We agree that simple is best, most of the time, which is why we are spending time learning how to achieve the practicality of this layout in the most efficient manner, with as little components as possible. The design is intuitive to our personal psyche and behaviour. We do have the double swivel, but we don't want that to be our only couch, as we work from home 24/7 and we need the versatile lounge space. The only reason we got the swivel is to increase the backrest depth of the couch - we'll see how that theory works out later. 😉 Also, our layout is different from yours as we have worked to open up the floor space in the rest of the van and not just the front so we can afford to use up 70-ish cm at the front. Also, the 2 separate bedrooms are quite essential to future proof the van, if we end up with a child - we would rather not be forced to move house straight away. Oh, and yes, I noticed the slats size, but after the 10th day of animation my brain started flat-lining 🤣 - part of it is the angle, but also the couch box shape is not correct... it extends further towards the cabin seats. Don't you worry, I've got SketchUp and Autodesk on my side to fix that. Thanks for all the advice hope we see you later this year 🤞

Well said! 🙃 It's all about getting to work and finding a solution for one problem and then the next after that and eventually, if you solve enough problems, you'll get something that works. But you'll get nowhere if you don't try.

Thanks alot, we're quite excited to make it happen! 😄

Thanks, glad to have helped! The van layout is constantly evolving, even now 😀 We find that as the design process goes, we understand our priorities better. So keep doodling. 🙃 As for a hammock instead of a bed, personally, I don't know how comfy I'll be in a hammock (I have never slept in one), but for the right person (with the experienced spine) it can be great. Just be aware that you would have to protect against drafts even more, as a hammock is off the ground and by default it feels chiller.

Yes, as we opened up the floor space the storage became more tricky, we have to design it a lot more intentionally, but we think for a full-time, live-in van it's worth the extra thinking time 😉. We really like the murphy bed idea, at the moment we are thinking about how to ventilate the mattress and such. Oh, and someone suggested to me to use a Japanese futon instead of a mattress, which would be lighter and reduce the depth the mattress would take. So we might test it and see how comfortable it is... scientifically futons are supposed to better for your back. 🤔 The shower tray - we are currently planning for it to be rigid and fold down like the murphy bed, with a flexible hose attached at all times. But, the foldable sink idea sounds interesting, we should research it and see if we can use some part of how they work into our own design. Thanks for pointing it out 😀👍

Yeah, the more moving parts their are, the more risk there is, so the longer it takes to design and build them to reduce such risks. We have been debating embedding the tray in the floor, we still haven;t discounted it, especially since we could insulate the underneath of the van in that area specifically. 😄

Ah yes, didn't have time to include everything but the swivel seat will be like our cinema lounge 😉 The couch height (without cushions) comes to just below the swivel seat plate, so if we remove the cushion, we can swivel the seat around over the sofa, and this will allow us to sit in the swivel seat and put our legs up on the sofa 😊

😊 Thanks, we are really enjoying inventing and customizing the design so it fits with what we need.

The van is still in the build, we're recording and posting all of it, pretty much up to date right now, indeed it shall be a 2021 treat for everyone 😊 - Can't wait to chill on my couch!

Thanks 😀 This was a highly simplified layout presentation, and the layout is still evolving. For the toilet in particular, we are going to slide it from under the couch into the shower, as you explained, so that's slightly different from the animation now. The lack of a garage is intentional, we have lived with that type of garage and although it seemed practical, we always cluttered it up so badly and was a pain to get anything else so we decided to not work against nature (if that makes sense...). We have plenty of storage volume that is going to evolve with what's needed as we start using the space and living in it. True, we will be blocking the back doors but quite frankly we wouldn't be using them that much anyway, they'll just act as a giant window when we open then, and since there's a seat there we will be able to hop on over and out if needed :) So yeah, I guess we'll see what we cook up by the end - all the practical issues get solved as we physically build it.

@@FreedomStrider we will watch with interest how it develops. I'm sure it will be great and it will be all yours, best wishes.

😊 Thanks! The design process is quite surprising - especially when designing a full-time home - it makes us think about ever aspect of life. And it is important that this lifestyle doesn't hinder us growing our family.

