Building the Camper
When we started building our camper in August of 2021, we had no idea of the adventures, issues, and experiences that were in store for us.
After some minor issues with finding a custom-sized cargo trailer, we resorted to Craigslist to find what is now a completely customized 9-sleeper camper trailer, complete with everything a large family needs to camp for 6 months. However, that was not the plan from the beginning. It was originally our plan to be in Amsterdam in the Netherlands in January, but that was interrupted by Covid-19. So, the camper that was once a small camping project for minor outings became a small house during my dad’s year-long sabbatical.
After what felt like years of planning and preparing, we finally got to work creating the camper of our dreams. We insulated the walls and ceiling, built 7 enclosed bunk beds + a storage area, along with a queen-sized bed that converted to a couch. We made a decently sized kitchen area complete with a sink, fridge, and quite a lot of pantry space. We filled every remaining inch with cupboards and cabinets, aiming to utilize everything we had. What resulted was a custom camper that perfectly suited our family, and would be our only home for 6 months. If you want to see more on our camper conversions, check out the "Building the camper" section of my blog. As of writing this, it isn't up yet but it is in progress.
Early Adventures in the Camper
After we had built most of the camper, despite it missing a few critical elements, we took it out for a test run at Salamonie Lake. It was pretty warm there, and we had only a few issues with storage and kitchen utilities.
Our next outing was at Turkey Run State Park. We camped there for a few days, and that was all the time we needed to know what we needed to add. It was exciting to be able to finally sleep in the camper, but there were a few things we had to add if we wanted to survive this experience. These included a shoe rack, tons of pantry space, and a built-in standing desk for my dad. We also decided that camping in the snow wasn’t as much fun with very young children.
The next time we slept in the camper was in a Walmart parking lot in Missouri. The youngest 4 weren’t with us, so even without any electrical hook up, it was a pleasant experience, despite country music being played all night.
The Beginning of Our Trip
When we started our official trip, it was a few days before Christmas, so the first thing we did was visit family for the holidays. Unfortunately, this was when the first of our misfortunes began. Mum got Covid just as we left, so when we were visiting my dad’s side of the family, she had to quarantine in the camper. A few days later, after this awful experience, we stopped by our cousin’s house for a while to quarantine ourselves. Luckily, they had already gotten Covid, so we were able to hang out. At their house, the rest of the family, excluding me, caught the virus. Everyone was sick, lying on the couch, which brought back memories of two years prior. We couldn’t stay there forever, though, and there would be a cold front coming soon, so we left to go to our grandparent’s house on my mum’s side. In their basement, we continued quarantining for about a week and a half, which was unfortunately over New Year’s. This was when I got sick, so I was the last one to not be sick. After a week or so, we finally weren’t contagious, so we finished the last few camper modifications, such as a back door and roof vents.
After this, we visited a few more cousins, and we were on our way.
Currently,
We are stationed in New Mexico. I'll update my blog and my Instagram as often as I can, so stay tuned for updates!
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