Category: nomad

Inspiring Plans, pt 1

~ George Crawford ~ 2 Comments

The following are plans from The English Gypsy Caravan.  This book taught me a lot about layout in such a small space.  There is rarely anything new under the sun and the early builders thought through the process quite thoroughly.

Figure 20.

The figure numbers on the images are from the book.  The above is a classic “Open Lot”.  Essentially the simplest of the caravan designs.  More sturdy than something like an American Conestoga as the walls are at least partially wood lined and there are a couple built-in cabinets.  This could suit a couple people fairly well.

Figure 18.

The “Bow Top” is a more sophisticated version of the Open Lot.  More cabinetry, a small cook stove, and some shelving.  Notice the corner cabinets to use the vertical space in both the above plans.

Figure 16.

Finally, the famous Reading Wagon.  This is what most people envision when they think of the gypsy caravan or wagon.  Kite-shaped from the end-view, this wagon has a lot of useful indoor space.  Cupboards and underseat storage are integrated and these generally have substantial chest-of-drawers built in.  The later roofs had mollycrofts to allow more light and the walls were decked out with mirrors to give the illusion of spaciousness.  Straight wooden walls lend themselves to hooks, pictures, or small shelves everywhere.  At about ten feet long, this was and is the epitome of traveling luxury.

The best laid plans …

~ George Crawford ~ 4 Comments

Everything has to begin with a plan, whether its in your head or on paper depends on the complexity and steps required.  While going through some old notebooks from the last few years I came across some early sketches of the vardo in progress.

I know it’s not a great sketch and didn’t scan particularly well but gives an idea of an early stage in the evolution of the caravan as it is now.  I kept some very strict size constraints but definitely increased the height from the early incarnations.  I did not waste the time making an exact blueprint of the caravan as I didn’t see a need.  I also wanted to keep the design flexible and open to change along the way after getting a feel for the space.

Click the image to access more sketches or link here.

House Trucks Again

~ George Crawford ~ 2 Comments

My appreciation for house trucks has grown immensely over the years.  It’s not easy building a structure that is both light, strong, and wind-resistant.  Caravans, house trucks, and RVs have to undergo the rigors of hurricane weather every time they hit the road and still be light enough to be pulled.  If you are willing to get RV-type mileage from your vehicle  you can convert an older RV, large truck, fire engine, or bus into a fine living platform.  Starting from a link on Lloyd’ Blog I began looking at some very cool house truck conversions.  These have been around all my life and I’m surprised I haven’t started one yet.

These Bedford Fire Engines make beautiful platforms.

The trucks below were featured on the Tiny House Talk web page.

I wouldn’t want to drive these in high winds but the interior spaces are great.  Visit his Flikr page to see more interesting work.  They look very practical and I appreciate the low-maintenance exteriors.

And finally, one of the most beautiful art car builds I have ever seen… The Decoliner.  While on his website, its worth looking at his other projects as well, especiall the 1800 cubic inch, 1000 h.p. tank motor turned art/race car.

Take the chassis from an old RV, add a classic truck cab and a lot of beautiful design work and this is what can happen.  This is my new dream car.  Time to peruse Craig’s List to start looking for a chassis.

Folding Stools and Table

~ George Crawford ~ 3 Comments

I have had many requests for dimensions of the stools and table so I finally sucked it up and measured some things to include here.  The only ones apparently on the web cost money so here are my dimensions.  Please modify them to fit your style, needs, or lumber.  A little time with some graph paper will go a long way.

Folding stools.  Here is my cutting list from most recent batch.  The angles of the feet  will have to be worked out for yourself.  Also, not listed are the stretchers (the cross boards between legs).  These are not absolutely necessary but make the whole shebang a lot stronger.  Use whatever you have.

Legs 1×3″: 4 @ 18″
Skirts 1×3″: 4 @ 11″
Seat 1×6″: 2 @ 16″ (can vary substantially.  adjust dowels accordingly)
Dowels 1″ oak: 1 @ 12 3/4″
Dowels 1″ oak: 4 @ 1 1/2″

First, make these parts.
Assemble like so...

Then finish with the rest of the parts (See top photo).

Table test. Suitable for light dancing.

Note in above photos the far side stretcher isn’t in place.  I ran out of wood this day.

Table
For a 28″ tall table:
Legs 1×4″ hardwood: 4 @ 34″
Skirts 1×4″: 4 @ 20″
Top 1×12″: 2 @ 36-48″

Assemble just like the stool.

A little nomad furniture project.  Great for when guests arrive too.  If you are creative, the tops can be cut into ovals, rounded rectangles, or made circular.

Close Call at 65 mph

~ George Crawford ~ 12 Comments

I had to wait a while to publish this one but maybe I just need to get it out…

I like to think I’m a safe person.  At least to the point of looking out for others if not always myself.  I don’t drive aggressively, I maintain my vehicles, and don’t take big chances on the road.  That said, I probably stress my truck and the vardo more than most people would.  The truck has spent sixteen years as an archaeologist’s field vehicle and has gone into places I would have never thought I would take it.  I have crept into BLM campsites with the vardo that required it to be tipped up to 45 degrees and I was certain it was going to go over.  I’ve intentionally jack-knifed the whole thing just to push it into place between boulders.

