Our bed plan actually works, and the bed is quite comfortable. We designed the bed so the mattress is in two pieces, with the smaller piece at the foot to fit on the slide-out, and the two pieces are belted together. The plan is to use the slide-out when we go to bed, and during the day we can fold the smaller mattress piece on top of the larger and push in the slide. We had a few worries, like whether or not we would feel the seam where the two pieces come together, and whether or not the belt would hold the pieces together tightly enough to make it feel like one piece. We were also a little worried that the slide-out wouldn’t feel solid, and we would always feel like the foot of the bed was sloping off the edge. We’re happy to report that it all works exactly as planned: we don’t feel the seam through the sheet and mattress pad, the belt system is working quite well, and the entire bed feels perfectly level and solid, even when we sit on the end. It was also a nice surprise to find that we don’t need to unclip the belt in order to fold the smaller piece on top, which makes getting the bed ready at night very easy. It’s been a long time coming, and things the past few weeks have seemed to move very slowly with very little steps, but last Monday night we moved into the camper!
Our conditions for moving in were that Tom was done with the electric in the cabover so that we wouldn’t have to move everything out so he could do more wiring. That was done.
The next condition was that the DC wiring be done, or at least almost done, so we could plug in the toilet and have the exhaust fans working. We also wanted the AC wiring to be done so we could charge our devices at night.
The final condition was that plumbing be done enough that we could brush our teeth and wash our hands, at least in the kitchen sink.
All of these things were done, so on Monday we moved our clothes into the closets and made the bed!
Our conditions for moving in were that Tom was done with the electric in the cabover so that we wouldn’t have to move everything out so he could do more wiring. That was done.
The next condition was that the DC wiring be done, or at least almost done, so we could plug in the toilet and have the exhaust fans working. We also wanted the AC wiring to be done so we could charge our devices at night.
The final condition was that plumbing be done enough that we could brush our teeth and wash our hands, at least in the kitchen sink.
All of these things were done, so on Monday we moved our clothes into the closets and made the bed!
We also moved all of our dishes and kitchen stuff into the cabinets.
Plumbing and drains are done under the kitchen sink, although we are not going to fill the tanks and use the water until Tom finishes wiring and plumbing the water heater and the plumbing for the bathroom and washing machine…even though the pump is in and we have a shutoff to keep the water at the kitchen sink.
We also have switches so we can turn the water heater on from the kitchen sink, as well as the pump.
The composting toilet is wired into the DC system, and has a constantly running fan. Despite the fact that we did a lot of research before purchasing the composting toilet, and despite the fact that there were all sorts of testimonials about how much people liked this particular model, we still weren’t sure and suspected that all the people saying “I wasn’t sure I’d like it, but now I really do” weren’t just being paid to say that. Well, now we are joining the list of people saying exactly the same thing, and I assure you nobody is paying us. The design makes it easy to keep the urine separate from the solid waste, and true to the advertising, it really doesn’t smell. It’s also a little bit higher than a standard residential toilet, which my arthritic knees really appreciate.
Progress is continuing today as Tom hooks up the water heater and water pressure tank, and runs hot and cold water lines into the bathroom for the bathroom sink/shower, as well as the washing machine. This will be the first time since we left the US in 2006 that I will have a washer with an option for hot water!