Nerd Camp-out
A great excuse to build a bed!
So, I’m fairly certain I’ve mentioned it before, but I’m a pretty big nerd. Just about every weekend, I go to a city park and watch my friends whack each other with foam weapons. There’s all kinds of yelling of make-believe spells and abilities, clanging of armor, and everything you’d expect in a battle of nerds. It’s great! Well, this last weekend was one of my groups’ annual camp-outs, where we spend Thursday through Saturday living our best nerd lives. Fighting, feasting, knightings, and cultural events like art contests and classes on how to do this or that.
It was a great excuse to get a build in Berry.
There were plans to make the build permanent just yet, so I didn’t remove the seatback on the 60% split of the back bench. I didn’t go super fancy or anything, just a flat platform with some structural support so it wasn’t as bendy under my weight. Worked rather well! It’s also pretty surprising that I can fit a 6’ bed in the back— no one’s able to sit up front with me, but that’s fine! I’ll put a cooler up front or something.
Even with the seat ‘stowed’ I have a lot of room to store stuff. The entire legroom is still available, and there is some space under the bed as well. If I ever go full time, I plan to remove all the bulk in the trunk, and remove the rear seat— that will lower the entire area, and give much more headroom to work with!
Sadly, the week prior to and the week following this event was student move-in for my town…. There were no 6” memory foam mattresses to be had in the shops. I had to make due with folding a Full memory topper in half and throwing some padding underneath to help with my bottoming-out hips. It wasn’t the most comfortable bed, but it wasn’t the worst.
I was able to sleep well— when my bladder wasn’t making me do the long walk to the restroom (I didn’t have anywhere private to put my porta-potty.) I’m definitely going to get a little tent or shower pop-up for my potty, cause that sucked. Other than late-night potty runs, the camp-out was a blast. I took 745 photos with my camera, met some new folks, hung out with my friends, and worked my ass off as a volunteer.
Stuff like this is why I chose Berry. Sure, I’d have a little more room with a minivan, but I’ve got a great commuter that can park anywhere, has a huge reputation for reliability (Toyota!) and is just plain fun. Berry is supposed to be a bedroom, not the whole house, and I feel that will lead me to experiencing my adventures more. The future holds some sort of canopy or specialized tent for setting up a sort of living room. Until then, Berry has me covered for a cozy spot to rest my head when I go camping with nerds.
That’s all for now, but stay turned!
6' x 30"! I guess you can wiggle! My van bed was only 5'6" x 27"... and I am taller that 5'6" and bigger around than you! lol. YOU can do cart-wheels in there.