Bed Liner Love-Fest

This morning, I was so ecstatic with how well the bed liner in the doorsteps turned out, that I opted to cover the van's entire front floor with it. The picture doesn't do it justice, but the result looks great, is super rugged, and offers about as much anti-corrosion protection as one could ask for:

I expect this to offer a noticeable reduction in road noise too, but I won't know for sure until I do a touch-up coat tomorrow (weather permitting) and reattach the gas pedal (important). If I like what I hear – or more accurately, what I don't hear – I think I'll continue this bed liner love-fest into the rear of the van. It's pretty simple to put down, dries fairly quickly between coats, is almost indestructible once cured, and it's pretty cost-effective considering all its benefits. What's not to love?

In case you're worried that my rolling home will end up looking like Darth Vader on all sides, fear not. The floor, walls, and ceiling will all be tastefully covered in the rear, so all this bulletproof goodness should only be visible up front. Even there, I'll eventually be putting in some cool floor mats and maybe some carpeting around the gear shift. Regardless, the Force will remain strong.

With work up front starting to draw to a close finally, I delved into some minor surface rust in the rear of the van late today, officially kicking off work on what will become the actual living space. Q snapped this cool shot of me working my magic with the angle grinder...

A true Kodak moment if there ever was one. It's a most capable tool, the angle grinder, but so far, Q's air compressor wins my top honors in the arsenal. I get a little giddy each time I realize it's the right tool for whatever needs to be done next. It's likely that I'll repeat this refrain a few more times before the curtain descends on this project: Better living through power tools, folks, and we're living large here at the compound.

It occurred to me today just how liberating it feels to own a vehicle that I feel such little hesitation about modifying to my heart's content. The Chinook sits at the opposite extreme – so well-constructed and luxuriously appointed, that an annoying degree of hemming and hawing has always preceded the first step of any of my upgrade projects. Perhaps a good thing under the circumstances, but with the Vanagon, the stakes are so refreshingly low, and it feels great to jump in and get my hands dirty without all that pesky second-guessing. Only time will tell if this is a good thing...