On Belay
Observer
Briefly here's my story. I'm 27 years old. I currently work long hours in a job I hate. I don't totally know what I want out of life. My passion is climbing and mountaineering. My end goal is to simplify my life and live more fully. To spend more time pursuing what I really love. The road is calling to me and I want to build the perfect steed. After about a year and a half of actively searching for the perfect van, I finally made the plunge and purchased my rig this summer. A 2007 AWD Chevy Express Cargo.
My past vehicles have been a relatively stock 1997 Toyota 4Runner SR5 4x4 and a 2007 Toyota Tundra SR5 4x4 with a King Coilover Suspension and various other bits. Both vehicles were built out to camp out of and sleep in the back. They were great vehicles for week long trips, and had plenty of offroad capability for my needs, accessing climbing areas down secondary dirt and gravel roads vs. serious off road trails. But after seeing a few too many built out sprinters and sportmobiles I started to get some serious van envy. Especially as I start to eye some extended trips and potentially living on the road full time a van just made some much sense from a comfort perspective.
My requirements were:
1) Cheap: I've paid off my student loans and built a bit of savings. I was not looking to go back into debt buying a van. A Sportsmobile or other prebuilt rig wasn't in the cards, I'm also a DIY type person and want to customize the build to fit my specific needs.
2) (Somewhat) Later Model: Less wear and tear, easier parts availability. I wanted to start with a newer vehicle for the base and accepted the trade-off that this would likely mean more mileage.
3) Light Offroad Ability: I wanted the ability to drive on some rough roads.Basically stock pickup truck level capability. 4x4 or AWD were very high on my desireablity list, but difficult to find at an affordable price. I also considered 2-Wheel drive vans with available aftermarket lifts.
4) Easy Maintenance: I wanted a vehicle that could be worked on anywhere without tons of specialized tools. Advantage ford and Chevy over the Sprinter. I would like to do most of the build work including mechanicals myself. I'm not a master mechanic but have done most of the maintenance and work on my previous vehicles and hope with the help of internet I can figure most things out. The primary motivation is a desire to know my way around the vehicle in case something breaks down on the road. It's also a way to keep the build costs down.
5) Comfort: A high roof and the ability to stand up would be super nice, for obvious reasons. That said I plan to use the van more as a basecamp for outdoor adventure than a live in home. I do want the ability to cook and live in the van fairly comfortably.
Based on balancing these Criteria. I limited my choice to 3 main vans. The Dodge/Mercedes Benz Sprinter (High top is a huge plus; cost, offroad ability, and ease of maintenance were the downsides). Quigley 4x4 Ford E-Series (Great off road and easy to get worked on; price and comfort were the downsides). And Chevy Express AWD (good offroad, easy to get worked on, best price, downside was comfort). I then spent a year and half combing through Craigslist, local auto dealers, and other internet sites looking for the right van.
And then the right van serendipitously fell in my lap. One of my really good friends and climbing partners is an engineer and spends fair amount of time on construction sites. He saw a subcontractor driving and AWD Express one day last October (2015). He got to talking with the guy driving it and it turned out the van was going to be removed from the companies fleet in a couple months. He got the guys number and gave it to me. I gave them a call and was told the van would likely be taken out of service in February. I left my information and asked them to give me a call. I never heard anything back... Until out of the blue in June I get a call asking if I'm still interested. I made the trip down to Denver and on June 22nd brought the new van home for a steal here in Colorado.
The van is a pretty basic cargo model. With the 5.3L Vortec V.8 and automatic transmission. It comes with the All Wheel Drive Package and the Factory G80 Locker in the rear differential. It has 183,000 miles, but as a fleet vehicle received regular maintenance. It's been in Colorado it's whole life so there are no rust issues (a huge plus coming from midwest). It did have the classic GM peeling paint issue on the hood and roof but was otherwise very clean (for a former construction vehicle).
My basic build plan is to do a 2-3" torsion key lift in front and 2" lift block in the rear and larger 32" All Terrain tires. I'm also planning to put on a set of Boulder Offroad Skid Plates. This should provide enough clearance and protection and when coupled with the AWD and rear locker get me almost anywhere I need to go. I'd also like to replace a fair number of regular maintenance and commonly worn parts to get that knocked out up front. Not planning to do a high top at this time, but instead go with some racks, cargo boxes, and solar panels. Inside I want to do cedar paneling, cabinets with a small sink stove combo and a 12v fridge, and a bed/storage platform. I'm planning to onboard solar, water, and propane.