Thanks 😊 - there is certainly a lot of planning going on... plumbing and electrics start by looking scary but once you get on with it, it's not that bad. Gas, on the other hand - we are still quite 'chicken' about. The 2018 Scandi van - influence the design quite a bit. It largely told us what we did not want in our van, such as a width-ways bed, a thigh corridor and swivel seats as the only seating option. The 2018 van was suitable for short term stay only... so we are pretty much doing the exact opposite. 😂

I'm sure you're already doing it, but watch as many conversion as possible, everyone adds something new for you inspiration 😊 So glad you're enjoying our story, as for the cooktop, we have seen them, not that one specifically. I was thinking we could give them a go and learn how to cook with them, because as it is it might be a while before we get an actual oven 🙂

We were going to go with induction cooking, but the power drain would be too much, so we decided to go with LPG for all heat-related stuff. But if there is a way to go fully off-grid with everything electric, we would love it. 😀

Hi there check out kzfaq.info/get/bejne/j7Wcksyqx5jRhHk.html 45 minutes of sun for a cooked meal from a 300w panel. The thing about induction cooking is that all the energy goes into the pan, no extra heat going up the sides and heating the van. Add a small generator for really dull weeks or go for a short drive would top up the batteries. Or half hour cycle on a pedal powered 300 watt generator. (I think that’s about right) steve

This guy has some great solar videos kzfaq.info/get/bejne/q9WSiNqbqLLKn58.html steve

Ideally, we would have raised the floor however we just don't have the height (honestly, we wish we were shorter!) So, if we were to imbed the tray into the floor, it would either have to be shallow, or we cut into the floor of the van, which is not really an option for many reasons 🙃 We are working on different door mechanisms, different sequences of opening - we have a few scribbles that match your suggestion. At the moment we are planning on having all of our filters under the kitchen sink for easy maintenance, we still need to pick which ones but they do need to be pretty near to the shower. We do have a few concerns about the weight distribution, Purley because one side of our van have most of the furniture but we don't want to put the water tank too far away from the kitchen and shower - any suggestions where we could have it? Thanks for all the advice 😊 This is quite a puzzle for us, so all ideas are very much appreciated 🥳

@@FreedomStrider www.directwatertanks.co.uk/57-litre-wheel-arch-tank Something like that! one on each side, for balance and regulation.

You are right that this layout makes bulk storage tricker, so we do have to more crafty. We are not planning that much outside storage at the moment, but we have not discounted it - though we will have a roof deck. There is quite a bit we didn't have time to show in the video - there will be overhead cupboards and the headliner shelf is going to act as our attic 😀 The L couch is the most 'garage-like' space we have and under the double passenger seats - that air space is still available. We don't fancy the fixed bed garage storage because we have lived with it (still living with it actually) and we just end up throwing things underneath the bed and just making a mess. 😅 Also, it makes us collect and store more and more things we, usually, don't need. So, we see everything, that is not floor space, as storage and as the build goes on will let storage appear intuitively. Once we are more familiar with how we interact with the space and we'll customize the storage to our needs.

Is that a washer/dryer combo in a van build? What type of vehicle are you building in?

@@FreedomStrider on a ford transit 350 170 high roof cargo space is 6'x14' Plenty of space

@@FreedomStrider yes is a small wacher dryer combo all in one They got difrent ones the one I got is a little pricey but the got one or a few for about $280 they are about 22"×22"×27" approximately

Did you have a link to it? I've not seen one in a van before, curious what the water usage is

