VIP Tour

And a good Friday Morning to ya!!  I woke up once again ... thank the Good Lord!  That's always a plus, even if it is almost as hot as Heqq outside.  That was a cuss word in our house on the ranch, and you got THE LOOK if you happened to say it ... like when you smashed your shin.  What the heqq ... what the heqq!!!!  And so we always spelled it with "double Q".

Here we are snoozing on the couch after breakfast.  It's Cooper's favorite pastime until the afternoon, when it suddenly becomes BALL time!

For today, here's the VIP tour I promised.  Pleasure-Way is made by a family owned business in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.  Attention to detail is their name.  The chassis is Mercedes, made in Germany, so how can you go wrong?  I admit, there is a big learning curve to all the electronics involved, but once you get it down ... you're in like Flynn.

First off ... the small windows open up for air circulation.  This is the first thing I noticed about Renate's rig.  I sat inside and it was nice and breezy.  Unfortunately, only three of them open now (instead of five) because some dummy flung the back door open and it swung around and broke the window.  So they removed the two handles on the back windows and riveted them shut.  Now only three windows open.

Hookups are your standard variety.  30 amp plug on the right, shower on the left (locked with a key) and sewer dump below.  That little section opens up, allowing access to the black and grey tank dump handles.  That long step to the right holds the two sewer hoses, which just slide out.  It's a little close to the ground for us old grannies, making you kneel down, but it works. 

To the right is the Truma AquaGo hot water heater ... tankless.  Boy do I like that, but you do have to go outside to turn the gas on.

City water connection, cable connection and plug-in.

Around the back, both doors open up to find very little storage.  There's my trusty little tool box, which by the way I didn't have to buy anything for (even though I did) because I finally found my HOUSE toolbox from Arizona stashed in the garage.  On the right, leveling blocks that I really don't need, an extra big extension cord, water hose bungeed to the cross bar ... and behind all that, the lithium batteries that run the whole thing.  The top white thing is the shade cover for the back windows.

Right underneath, an 8 gallon propane tank with all the fixings (including bbq hookup) and an Onan generator.  I have yet to find out if it runs on diesel or propane.  

This is the infamous sliding door that would not let me lock the rig up at night!!  It's working just fine now since I leave one window just a tiny bit open.  It was so airtight that it would not let the door close completely.  

That black square below the counter is one of two computers that run the whole shebang.  Lights, awning (a big one that covers the entire side of the van), generator, water pump, hot water heater, tank sensors ... you name it, it's on these two panels.  I thought this would be the hardest part to learn, but it's actually quite simple.  That big door inside is the bathroom.  Obviously designed by a woman since there are two large mirrors on either side.

Step inside and look left.  This is the couch/bed surrounded by lovely windows, all of which have blackout shades that pull down and lock with magnets.  That grey and white DOG blanket is over two inches thick and works as a mattress pad since the couch folds down into a bed.  There are two chairs on either side (the left one under the table), but I removed the back bolsters for extra room.  That makes two twin beds on either side when the couch is flat.  One for me and one for Mr. Cooper.  You could make it a queen if you carried the bolsters that fill in the hole.

The table with my black computer mousepad on it, can come off completely and be stored in the closet (with holders to keep it in place) ... or you can leave it up like I do.  Just remember to tighten it down when traveling.  It also makes for a dinner table, a side table and a coffee table.  

Overhead are cupboards that I never thought would be big enough, but they are more than adequate.   The one against the back wall goes from one side of the van to the other, so it's for long things like camp chairs.  These all close like your regular airline overheads.  They didn't skimp on the lights either ... there must be at least 20 in this rig.

Sit on the couch and turn around .... VOILA .... there's the TV with a BOSE speaker underneath that will blast your neighbors into angrydom!!  No kidding .... it even has it's own remote control, as does the TV.  You can also move the TV anywhere you want on a very long swing arm.

Of course no one said it was exactly roomy.  I have to be careful of Mr. Cooper when walking around.  The flooring is the same as was in the fifth wheel, but I covered it with a nice rug ... the better to play the ball game on.

The kitchen is quite large really.  The black thing is the induction cooktop, along with a really big sink and nice faucet with a pull down sprayer.  More overhead storage ... more than I needed on the last trip.  Three big drawers hold all things DOG/ PARROT and utensils.  Under the sink, trash can, cleaning supplies and to the left pots and pans, toaster, miscellaneous stuff like foil.  Plenty of room really.

Looking back, you can see the BIG fridge ... the same size as was in the fifth wheel, so MORE than enough for me.  It runs 100% on battery power.  No gas required, so no making sure I'm absolutely level when parked.  The microwave above is an oven, a convection oven, a grill and a microwave.  You could cook anything in that baby.  Me .... I just need it to microwave those Marie Callender chicken pot pies.

The closet you've seen before.  I used those hooks you put over the hangar to drop down with another hangar so you can stack more clothes in there.  Surprisingly, I had twice as many clothes as I needed for the last trip.  The plastic bins came from Walmart I think ... washcloths and towels in the bottom (yes it's that big) and clothes in the top two.  My collapsible laundry bag lived on top of the bins.

The bathroom is small, but workable.  There's actually just as much storage space under the sink as my other rig, and the sink is about the same size.  As for the shower ... I haven't used it yet.  I'm sure that's going to be a claustrophobic experience, but hey ... it's better than nothing.  Luckily you can't accidentally lock yourself in this one.  The trash can is a plastic pantry cereal container that fits perfectly.  

I also have a 1-1/2 gallon feed bucket left over from the horses that doubles as a trash can under the kitchen sink (I put used plastic bags in it) AND a bucket to put water in the toilet when I dump.  You do have to get creative with this little space.

Here's my computer center, a backpack of sorts hanging over the passenger seat.  It carries my computer and every cord imaginable, along with hard drives, pens, mi-fi and miscellaneous junk.  It lives there ... I just take out what I need.   Mr. Cooper's short leash is also connected to the headrest to be sure he doesn't go flying when the dang brake assist thing slams on!!

And here's the cockpit ... akin to a jet passenger plane I think.  There's so many buttons and knobs it's hard to remember what they are all for.  The windows are covered with insulated shades ... a nice touch when it's 103 outside.  They are stored with that red bungee sitting in the drivers seat, wrapped up and stuck behind the drivers seat next to Cooper's foldable canvas emergency kennel.  And there's even room for more, soon to come.

I finally found the outside mat that I KNEW I kept, but could not find.  I dug out my Ryobi drill from the back toolbox in the truck ... and what should I find???  The MAT!!  Yay ... it will also live behind the driver's seat. 

The rear view mirror?  That's just for checking on Jonathan who rides on the floor in front of the couch, and occasionally looking out the back windows to see who is following me.  There are two more storage areas above the visors in case I need more THINGS, but so far I haven't needed them.

And that's IT!!  Everything you would need, only in a tiny package.  Honestly, I'm not sure how TWO folks would fit in here, though apparently many couples travel together ... even with kids.  I have enough trouble with one tiny dog and a parrot whose cage sits on the counter when stopped.  

Though I thought Jonathan would live on the passenger seat, I needed a more controllable spot for Cooper.    Even after we were stopped, though the front seat can be turned around (and Jonathan would be out of the way), I had too much stuff packed in front on the floor ... like a case of water and all my camera gear.  There's just no other spot for such big heavy items.

I'm sure more adjustments will be made in the future as I work out the kinks.  There's one really good thing about this rig .... no worries about WHERE to get fuel or HOW to get in and out.  YAY for small rigs!!!!