Just DIY work and setting up equipment (portable sink, bed board/shelf) is like like putting the cart before the horse, so I decided to go out auto camping with the NV200. I wanted to check out the added stuff in real usage to see if it works. I departed Tokyo late afternoon and headed south towards Mt. Fuji without a specific destination in mind. I ended up heading towards Fujikawa Service Area (SA) on the Tomei Expressway which I read as having a nice view of Mt.Fuji and nice facilities. I ended up arriving in the dark at night unable to check whether my read was correct, but I decided to trust it.

Before arriving at my destination, I exited the expressway at Fuji interchange and headed to a public bath place for a dip. As the name Fuji-city says, Mt Fuji can be seen from just about anywhere in the city.

After getting dinner and dessert, I headed to Shimizu interchange to get on the expressway and headed towards Fujikawa SA.I later learned that I could have accessed this SA via local roads. Lesson learned.

Arriving at the SA, there were very few cars around, and the (annoying) trucks which keep their engines running all night were parked in their spots a distance away. A few camping cars ready to spend the night here were already parked. In the darkness not knowing which direction and where Mt.Fuji can be seen, I randomly picked a parking place away seeking silence from other cars. Though I ended up having to move the car to a different place early morning in order to enjoy the view of Mt. Fuji from the window, the initial place was also good since I was unexpectedly able to shoot a nice night view.

As I spent the night eating bento dinner in the car watching TV (no cooking, just boiling water for my instant miso soup and tea) and having dessert while checking my emails, I quickly became sleepy. (I guess that tennis in the afternoon followed by a hot relaxing bath did it.)
Using the sink unit which I filled water with before departure to wash my face and brush my teeth (fulfilled it's role perfectly) , I converted the space to bedroom mode by changing the rear shelf to the bed board. The switch was very easy being able to leave the sink as is. The legs attached to the bed board is a bit weak resulting in the board moving when I turned over, but that's nothing compared to the extended bed width achieved. It was still a chilly night but the FF heater made the van warm and comfortable to sleep in.

Getting out of the van midnight for restroom business, I was welcomed by a beautiful night view looking down at the lights of Fuji-city. Was able to catch a nice Instagram pic.

However on my second wake up as the sky was beginning to brighten, I discovered that the view of Mt. Fuji was blocked by a building and unseen from where I was parked. No wonder no one was parked around the area. After thinking about the burden of moving the car to another lot, I decided to do it out of strong desire to wake up to a view of Mt.Fuji though the van window. I went back to sleep for another couple of hours, and happily woke up to see what I had wanted to see.

Dripped coffee, roll sandwich and yogurt from the portable refrigerator powered throughout the night by the EFDELTA power brick (another equipment check item) was breakfast. Spent some lazy time in the van slowly packing up and tearing down my sleeping quarters until realizing that all the SA facilities and shops had been already open for a while, and visitors were already coming in waves. I went window shopping teasing the gift shops, enjoyed the full view of Mt.Fuji from the observation deck, and casually strolled around the area till the clock was telling me it was about lunch time. After purchasing a small cactus as my new traveling buddy at a local market booth, it was time to start the engine and leave the SA searching for lunch.

I ended up visiting a local seafood bowl eatery called "Sunzoku" near Tagonoura fishing port. The raw fish bowl included maguro tuna, raw and boiled whitebait, and sakura shrimp. Eating the bowl as recommended, I discovered that sesame oil (with a sprinkle of salt) goes well with whitebait.

I stopped by the river side of Fuji River for an after-meal cup of coffee, before heading home.

Filet cutlets have become very tender these days...is it age that is making me like them more than loin cutlets ? lol

The "L" mode sidew bench layout has been something that has been on my mind since I got this camper, or maybe even at the point of choosing this model. The portable sink galley was actually designed with this layout in mind. In actually setting up this layout, it's much more spacious than the standard dinette mode. I like it so much that it's been the fixed layout this couple of weeks, and looks like it's going to stay that way as the standard setting, especially for solo traveling.

The down side with this layout is that though it's comfy spending the day, it's not an one-touch conversion to the standard sleeping layout. Dismantling the galley is especially something that needs avoiding. The width of just the side bench seat is also too narrow to act as a bed.

Being a lazy person, I needed to find a way to configure this layout into a sleeping setting without a drastic change. After a while of staring at the interior, the idea of an additional bed board came to mind. Placing a bed board next to the side bench will add width to the seating surface and turn it into at least a single bed. The galley will keep it's place since the bed board will be designed to fit right in between the bench and galley.

I measured the length of the bed board to be 120cm, which is achievable by pushing forward the second seat. This 120cm becomes key, which will be explained later. The gap between the bench seat and the galley is about 35cm, and I decided the board width to be 30cm to keep allowance. I chose a set of folding table legs that would give the board a height of 33cm when in use. the height would be just about the same height as the bench seat.

I found a stock table board of 120cm x 30cm size on Amazon, and I picked up a no-brand one over the Iris Ohyama one which was said to be lighter but had quality and packaging issues by the reviews.

Now, an issue that had to be solved was where to store a 120cm board in the daytime when not in use as a bed. Once choice was to look for a place to hide it, but it would be better to make use of it rather than put it away. As I was searching, I found out that other owners of the same model camper were adding rear shelves that span across the width of the car, and can be used as a table in addition to the storage shelf.
Guess what...the length (width) of the shelve/table that's bingo for the NV200 happens to be....120cm !
The 120cm that was just the right size for the bed board is also the just fit size for the rear shelf, making it possible to kill two birds with one stone, a bed board and rear shelf.

The table board that came is sturdy and looks strong enough to hold my body weight as a bed board, but needing a bit of strength moving it around.. Looks nice too being a melanin board with a gloss surface. After pre-fitting the board in the car, the table legs were screwed on. It turns out folding table legs are flexible to weight, but luckily wasn't a show stopper. I added rubber edge guards that act as stoppers to keep the rear shelf fixed while the car is moving, and also to gain a little height to avoid the seat back of the bench seat.
With the DIY finished, the bed board/rear shelf is complete.

Since I had pre-fitted the board, the completed bed board went in with a snug fit as planned, with the board legs avoiding the dining table stem base as calculated. The height is slightly lower tan the bench seat which will be compensated by the thickness of the blanket laid down as a mat.

The board as the rear shelf is also a perfect fit, and the just right width of 120cm feels so good. The height gain to avoid the seat back of the bench seat needs tuning, but hoping to keep it minimal.

My living quarter for the solo auto camp is about complete. Eager to head out adventuring.