@@FreedomStrider kzfaq.info/get/bejne/Y6qYqthz2sm0qqc.html

😅 We have thought of the toilet issue - if both beds are in use - we will move the toilet out for the night into the bathroom box... makes nighttime pee trips much more practical. As for the lifestyle we are going for... At present, the plan is for the van is going to be our full-time and only home. We want to be able to go completely off-grid, 4 seasons and be able to feel entirely grounded and at home no matter if we are in the mountains, the beach or more residential. If we can chill for 2 months in the Alps and be off-grid that will be a job well done. We are going to be working remotely, so a very versatile place is needed or we'll go nuts working from home. And we are going to live in any and all countries... we would like to take the van to the other continents too. Our aim is to build a fully functioning home (minus the washing machine). As for the shower... you are right that justifying the need for the shower requires a delicate balance. We have lived on the road without a shower and with a permanent shower room and neither match our needs now. The fixed shower felt clunky and, as you said, space took was not justified by its use. Hence, our flat pack design. Also, you are right that the showers get used as storage, which is why we are getting ahead of the game and are allocating it as a multifunctional storage compartment, including a laundry drying space. These features are going to be in-built. The gyms and other public showers worked okay for our temporary 5 - 7 month road trip. However, they restrict your off-grid capabilities, most places have memberships or at least a full entrance fee... (so you can rarely pay just for the shower) and not all public showers allow for a good clean. Also, as a female... once every 30-40 days I need the privacy to wash multiple times a day and public places just don't cut it. Also, there is a high chance that we'll end up with a child in the van, so we need the flexibility to tackle any situation and just having the wet room capability makes the fulltime living situation more feasible. We are thinking of getting the Hozelock shower anyway, especially for outdoor use and as a spare. Thanks for all your tips and suggestions. ☺️👍

We are aware of the "couch getting wet issue, but for maximum open space, the bed and the couch have to be as desperate as possible. If it is raining, we could get through the front, or maybe we'll put up a curtain by the sliding door, and that should give us time to come in without flossing the van 😉 For our water system, were doing alot fo research on filters for our recirculation system, but the Berkey system has been on our radar as a good contender, so thanks for the recommendation. I'm interested in how you are going all electric, we would love to go all electric but the maths doesn't seem to equal out for the energy needed, so how are you going about it? And the mattress for the front bed will be cut up and used as the sofa cushions when not in bed mode 🥳

@@FreedomStrider HI. Right now I have 600W of panels on the roof and 400AH of lithium batteries. We cook on an induction cooktop, have a Bosch electric hot water heater that we turn on when we're driving, as we also have a battery isolator to charge the batteris while we're driving, this heats the water and it stays hot into the next morning. We also have a Dometic rofftop A/C that we can run through the day if we have good sun. If it's overcast then we have to manually cycle the a/c to maintain battery charge. We also use a Betty Crocker pizza maker that we use for most of our cooking. We cook everything but soups/stew/veggies on it, that includes eggs, steaks, tacos/buritos, grilled cheese, burgers, chicken breasts etc.

Oh and have you painted van already?

We have both beds in use (which wouldn't be often) - getting out may be more tricky, but neither bed block the access to the door handles, so both bedroom occupants can reach and roll out of bed... fast. 😃 For the oven, the late-night cooking - you are probably right - it is something we should bear in mind and maybe figure out a solution once we are set on the exact oven we need. For the twisting toilet and shower tray - if its the one we are thinking of - then it can't be flat packed... Can it? As for the toilet filling up - it is something on the drawing board to consider the stability of the toilet in transit. Although there will rarely be 4 people in the van, we do want a long off-grid capability so we should consider it anyway. Well spotted! 😉

You are observant aren't you 😂 We were wondering if anyone is going to notice. Yes, we have indeed, repainted the van (1st week of quarantine) video should be coming up week after next... we hope.

@@FreedomStrider I'm not sure about the toilet flat packing, it doesn't look like it, I like the idea of your shower and I think if it was going to be the odd weekend it would be excellent but for daily use would the fittings for drainage last and there won't be a proper seal in the shower, curtains are great but they never will keep 100% of the water in which will risk damage to your floor. Personally for a live in van you may be better sacrificing some space for a water tight shower room you could also think about running an outside line for outside shower which could be handy but that's just me, these are the most detailed videos and very helpful keep it up and looking forward to the painting video.

Thanks, there are some good ideas in there. I'll see if we can incorporate something 😀

There is a lot we didn't have the time to include in the video, so there is plenty of storage planned that should be okay for our uses... for example, over the head cupboards, below the Murphy bed and outside. As for the filters, we are still in the research phase, we probably need something more custom so it is durable when off-grid for a while. 🙃 Our build is more complex than the average, however, everything is designed and re-designed with practicality in mind - all based on our personal behaviour and lifestyle patterns. The design can't work for everybody but it sure works for us and we love creating and innovating rather than settling for whatever is out there if it doesn't quite match our needs... it's how we get our kicks 😀 Thanks for sharing - we'll look into the Lifesaver Cube.