First Up… A Bed and a Desk

Okay! We (my father, mostly) have been hard at work designing and building a bedframe to level out the bed and create more storage underneath, as well as a desk/table element for the back seat so I can live/work even if the weather is not cooperating.

It’s looking GREAT so far, although the bed takes up slightly more room than I would have liked, I’ll have to be very creative with my storage for all of my equipment, instruments, cooking equipment, and clothes.

Tomorrow I’ll be going to see some friends perform (shout-out Lawrence and Stacey Ryan!) in NYC, so I’ll be spending my first night in the car with the full bed setup.

When I get back I’ll finalize my design for my storage and kitchenette, build that, and by the following weekend I’ll hopefully be on the road! (to someplace WARM.)

Keep an eye out for a video this weekend where I show the build process of the bedframe and desk! After over a year of planning, it’s starting to feel real and unless we hit some speed bumps, it actually is!

CB

The Home Has Arrived

It doesn’t exactly feel real yet, but this week I took a bus down to NYC from upstate New York, saw some friends perform, stayed on a friend’s couch, and then hitched a ride up to where I could pick up my new car/home! I’ve only been driving it for two days, but it’s really fantastic so far. Still getting used to charging it instead of filling it with gas, but it’s definitely a welcome change to be able to plug in at my convenience and have it charge overnight.

Next up! I’ll be taking a few little trips and spending a few nights in the car to start to figure out what I need to build to make my life as convenient as possible. I’ll be doing a little clinic at NYU, so the first one will be this weekend. The first big trip with everything will be in two weeks, and then we’re off to the races!!

CB

Finally, an UPDATE update.

So over the summer I had begun the process of doing everything I could without the vehicle, and then slowly started the tasks that I kind of really did need the vehicle for but could manage without, and then made huge steps that I probably shouldn’t have (like selling my old car and moving out of my apartment in New York) for the sake of being able to hit the road ASAP. My vehicle got delayed (again, again, again) saying it could come as late as the end of December (and maybe later) but then a few days ago, it said it left the factory in Texas and was on the way up to New York. Wild.

So please let this be the last time I write about logistics. Assuming all of the paperwork clears (and I’m not assuming ANYTHING anymore) then I will be driving back to where my family lives in upstate New York a week from today in the new car and begin the conversion.

The big steps will be:
-Measure out for a bedframe
-Measure out for bug screens on the windows
-Assess acoustics for acoustic paneling and bass traps for recording
-Begin building shelving and storage
-See if I want to put my refrigerator in the sub trunk, or if there’s another place I can put it and have a toilet in there (!)
-See what I can actually fit in the front trunk (trombones? Starlink satellite internet? Cleaning/cooking supplies?)

It’s mostly a matter of how to configure everything and what makes the most sense. I’m just looking forward to having the next steps be in my own hands again!!

Hopefully be back SOON with some new info.
CB

Summer Update

Okay!! SO MUCH has happened! My Tesla delivery has been pushed from March, to April, skipping May to June, to July, to August, and it seems like it has settled on September 17 - October 15th. It has been a LONG wait but the wait has allowed me to prepare and try to think of every little thing I’ll need on my journey. Today I filmed a video going through all of my equipment for my adventure and I’m editing it now. I’ll have to cut out a lot to keep it interesting because it’s a little dry, but I guess that’s okay for this kind of video. I’m just getting a little impatient because once I’m on the road I’ll have so much more to talk about and to show, and for now it’s just here’s what I will be doing.

That said, I have done some actual tests of the equipment. I slept in my current car for a two-day trip and tested out the Starlink Internet, the Jackery battery and solar panels, as well as some of my setup with my water tank and sink. It all worked great, the bed was super comfy, the internet was speedy, and the battery lasted and charged decently with the solar panels. That said, the one piece of the puzzle that is SUPER not okay (in the 95 degree New York heat) is the car. With the Tesla I’ll be able to run the climate controls overnight and stay comfortable. With my current car I was having to wake up in blistering heat to turn on my car and run the air for a few minutes to cool down before trying to get more sleep.

The experience definitely made me think about where I’ll want to be and when. I’m thinking my ideal temperature might be closer to 60 degrees during the day and 40 degrees at night. My car is black and will soak up heat pretty well. If I’m trying to record and run my equipment (which all produces heat), I think it might be best to be in a little bit of a cooler climate and it will be a natural air conditioner, not to mention the fact that getting super cozy in a sleeping bag in 40-50 degree weather is the BEST. I’ll experiment with it and take notes as I go, but I think there’s a way to be extremely comfortable as well as save on energy costs… and let me tell you… 95 degree summer is not it!!

Okay back to work! Cross your fingers for me that my car delivery window doesn’t move again! I am absolutely holding my breath every time I open up the app.
CB