He was known as Vlad the Impala only to me, and he had been my trusty steed for the last 9 years. By simple virtue of it being the car in my possession, plans were laid to turn Vlad into a home on wheels.
The first order of business was to remove the back seats, opening up the pass-through into the trunk. I had to figure out if I could even fit in the back before I really committed to the idea. The length seemed like it would be enough if I moved the passenger seat as far up as it could go, placing my head right behind it and lying diagonally to maximize space.
A makeshift platform was assembled out of pillows and towels balanced on a cooler to level out the back. I realized once I settled in that I could lay straight behind the passenger seat with my feet in the trunk, no need for weird sleeping angles.
There wasn’t an incredible amount of space, but it was doable. If I was comfortable enough spending a few nights on my temporary sleeping platform, I would buy some wood and make a more comfortable bed.
At this point in the plan, I was purchasing items that would be useful no matter which vehicle I would end up in. Vlad was roomy enough that I added another inch of thickness to the foam mattress I was ordering. I bought a curtain to hang behind the front seats for privacy and to block out light. My windows already had a dark tint, so I held off on making window covers for the rest of the car.
Once the foam for my mattress arrived, I put the whole setup together and saw how comfortable it was. The thickness of the bed made the experience surprisingly cozy. I wasn’t able to toss and turn freely, but as long as I was on my back it wasn’t so bad. Like a big metal sleeping bag.
I started accepting the mindset that Vlad would be for spending the night in, not for living in. I would do my living out in the wilderness, at the destinations I would be visiting in my travels. Vlad would merely be the place where I would sleep and store my stuff. And with Vlad, I could sleep almost anywhere.
This is where Vlad's true beauty would be showcased. People might be suspicious of an RV or van staying overnight in a hotel parking lot. Not so with Vlad. A school bus in the densest part of a big city would be a prime target for curious lookie-loos and law enforcement. Vlad would blend right in. What I was giving up in comfort, I was making up for in stealth.
It was hard to imagine anyone sleeping in my Chevy Impala, and therefore hardly deserved a second glance from people looking to hassle cardwellers. The Planet Fitness parking lots and campgrounds across the country would become my bedroom.
I was still dipping my toes into the lifestyle though. I needed to really test it out before I committed to putting any more resources into the project.
Luckily, an opportunity to try out Vlad in unfamiliar territory would soon present itself.
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