instructables
Bow Top Conestoga Gypsy Vardo
by ganeshruskin
Well it is done. It felt like it would take forever, but it is
finally finished . And it has certainly not been one of
the most profitable projects we have worked on, but it
has also not been the least...
This being the second of these bow top gypsy vardos
my partner and I have made, everything had to be
done just right, and so it actually took longer than the
first one. We finally figured out the optimal roof
design, including trailerablility, so now it has large
eve's and a bonet for travel. The door latches took a
little fenagaling, but the brass hardware is perfect and
the cabin latch and turn latch are back woods class.
Some advice for whoever would build one of these:
use stable straight grain wood for the door and
window batten material. I used salvage old redwood,
which is super beautiful, but it warped and bowed and
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I had to refit everything many times.
Buy a quality trailer. Ours wasn't really up to the job it
was rated for, cause it was affordable, and so it has
been welded three times where it was breaking. The
tongue once broke clean in half actually. Now it is
beefy as all get out, but possibly better to buy
something heavy duty with a box frame tongue or
weld it before you use it.
A clear vinyl tarp will make a great roof, but it won't
breath, so sew vinyl to sunforger canvas and you will
have the best of both worlds.
That's all I can think of at the moment, it's been an
amazing traveling home for us, but we sold it to move
to Maine, best of experiences if you build one
yourself....
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1. lower door to access the hold directly

2. bolted to 5x8 trailer. easy to move to another trailer.

1. HD T&G boards only planed on one side, other side hand 1. Yes, hand saws still kick ass if you buy good 26in long Sharp Tooth ones, and
planed. learn how to use them...

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Step 1: Design Considerations and Materials

So, this wagon is bigger than the first wagon, 10 feet old salvaged redwood logs from where we live, which
long, v's 8 feet, 7 feet wide and tall v's 6' 6". I however do not recommend, as the wood lacks the
straightness or stability desirable in trim wood. Other
I could only get hold of ten foot plywood in 1/2inch trim used was some brazilian hardwood, species I am
thickness, so I glued and screwed two sheets not sure, but we already had it so it was free!
together, as I like my floors at least 1" thick. Most of
the materials I purchased at Home Depot, Lowes, or You can make this design with various widths and
a Local Hardware store in the North SF bay. The heights, so whatever size you decide on, measure it
framing material is 2x3's kiln dried from HD. The out on a flat surface, and use a string to arc it out.
tongue and groove (T&G) is also from there. The ply then measure up from the floor with board widths, 5"
from Lowes, but neither store stocks the inch & 5/8th in this case and mark them off, as in the picture. Then
star drive screws I love so much. you can measure the WIDEST part of each board and
make up an accurate materials list. The hardware
The EMT (electrical metal tubing) can be bought most stores near me only had 8' and 12' T&G so I had to
anywhere. The trailer was a China cheappy, 5x8 feet. work with that. I would however recommend ordering
The canvas was ordered online, as it is hard to find your material in the sizes you need from a lumber
locally. The vinyl for the roof was from Sailright and is yard. Also, the boards available at HD are only
UV treated for outdoor use. The trim wood was from planned on one side, so it was a lot of work

smoothing the other side, planing and sanding. And If you can find it order T&G with a shallower slot.
the groove is cut much to deep on these boards,
weakening the slot significantly more than necessary.

2
1

1. I made this wagon wider than I can reach and

taller too.
2. I made this wagon wider than I can reach and
taller too.

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1. Glued 2 ten foot sheets with a caulk tube of construction adhesive, then 1. end walls silicone caulked then screwed up through 1 inch floor with 4
screwed with a screw about less than every foot around the edge, less in inch star drive screws into studs, and 3 inch screws into T&G.
the field.

