Methods of Sleeping in Deli?

[niekt]

PS: couldnt attach photos, too big. help? What free compression programme can I download?

Just have a look at this excellent manual.

[TardisDeli]

Hi all Deli-sleepers, am now attempting to attach photos of the storage box / camping bed base that replaced the rear bench. Fingers crossed. Written Details previously on this post.

Height underneath is 12.5 inches (milk crate height). 40 inches from back to front (both halves 20 inches). Width is delica inside less about an inch each side so seatbelts can pop up to secure box.

Total bed length is 2 metres. We have slept several winter weekends. Bed very comfy even for 6'3 Jay, with walmrt queen airmattress (not the double height or you're sleeping in the glass window portion). Double sleeping bag to keep warm underneath you. Get polyester fleece pillowcases, so don't absorb damp air -- no cotton anywhere to avoid dampness. Don't need to fill in the hole between captains seats (or put the headrests of the captains chairs there).

Bed box can be left fully opened, with foam or slightly deflated airmattress bed folded in half (with all bedding made up, and folded in half, held down by bungee, ready to drop the captains chairs and flop open the instant bed). This way the captains Chairs work fine for passengers, or for Picnic mode when you want to warm up and relax at lunch between ski runs.

Mini Oil Heater 500 watts, Canadian Tire. Runs when we're plugged in at home so carpet and van is dry to start off. Runs off the inverter while we're driving to keep everything toasty warm, sits happily between the 2 captain chairs without tipping (safe even if tipped over, check to ensure yours is properly sealed from factory for no oil leaks). The heater sits on coffee console when we sleep, drivers seat empty always ready to drive away if bears visit. Make bed before going winter camping as dark early, and we can just slide over the coffee console into the rear without opening doors to keep out cold air. OK, I will admit to the electric mattress warming pad ($8.00 Valu village find), runs while we drive to keep bedding warm, but I have survived without it on logging road pullouts.

Microwave 800watts runs just a few minutes to heat up pre-cooked or canned dinner on each plate, can run the delica engine to ensure no battery drain (we use a single 27 series battery). Charger mounted beside it, plug in extension cord at restaurant / gas station / camp ground restroom to recharge. Thermos of boiling water sits above microwave with tea & hot cocoa & cookies & stuff ready for snacks/breakfast.

Guys, if you want your S.O to enjoy the delica life, most women agree on the things needed. Porta-potty (no shared toilet with strangers) hidden between the deli and a bushy tree for privacy, that can be emptied when a nice clean flush toilet is finally found. Warm fleece blankets (not just a sleeping bag, need a fleece blanket each to wrap shoulders and arms, not a shared fleece blanket that the guy steals). 2 thermos' of instant hot water in the morning -- no waiting till the stove is lit. Doors that lock (no tents where Nutters can visit with machetes). Curtains on the windows. Yes, the inverter for the heater would be nice, but the other stuff is crucial.

I have more photos, PM if you want more details. Send me your real email ID, as too painful to reduce the photos.

Cheers, Christine of the TardisDeli,
with grateful thanks to Jay Of The TardisDeli who continually finds ways to fancy-up the Tardis.

[Erebus]

Thanks for the photos. Gives me lots to add to my million and two ideas on how to make my version.

I see that you have an amphibious delica -- the propeller on the back gives it away. Guess that saves on transferring gear from Delica to boat when you do your Coast Guard work

Love the idea of a microwave!

[maxpowers]

how long does the bat hold up running the 5 hundo watt heater, is it on the same bats as the starter?
or you run it on a seperate circuit?
looks rad im thinking of all the useful hot things i could make in that microwave. EGGOS!!! mmmmm

[TardisDeli]

Hi all, just reposting this to get to top of list as several people has asked recently. Cheers, Christine and Jay. We are happy to meet people to show our ideas, we live in Burnaby.

[JMK]

how long does the bat hold up running the 5 hundo watt heater

It's all a matter of simple OHM's Law, and the amp hour capacity of your battery(s).

