So here is my design plan from the last blog post and also 12 months ago.
My original design layout plans
Woodwork almost completed apart from a few door hatches and a few finishing touches plus some vanishing of edges.
The layout is different to most Toyota Land Cruiser Troop Carriers 78 series.
Why do I have the bed on the driver side/right hand side and the fridge/freezer cabinet and toilet on the left-hand side?
Part of this is try to equalise the weight Balance/load. The fridge is mounted forwards to keep the weight central in the vehicle for better handling off-road and also on the left counterweight my weight in the front driver seat.
Also with the bed being on right hand side it gives space behind the cabinet/toilet to get in and out of the small door without requiring both doors to be open during the night or in case of bad weather when needing to get in and out of the Troopy.
Some may be questioning why the Bed is not very high in the back of my truck?
The simple answer, because it’s much cooler to have the bed lower in the vehicle as hot air rises so all the hot air is above one’s head and more comfortable night sleep. The second reason is also sitting on the bed it’s comfortable to sit on and read a magazine or eat dinner inside if the weather is undesirable outside.
Also please note: the space under the bed for storage is equivalent to an approximately same size as the space set out for passengers on Overland trucks for two/three passengers on eight week plus Overland trip.
The bed itself being able to hinge up allows for plenty of space not being reduced from things like drawer slides and drawers for soft cube bags for clothing, dry food, cutlery and cooking gear, and of course my dogs gear plus our bedding.
Some might say why do I not have seat pads on the bed for more comfort during the day sitting in the back and to be used for sleeping at night?
There were two very good reasons for this.
First is my dog likes jumping in and out and running out and getting dirty and jumping back inside so not having padded seats means it’s easy to wipe down and clean.
Second is that most foam seating pads are not very thermally efficient to keeping one warm at sleeping at night i.e. heat transfer losing body heat etc.
So I’m using a Thermarest Self-Inflating Pad/Mattress like a Trail Pro and my Dogs got his own heavy duty bed/mattress
So during the day these were packed away underneath the bed out of harms away.
There will be a latch on the toilet. That’s just a flip of the switch and the toilet slides out and drops to the position to be utilised and then can be picked up and put away straight away.
Then the little biodegradable plastic business bag can be placed in the rubbish bin that is sealed and vented to the outside to dispose of later.
I’m still in a quandary about having a sink inside as I do not see the point as I’ll be living outside and there’s a sink and connection straight to the grey water tank underneath.
More updates to come.
Next week, the stainless steel watertank is booked in for installation underneath.
And then it’s time for me to do the plumbing and install all the outlets and grey water tank as well.
Following this will be wiring up the fridge freezer unit, battery Bank, lights and other things like the toilet.