Build threads were a huge inspiration for me to take on this project, and helped keep me sane while searching for vans. I'll update here as the build progresses! This will also hopefully help me be more diligent about documenting progress, I tend to get absorbed in work and forget to take photos along the way.
My past vehicles have been a relatively stock 1997 Toyota 4Runner SR5 4x4 and a 2007 Toyota Tundra SR5 4x4 with a King Coilover Suspension and various other bits. Both vehicles were built out to camp out of and sleep in the back. They were great vehicles for week long trips, and had plenty of offroad capability for my needs, accessing climbing areas down secondary dirt and gravel roads vs. serious off road trails. But after seeing a few too many built out sprinters and sportmobiles I started to get some serious van envy. Especially as I start to eye some extended trips and potentially living on the road full time a van just made some much sense from a comfort perspective.
My requirements were:
1) Cheap: I've paid off my student loans and built a bit of savings. I was not looking to go back into debt buying a van. A Sportsmobile or other prebuilt rig wasn't in the cards, I'm also a DIY type person and want to customize the build to fit my specific needs.
2) (Somewhat) Later Model: Less wear and tear, easier parts availability. I wanted to start with a newer vehicle for the base and accepted the trade-off that this would likely mean more mileage.
3) Light Offroad Ability: I wanted the ability to drive on some rough roads.Basically stock pickup truck level capability. 4x4 or AWD were very high on my desireablity list, but difficult to find at an affordable price. I also considered 2-Wheel drive vans with available aftermarket lifts.
4) Easy Maintenance: I wanted a vehicle that could be worked on anywhere without tons of specialized tools. Advantage ford and Chevy over the Sprinter. I would like to do most of the build work including mechanicals myself. I'm not a master mechanic but have done most of the maintenance and work on my previous vehicles and hope with the help of internet I can figure most things out. The primary motivation is a desire to know my way around the vehicle in case something breaks down on the road. It's also a way to keep the build costs down.
5) Comfort: A high roof and the ability to stand up would be super nice, for obvious reasons. That said I plan to use the van more as a basecamp for outdoor adventure than a live in home. I do want the ability to cook and live in the van fairly comfortably.
Based on balancing these Criteria. I limited my choice to 3 main vans. The Dodge/Mercedes Benz Sprinter (High top is a huge plus; cost, offroad ability, and ease of maintenance were the downsides). Quigley 4x4 Ford E-Series (Great off road and easy to get worked on; price and comfort were the downsides). And Chevy Express AWD (good offroad, easy to get worked on, best price, downside was comfort). I then spent a year and half combing through Craigslist, local auto dealers, and other internet sites looking for the right van.
And then the right van serendipitously fell in my lap. One of my really good friends and climbing partners is an engineer and spends fair amount of time on construction sites. He saw a subcontractor driving and AWD Express one day last October (2015). He got to talking with the guy driving it and it turned out the van was going to be removed from the companies fleet in a couple months. He got the guys number and gave it to me. I gave them a call and was told the van would likely be taken out of service in February. I left my information and asked them to give me a call. I never heard anything back... Until out of the blue in June I get a call asking if I'm still interested. I made the trip down to Denver and on June 22nd brought the new van home for a steal here in Colorado.
The van is a pretty basic cargo model. With the 5.3L Vortec V.8 and automatic transmission. It comes with the All Wheel Drive Package and the Factory G80 Locker in the rear differential. It has 183,000 miles, but as a fleet vehicle received regular maintenance. It's been in Colorado it's whole life so there are no rust issues (a huge plus coming from midwest). It did have the classic GM peeling paint issue on the hood and roof but was otherwise very clean (for a former construction vehicle).
My basic build plan is to do a 2-3" torsion key lift in front and 2" lift block in the rear and larger 32" All Terrain tires. I'm also planning to put on a set of Boulder Offroad Skid Plates. This should provide enough clearance and protection and when coupled with the AWD and rear locker get me almost anywhere I need to go. I'd also like to replace a fair number of regular maintenance and commonly worn parts to get that knocked out up front. Not planning to do a high top at this time, but instead go with some racks, cargo boxes, and solar panels. Inside I want to do cedar paneling, cabinets with a small sink stove combo and a 12v fridge, and a bed/storage platform. I'm planning to onboard solar, water, and propane.
Build threads were a huge inspiration for me to take on this project, and helped keep me sane while searching for vans. I'll update here as the build progresses! This will also hopefully help me be more diligent about documenting progress, I tend to get absorbed in work and forget to take photos along the way.
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