Made in the Shade - Awning Bracket Upgrade

 Of all the creature comforts on Vandalf the Beige, the one that is the most valuable, and most consistently used, is our ARB 2500 awning.  Our "living room" is defined by the space under the awning, next to the van.  Whether it be sun, rain, or bugs, the awning (and accessories) helps protect us and make our time outdoors more enjoyable.

But all was not perfect in awning-land.  We were in desperate need of an upgrade.

Photo courtesy Martin Meyers

Water System Upgrades

It's time to revisit one of the oh-so-sexy topics of van and camper building: Water Supply.

Management of your water stores is not something to be taken lightly.  You simply must have it.  Moreover, the fact that it's heavy and fluid means you really to make sure you've done a proper job of securing it.  Lastly, you don't want upkeep and usage to be a hassle.

The fresh-water system on the Gandalf-the-Beige has gone through a couple of evolutions that I've failed to document.  Since I just did a little cleanup on that system, I figured it was a good time to finally pen an update. You can catch up on the original installation here.

Retro Post: Our Portable Firepot - Roadii Fire Grill Clone

This past weekend I undertook some upgrades to the portable firepit system we often use when camping.  When I started writing things up, I realized that I hadn't really ever documented the original construction and use.  So before I cover the upgrades, let's back up slightly and talk about how we do campfires.

Bespoke Luggage for the Discerning Overlander

A careful reading of this blog will generally confirm one overriding theme:  Wherever possible, I try to optimize every facet of our overlanding experience.  Usually, patience and careful "spec-shopping" nets me a low-cost, lightweight solution.  Sometimes iteration is required, and I work from a coarse solution to a finer one.  The end of that trend-line, though, is that at a certain point, if things are going to get any better, I need to go custom.  And usually, that means making it myself.  This project follows that arc perfectly.

Off-the-Shelf vs. Custom