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Step 2: Floor, End Walls and Cutting Doors/windows
I made the wagon first, on beams, and then slid it
onto the floor box. It was tricky. You can make it
much easier by building the floor box first and then
building the wagon directly onto it. The box has
another ten foot 1/2" sheet of ply under it, and 2x4's
framing it out into 10 2x2' sections. Next build the
walls by cutting the groove off of the first board so
that it sits flush on the floor, then screw it flush to the
bottom of the studs, using the inch and 5/8th star
drive finish screws. These have a small head and
have a subtle presence in the wood, while being very
strong.
The studs have two feet between the center two, for
the doors and windows, the next two are aligned with
the edge of the floor, but with space for the side walls
to attach to the edge of the floor, and the last two are
placed closer to the side walls, to make it more rigid.
Look at the pictures if unsure, they are more accurate
then my memory. If you can't tell what I did, from the
pictures or my writing, then you will have to figure it
1. Box overhangs trailer for better exit angle out of washes and suchlike...
box framed into 2x2' boxes with 2x4s.
2. as you can see, we built the wagon first. we slid it onto the trailer, a lot of work. Better to build
it on the trailer...
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out on your own. I did and you can too!
So you should now have two end walls and one
middle half wall and you are now ready to mark and
cut the doors and win-door. I chose the heights of
these extremely useful cutouts by measuring my
standing and crawling heights and ensuring that I
could fit comfortably through them all. These heights
have worked great for me, and I am about as large a
human as you get these days, 6'6". Feel free to copy
my measurements from the pictures, or use your own.
A pencil attached to a string works great again for
making the nice smooth curves, and a decent jigsaw
works great for cutting them. I cut these as a 45%
angle and i highly recommend this method. Before
you cut, screw temporary braces to the door panels
and they will hold the cut pieces together and aligned
one with another until you frame them into doors.
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1. See....
I am 6' and 6" so....

1. Normal people can stand in the doorway, I poke my head out..

2. Hoogles, the reason things we start in July are unfinished in March....

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Step 3: Side Walls & Bed

For the side walls, again cut off the groove, this time making a little enclosed porch which was matched by
at an angle so that it sits flush on the floor. Next pre- the roof.
drill and screw it up through the floor, with 3" screws
every foot or so. Then pre-drill and screw it to the end The bed is framed on 2x3's screwed to the studs, 4 to
walls and the middle half-wall preferably with wide flat be exact. A sheet of 3/4" plywood makes for a solid
headed 2.5 inch screws. sleeping surface. On this wagon we ran the side walls
up a board higher than the bed, which was framed
Because Home D only stocks 8' and 12' T&G boards, across at the widest point, as in the first wagon.
I bought 12'ers and overhung them around the door,

3
2

1. One of the tools I use, a lot
....................................................................................... It is tricky
regardless, getting 3 inch screws into 5/8th thick material at an
upward angle. Have someone watch on the other side and
holler if it begins to exit on their side. That way you can stop
before it shows and replace it with a shorter screw (2&1/2"?)
1. sides screwed on with 2&1/2" pan head screws, as many as practical.
2. Until the sides are up it is good to have a board running the length of the wagon to
keep the walls spaced evenly. Square them up to and measure and adjust
everything frequently as you go.
3. Until the sides are up it is good to have a board running the length of the wagon to
keep the walls spaced evenly. Square them up to and measure and adjust
everything frequently as you go.

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1. top board temporary keeping spacing.

1. wood-burning, time-consuming but it will last as long as the wood...

