May 2026 Update and Van Build Expenses

The plan (hope) was that the van would have been finished by the end of our 3-month house/pet sit in Crozet, Virginia, on March 31. As the end of March approached, we realized this wouldn’t be the case. I started searching for sits in the Southeast on my Trusted House Sitters app. We lucked out and found a 3 1/2 week sit in South Carolina that started soon after the Crozet sit ended. We hoped the additional weeks would suffice. But it readily became apparent that they wouldn’t. The 9-day gap between the Crozet and the South Carolina sit was difficult to manage due to carrying so many tools and construction materials with us. This made me rethink my strategy of looking for longer sits (which was already a chore as sits are less available in the southeast). I started searching for back-to-back sits, even if they were short.

What I came up with was 3 sits, one after the other, that would take us to the end of May. Two were in Asheville, North Carolina, in the same neighborhood, little over a half mile from each other. The third was in Huntersville, NC, conveniently located 15 minutes from Greg’s mom’s house.

Goodbye, Jovi the puppy

But first, we had to finish up our South Carolina sit and say goodbye to Jovi the puppy. She had grown so much!

Jovi on our first day with her.

Jovi on our last day with her.

Haw Creek

In Asheville, we did our two consecutive house sits in the Haw Creek neighborhood. We had visited this neighborhood last October while we were house-sitting two large, ball-enthusiastic Golden Retrievers in West Asheville. The pet parents had a second home in Haw Creek, where the Goldens loved to chase tennis balls into the pond on the property. Occasionally, on my walks at our new sit, when I’d walk by this house, one of the Goldens would be standing in the driveway staring at me as I passed. I wondered if they remembered me.

What I didn’t know about Haw Creek back then when I was sitting the goldens was how close it was to the wooded area along the Blue Ridge Parkway. At our first house sit in the neighborhood, we were warned about bears. During our third week, I finally saw one. It was trash day and he/she was busy having a morning rummage! We also saw lots of birds, wild turkeys walking in people’s yards, and one snake crossing the road.

I saw this black bear getting into garbage on a walk with Lola and Dante. I took this picture from a distance and then we altered out course.

Wild turkey.

Eastern/Gray Ratsnake.

Heidi

Our first Haw Creek sit was for Heidi, a very smart, sweet, and highly alert Rat Terrier.  She would sit at the picture window surveying the yard, ready to bound out the back door and protect us from the slightest threat. She was an avid hiker. I took her on neighborhood trails up to the Blue Ridge Parkway a couple of times. On these hikes, she was always patient with me when I had trouble climbing over the same downed trees that she leaped over. She liked to be nearby but not underfoot, and she loved to hide under the covers when we watched TV at night.

Keeping an eye on the yard.

Heidi was very smart and knew lots of commands.

She loved to play fetch in the yard.

There were many trees across the trail that led from the neighborhood to the parkway. I assume due to Hurricane Helene.

Hanging out on the bed.

Under the covers.

Lola and Dante

Our second Haw Creek sit was with Dante and Lola. These guys were just regular dogs, sweet and fun. They loved their walks, although Dante was much more enthusiastic about them than Lola. At the house, Lola liked to hide in dark spaces. Dante loved to watch the world from the porch. They were both super cuddlers.

Lola (left) and Dante.

Ready for their walk.

Dante.

Lola.

Dante.

Lola.

Chance

From Asheville, we moved on to Huntersville, where we sat Chance, an Australian Shepherd. Chance wasn’t so sure about us at first, but warmed up after a day or so. He was an excellent walker, keeping up with whatever pace I set, and an expert cuddler. He had a giant herding ball in the backyard that he loved to push around. Unfortunately, he also liked biting it and ended up puncturing it. I tried to mend it, but no luck. Hopefully, his people have bought him a new one by now.

Chance mostly shadowed me, but occasionally he liked to just hang out in the yard.

Chance with his herding ball.

He loved lying on the back of the couch.

With his punctured and deflated ball.

Chance.

