Privacy, bugs, and lighting.

So now I had a bed, but it was pretty public - like sleeping in a goldfish bowl. So it was time for some curtains. I considered a number of ways to do this, and opted for the easiest and cheapest. I few dollars down at the hardware and I had some little angle brackets and some curtain wire. It was a pretty easy job to bolt these to the plastic covers on the pillars.

Once the curtain wires were up I purchased some material and visited mum. We spent the day sewing up some curtains and some little Velcro tie backs. The velcro ties fit nicely on the handles. The rear window ties I screwed to the back door.

I decided I didn't want curtains all the way around the van, so for the rear side windows I made some lightweight PVC Foam shades that Velcro to the windows. These pull down and store under the mattress when not in use.

So there it was, privacy achieved. I also sewed little squares of velcro to the curtains where they meet to ensure they stay tightly closed. Note the rear seat folded up against the side of the van. I actually just leave it down now, far more convenient.

The next problem I had was insects. I need to leave the windows cracked a little to allow ventilation. However I was visited by clouds of mosquitoes and things all night. I had a look around the internet to see what to do about that. Other than some ridiculous things called window socks, there wasn't much available. So out came the PVC foam again.

After a bit of template making, some insect netting and spray paint from the hardware store, I had some nice little screens that fit on top of the window glass and allow some breeze through. They consist of two layers that the netting sandwiches between. The inside layer fits into the glass slots, the outer layer hangs down over the window glass to make it more insect proof.These fit up underneath the rain shields so can be used in all weather. I have some plans to build some with bigger holes for dry summer nights.

Now that I was bug proof, I needed lighting. The first thing I did was replace the pathetic little interior bulbs with some LED versions. More light, and little battery drain. These were only a few bucks of www.aliexpress.com.

These provide adequate lighting, but while trolling around aliexpress I found these little USB spot lights for a few dollars each. I also got a multi USB socket for the lighter plug on the dash, and some USB extension leads, inline switches, and splitters. Each item was only a few dollars but seem to work well.

So now I was comfortable, private, lit, and bug proof. Time to go camping!