Her Bohemian Camper Van Tiny House - Solo Female Van Life On The Road.mp4

Hi there. My name is Brenda. This is Ranger and we live in this 2012 Ford E three 50 van named copper. All right. Welcome inside of copper. I wanted to start off at the front here. So I did choose to put a wall in between the home area and the cab area just to give it separate feels. Make sure that when I am back in the home, it feels like I'm in a house, not in a car. But this is a pocket door that slides to the cab and we made in a nice little arched doorway as well. Uh, just for some cuteness there. Down here we have shoe storage, so that pops down and then I have probably seven pairs of shoes that slide under the passenger seat. So just taking advantage of all of that space under there. Up here is where I store all of my clothes. As you'll see, I have heaps of clothes more than I possibly need. There is a layer here. There is a layer behind there as well. It also has summer clothes, winter clothes, formal dresses in case I decide to crash a wedding. Um, swimsuits, scarves, everything I need. And then over here is another cabinet for more clothes. Um, I've got just little touch lights in there, tank tops, hats, socks, et cetera. So over here I, for safety sake, did want to show you that I have a fire extinguisher or a fire alarm and a carbon monoxide detector there and my fire extinguisher is hidden behind this curtain. So all of this safety precautions are hidden away. Um, I use this table actually as my office cause I work a traditional nine to five jobs. So I just sit in the hammock and have my little desk set up there. Um, over here is where I keep all of my toiletries and bathroom supplies. So this is basically just my bathroom that I take out. Um, when I need to use it morning and nights. This is where I keep my makeup and my jewelry. So all secure there and I have a hole specifically for all of my coffee beans and my, my pour over equipment and all of that. So I did try to incorporate as much copper into the van as possible because I named it copper after my favorite dog character from the Fox and the Hound. But I went literal with copper here in the knobs in the curtain rod here. It was really fun to learn how to use copper and work with it and solder it and all that. My dad helped teach me. Um, and then up here is where I have all of my groceries stored away. And again, a nice little touch light for nighttime. So welcome to the kitchen. This is slightly a unique factor in my van. I think I've heard that, uh, having the L shaped kitchen is a bit rare. I did decide to put the sink in the corner just to make the most of the counter space here. Um, so I have two cooking or bathroom surfaces. I do have a toaster oven here, which is 110 volts. So it does actually take up a lot of power. I only use it in the daytime, but I can warm up leftovers, do toast bagels. I actually baked a pie. I burned a pie in it a couple of weeks ago. Um, and then down here is my portable toilet. So I have just a standard camping RV type toilet in here. Um, number one only. And then in this cabinet is where I keep my trash. It's also where I can access my 30 gallon water tank to view how full or empty it is. It's all under here. And then I did choose a 110 volt fridge. Um, it does also take quite a bit of power, which I'm learning how to work on that. But, um, I kind of wanted just the basic fridge rather than investing in the 12 volt right away. So, all right. So I did choose to go with a big, a big faucet here at more traditional faucet that has the extendable arm. It also rotates out and I can, I can use it outside for a shower or dog wash or, um, I did have to rinse ranger off the other day. I've got a really big deep sink here. I did do the undermount option. Thank you to my brother-in-law. And then we put in a spice rack here again with the copper accessories. I did want to touch on how I keep everything on the counter cause all of this does stay on the counter when I drive and I've not had any issues with it tipping over. So I have the Velcro strips under each bottle. And then I don't know if you can see, but there is fishing wire here that's attached to command hooks underneath the shelf. So the plant and both bottles are held on with that. This is held on with Velcro. So works like a charm. I've not had any issues. I do also have an outlet here. Um, if I ever want to plug anything in there, originally I planned to put a coffee pot there, but decided to go with pour over option instead. So that's just covered up and camouflage. So down the hallway here, I do have some storage for my pots and pans. Um, also the butane stove that I use to cook everything on. I've got a bed tray. I've got just heaps of storage in both of these baskets. And then we did make a custom home for a Ranger down the hallway here. So that's kind of where the arched doorway idea started off was from the dog house. Um, but he's got his own little home here that when I do need to leave him in the van to go shopping or, you know, on a hike that maybe he's not allowed in, I secure him in there. And then the sounds don't bother him as much from coming out as an after adjustment to the