Let's say you have a battery with 150 AH capacity. The 500W heater would draw at least 42 amps if the inverter were 100% efficient (which it isn't). So your battery would be dead in under 3 hours. In other words, you cannot run a heater off your battery, you need to have a generator or be in a campground where you have access to mains power.

Also just to provide a frame of reference. I run a 900 Watt Heater in the Deilca. At -5C you can get by with warm clothes on. At -10C, it is not very comfy for sitting around but is OK for sleeping if you have warm bags.

The problem is our Honda Genny only lasts about 6 hrs. So you always wake up freezing. (In addition, DO NOT sleep on an air matress unless it is topped with ensolite or equivalent). Some people have modified their Genny's to take an outboard tank, that's on my priority list for this winter.

[dfnder]

Has anyone thought of using a tent heater to keep the Deli warm? As a kid I remember a friend saying "take a blanket and a candle along on winter trips as this would keep you warm if your car broke down".

As for the sleeping arrangements I'm interested in getting mine equiped and there are two routes I'm thinking of going.
- take out the back seat and sleep on the floor with a thermarest. (I don't really want to take out the back seat as with kids I often have to carry more than 4 in the vehicle and the bench's are unwieldy from what I hear)
- build a platform similar to Tardisdeli with some possibly minor additions. I was thinking of creating a mold (negative imprint?) of the captains chairs that could be folded out and placed on top of the extended chairs. I would also raise the rear compartment box 1 thickness of the plywood and have an addition piece that could slide over the now level chairs. (I wouldn't just have the extending sheet of plywood as I imagine it would put a lot of stress on the chair) I know this sounds extensive but since I suffered a compression fracture in my back a few years ago I needs to sleep on a flat surface.

[JMK]

Has anyone thought of using a tent heater to keep the Deli warm?

The problem with that is dealing with Carbon Monoxide issues. Using either electric heat or a properly installed (e.g. vented)Wabasto type heater seem to be the main realistic options.

[konadog]

A nice chubby Camp-rest thermarest or equivalent loooow temperature rated insulated air mattress - some even come with down filling now - and a big 'ole Arctic or Mt. Everest rated down bag and you're good for the sleeping part anyway, even in a deep chill. Nasty business having a good bag but a thin pad - Shiver
As for sleeping positions, since I rarely sleep in the bus and am enviably solo on the occasions that I do, I move boxes and bags forward and lay my thermarest out diagonally across the cargo bay (rear bench is removed). I lay with my head in the back corner and my feet between the bench seat and the slider door. Flat and ample room for a real comfy sleep. If I were camping regularly like some of the others, I'm sure I would get inspired by Tardisdeli and others that have built some first rate beds / storage units

[fostlongstrider]

I sleep on the seats folded down with a carrymat for insulation.
Sleeping bag used to be a Black's Snowgoose,down filled and good down to -30,a throw back to when I used to do a lot of mountaineering.Only problem is too warm in + temps.
Now have what is technically two bags from Mountain Equipment,inner is a 3 season bag good for -5 or so and the outer is Goretex and insulated , slide 3 season inside and is good for -20.

This is great for down here as in the van there is no wind chill and we only get -10 at most.
Have thought about doing more to make a better bed but the combination of cost and actually getting stuff here has put me off a bit.I don't seem to get too cold,never did feel the cold that much till I did 6 years in the Sinai Desert in + 35-40.

Ian.

[mriguy]

hey jmk,

sort of off topic, but saw you were looking at the coleman hot water on demand. so thought i'd let you know how much i love it!!! not just because it stores neat and compact, but because how great it is if you want a quick hippy shower in the morning with the most excellent shower head attachment!!! but it seriously comes in handy if you're camping with rug rats--hot water and a clean cloth goes a long way to making even the muddiest, rainy, ugly camping days seem not so bad, even after getting back to bus after surfing and washing your wetsuit off---pure magic!!! can't go wrong if they're still available at cambodian tire for about $150.

brent.

