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First trip in minivan - ChileGirl - 06-18-2019
I'm in Rapid City, South Dakota, getting ready to leave to head back home to Colorado this morning. I just wanted to post a quick note about my first excursion in my new-to-me 2002 Sienna.
It's a very simple set-up--just a cot (with a 4" mattress on top), plus bins and a luggable loo bucket that all slide under the cot. At the last minute, I decided to throw in a set of plastic drawers I had in the basement. I liked having them (used them as a platform to hold my tablet when I watched videos at bedtime), but I won't be using them again. I had to move them out of the way to access the bucket, and I don't really need the extra storage they provide.
My friend is sleeping in the room her dad reserved for her at a really nice Catholic retreat. I've been sleeping in the van in the parking lot. :-) It's cheating because I have access to a bathroom in the building's lobby (and took a shower in my friend's room yesterday), but mostly I wanted to test my sleeping setup and see how well my curtains worked.
As an aside, this retreat is in a beautiful setting in the hills outside of Rapid City. I almost feel like I'm camping. There's no one around. My van has been the only vehicle in the parking lot at night, and there are beautiful woods right next to the parking lot. It's just as nice as any campsite I've ever stayed in and far better than a Walmart parking lot. :-)
The bed is comfortable, and the height means I can sit without hitting my head, which is nice. Of course, I can't stand up in a minivan, but I found I didn't really need to.
The curtains I made worked just fine. I found that I had to pin some of them together where they meet so they wouldn't open a bit when I brushed against them. But with them all closed, I felt like I was enclosed in a little cocoon. I love the feeling of being in there.
I didn't do any cooking on this trip; that will be the next practice trip before I take a long road trip in August. But so far, I'm extremely happy with my purchase. The van is old and I don't have to worry about getting dings. It ran great, and the gas mileage wasn't bad (26-27mpg on the highway). So far, so good. But I realized that if my hubby wants to join me on an occasional trip, we definitely need to get a tent. The van is perfect--for one person. :-)
RE: First trip in minivan - RoamerRV428 - 06-18-2019
wonderful report
you sound happy and I am happy for you!!hey nothing wrong with a cheat to a good shower and bath
on the curtains instead of pinning, maybe some small Velcro closure. that way it is easier for function vs. pin and unpin??
sounds like a nice place for a good try out of your minivan!
RE: First trip in minivan - rvpopeye - 06-18-2019
Good trip log report !
First trip ...check.
You be giving advise in no time.
Kinda just did .
RE: First trip in minivan - Snikwahjm - 06-18-2019
Congratulations you did it! Did you remove the rear seats? I think you will find you add more stuff as you camp. Finding a place for all of it without having to rearrange is th hard part. I threw a fitted sheet over the seats and a line across the back instead of curtains.
RE: First trip in minivan - Abnorm - 06-18-2019
SHAKEDOWN CRUISE...………………………...
RE: First trip in minivan - tx2sturgis - 06-18-2019
Oh I LOVE the Black Hills area...I'm quite jealous!
Have you driven down to see Mt Rushmore? Custer State Park? Badlands?
RE: First trip in minivan - ChileGirl - 06-18-2019
Yes, I took the seats out. There's quite a bit of room back there!
I'm definitely thinking about the velcro. I was just lucky I had the pins in the van, so it was easy to adjust with what I had. But I'm going to make a few adjustments before my next trip.
We did quite a bit of sightseeing. On the way to Rapid, we stopped at Mt. Rushmore and at the Reptile Gardens (outside of Rapid). On Sunday, my friend spent the day with her parents for Father's Day, and I drove up to Spearfish Canyon and saw the waterfalls. It's incredibly beautiful there! I stopped in Deadwood and, of course, checked out the cemetery. Yesterday, we did the Badlands loop and then went to Sturgis. Today, we left Rapid and went through Hot Springs. My friend has some good friends there who have a huge, beautiful log home they rent out to groups. We also went to the Mammoth Site. That was incredible. We didn't make it to Custer State Park., but I plan to go back with the hubby. It was a great trip.
First trip in minivan - Cammalu - 06-18-2019
Sounds like a great trip. I was wondering about your handle on here. Are you from Chile?
RE: First trip in minivan - ChileGirl - 06-18-2019
(06-18-2019, 06:46 PM)Cammalu Wrote: Sounds like a great trip. I was wondering about your handle on here. Are you from Chile?
No. I'm from Colorado. But when I had to pick a trail name for hiking, I picked Chile Girl because green chile is a huge thing here. My first tattoo was a chile.
https://chilegirladventures.com/2019/06/11/why-chile-girl/
First trip in minivan - Cammalu - 06-18-2019
Love green chili
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