How to build the no build minivan
The Honda Odyssey is a very spacious minivan, but with all the chairs that don’t lay flat, I had to figure out how to fit my Hest Dually Mattress and Luke’s dog bed into the minivan comfortably.
Removing the Seats
The first step for me was removing the minivan’s second and third rows. I googled for instructions and watched some YouTube videos, which seemed pretty straightforward. I asked my stepdad for a ratchet, and he quickly showed me how to use it. I jumped into the van and started to remove the screws. A few minutes later, my stepdad returned with an automatic tool and said, “Now that you know how to remove the screws manually. Do you want to use this? You hold down the button.” And I, of course, said, “Yes! That’ll be easier. Work smarter, not harder!”
Once I removed all the screws, I was grateful that my stepdad was around because once I had all the screws out, I needed his help to carry the chairs out of the minivan. Each chair is quite heavy. We moved the chairs into the shed, and I had an empty minivan.
The Cleanup
Now it was clean-up time! I vacuumed and removed Luke’s hair sticking to the minivan’s carpet from our recent camping trips. The Shop-Vac didn’t pick up all his hair, but this little pet hair remover from Amazon did the trick.
A clean minivan, and now it’s time to figure out the minivan camper configuration. I threw my Hest Dually Mattress into the minivan to figure out the layout. The mattress does not fit unfolded, so it has to stay folded, which is okay because it provides more cushion. I noticed that the Honda Odyssey’s 2nd-row chairs were attached to the floor with what they call the Magic Slide. The Magic Slide was not level with the existing floor of the Odyssey, so I had to find a way to make the mattress level in the van because I did not want to remove it. I read that once removed, it can be a pain to put back in.
Luckily, my parents had some heavy-duty shelving for their garage that they were not using. I took one shelf because it would be a great leveler, and it was. I placed one of the shelves on top of the Magic Slide, which leveled out the mattress. I put Luke’s bed next to mine, and our sleeping situation was ready.
Next Steps
Part two of the minivan conversion will be figuring out how I’ll put all of our gear in the minivan around the beds and leave space for Luke while we drive. I’ll take inventory of our gear, and stay tuned for Part 2 as we organize our gear into the minivan.
Happy Vanventuring!