No, this isn’t a scene from a Jerry Seinfeld spin-off series titled Kayakers in Cars Getting Comfy. It’s AK editor Virginia Marshall’s plywood-and-propane van conversion. The seed for her inconspicuous motor home was planted on a no frills family roadtrip somewhere between Minnesota and Moab—or somewhere between “Sleeping with the Past” and “Blue Avenue” on the Elton John cassette still scratching through the speakers. It wasn’t until a stint in New Zealand, however, that she devised a blueprint for living comfortably on four wheels.
1. I call it the Spruce Moose. It’s a ’99 Toyota Sienna minivan or, as friends who’ve tried to carpool dub it, the Coupé. What makes a minivan ideal for peripatetic paddlers is that no one will ever suspect you’re comfortably nestled inside. I’ve slept everywhere from parking lots and put-ins to side streets in upscale neighborhoods. Plus, since it’s also my daily driver, I’m fully equipped if I ever need to spend an unexpected night on the road. Choosing the right van is a mix of practicality and preference. Where size, economy, reliability and budget meet, you’ve found your match.
2. I like to think of the odometer like a résumé: too little experience and you’ve got something fresh but unproven. You want something that’s been around the block and shaken all the major kinks out. The Moose has roamed 212,899 nauticalmiles.
3. A functional conversion means making room for living space and storage. To maximize both, build accessible storage into your bed platform. This design required just three 4×8 sheets of plywood—one for a slide-in floor, the others for five adjoining bins with fitted lids. You can shape and assemble it in a few hours with just a circular saw and drill. Make your bins deep enough to store camping and paddling gear, but leave enough clearance that you can sit up comfortably in bed.
4. Just like camping in a tent, a good sleep system is everything. IKEA is a great place to find budget-friendly essentials like this down duvet and high-density foam mattress. I carved the mattress into sections that match the size of the storage bins for easier access.
5. Why is a biker jacket-wearing gorilla my roadtrip mascot? Why not?
6. Install screens on rear windows using Velcro tape, otherwise you’ll be sweltering on warm nights and fogged up on cool mornings. Nothing attracts the attention of humorless security guards like steamy windows.
7. Car campers have long loved the classic Coleman double-burner stove for tabletop picnics, but it really shines as an integrated cooking platform. The inspiration for this pivoting design came from the ubiquitous rental conversion vans I saw in New Zealand. I used plumbing hardware for the support arm—if you know how to weld, this could be a lot slicker. The stove swings out so spills go on the ground, not the bed, and the raised tailgate shelters the kitchen from rain. Just don’t forget to turn the propane off before you go to sleep.
8. Billy Ocean, Mariah Carey, Michael Jackson—the ‘80s and early ‘90s were the heyday of pop, and cassettes. Since the van still rocks an analog deck, I pick up any tapes I can find; beggars can’t be choosers. If you have a Dire Straits tape, let me know.
9. Whoever invented magnetic Scrabble must have been a van dweller.
This article first appeared in the Spring 2015 issue of Adventure Kayak magazine. Subscribe to Paddling Magazine and get 25 years of digital magazine archives including our legacy titles: Rapid, Adventure Kayak and Canoeroots.
