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Who are we?Hello! We're Calvin and Angela, two retired educators from BC, Canada. How have we come to be designing and building an adventure van? There's definitely a story to tell but here are some basics:
• We've always enjoyed traveling. • Most of our holidays when we were teaching took us to warmish tropical places (Hawaii, Mexico, Belize, Galapagos Islands, Dominican Republic) or to Europe (France, Italy, Greece, Switzerland, Austria, Germany). • Seeing more of North America was always in the plan but COVID has moved that up in our travel goals. We like our home! This is NOT a site about changing to "Van Life", i.e., we don't plan on living in Redford full-time - only traveling for one to four weeks at a time. We do want it to be comfortable, convenient, and well-equipped, but without breaking the bank. "Yes", we could live in it full-time, but that's not our plan. |
Why Redford?
I suppose the more fundamental question is, "Why a red Ford?" The short answer is that red is our preferred (lucky?) car colour. All of our vehicles have been red - even before we met each other going back to our very first cars, Angela and I have always owned red vehicles. We're going to dig around and see if we can find photos of our pre-digital photo era cars but there's a long history...
Angela: 1) red 1978 Chevette 2) red 1991 Z24 Cavalier 3) red 1997 Honda CRV
Calvin: 1) red 1978 Tercel (2 door) 2) red 1988 Tercel (5 door) 3) shared red 1997 Honda CRV with Angela 4) red 2005 Kia Spectra5
You can probably tell that we tend to keep our cars for a long time:) (Unfortunately, Angela's Cavalier was totalled when we were broadsided by a truck that went through a red light.) Our new car, bought in 2020, is a red Subaru Crosstrek Outdoor. We have a tractor we bought a few years ago - guess what colour... red.
There's also quite a provenance of red vehicles in each of our family's histories. Calvin's family: Red Dodge van used for mom and dad's store, Green Produce, in Kitsilano back in 1968 to 1980. He also had a red Dodge Monaco Brougham station wagon (that my brother and I would get motion sick in as we faced out the back window!) After that there was a red Dodge Caravan and then a red Subaru sedan. He did break the trend when he bought a gold colour Chrysler 200. It was always his dream as a young man to have a nice gold car one day! My first red Tercel was left to me as it was previously the "kid's car" that my older brother and sister drove. Prior to that the kids (my three older sisters and my brother) shared a red Dodge Colt. In Angela's family they had (and have since restored and still own) a beautiful red GMC pickup. That goes along with two red antique Farmall tractors and a red International Harvester tractor.
So Redford it had to be!
Angela: 1) red 1978 Chevette 2) red 1991 Z24 Cavalier 3) red 1997 Honda CRV
Calvin: 1) red 1978 Tercel (2 door) 2) red 1988 Tercel (5 door) 3) shared red 1997 Honda CRV with Angela 4) red 2005 Kia Spectra5
You can probably tell that we tend to keep our cars for a long time:) (Unfortunately, Angela's Cavalier was totalled when we were broadsided by a truck that went through a red light.) Our new car, bought in 2020, is a red Subaru Crosstrek Outdoor. We have a tractor we bought a few years ago - guess what colour... red.
There's also quite a provenance of red vehicles in each of our family's histories. Calvin's family: Red Dodge van used for mom and dad's store, Green Produce, in Kitsilano back in 1968 to 1980. He also had a red Dodge Monaco Brougham station wagon (that my brother and I would get motion sick in as we faced out the back window!) After that there was a red Dodge Caravan and then a red Subaru sedan. He did break the trend when he bought a gold colour Chrysler 200. It was always his dream as a young man to have a nice gold car one day! My first red Tercel was left to me as it was previously the "kid's car" that my older brother and sister drove. Prior to that the kids (my three older sisters and my brother) shared a red Dodge Colt. In Angela's family they had (and have since restored and still own) a beautiful red GMC pickup. That goes along with two red antique Farmall tractors and a red International Harvester tractor.
So Redford it had to be!
WHAT ARE OUR EXPECTATIONS
AND NEEDS IN A TRAVEL VAN?
ComfortableWe want a reasonable amount of space to move around with semi-separated areas. Also important are comfortable cushions and seating, good airflow, nice viewing windows, and good interior height (although we're not tall people...)
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Functional and PracticalWe definitely want an onboard shower and toilet. A good galley area, reasonable storage, large seating/eating area, good lighting, easy conversion between day and night modes, etc. are all big considerations.
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Nicely Finished and Well AppointedWe appreciate good quality and well-made things in general. Colours and textures, cabinetry, entertainment system, electronics, and overall design are important to us.
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PLANNING AND DESIGNING REDFORD
What Van?It had to be easy to drive! New or used? What about width, length, and height? Where did we want to go in this van? How is interior RV construction affected by the van's body shape? Did payload capacity matter? Repairs and maintenance; how available and at what cost? What about reliability and warranties?
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Some SpecificationsBased on our expectations we developed a (long) list of requirements to design around. Could we afford everything we wanted to do? More importantly, could we fit in everything we wanted? Where would we have to compromise or what adaptations could make things work?
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Who? How? What? Where?Would we have space around our home to do this project? How about access to equipment, tools, and supplies? After all was finished, where would Redford get stored when not in use?
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BUILDING REDFORD
Acquiring RedfordWe checked out websites of various dealerships and manufacturers. Where could we get a discount? Was there a dealership that served us better during the estimates and price quote process?
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Buying MaterialsThere are so many components that go into an RV. Plumbing, electrical, furniture construction, final finishings, etc. are all big areas of focus. Within each of these areas there is so much to consider when choosing and buying materials.
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The Build ExperiencesEven though we haven't started yet (currently March 2021) there's plenty to think about, design, and prepare. We've been ordering materials and want to be ready to go. At the same time, there are a number of significant things that cannot be ordered until we actually get direct measurements on the van.
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Our Travels in Redford
Manning Park, BC
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Galiano Island, BCOur first multi-night journey:)
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Kootenay, Banff (twice), Lake Louise, & Kelowna, BCA multi-leg trip with friends, family, and
then other friends. |