Hanging out on the lounge chair.

Friends, Family, and a bit of Leisure

Being back in our usual stomping grounds, we had the opportunity to visit with some friends and family. While we were still in South Carolina, we met our friends Dan and Lisa out for dinner. In Huntersville, we were able to visit with Greg’s mom, brother, and sister-in-law several times and had a nice gathering with extended family for Greg’s nephew’s birthday.

In Asheville, I started getting a little sentimental. When we lived in Greenville, SC, we were just an hour away from this quirky mountain town. We spent a lot of time here at festivals, going to concerts, spending a day at the art museum, catching a flick at the art theater, eating out, or playing darts and drinking at one of our favorite local pubs. If our plans work out, we might never return. Our three weeks in Asheville became a sort of goodbye, and we spent a little time eating out more than usual and soaking in the Asheville atmosphere.

Us with Dan and Lisa at Jocassee Valley Brewing Company near Salem, SC.

Us at Creekside Taphouse in Haw Creek, Asheville.

Our anniversary dinner of chili cheese fries at Rosetta’s Kitchen in Asheville.

Scene at Jack of the Wood Pub, one of our favorite hangouts in Asheville.

Greg’s nephew’s birthday dinner. Greg and his brother, Ken, side by side. Matt, the birthday celebrant, across from them. To the left of Matt are his mom, Shirley, and grandmother, Dossie.

Van Build Expenses

Cost of the Van: $54,652.75

Cost of upgrade so far, 5/31/26: $22,463.38

*Numbers colored red-violet indicate an increase from the previous month.

We spent $792.85 on Periplo in May.

We added a light under our newly built galley cabinets to illuminate our countertop. We bought a pack of two lights with USB ports for $29.94, installing one and keeping the other with a small stockpile of spare hardware we will carry with us.

We also installed a fan on the end of the galley cabinets. We didn’t have a hard-wired fan in our previous van, Ballena Blanca, but after all of our overlanding friends who had traveled through Central America warned us about how hot it gets there, I decided that we needed more than our portable Ryobi fan. After reading reviews and thinking a lot about functionality, I settled on the most expensive fan I had been looking at. It’s quiet, points in almost any direction, runs at variable speeds, and uses little power. It is manufactured in Canada, which might account for its $153.00 price tag, but so far we think it is worth it.

We spent $118.01 on another sheet of plywood, more banding, and molding. Hopefully, we walked down our last lumber aisle in Home Depot.

We bought a new tool (a hole saw to install our shower pan, $17.66), but we sold our portable table saw (for $80). This means we subtracted a few dollars (-$62.34) from the tools category.

Of course, there were more general supplies, $83.37. This was for paint, caulk, screws, and wood putty.

We added $66.57 to the hardware category for cabinet latches, gas struts to hold the cabinet doors open, and a piano hinge for our potty/shower area.

Plumbing went up $17.37 for our shower drain.

And then there was my project. I made covers for our bench cushions. I bought material, zippers, and a special zipper foot for my gifted sewing machine. Extra money was spent on material when I screwed up the first cushion cover (luckily, I started with the smaller cover). Total for everything was $78.98.

Our biggest expense for the month was in the Tile and Flooring category, $307.95. We bought glue to attach our shower tiles to our shower seat ($21.36) and laminate planks for our floor ($286.59).

Notes on the build

We did not finish the build at the end of May, but we got super close. Luckily, we were close enough that we could return Greg’s mom’s car. But this also meant we needed to lighten our load, since we would no longer have our little red gas-powered suitcase to transport all our tools and extra supplies. Slowly, over the last year, I had been sorting the stuff we had been carrying with us from our storage unit. I had already made a few trips to Goodwill, and we gave a lot of stuff to the handyman at our Crozet house sit. With the van almost complete, I found even more things we didn’t need and that wouldn’t fit in the van, and I toted those things off to Goodwill. Then, together, Greg and I sorted out all the lumber we required for our remaining projects. Everything else went to the dump.

