The Bells and Whistles

Now that it is mostly assembled, we wanted to add the little things to help make it more user-friendly.

Each side has a cubbie that will (hopefully) house our clothing and personal items that need to stay out of sight. We drilled two finger holes on each cubbie door for easy lifting. After we added the extra length to give us 6 feet in sleep mode, we realized we lost the brilliance of these holes when we were in drive mode and when we would need them most. So, we added two holes on the extending flaps as well.

cubbie!

Next was the back storage. We wanted to make sure the back opens up all the way to reach items toward the middle of the car. To help with packing the "trunk" under the sliding table, we added a hoop and hook to hold it open while loading and unloading. We used an "s" hook we have from Ikea and just made a loop out of plastic string we keep in the car. The "s" hook attaches perfectly to a child seat   

           anchor in the rear roof.

Next we added the sliding table. This was a little difficult because the sizing has to be perfect. We measured and placed the slides but couldn't get the table to slide easily. We kept one slide placed and unscrewed the other to replace it with the table attached. That did the trick!

All we had to do next was get the plywood attached to the supports and screw on the hinges and doors. It's actually coming together.

Despite the rain keeping us from working on our back porch (aka- our "wood shop"), we still had to add the extenders for what we call "sleep mode." When we aren't driving, we will push the driver and front passenger seats forward as far as they will go, and lean the backs as far forward as they will go to give us the extra foot or so needed to sleep comfortably. We moved the project indoors and attached the extenders at the top of the unit with hinges that will fold over the cubbie doors while in "driver mode." Once we did that, we totally fit!

Now we have to move this beast!

It is HEAVY! Once we moved it into the car, we didn't move it out for at least a month, and even then it was only to make improvements! To help carry the load, we added handles at the back by drilling two holes through the support beams on each side and made a loop with some rope. Knot the rope on the inside and pull tight- viola! 

We are ready to go!