Committing to a gypsy lifestyle: creating the C(ubby)-RV

As I've established previously, I move around a lot as a seasonal worker. I've gotten pretty good at traveling light, and I can easily fit everything I need for at least six months in Sunny, my 2006 Honda CR-V. Like a true American, I am completely in love with my car, but admittedly, her factory model has had some limitations. 

It's not so much a problem to pack up all of my belongings and transport them from point A to point B, but let's be honest, I'm not typically very good at just going from A to B. There's usually several other stops in between or a lot of back and forth between point points, so I began to notice the inconvenience of trying to live out of my car when it's in "move" mode. Then I started thinking maybe it was time to create a way for Sunny and I to be in an easy, constant "go" mode instead.

I ran through several ideas and sketched layouts for a while before finally deciding to take action within the last week of my time back at home in California. I wanted a platform to help increase the storage space while maintaining accessibility, as well as to create a flat surface I could potentially use for sleeping. Since the back seats break down into two sections, I also wanted to keep one of the seats installed in case I needed space for another passenger. Apparently, these combined desires are relatively uncommon, because there were very few examples of CR-V modifications online, or at least any that fit these specifications, so I came up with something that is (to my knowledge) original.

To begin, I took the largest section of the back bench-seat out of the car, which was pretty simple since the seat anchors were just bolted into the floor and concealed with a piece of molded plastic. My sister came over to help me out with brainstorming and fitting pieces together. We took our measurements and found several pieces of my dad's scrap wood that would be suitable for our needs. 

We decided that building, installing, and ultimately using the platform would be easiest if it was divided into two sections: the trunk space, and the section that would replace the former passenger seats. While the interior of the CR-V is spacious, it is not at all square and has little to no flat surfaces, so everything had to be measured and then cut to fit. We made the initial platform piece cuts for size with a skill saw, checked the boards for fit, outlined a piece that needed to be cut to accommodate the wheel well in the trunk area, and cut that piece with a jig-saw.

To determine the appropriate height for the platform supports, I figured it would make sense to have the platform level with the remaining passenger seat when folded down. That way it could potentially make an even larger flat area. We got a general measure of this height and did a rough cut on 1 1/4 inch dowel. Then we determined strategic locations for the supporting legs and fit them to those locations since the floor of the car is not even.

Some of the legs were placed to be permanent (meaning they would be screwed into the platform itself) while a couple of the legs were left unscrewed to be kept removable. To help stabilize the legs, I cut square and rectangular sections of lumber, drilled holes in which the legs would fit, and screwed the stabilizing pieces directly onto the platform in their appropriate locations.

Once the platform and supports were created, the project was almost finished, but I didn't want to have just the raw, splintery wood exposed, so I bought some vinyl fabric to cover it, along with a light batting to put under the vinyl for padding. My mom helped me fit the fabric pieces and staple them onto the boards, and once everything was ready, my dad helped me put it all together, get it in my car, and put the finishing touches on my new car furniture.

With everything in place, I was ready to load up my newly modified car and start my trip up north toward Washington. So far I've thoroughly enjoyed how the configuration is working out, and although I'm sure I'll find other ways to make it better in the future, I'm very pleased with the design. As I continue to embrace a more transient lifestyle, my car is transitioning from a CR-V to a C-RV (according to my mom, the C stands for Cubby -- one of my many nicknames). Now Sunny and I are more inseparable than ever -- at least until I have to take a ferry 55 miles to the other side of Lake Chelan for my summer work in Stehekin... but she and I aren't discussing that just yet.

I described the general process of the modification, but here are some of the highlights of the design/materials:

• The removable legs add support to the platform, but allow for accessibility when needed.
• I put rubber tips (the kind designed to go on chair legs) on most of the support legs to help keep them from moving out of place. 
• The support stabilizers are screwed directly onto the platform, but the permanent legs are screwed in from outside the fabric to allow for easy deconstruction if needed. A washer was put over the fabric to keep the screw from tearing through.
• Wide hinges connect the two pieces of the platform to allow movement of each piece if necessary. The hinges were placed over the fabric to allow for easy deconstruction.
• The vinyl fabric has enough grip to help keep things from sliding around and was easy to work with, but above all it is extremely easy to clean. The batting increases comfort if and when I do sleep on the platform, and also helps keep things in places.
• The whole project cost less than $20! Thanks to my dad, I didn't have to pay for any of the wood used, but I would imagine that even with purchasing new pieces, the whole thing would still be quite cheap.  

Thanks goes to my sister and parents for their help and ideas, and extra thanks to my dad for donating materials and letting me use his power tools. Yeehaw!