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Step 4: Kitchen, Bench, and Wood Stove in the Hold
The kitchen is pretty straight forward. Counter and
two shelves made with sanded and polyurethaned
plywood, and framed with laminated 1x2's made from
pine and hardwood. For the extensive rounding done
all over this wagon I used an old antique jack-plane. It
is heavy, sharp and a joy to use, and it is silent.
I under-mounted the sink, for that modern look, and
dropped a plum-bob down the drain to mark where to
drill the hole for the sink drain through the shelves
and the floor box. We considered stoves extensively,
looking into units mounted into the counter, but
settled on a two burner camping propane model
because of its ability to be easily removed and used
to cook outside, as was the gypsy way in the past.
The bench was simple, just make it a comfortable
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full-size oven rack to really dry wood quickly, such as
for kindling which needs to be bone-dry. We also
keep warm drinks up on this rack, to guess what,
keep them warm!
Another rad stove feature is one of those Coleman
camp ovens. $30 from Walmart and now we have a
wood fired oven under our bed!
Because the hold is such a small well insulated
space, when we hang a blanket down over the
doorway with the fire raging it heats up to 160
degrees fast, making a little sauna for up to four
people (two comfortably) with its own escape door out
the back.
The stove making is its own instructable, or it will be
one soon. In brief, it is a design I have been working

hight and width for sitting, maybe measured from your
favorite chair.. . Underneath there is room for a small
pantry with a hinged door, or better two doors with
magnets and latches.
We used a basket drawer under the counter for
utensils and small things.
We bought a hose to connect the stove to a 20lb
propane tank, saving $30+ a gal on fuel v's the little
green bottles.
Under the bed we installed a wood stove I made
myself from mostly scrap materials. It has been an
incredible source of heat in the winter and on cold
mornings in generals. Due to the thinness of the
metal used, the stove heats up so fast I generally
don't even need to get dressed when I get up on a
California winter morning, as the initial radiation from
a blazing kindling fire keeps me warm until the tiny
space of the hold heats up to coziness. Soon the heat
billowing out of the hold heats the whole wagon and I
start making breakfast. This stove design ejects the
smoke out the back, keeping the circular top of the
stove available for cooking on. This is generally the
stove I use to heat water for coffee or tea in the
morning, and by the time the water is hot the wagon
is often warm, at least standing in-front of the stove.
So for cooking and general easy access this stove is
placed just inside the hold door. Next to it I attached
vertical rails from the bed rafter to the floor to hold a
stack of wood. This stack of wood drys as the fires
burn, a great feature when you can't find any fully dry
wood, a situation I loath. Also, above the stove I put a
Be safe, cautious, keep your eye on it and investigate
any strange smells. A fire extinguisher is most highly
recommended...
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one soon. In brief, it is a design I have been working
on since the first wagon needed heat two years ago.
In its current incarnation it uses two metal buckets,
used is great but make sure they are not rusted out,
as that will shorten the stoves life, obviously.
The first bucket has a door hole cut out of the front,
and a hole cut in the top at the back for the chimney,
as the picture, using metal shears, aka tin snips. part
of the second bucket makes a door larger than the
opening in the first bucket with folded over double
thick edges. The bottom of the second bucket is cut
out with a jigsaw, or snips if you prefer, then installed
inside the first bucket as a baffle sending the
fire/smoke to the front of the stove before letting it exit
out the back. This simple feature keeps a lot more of
the heat in the stove, and a lot less of the flames in
the stack.
I would never install a stove, even one this small in a
space as tight as the hold on a wagon, without a heat
shield. And I recon neither should you. Luckily what
remains of the second bucket is just the right size for
a heat shield for the sides and back of the stove,
where the stove gets close to the walls of the wagon.
Copper trim, slider air vent, and legs made of bolts to
get it up off the floor are great, as is a sheet of metal
for under and around the stove protecting the floor. A
circular piece of copper gets the stack through the
wall, using about a 1/4 inch thick layer of high temp
silicone stove sealant to insulate the wall from the
stack.
Any questions?
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1. 2 gal water jar with stainless steel tap and latching lid. lives
in sink when traveling, or in truck when off-road. I keep my
water in my towing vehicle where weight is needed, and carry
it in in 1 gal plastic jugs (Arizona gal jugs are THE BEST!)

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Step 5: Rafters, Metal Paint, Doors, Copper Trim/banding Etc.

