Rolland's story - Part one

When Sophie and I met in 2017, we quickly planned a very first Road Trip to travel from Montreal to Key West, in the far end of Florida, and back to the cold about ten days later. We had at the time (haha) only a Kia Sorento in which we installed a mattress with blankets for the nights on the road. This trip will be the subject of another article, but it was at that time that we discussed the idea of a more efficient and comfortable way to make these long trips. The idea was not to save us money on hotels or restaurants but to be autonomous in terms of energy for a refrigerator, as to be able to sleep everywhere just like at home.

Kijiji was our friend. We visited and tried some vehicles and loved the passenger van format which gave us the option to be a lot brighter unlike the closed construction vans. We also really liked the extended versions of these models which would give us a few more feet to circulate in our future camper.

Most of the trucks didn't have a high roof top to provide a little more comfort to accommodate my 6 feet. However, it was not a major criteria because we knew that it was possible to add one later in the process.

In February 2018 we bought this magnificent all white 2007 Econoline E350. After one visit and one test drive, #bam, we are in love with this heavy duty vehicle. This is the extended passenger version with its 360° windows. Practically no rust, the engine purring perfectly, it is now ours :) In honour of my departed father, we call him Rolland. It was his middle name.

Alright, there was a lot of work to be done as it didn't really have a mobile cottage vocation yet. The former owner used it a little for camping but had not adapted it other than to have installed a small drawer unit, a bed base and some small accessories for survival. All the interior trim was original and far from our expectations in terms of aesthetics. We have a completely different vision of interior design.

Let's take a step back (maybe a few!), Sophie and I are as much hands-on at this kind of work as our mothers are with electronics... unequivocally, we will need reinforcements! CCCCLLLLAAAUUUUDDEEE !!!!! Claude, Sophie's father, is the absolute master of renovations, especially when it comes to wood. He has as many tools as Sophie has pairs of shoes (Ö) and is a micron perfectionist. We explain our creative exploration to him and with the help of some drawings we convince him to board with us. Okay okay, we don't convince him at all... I think he would have banned us from the family if we did this project without him. :)

Of course, we started by emptying the truck and we had a session of pure happiness by ripping everything out... real children! We needed to see metal all around so even the ceiling was torn apart. Pull pull, cut cut, cut, break break, this is it, it's all white. It was almost pretty too. A few surprise wires, ventilation ducts, screws and large-calibre anchors for the seats, but in the end there were no pitfalls or injuries. Only one monster in the scenery; the rear ventilation system. It had nothing to envy. We first think to tear it off, but as soon as we see all the wires and pipes connected to it, we forget about the project. Everything will be hidden anyway and can even be used.

In order to properly condition the floor so it can support, well, a floor, we make a coat of primer and a coat of white paint. Everything will then be covered with the other "rigid" layers of the flooring, but this first step will protect the metal a little more from rust. Oh and we had to fill two or three small holes because water had probably crept in from the inside before and had started its destruction work.

All clean, stripped and now ready for construction... next step; floor and insulation.