These things are just the nature of travel in the remote western US and having worked in remote places for 20+ years I have become used to expecting the unexpected.  I regularly check my tires, wheels, and bolts for damage or looseness.  In fact, I recently discovered a sheered-off bolt on my hitch bumper and I can’t even imaging how that happened except possibly during the event I am going to describe here.

This is the driver’s side wheel from the vardo.  It is steel, not aluminum.

We were driving from San Diego to Portales, New Mexico and after a nice stay in Flagstaff with our friends, we were coming down into the desert on I-40.  Approaching Holbrook, I thought I could feel a slight shimmy in the wagon.  As it normally tracks well behind the old F-150, I thought it must just be an effect of the wind.  Suddenly, with a “whooping” noise the trailer gave a jerk (surprisingly minor feeling due to the heavy weight of the truck).  I thought I might have a blowout but then saw sparks out of the corner of my eye in the side view mirror.

The wheel had come off and passed us at 60 mph as I was able to slowing onto the shoulder, fortunately near an off-ramp.

I watched the wheel run for what seemed like miles while I was trying to Jedi mind-control it to not steer into the oncoming lanes.  Fortunately, there was little traffic on the Interstate that day.  Mind-control worked (actually the road camber worked) and took it into the right ditch about a quarter-mile down the highway.

After a moment of mental freakout, I had a look at the situation, and realized what must have happened.  I lost a whole wheel!  A couple of studs were broken from the hub, one was stripped clean as the nut was ripped off.  The remaining two were intact.  The hub was whittled down to almost nothing and we had coasted in on the ends of the leaf spring bolts.

Did I mention it was Sunday?  In rural eastern Arizona?

I’ll keep the story short.  Assessing the situation I knew I was fully prepared to camp.  We had water, food, and a place to sleep if need be but I wanted to be on the road.  I had a good spare but nothing to bolt it to.  I contemplated putting it on the two remaining bolts to limp into town but upon inspection determined that they were far too destroyed.  As the wheel tore off the lugs it sheered into the bolts and the nuts were stripped anyway by being pried sideways. This meant abandoning the vardo on a rural highway; not the most desirable choice.

I was limping into Holbrook, Arizona.

I went to town and after asking around, I found the only 7 day a week mechanic was on vacation at Lake Havasu.  I actually spoke to him on the phone and he wasn’t sure what to suggest.  I drove back to Winslow as I figured there would at least be a parts store and maybe it would even open.  If there was nothing there I could trek back to Flagstaff before the end of the business day.  I’d only end up being a day or two behind.  Wild plans came to mind.  I could rent a flatbed trailer, load it with a come-a-long, and haul the vardo home that way; expensive and difficult.

I went back to the vardo on the way to Winslow and pulled the hub (fortunately I had some basic tools).  I brought the hub to the parts store that was open but the nearest part that fit was about 90 miles away in Payson, Arizona and could probably be delivered tomorrow.  I though maybe I could get studs pressed into the remaining hub but again, nobody would be around until tomorrow.

And then, like a miracle, the ol’ boy Good Samaritan network kicked in. 

An older man buying parts at the store overheard the conversation and knew a guy who might be around who might be willing to fix it.  The parts store kid was pretty skeptical but I was willing to try just about anything at this point as the day was waning away.  We followed the man to the old part of Winslow to a junk and car filled ancient gas station and talked to a teenager working on a little import car. He said his uncle Jerry would be back after lunch but we could wait if we wanted.

Eventually the uncle (Jerry) came back and gave us the tour of his Model A Ford he happened to be working on that day.  That’s why he was in.  Anyway, in fairly short order he pressed in new lugs, put in new bearings and charged me way too little for the whole process.  Jerry was our savior.  I hauled the whole thing back to the vardo, reassembled the hub, put on the spare, and away we went into the night.  I don’t always depend on the kindness of strangers but it’s these small acts of kindness that give me some hope in this world.

Drive safe.  Check your equipment.  Carry tools.

Quick and Dirty

~ George Crawford ~ 16 Comments

This was a quick and dirty build we were talked into a couple of weeks ago.  I don’t like to rush these things but the builder’s time constraints meant this was the only week to get this done before the winter.  It does show that the basic build can be completed in a very short time.  The basic dimensions are 5′ x 10′ at the floor and just over 7′ wide at the ledges.

I think it came out alright in the end.

Here is a small gallery of images showing the build.  My daughter and I will try to put up an Instructable in the near future describing the process such as it is.  Enjoy the photos.

Paint, Boxes, Many Upgrades

~ George Crawford ~ Leave a comment

I recently added two new exterior storage boxes, a solar ventilator, painted most of the exterior, and added several new and handy things to the interior of the wagon in preparation for the next voyage.  Although I don’t feel like the Snail has really traveled much yet, my recent tally of the trips over the past 17 months totaled 7776 miles.  This is an under-estimate as it was calculated using Yahoo maps and doesn’t include any side trips or time lost looking for restaurants, campgrounds, and the like.  Photos and descriptions of the changes are on the way.