EMT makes excellent rafters, and at $7 a stick, you
can't beat it on price. Metal paint or similar will hoogle
it up a lot. We mixed our own colors out of Rustoleum
red, blue and yellow. The rafters are set into holes
drilled into the studs, using a 30 millimeter Forstner
bit. This was the closest bit I could find for a snug fit,
inch and 1/8th being a little too small, and inch and a
quarter too big.
Once you have mixed a range of beautiful colors, you
might as well paint all the rest of the metal on the
wagon, starting with the trailer, wheel wells, wheels,
the fire extinguisher, and propane tank.....
The doors were trimmed with beautiful dark old
redwood, used because of its beauty and availability.
However, I recommend using a stable and straight
wood for this purpose, and also do it immediately as
you cut the wood out of the walls, as it might expand,
shift or generally just get out of whack with time, mine
did anyway. You won't find much in the way of hinges
at a hardware store, I recommend ordering online
from an antique hardware company.
Copper banding tacked and nailed around the
corners, and every 2.5 feet along the wagon will
protect it and make it stronger.

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1. wood burned and then stained

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Step 6: The Roofs, Trailering, and Where We Go From Here...
We ordered a vinyl tarp online, 12x14 feet to provide
plenty of overhand over both ends. It took a
LONNNNNG time to arrive, so plan ahead, but is a
great transparent roof. We also ordered Sunforger
12oz canvas online and UV treated 20 mil vinyl for a
skylight down the middle. We used a temperamental
1918 singer sewing machine. To sew something this
big you need a BIG table. We made one out of two
sheets of plywood, one with a section cut out to sit in.
The ply was screwed to 16ft 2x4s and they to two
burro brand saw horses (highly recommended).
Happily, our table happened to be on a slight slope,
giving the material a super convenient out-feed
feature, allowing one person to sew without help. A
sleeve with a tube of EMT in it allows the roof to be
fastened down (great in high wind) as well as giving
something to roll it up around when you want to open
one side up and let the view in unobstructed.
The rafters are all removable, so the roof can come
off completely giving an unobstructed view of the sky.
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get it going.
On the highway it slows my small truck down, I rarely
use 5th gear due to the wind resistance and I intend
to make a wagon shaped ferrule for the top of the
truck camper shell to deflect the wind before we take
it over to the East Coast.
It was great to have in the desert, the rounded shape
did well in the wind storms and having a quickly
heatable space to come home to after walking in 15
degree nights was unlike any camping I have done
before. I put up tapestries over the rafters under the
vinyl in the day to keep the sun out of the kitchen,
while leaving the bed skylight open to see the stars at
night. Rolling a side up made for some epic views
and I was treated to a new-for-me experience of
sleeping on a heated bed with the roof rolled up in 25
degree nights. Warm, crisp, cozy and gorgeous.
This is as far as it has gotten, due to us working on
the little first wagon recently to get it ready to sell. But
I will post pictures as it is finished up and travels
We made another design of roof, using separate
longer rafters, ours made out of little fir trees, and
waxed canvas. A picture of this roof on the little
wagon is above.
The third roof design was just tested during the last
rain storm. The 14x12 vinyl tarp is help up away from
the end walls with a 3/4" pic pipe bent into a hoop.
Pictures later.
I took this wagon to the desert recently, Saline valley
in fact. I didn't have a camera (sad) because I took it
down some ROUGH roads. Rocks, ruts, 20 miles of
meaty washboards, I drove it by myself, mostly in low
gears, with my little '89 toyota 4x4 truck with a 2.4l
engine.
Needless to say, I had as much weight as practical in
the truck, I aired the tires down to 20psi and I crawled
along whenever the road got rough. It held up to the
abuse without complaint. At the end of the trip I took it
down a few miles of the old wagon road in Panamint
valley. The Nadeau Trail is one of the roughest roads
I have driven on, I had to get out and scout the road
frequently, moving rocks and checking departure
angles going into and out of washes, etc. At one point
I had to drag it over a ten inch tall rock (the trailer
wheels are only 21inches). No damages sustained.
I recon it weighs about 1500-1700lbs and I feel it on
hills, sometimes on STEEP passes like the 155 up