van. After I had lived in it a couple months, I realized that while I can sleep sideways in the, in the van comfortably on the weekends, I really like to stretch out like Superman pose. So I decided to extend the bed out. Um, this way we hid a little plank, I guess you would call it under the bed here. So it pulls out. I can plop a pillow here and then sleep the long way when I want to, um, and remove this as well. And so this whole space just becomes part of the bed and it's multifunctional because I pull it out and set it here and put a little bit of grippy material on it. And Ranger then can access the bed really, really easily. He can just jump from the floor up to here, up to the bed without hurting his precious little knees. So multifunctional option here slides back in and you can just never know it's there. My dad and I did build this entire van by ourselves. Fortunately he actually works for an auto body shop, so we did have access to, uh, the facility to work in and we had several lifts to get it up and down when we needed. Um, it took us about, I think it was 42 days to be precise to do the entire conversion start to finish. I did document it all on my Instagram, so you can watch that back if you feel like it. Um, but that was even while working full time jobs, he and I both were working full time. So a lot of those days were only maybe three or four hours. Uh, we plowed through my dad. I am very lucky. Uh, he is clearly a talented man and he is a finisher. So he wanted to get this done quickly. Um, I actually didn't have Ranger for the first month, uh, because I was staying at my dad's house. So we did have that timeline as well. That if, as soon as I could get living in the van, I could go pick up Ranger. So that definitely sped it up as well. But, um, yeah, I'm pretty proud 42 days, uh, to make my dream home and I am just incredibly happy with it. All right, welcome to the bedroom area. So this is my, uh, where I sleep. It's also where I lounge. It is very multipurpose, which I will show you all about, but I did choose to forego the cabinets around all of the upper area, mainly because I don't want a lot of stuff in my van and the more storage you have, the more stuff you accumulate. So I went with shelves again, the copper wire, a bunch of terracotta plots, pots with plants cause I love plants and greenery. So even if I do happen to be in the city, I've still got some nature with me. And my favorite feature in the van, which is where I put a significant amount of splurge money into was the skylight here. It is actually a Marine skylight hatch. So it opens up 90 degrees and I can hop out of it and sit on the roof whenever I want for sunsets, um, stargazing. It brings in a really good airflow from the skylight to the vent up in the front. Um, I watch stars in my bed almost every night from it. So I just love, love this feature. So I did choose to go with a Japanese sleeping mat. It's a three inch thick mat instead of having a full on mattress that I would have to trim or customize. Um, so it actually is long enough that it rolls up a little bit on this side and gives a little bit of a, um, incline for my head area. Uh, I also do have my power system monitors here, so I can always check on my solar, um, and battery charge here and, um, some storage for chapsticks, lotions, et cetera. And then obviously you always need to have a little bit of security. So it got me taser right at hand just in case. But it was important to me in the van to make sure that it was really, really cozy. It felt homey. It felt comfortable. Um, so I kind of made it smaller and more enclosed up in the bed space and made sure to have nice mood lighting. So I've got LEDs, um, copper LEDs up here behind the plants and then have some twinkle lights as well. And then I have this little solar charged lantern that I use, um, when I'm just relaxing in bed as well. So I am one of the few van lifers that I'm aware of who holds a traditional nine to five job that is technically sedentary in Portland. Um, but since we've been working from home lately, this is my home. So I am working from it. Uh, I just have my laptop. I use my Verizon service as a hotspot. I've amped up my service. It comes with 15 gigs of hotspots. So I increased that up to 30 gigs of hotspot a month and I've had more than enough, um, capabilities to work and also watch Netflix in bed at night when I want to. So that's been really convenient. Um, when I do take meetings, I take them on my cell phone rather than on my laptop cause then I'm not having to use my hotspot. I just use my unlimited data on my cell phone. So haven't had any issues and it's been working really, really great. I just always have to make sure that I'm parked somewhere where I have at least two bars of Verizon service so that my internet is fast enough to, um, work productively. All right. So at the entrance of the van, we have actually my water fill area. So I simply remove this little piece of wood and pull down the hose here and I have the hose in the back, um, in the garage that I attach here. This is the overfill spout as well. So if I ever do overfill it, it just kind of comes draining out the