia I'm from Oklahoma and this is my 2013 Ford Transit Connect foreign [Music] we'll start off over here and I'll tell you a little bit about the kitchen the kitchen area is still kind of in progress since this is only my third trip I'm learning a few things that work and a few things that don't work but this actually is my sink originally I wasn't going to have a sink at all I was just going to use like the collapsible sinks and um I didn't like the Aesthetics so basically I found this pot I love the way I did my water this is just a PVC pipe that I painted black and I used a little velcro here to keep this stable but I can actually when that door's open I can turn it around so I can feel my collapsible pod or my water bottles or that sort of thing without having to be inside the van the sink is actually very stuck so it's not going anywhere and then I keep my plate so I always know where it is and my bowl this backsplash I got off of Amazon because the van is so white I wanted something with a splash of color and this was some Italian tile and I actually had seen something very similar in Italy and I just thought it was beautiful it add a splash of color it's just the peel and stick so it's very easy to put on and off back here is where I keep some of my condiments salt pepper my cutting boards scissors fork knife that sort of thing my daughter as a van warming gift gave me this really cute little basket for my fruit and I love it up here is where I put a lot of my storage I actually designed this for these actual containers to fit up there I know a lot of people in these little tiny Vans don't necessarily have the need for a refrigerator but I like ice and I like cold things so I said yes I want a refrigerator and I didn't want to mess with having to buy ice all the time I actually have and I'll show you later but I have a outdoor table that I can set up for outdoor cooking so I really do most of my cooking on the outside of the van but I do have this little two burner jet boil which I actually love about the only thing I cook in here is like I'll warm up my coffee or something like that but anything I'm really cooking I feel safer if I do it outside but that's pretty much my kitchen now that that door and open up and that's where I can access extra kitchen items it's also where I keep my fresh water tank [Music] when you buy these higher roof Ford Transit connects they have a lot of storage space or open space above the cab and that's where I keep all my clothes my toiletries I have also this is only my third trip but I'm also learning there's a lot of things I thought I needed that I don't need you know I'm I'm also Pat packing for a 60 pound dog so he has his toys his leashes his bowls his food and I have plenty of plenty of room thank you [Music] [Applause] [Music] the idea of moving into a van and traveling around in a van I had been thinking about for probably off and on for a couple of years initially I didn't tell anybody I was even thinking about it I have grown children and I wasn't real sure how they would take it or what they would think and I didn't have any friends who were doing this I kind of thought oh I don't know how to do this I don't know if it's a good idea but I really did want to travel and I had taken a lot of trips in my life and recently I had been traveling but I couldn't take the dog either you pay an exorbitant amount for him to be able to go with you to be in an Airbnb or a hotel or he's a big enough dog I couldn't fly with him so I took some trips and didn't like not having him with me didn't like the expense of having somebody come and take care of him every time I wanted to go somewhere so he's a great traveler I traveled for work usually just day trips so I was always taking him with me I knew he would do great in the car so I got the idea of traveling and going places and not just being home all the time or waiting for friends to make plans and see if I could tag along but he was a big inspiration for why the van [Music] when it's time for bed this actually does become my bed it is not horrible to get out but it's also not the easiest so when pulling out the bed I pull it out this lip connects here now this also functions as not only a bench during the day or a sitting area if I have company in here I actually can pull this off and I move it forwards and that becomes the dog's bed at home he sleeps on my bed at the foot of my bed so I thought well I've got to make it comfortable for him as possible and his routine is to sleep at the foot of the bed so I created his bed at the foot of my bed even in the van it's a love-hate relationship when it comes to my bed I love this little futon it's very easy to pull out to get up and for me it's very comfortable I sleep on a pretty firm bed at home so this worked great for me what I don't particularly like I cannot reach my storage from inside the van that is underneath my van I have good storage under there but I literally have to go out open the doors and go into it from that direction now I don't keep my clothes down there or things that I necessarily have to get to but there have been a few occasions that it would have just been much more convenient one of the things I have that I think is a little more unique is a map of the continental United States and I wanted a constant motivator so I found this woman on Etsy who makes these wood puzzle maps and I loved it so she did the map for me and then at the bottom I had her put Adventure awaits because that's what this was all about for me [Music] we've been traveling since August actually not very long I bought the van in February and I thought naively oh it'll take two months three tops to get it completely done well let's just say in the first two or three months about all I had done was tore everything up had nothing put back together so it took a lot longer to do than I actually thought but it was fun I thoroughly enjoyed learning how to use some power tools and the design I was influenced obviously by watching some other people who'd built out Ford Transit connects and it was very very helpful it also helped me decide what I didn't like you know I would see somebody's rig that was beautiful but I would be like oh that's not going to work for us I've got a 60 pound dog I've got to haul around he's gonna need a little more space I didn't want to have to worry about getting out of like a little trailer and getting into my vehicle and getting the dog in and out if I wasn't comfortable I wanted to be able to just get up front and drive away well little vans take care of that for you plus if I had wanted to get a bigger van in my mind I'm also thinking oh I want a stand-up shower and I want a bed and a kitchen area and now you're talking lots and lots and lots of money and let's get real I wasn't even sure I was going to like this so I didn't want to make that big of a financial investment when I might take it out once or twice and go oh this is not for me thankfully that has not been the case though I love it love it [Music] this is the back of the van I talked earlier about all my storage underneath my bed this is how I access that primarily what I keep under there is when I'm traveling because I will take a lot of things off of my shelves so they don't rattle around and I'll put them in tubs and they go underneath there and then I have a piece of three-quarter inch plywood and I cut that I use it as a bench this is kind of my outdoor office space when it's in this mode so I can set here and I can pull my table up I can have my computer there and then I take all these things off of it and open the doors I have these bars here with the little screw things in it this goes through the top of my Plywood And then I have a outdoor cook surface it's a lot better to stand up and use my cooktop and cut up my vegetables and prepare my meals with a little more counter space and I don't feel as nervous about lighting a fire when I can run away if I need to I decided that I wanted to get an awning for several reasons one I wanted to be able to have some shade and I also wanted some protection from the rain I looked at various companies and different awnings this one I chose first off because it was the easiest one I could find for mounting it permanently on the side of my van and it's a little awkward but it is manageable for me to do alone I do use that step stool right there because I'm not tall enough to be able to hold it so it's it's probably quite entertaining for somebody watching me do it but I can do it I didn't like tying down the strings I found the dog and I would get tangled up in them so I use these little three pound weights that holds it down even in a pretty significant winds [Music] on my very first trip I had a blowout on one of my tires and thankfully I was close enough that I could get to an area that had a tire store unfortunately I got there at like 6 15 and they closed at six o'clock well my spare which everything had been checked but my spare would not hold air so I was stuck I ended up staying in the parking lot of the Marriott across the street from the tire store and I just pulled my curtain pulled out my bed never got out of my van went to sleep woke up at six o'clock was drove across the street to the tire store was in their parking lot when they opened at seven o'clock got new tires and off I went so I've even done that so if you see me on the road say hi again I'm Cynthia I'm from Oklahoma and I hope to see you [Music] thank you [Music] foreign

Channel: Tiny Home Tours

Views: 232,151

Keywords: tiny house, tiny house on wheels, living big in a tiny house, tiny house england, tiny house uk, tiny house movement, tiny home, small house, small spaces, small house design, alternative living, architecture, affordable home, off the grid, small space living, tiny house life, tiny home uk, diy tiny house, diy home

Id: RvPUUZAdXrg

Length: 12min 45sec (765 seconds)

Published: Sat Mar 18 2023