You found this site by choice or by accident, either way it's nice to meet you. By choice is surely why I'm here.
Van number four is currently being built and it's been a fun graduated road of van choices. Naturally a Mercedes powered Sprinter seems ideal but I don't want to afford one of those...especially this years factory 4x4 option...but damn they are envious rolling down the road!
My first van was actually a helluva beginning! A 1989 Vanagon Westfalia in Seattle. I flew from CA and made an incredible “first van” road trip down the entire coast!!! Ya know, just the stuff dreams are made of:) Ended up selling that van to a mother and daughter in New Mexico.
Second van, 1996 Toyota Previa or the Jellybean or Spacepod or various other nicknames people would call it. This van was truly a great van…23 miles to the gallon, very dependable and lots of room for it’s actual size. And that Moon Roof was great for all sorts of reasons! That found a new home in Colorado.
What I kept missing was the ability to keep going on Forest Service roads. I’d try to get my girlfriend(at the time)off into the deep woods but they just couldn’t do it!
Oh, and an incredible rig that I tried to sell myself on as well...but again...not enough room??? 1996 Toyota Land Cruiser, I truly did love this truck and wished I could have made everything work within it but they can't!
Third van, 1999 GMC Safari AWD, another great rig with it’s 4.3 Vortec V6. So I thought I could make this work for me. I’d seen photos of these campered out and they looked cool as well, so over the 2015/16 winter I put a 4” lift from Overland Vans on, http://www.overlandvans.com/ Gerald was super helpful on everything!!! and it truly did come out looking bad ass with the addition of wheels and tires.
And I just kept looking at the inside and thinking…there’s no way I can get enough gear/tools in here to take off the way I have in my head!!! So, once again it was off and found a very very excited female owner in Boulder!!!!
So van four has a perfect background for some of the underlying elements of wanting to “take off/get out”. Scandal/greed/abuse of power…just some of the bullshit in our society that drives me crazy IF I think about it!
Yes, evidently some of the folks at the Oregon Lottery Commission back in the “loose” days thought they needed 4x4 vans and what the heck…let’s use them for personal excursions as well! Yay!
Well this 1996 Ford E250 was scooped up by me in San Diego and is being repurposed into a true adventure rig. Not a Sportsmobile but should be pretty darn functional.
The guys at Whitefeather 4x4 in Red Bluff, California recently revamped the front suspension and actually did the original 4x4 conversion for the Oregon Lottery back in 1996 under Salem Kroger. I spoke with Craig and he remembered everything about the van…how great is that!!! He was incredibly helpful and a wealth of info.
The photos will tell most of the story but I hope to get to all your questions!!!
The absolutes were…
~Gravity water system
~Copper countertops
~Copper pan drip shower
~Sea Kayak, Solar, RTT on roof
~Bikes/Storage on rear
~Nest type of seat/bed vs typical couch/bed
~Full roll-out tool/camping box
The rest was unknown and would just find it’s way as so many of these project do.
Such as, I didn’t realize the van needed new rear leaf springs…bummer! Now it’s rated at 7,500 pounds in the rear end. If only the motor was rated at such a load!
Van as purchased in San Diego, CA...
July 31st
HEAP 1~is what the van’s been coined…
H~Healthy
E~Easily
A~Attainable
P~Peace
Plan, figure it out, pay it off, rent it out, take em out of school, sell it, foster the dog, cat to friends, cut up the credit cards, stop procrastinating, quit the junk food, stretch daily, ask for help, drop the excuses…GET OUT OF THE FUCKING BOX!
The maiden voyage day after 250+ hours of work. Talked to my good friend Dale about an upcoming log home project and Kincaid Springs was in my rearview mirror. Soon I would be driving through my old haunt of Bailey! What a great area to call home…Pike National Forest, Kenosha Pass w/ the Colorado Trail to step off to, Lost Park Wilderness, Michigan Hill, Webster Pass…it’s endless.
Decided to stop in Fairplay and I’ll be damned if Burro Days wasn’t happening! These amazing pair of athletes are really cool to me. Covering 28-30 miles and up over 13,100 feet in altitude…now add a burro as your comrade.
Headed west out of Poncha Springs to the awesome Monarch Pass…it’s hard to just go up and over, especially in September or October due to the aspens. Even now, they beckon me to stop and walk around for awhile.
Curecanti National Recreation Area seemed like a great place to call home tonight! Looking forward to a morning paddle on Blue Mesa Reservoir.
Van as purchased in San Diego, CA...
July 30th
Yukon golds are sizzling away and I’m feeling a bit melancholy, I think? Tomorrow will truly be the first day of Extra Ordinary Van Living! What done is done on the van for now, many little details to final out…over time.
I could easily spend another few days on such details, however I know if I don’t get this maiden voyage going now then these two weeks of freedom will vanish. The biggest item that didn’t even come close to install, is the copper shower pan. Oh well, all we have is time right?
Yukon golds are sizzling away and I’m feeling a bit melancholy, I think? Tomorrow will truly be the first day of Extra Ordinary Van Living! What done is done on the van for now, many little details to final out…over time.
I could easily spend another few days on such details, however I know if I don’t get this maiden voyage going now then these two weeks of freedom will vanish. The biggest item that didn’t even come close to install, is the copper shower pan. Oh well, all we have is time right?
July 31st
HEAP 1~is what the van’s been coined…
H~Healthy
E~Easily
A~Attainable
P~Peace
Plan, figure it out, pay it off, rent it out, take em out of school, sell it, foster the dog, cat to friends, cut up the credit cards, stop procrastinating, quit the junk food, stretch daily, ask for help, drop the excuses…GET OUT OF THE FUCKING BOX!
The maiden voyage day after 250+ hours of work. Talked to my good friend Dale about an upcoming log home project and Kincaid Springs was in my rearview mirror. Soon I would be driving through my old haunt of Bailey! What a great area to call home…Pike National Forest, Kenosha Pass w/ the Colorado Trail to step off to, Lost Park Wilderness, Michigan Hill, Webster Pass…it’s endless.
Decided to stop in Fairplay and I’ll be damned if Burro Days wasn’t happening! These amazing pair of athletes are really cool to me. Covering 28-30 miles and up over 13,100 feet in altitude…now add a burro as your comrade.
Headed west out of Poncha Springs to the awesome Monarch Pass…it’s hard to just go up and over, especially in September or October due to the aspens. Even now, they beckon me to stop and walk around for awhile.
Curecanti National Recreation Area seemed like a great place to call home tonight! Looking forward to a morning paddle on Blue Mesa Reservoir.
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