side. And then I did install an outdoor table here as well. That's just on a little chain that I sit and have my coffee or wine and watch the sunset. So it's a nice little addition. Um, I will let you know though that these little rugs great for wiping your feet on, not so comfortable to sit on. They are super scratchy. So keep that in mind. All right. And on this wall, I did install three different hooks for all of Rangers gear. I've got his leashes and they actually do just stick on the hook so I can just unravel it and he is just stuck to this hook and um, can only go the 30 feet of the leash, which is really convenient cause he happens to be a runner. So keeping him tied to the van is really good. Um, I put in the switch for the kitchen lights right here so that whenever I do come in, if it's dark outside, I want to make sure that I can just shine the light on really quick from the outside. So this controls the kitchen lights. I've got an outlet here in case I want to be hanging out in my front yard. All right, this is my garage or where I have a bunch of storage. I'm not into any extreme adventuring. So most of my gear is just hiking equipment, a bunch of hiking shoes. I take a hammock everywhere I go on all of my hikes. I have so much equipment for showering, which is hilarious because I really don't shower that frequently. But, um, this drawer is for all of my shower curtains. So I do have the option to use magnets and put a shower curtain between the back doors. I've got a shower mat, um, a bamboo shower mat as well. And then I do actually have a little kiddie pool here. I think it's actually intended for a dog bath pool, but that is what I use for showering indoors. So it holds, I think five gallons in a little kiddie pool. And then I hang up shower curtains around it in a circle and I have a solar shower bag and a little makeshift, um, weed sprayer shower as well. So I can do that when I'm in remote locations. Uh, this again is more hiking gear. I've got an inflatable floaty tube if I'm ever out on a Lake and then I've got all my campfire gear. This is just extra copper gear. You'll see I actually have extra tiles in here, extra curtains, et cetera. And then office equipment. I do have a toolbox here as you need out on the road. Just equipped with your basic assorted tool sets. And then in this bin back here, it's more of the recovery type equipment. So I've got toe straps, ratchet straps. I do have recovery max tracks under the van as well for if I get stuck off road. Um, I've got my heater, I've got my vacuum, just, I actually have a piano. I have a keyboard in the back here, um, that I haven't gotten out yet, but I was really looking forward in van life that I wouldn't have neighbors to disrupt when playing the piano. So I plan on getting that out in the desert here and getting, getting back in shape. And on this door, we have all of my equipment for filling up the water tank. So I've got an extra RV filter, which I have yet to use because I do have two filters in the van already. And then my hose, I've got puzzles and games, an air horn, just in case safety first. And then this is the special trick that my dad actually came up with. So originally we came up with this idea so that I could fit a bike in the van if I ever wanted to take one on an adventure, but it actually doubles as making my bed into a couch or lounge mode. So let me show you if you just lift this up and pull this leg out, it makes all of this space. It can actually fold into up to like a 90 degree angle cause we've got a piano hinge on it. Um, so a bike does fit back here if I ever choose to do that. But more than ever, I actually just prop up this into lounge mode, into couch mode and sit there. I have a projector as well so I can watch movies from bed and it is again, one of my favorite features. I have so many. And I installed the touch lights in here as well so that when I am in the garage needing to check stuff out, I have light available. If this video is resonating with you at all, this lifestyle, this dream that has changed my life, I just strongly recommend you keep watching videos, listen to podcasts, follow people on Instagram, learn as much as you can. I was learning about this for three years before I finally got to do it. So I think it's really important. Learn a lot and then just bloody do it. Like just make the leap, buy a van, throw a mattress in it if you want. Um, start living in it for a while before you do too much of the conversion because it's amazing how differently you use the space than you think you will. Um, but yeah, take the dive. Like what's the worst that could happen? You own a van and then you sell it and that's as bad as it could get. If you are interested in following along on my adventures and journey and all of the highs and lows that comes with this lifestyle, feel free to follow me on Instagram. I am the road through my eyes on Instagram and I do have a blog linked there as well, um, which I will be sharing good, bad and funny stories on. My name's Brenda. Thanks for watching. All right, that wraps up our van tour. Thank you so much for watching and we hope to see you out on the road someday soon.