from lake Issabella I got into low gears, all the way
down to 1st and it took all the power my truck has to
maybe with polyfill insulation would keep it much
warmer, especially after the stove goes out.
BTW, the wood stove has been by far the most
reliable stove we have used so far. On cold mornings
the propane works sporadically, if at all. With dry
wood a wood stove will heat down to, I don't know,
maybe -200 degrees. OK, i have no idea and I am
tired of writing now so I am done.
Good luck, and remember, in life the only destination
is the journey.
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across the country in the next few months (hoogle
time of course).
There are maybe more pictures and other information
on both wagons on our website:
www.hpwagons.com
and the auction currently happening (it is the middle
of March) is on fb here:
www.facebook.com/hpwagons
So, any building related questions in the comments
will be answered, I will pretend I don't see anything
off topic.
We live in ours full time, in sunny California where we
spend most of our time outside. Most people would
probably use one more as an adventure wagon,
festivals, glamping, three season use, guest
accommodations, etc. I know in this country big is
generally seen as better, but even current 'tiny'
houses are far larger than what english gypsies
generally lived in, the canvas covered bow top
generally running about 10 feet long. How they did
this with kids and all their possessions I do not know,
but for two people who prefer spending most of their
time out of walls, toilet included, it works wonderfully.
We bath with sponge baths and during saunas when
over-heated it feels good washing off outside.
For us in cold places two or more layers of roofs
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Step 7: Some Improvements
These are a few things I have been wanting to finish
up for a while. The copper lip around the stove stops
the sheep fleece from sliding upto the stove,
something I have never been totally comfortable with.
The little shelf is for a dedicated space to charge a
tablet and phone so they don't get damaged on the
bench or bed. It includes a 12 volt auto plug in the
wall with a triple USB charger. The plug is connected
through a charge controller to a couple of 19Ah
batteries so they can only be discharged so far before
it cuts off. The same charge controller limits the
electricity coming in from the solar panel to a
maximum of 14.4 volts to avoid boiling the cells. I
figured a 50 watt panel would be good for my two little
batteries, incase it is placed in a location without
direct sun. It is hinged for collapsablilty, but I ran out
of time so I screwed it in with a 45 for now.
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The hoops are 1/2 inch PVC and hold the clear vinyl
out from the ends of the wagon about 22 inches,
which should offer it ample protection during the
sometimes long Oregon winters, where we are in the
mountains it has been known to rain for 40 days and
40 nights before.
The clear vinyl is great for seeing the stars and trees,
but in direct sun it is far to warm, and privacy is nill,
so I bought a bag of clips and hung fabric over the
rafters..
We are off traveling for a while now, and may be
gone a year or more, so that is as far as it will get for
a while. Good luck little wagon, see you when we see
you!!
Step 8:

I made this and taking it on a 300mile trip. I'm having some issues with securing the cloth top
down. we have it bungeed and strapped but it's still billowing and unstable. any tips for highway
driving?

how is the roof secured?

How to estimate time for a project is.....work out how long you think it will take and then multiply it
by 3.14 and that will give you a more accurate time as to how long a project will take. Great wagon!
Nice! What is a hoogle?

Hmmm. A hoogle is a comfortable, natural, good feeling experience. Like when things flow, or are
allowed to happen. For me nature, food, affection, friends, animals and plants are all hoogly things.
The hoogle is also generally defined as the passive, feminine side of life, as apposed to the
poogle, which is the more active, masculine side of existence. So work is poogle and relaxation is
hoogle. Cities are predominantly poogle and nature is a balance of both, but it appears very
hoogly, in comparison to cities. Does that make any sense?
beautiful! roughly how much did this cost to build?

Hard to say. A lot of labour. Maybe three grand in materials, maybe...

so much fun! thank you for sharing

I'm so in love with this!! we are definitely building one when we get moved.

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Very awesome and beautiful.

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