Every camper build has to answer this question: How do we keep perishable foods fresh?

Our solution: A modified sleek black mini fridge.

We settled on a full fridge unit (Amazon has it for CA$400, but we found ours refurbished at Factory Direct), rather than one with a freezer. There's nothing worse than unexpectedly mushy ice cream, so we opted for more fridge space instead.

Before making our decision, we debated the following options.

• just eat food that doesn't go bad — instant noodles!
• use a cooler and top it up with ice every so often
• use a cooler that runs off your car
• use a fridge that runs off propane
• use a fridge that runs off your car

For short-term camping, the first three are viable options. In the RV world, you're likely to have a propane fridge or a fridge that can run on a 12 V system. Unfortunately, these fridges are insanely expensive at over CA$1,200 for the same space as a mini fridge at CA$170!

Is there a better AND cheaper way?

In this post, I'll cover the solution I came up with, which was combining an inverter, start capacitor, and your typical, dorm-style mini fridge into the perfect, camper van fridge on a budget. 

This post will be more technical than usual, so hopefully I don't lose you on the way. If you're here for the TL;DR, click here.

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First, a quick HAPPY announcement. We sold the arrow! These things go for a fortune and we banked $900 on our 2016 model. /fistpump.

April and early May were all about framing:

• alcove was extended
• kitchen counters
• shower stall
• dinette

And of course, we'll give you an update on our finances as at the end of April.

This was the state of the box before we finished the pine paneling and dinette frame. You'll see the stack of pine panels cut to length sitting on our makeshift workbench/kitchen counter.

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The internet does not know delayed gratification, so here is the finished product first:

The only thing missing is a rooftop patio.

We wanted to kick off April with another big project, the skylight! We had the perfect weekend planned: clean the front cab (it reeked of old car), install the skylight, and put up some walls. Of course, this ends up taking more than one weekend. Chiko will pipe in below on a quick spending update.

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March flew by and April's flying by faster! Some days past by so quickly, while others feel like they stretch on and on. 

It's Chiko here and I now understand what it means to have writer's block. Although, it was more like dreading having to put my thoughts and emotions into words about COVID, but maybe this will be a healing exercise in itself. I'll keep my thoughts-and-feelies until the end of the post, but head on down there if that's what you're here for.

First, truck stuff!

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With social distancing and mandatory isolation in full force, we still haven't returned to the office. The added benefit is the hour+ that we save each day from not having to commute. Chiko chooses to spend those extra hours working, but I've been able to put in some time on the truck. In this post, we'll cover:

• Getting power into the box from the alternator
• Testing, removing, and cleaning the heater
• Patching the insulation
• Laying down the subfloor

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The first warm-ish weekends arrived and we got started on building out Cubert. In this post, I'll talk about installing:

• backup cameras,
• solar panels, and
• a Fan-tastic roof vent

This marks the end of removing pieces from the truck, now we're actually adding to it!

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