Pics of your VAN! Post up!
- Thread starter adventureduo
- Start date
Roundtable73
New member
Wow there are some nice vans here!
ihatemybike - You're right she's pretty capable, just want to make sure I protect 'er abit better and gain some better traction (I love them 4X4 Sportmobiles)
stoverlander - Nice! Haven't seen many vans with RTT's...
86scotty - Your van is about as packed as my 2002 Protege 5 and my 2000 Subaru Legacy were on our many week-long jaunts...poor cars...Did you make the 'furniture' yourself?
ihatemybike - You're right she's pretty capable, just want to make sure I protect 'er abit better and gain some better traction (I love them 4X4 Sportmobiles)
stoverlander - Nice! Haven't seen many vans with RTT's...
86scotty - Your van is about as packed as my 2002 Protege 5 and my 2000 Subaru Legacy were on our many week-long jaunts...poor cars...Did you make the 'furniture' yourself?
I'd love to see more pics of your setup from the inside, as well as more pics from your travels. I want to ujoint-esque campervan like we all do, but in reality, something more road-friendly would be way more practical.
I know your van is pretty new, but I'd be curious to know how you feel about the fuel economy, build quality, and road manners. I like the last-gen Caravan, at least on the outside. I haven't really looked at the newer ones.
scoutkid
Van Builder
Where are we meeting up this weekend?! :sombrero:
509bercler
Observer
i just got back from a week in steamboat--fricken sic conditions, but missed a weekend at MJ. but we should try sometimes for sure
T.Low
Expedition Leader
Wow, too many cool van pics to try to comment on. Good stuff, guys.
We had a week long stay and a vacation home at a swanky gated community Wapato Lake on Lk Chelan where my Brother in Law and I rode enduros in the mountains every day. We were able to combine some nice overlanding and general touring on either end of the stay. Probably could have used a full size van- we actually had a blue plastic kiddie pool stashed away inside the Astro.
Hmm, been positng pics on here for years, now all the sudden I'm an idiot again.
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee258/wannahuckmastinky/Chelan 2011/IMG_7566.jpg
We had a week long stay and a vacation home at a swanky gated community Wapato Lake on Lk Chelan where my Brother in Law and I rode enduros in the mountains every day. We were able to combine some nice overlanding and general touring on either end of the stay. Probably could have used a full size van- we actually had a blue plastic kiddie pool stashed away inside the Astro.
Hmm, been positng pics on here for years, now all the sudden I'm an idiot again.
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee258/wannahuckmastinky/Chelan 2011/IMG_7566.jpg
Last edited:
Went from this:
to this:
1997 7.3 diesel RB E350 with 57k (when I bought it). Flew to Los Angeles from Tucson to pick it up, drove up to Seattle, got a trailer hitch installed and a Uhaul trailer, then packed up the last of my stuff in Seattle, and drove south back to Tucson, about 2700 miles on a van I never laid eyes on before I bought it.
There are a few maintenance items, like the thermostat is stuck open so it never fully warms up, but my first tank I got 19mpg. However once I got the trailer hooked up and drove between snow storms with snowy and icy mornings, that dropped to 15-16mpg
Truck pulls amazingly well, even loaded up. I had no issues keeping 65-70 on all mountain grades.
Plans are:
Stage 1 - interior build. Insulation, replace crappy tint, build water (20g+)/sink unit, bed, storage, and eventually toilet. I have some ideas on making everything removable with aluminum tie down strips, working on how to insulate below those though. I want to be able to remove everything within 30 minutes and make it a cargo area easily, and easily shuffle "units" around as needed. I'm using my credit card points on lowes and home depot gift cards, so this should move somewhat quickly.
Stage 2 - Ujoint 4x4 kit 4", solar, roof kit for more storage.
Stage ? - Rear LSD before stage 2, time permitting. Figure out spare tire location (Wouldn't mind a swingout for it on rear bumper, but want to be able to open main door without doing anything extra). Gauges (trans temp, pyro, etc).
to this:
1997 7.3 diesel RB E350 with 57k (when I bought it). Flew to Los Angeles from Tucson to pick it up, drove up to Seattle, got a trailer hitch installed and a Uhaul trailer, then packed up the last of my stuff in Seattle, and drove south back to Tucson, about 2700 miles on a van I never laid eyes on before I bought it.
There are a few maintenance items, like the thermostat is stuck open so it never fully warms up, but my first tank I got 19mpg. However once I got the trailer hooked up and drove between snow storms with snowy and icy mornings, that dropped to 15-16mpg
Truck pulls amazingly well, even loaded up. I had no issues keeping 65-70 on all mountain grades. Plans are:
Stage 1 - interior build. Insulation, replace crappy tint, build water (20g+)/sink unit, bed, storage, and eventually toilet. I have some ideas on making everything removable with aluminum tie down strips, working on how to insulate below those though. I want to be able to remove everything within 30 minutes and make it a cargo area easily, and easily shuffle "units" around as needed. I'm using my credit card points on lowes and home depot gift cards, so this should move somewhat quickly.
Stage 2 - Ujoint 4x4 kit 4", solar, roof kit for more storage.
Stage ? - Rear LSD before stage 2, time permitting. Figure out spare tire location (Wouldn't mind a swingout for it on rear bumper, but want to be able to open main door without doing anything extra). Gauges (trans temp, pyro, etc).
bknudtsen
Expedition Leader
.
1997 7.3 diesel RB E350 with 57k (when I bought it). Flew to Los Angeles from Tucson to pick it up, drove up to Seattle, got a trailer hitch installed and a Uhaul trailer, then packed up the last of my stuff in Seattle, and drove south back to Tucson, about 2700 miles on a van I never laid eyes on before I bought it.
So, you are the guy that bought this rig from Fam Vans... I was in the process of talking to Maria about buying this van when you got it. Congrats! Funny that you drove it up to Seattle near where I live. Should be a great platform to start with. Wish that you still lived up here so that we could assist each other with our builds. Make sure that you keep us updated here at ExPo.
Brad