[storm80y]

My wife and I lived in the van for a couple of months when we first arrived. Experimented with sleeping across the back but it was too short. I am 185cm and I think even with the rear seat removed it would be uncomfortable. We bought a futon mattress and rolled it out over the back seat and onto the middle seats which when reclined. This required some padding where the back seats dip. We had it made up as a bed with fleece sheets and a duck down doona but also slept in our sleeping bags often as well. As we don't have a roof box, in the morning we would fold the mattress back and put the middle chairs up and then moved gear we had stowed in the front seats (bags, esky etc) into the middle. I can imagine there are better ways to permanently camperise but it suited us in the short term as newly landed itinerants.

I remember one morning I awoke in Sunshine carpark and there was an intricate chandelier of ice crystals formed inches above my mouth from my breath during the night. Was really glad to have slept in my snowboarding gear and not have to get changed in that weather.

[Erebus]

Finally I have a chance to post! My sleeping platform is modeled on TardisDeli's, but with some differences. Built for comfort and storage space on a 33-day trip to Inuvik.

It folds to 1/2 length, with the sides folding too. The second row seats are slid all the way back. In daytime they can be faced forward and seat two. Here it is in folded position (with one "leg" open)

DSC03882.JPG (144.47 KiB) Viewed 15786 times

The photo below is with most of it in sleeping position (only one "leg" is still folded). Note that the top folds down at both the tailgate and most of it folds forward. The seats, slid all the way back and facing back, are folded down, touching the platform. Headrests can stay on. Note that the platform does not go full width. It is 48" wide, with a corner cut out to clear the tailgate corner. The platform sits tight against the tailgate. The 4" folding edge allows one to reach down to reach the tailgate latch. Our mattress is 41" wide 4" thick foam ("twin" size), so there is room beside the mattress to put a book, flashlight, etc. I also put large sheets of that no-skid rubbery mats under the mattress so it won't slide.

DSC03883.JPG (147.34 KiB) Viewed 15742 times

This shot is from inside looking back, with the platform folded. The missing triangle from the rearmost section hasn't been attached with a removable hinge yet. I didn't need it on the trip, and it isn't a high priority right now.

DSC03884.JPG (150.87 KiB) Viewed 15712 times

Just folding the 3rd row seat flat works quite well, especially if you use an air mattress. The main reason I made the platform was to gain storage space. Under the seat is only 6" high, under the platform is 13". This photo shows what was UNDER the platform:

DSC_3328.JPG (74.57 KiB) Viewed 15694 times

The pile in the middle was under the platform between the sides. Went from the back all the way to the 2nd row seats. The boots and other stuff on the sidewalk was under the platform between the side of the platform and the side of the Delica. The stuff on the left (fire extinguisher, etc.) was beside the platform on the passenger side. Only the grey case stuck up above the level of the platform. In this photo you can see the no-skid under the mattress, and see that the mattress is narrower than the platform. During the day, the mattress was folded in half, leaving the 2nd row seats usable. On our Inuvik trip, the platform was never folded, only the mattress. At night our fleece jackets were on the 2nd row seats under the mattress to level it out some. And my computer brief case (lawyer-type hard rectangular case) lived between the 2nd row seats, nicely filling that gap.

Because the platform plus seats is longer than a 6' mattress, we could put our clothes on the end of the seats. We slept with our heads at the tailgate end, with mosquito netting covering only the mattress. Attached to the upper sidewalls with magnets, and the sides tucked under the mattress. Very effective.

That's my two cents worth.

[BCDelica]

These are great rear sleeping platforms, but the front area allows a roomy bed for children and vertically challenged singles..


http://www.delica.ca/forum/front-seat-b ... -3406.html

Here's Artacoma's Delica bed that I crudely copied a couple of years ago; built myself a quick prototype to see how it would work out in two hours and it worked great for two summers worth of road trips.





Another 2 bahts worth............