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- Lou's Kiteboarding home page
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- Lou's Comedy home page
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This van is our home away from home on most kiteboarding and comedy tours. Everything you can imagine is there; just in small form. Here are some pictures and details. When you see us, ask for a tour.
Ready for wind* (* photos by Brian Goldsburry of Kite World Magazine)
Lou's 2020 Kia Sedona on tour
(Picures of Lou's Kia have this black border; Photo by Louis Self)
Getting a little work done using the table & 110v inverter.
Photo by Anne Hanovich
The foyer welcomes*
Kite maintenance and repair drawers to the left of the foyer*
Under the left side of the bed are drawers for:
Kitchen utensils, oatmeal etc.;
Toiletries;
Nuts (5 kinds);
Shaver, mirror etc. (closed);
First Aid.
The table, on edge to the left, is held in place by velcro (black) when it is not in use.
Photo by Louis Self
Gadget drawer with blue kitchen cabinet to the right*
Under bread shelf: kitchen cabinet w fine dinner wear and narrow roll of paper towels.* You might want to look at the Health and Fitness section of our Smart Stuff web page.
Reorganized kitchen cabinet with most-used at the front and a second pint container as a place holder
The Oregon Scientific WMR-90 weather station monitors the wind, humidity and temperatures outside the van, inside the van, in the refrigerator, in the pantry and other places.*
Office drawer is above the pantry door, which is opened here*
Two-level single-temperature refrigerator*
The Board Room is under the couch/bed;* in the Kia with diamond plate vinyl
A folded queen-sized comforter rounds out the couch. Depending on the expected low temperature, at night we can sleep on top with nothing on but the ceiling fan, under only a beach towel, under one layer of comforter or under two layers.
Photo by Louis Self
We spent 10 nights at home in Phoenix on our kitchen floor engineering the bed, and ended up with a bed that was more comfortable than our real bed, which is a Sleep Number from Select Comfort. The van's mattress
is one inch of firm foam on top of a semi-inflated four-inch self-inflating air mattress. This bed eliminates pressure points so there is no tossing and turning and a wide bed is not necessary. The firm foam is not quite as cushy as softer foam, but makes for better sitting when we are working in the office mode. The best mattress covering can be sewed up from a flat twin-bed-sized knit sheet. A fitted twin knit sheet also works, but needs a little twisting and tweaking.
Photo by Louis Self
A carpet non-skid mat keeps the mattress from scooting around while driving.
Photo by Louis Self
Rear Hatch:
Old 1996 van:
To the left is all the kiting equipment and in the background, top-to-bottom: closet, linen shelf, emergency road service box beside the gym bag, tool box & long-term storage bins. The white wet bin
among the kites accommodates sandy and wet harnesses, pumps etc.*
New 2020 Van: The rear of the new van is used for the transportation of comedy stuff like merchandise, PA system, video equipment, stage lights etc.
All the kite equipment was stowed under a plywood floor in the space where the third-row seats would fold down. In 2024 the kite equipment was sold (intending to rent) so the space was allotted to overflow storage.
RUNNING WATER is in the blue jerry can. Six gallons lasts about ten days.*
This little $10, 12 V submersible water pump was added to a modified jerry can to provide running
water. No more getting out of the van to fill water bottles. We're either getting lazy or getting smart! The white and black pump is our third, put into service in April 2019.The gray one was our second pump, which lasted three years from January 2016 to April, 2019. The blue one lasted 6 years, from January 2010 to January 2016, until it became waterlogged, rusty inside and froze up.
Ready to press the red button and fill my water bottle. This square bottle (by Hawaii Water) doesn't roll around the van and fits efficiently into its water socket.
The convience of a single-stream shower outside for rinsing off feet and equipment while conserving water.
| 12/120 v single-temperature refrigerator |
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housebattery
In the same space that used to be occupied by two super-insulated ice chests, we now have the new refrigerator and the office and pantry drawers.
The refrigerators come in various sizes. Here is some information for the current model like we have, available at Beverage Factory. This and other portable refrigerator/freezers are available in various sizes from My 12 Volt Store.
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The custom-made bed/couch/board-storage in progress in our back yard. |
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Cloudy headlights can make a vehicle look old before its time. We wet sanded the plastic lenses using progressively finer abrasive paper (400, 1000, 2000 grit) and finished off with Mirror Glaze plastic polish. We maintain them with Scratch Out from KitWax.
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New Van? Back in 2010 we were about to replace our 1996 Dodge Grand Caravan with a Toyota Sienna to get all-wheel drive and some more modern features. Here's our New Van Wish List of features, followed by the reasons we did not buy the Sienna.
Back-up Camera that mounts over the licence plate (more info)
and displays on the special dual-function rearview mirror.
Speaking of cameras, a dash cam is a MUST nowadays - and so inexpensive. In April, 2018 we bought this $65 Old Shark Dash Cam, 1080P HD with G-Sensor, Loop Recording, WDR, Parking Guard, to give the biggest bang for the buck.
NOT MY VAN! - Nick has an excellent blog with pictures on the work he did on his van, pictured here.
(* indicates photo taken by Brian Goldsburry of Kite World Magazine)
EZ-Pass - covers tolls in 19 states, with a discount in Florida, using this transponder so you do not have to stop or slow down. The transponder mounts behind (in front of) your rear mirror. There is no monthly fee so you pay only for what you use.
Top Tier Detergent Gasoline is a higher standard than the EPA minimum, keeps your car engine running cleaner and is worth the possible additional 3¢+/gal.
AAA is an excellent sources for gas prices by state.
Latest list and map
