What did we want/need in the lorry?
So there we were standing in a field looking at a huge horse box thinking what have we done?....we needed a plan and we needed one quick! Firstly we needed to decide how long we had to complete the job. After the past few months we had had with Rachel's diagnosis and starting treatment we decided we needed it useable as soon as possible so set Easter as the deadline. So that gives us 31 weeks. As a brief overview here are some of the must haves we needed.
1. Bed that is up all the time.
This was top of the list for me as I knew neither of us are disciplined enough to put a bed away every day, the lorry would constantly look scruffy. Luckily we had been looking for a cab with a Luton so hopefully we wouldn't find it too claustrophobic!
2. Tipping cab
We has started looking at old Bedford TK horse boxes but heard quite a few reviews that they were difficult to work on. So what were our options. A smaller truck with an elongated bonnet so you can get to the engine or buy a lorry with a tipping cab. We decided to go for the tipping cab. Theoretically it should be cheaper to work on the engine but the tilting cab would present us with some challenges. Whatever you do in the sleeping area it needs to be removable when you need to work on the engine.
3. Toilet and shower - why and what
Having a toilet on board is a must. We spent years trekking to the toilet block when camping then bought ourself the luxury of a portable potti. So a cassette toilet would be needed. While we are creating the camper we would want to put the option in for a shower. I imagine the number of showers we would have would be minimal in the first couple of years while exploring the UK but in the future who knows! So a quirky shower proof bathroom is a must.
4. 3 way fridge
You have 2 main options for a fridge. Compressor and Absorption. The compressor type uses a compressor to move the chiller liquid round. These work almost exclusively on 12v but only use power when the compressor runs. So consideration needed to made if the kitchen and bedroom are in the same space as the compressor will make a noise. The other type is an absorption fridge that uses a heat source to move the chilling chemicals around. The beauty of this type of fridge is it can be run off 12v, 240v hookup and gas. It is for this reason that these are known as a 3 way fridge. This means that the fridge is virtually silent but needs to be kept level to work. So we decided that a 3 way fridge was the one for us as eventually we would like to be as self sufficient as possible.
5. Solar and off grid
As I gave a love for gadgets and gizmo's I needed to think very carefully about power requirements. Everything needs to be 12v as i felt the inefficiencies of inverters was too high to consider a 240v system. Also I am much more confident working on low voltage systems. I already had a 300W pure sine wave inverter (which you need to use laptops etc) so that will do us. So I added up all the stuff and decided 2 x 100Ah batteries with a 300W solar panel should be OK. I also wanted the vehicle to charge the leisure batteries while driving but this was slightly complicated by the lorry being 24v and the leisure batteries 12v. Luckily Ring Automotive do a fantastic combined battery to battery charger that is also an MPPT solar charge controller. But more about that in detail in a later post.
6. Inside back door and BBQ
Another of my must haves was my Big Green Egg Komado style BBQ. This is a ceramic oven that is very well insulated (so much so you can place your hand on it happily while it is cooking). I love my Big Green Egg, it is so versatile. It can bake cakes, pizzas, bread. Slow smoke meat and fast cook steaks etc and it had to come with us. So we had to design where the back wall was going to make sure it fitted. Both Rachel and I are fans of how pallet wood looks so we knew the back wall needed to be made out of old pallets. For the door we wanted a stable door as we had the dog with us. Unfortunately these are ridiculously expensive so we found an old door that was half glazed at the local recycling centre for £10. We just needed to work out how to successfully turn it into a stable door.
7. Recycled
As much stuff needs to be recycled to minimise the amount of money and from an environmental point of view. Unfortunately we had to buy new insulation and 3.6mm ply for the walls but almost everything else was sourced on free cycle, Gumtree, eBay and our own garage.
8. Power steering!
This was a must, for Rachel and I to enjoy driving her there had to be power steering. 24' long 7.5t horse box without power steering just wasn't worth thinking about. This unfortunately is another of the flaws of the beautiful old Bedford TK - no power steering.
9. Back patio!
Having the horse ramp was an absolute bonus. The first lorry we looked at as a 7.5t box lorry with a tail lift. It would have been a small outdoor area but outdoor never the less! So the horse lorry was a no brainer with it's built in patio. You need a sense of humour when doing something like this.
10. Wood burner
We love a wood burner and having one in the lorry was a must. It is imperative to do this safely so will take a lot of brain power and watching video's. The stove won't need to be a large one otherwise we will be sitting in our undies when it is lit, and no-one needs to see that!!
11. Toys and gizmo's
Unfortunately I am a geek at heart and the horse lorry is going to be no exception. The basics will be entertainment system (movie, tv shows and music run from a Raspberry Pi) possibly linked to a 12v projector. LED light strips will be a must - looking forward to investigating the options!
So these were some of our ideas and must haves and would certainly keep us busy for the following few months. We always kept in mind the old saying, how do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time!