Sorting all our remaining lumber.

All the lumber we got rid of.

Most of my work on the van has been computer-based, designing and calculating, but I also had a hands-on project this past month. I sewed cushion covers for our bench. I think they turned out pretty good.

May’s Projects

And now Greg will tell you about what he did in May…

We installed the countertop and sink.

Sink Installed.

I thought the air vent on our gray water tank would allow water to flow in. But our sink was draining slowly. The solution was adding the air release valve on the left. It’s higher than our Barbie p-trap and allows the sink water to drain freely.

Pantry storage under the countertop. Duwan started filling all our storage spaces about four seconds after each one was completed.

I built and tiled a cabinet for the potty and shower area.

Parts for the potty cabinet (and a couple of doors).

Potty cabinet with our store-bought composting toilet inside.

Cutting and positioning tile pieces for the potty/shower area.

Glueing on tile pieces.

Completed tile job.

I installed our shower.

Shower faucet (which is really a bidet sprayer).

Back side of the shower (under the galley). It’s similar to the power station in that everything is a tight fit. Green and white tube on the left is our water tank fill. Brass fittings are for hot and cold shower water. And hinge is for the cabinet door.

Installed shower pan. Unfortunately it’s higher than the floor level. The bamboo cover came with the shower pan. (The round black rubber cap covers the hole used to raise and lower the spare tire.)

We couldn’t locate the shower pan exactly where we wanted. The drain would come out in the middle of a crossbeam. We moved it toward the back of the van. It still comes out over the spare tire, but these plumbing connections will carry the water out past the tire (when it’s fully raised and in place).

I completed the passenger side wall.

Finally got to install over-the-counter outlet. Regular GFCI outlet on the left . The switch on the right activates the AC outlet below the counter, turning on our water heater as needed.

After adding furring strips for the passenger side wall I decided that it could have the same slope over the countertop AND over the shower area. Here is one of the modified furring strips (studs). It’s been notched out, moved to the left, and supported from behind (instead of using pocket hole screws).

Modified wall support. (The dangling piece of plywood is where we tried to figure out our cabinet height.)

Passenger side wall installed.

And built some cabinets and put doors on them.

Added a cabinet over the fridge.

Over-the-galley cabinet positioning. I threw together some temporary supports to hold it in place while working on it.

Galley area sans doors.

I got a little carpentry help from the dogs we were sitting in Asheville. I searched for this piece for about 20 minutes before Duwan found it in the yard.

Cabinet door assembly line: ready for paint, hinges and latches.

Pile of cabinet hinges.

I installed the remaining electrical stuff on the passenger side.

Finally got to install over-the-counter outlet. Regular GFCI outlet on the left . The switch on the right activates the AC outlet below the counter, turning on our water heater as needed.

AC breaker panel was installed around six months ago. Here ALL of the AC breakers are live for the first time!

LED light added above the outlet.

We’re super happy with this three speed fan. It’s quiet. Its power usage is negligible. And it can point anywhere.

We installed Flooring!

The flooring looked complicated, but ended up being one of the easiest things we accomplished. We did have to cut and snap most of the pieces together before sliding them in place..

Flooring with trim.

View through side door of trimmed out flooring.

Work areas. Not pictured is Huntersville. I mostly worked outside there. The garages contained a Ferrari, two Lotuses, and a Tesla. I mostly just walked through, trying not to touch anything.

Work space in our Lake Keowee house sit.

Work area on porch in Asheville.

It feels like we’re finally getting somewhere.

To see all of our van build expense reports, click here.

To see our travel expense reports, click here.

If you are interested in reading other expense reports from nomads who really know how to live cheaply while still having a good time, check out the blog from our friends Mark, Liesbet, and Maya at Roaming About. They are currently driving around Europe looking for a new camper, a home base, and taking in the sights!

If you are interested in becoming a Trusted Housesitter or having a Trusted Housesitter take care of your pet, use our Trusted House Sitters discount code for 25% off!