Our mini....

[GhettoBago]

First off, I have not been able to peel myself off this site since I found it a few nights ago! What a RAD resource this place is!

We are a him & a her, with 2 lab mixes that would always assume drive than fly, and loathe spending $$ on hotel rooms! Something about staring @ the sun come up on a hillside vs. cheap framed art on horribly wallpapered wall just calls us. 5 weeks is our longest journey so far, with only stops for ice & perishables outside of adventuring. And in amazing comfort!

We call her the GhettoBago. Ghetto meaning "frugal" in this case, Bago being the later part of the classic winnebago.

So our rig doesn't exactly fit into any true catagory... yet! A 4" lift kit & 30" m/t's are coming in the next few weeks. At that point I dare to call her a Micro Sportsmobile! Then it will be onto some interior carpentry.

I have plans to create a false floor, about 7" deep, with two panels that can be flipped over. One side will be carpeted, with the other side (stowed face down) will have memory foam covered in vinyl to work as sleeping pads. I plan replace the wire shelving seen in the pics into carpeted birch cabinets, but it works just fine for now!

Really nice to be here, and I really look forward to sharing & learning more from all of you!

Cheers!

 

[Railvan]

Nice van. If you haven't found them yet, look for posts by T.Low. He has a lifted, pop top, 4x4 Rastro van...

 

[Dale]

Great van, I can't wait to see how things progress

 

[nbleak21]

Love those beaner straps, where did you pick them up at?

 

[chimivee]

Very cool!

Is that wire shelving just regular closet shelving? I've not seen the lower "basket" pieces before. Are they available at HD/Lowes? I like it.

 

[Harald Hansen]

Nice van! Will be interesting to see how it looks lifted.

 

[BIGdaddy]

I really like your setup. Homebuilt tech at its best, for sure. Very functional and cost effective.

Great way to just GET OUT THERE and do some real world testing/trips to see what is
needed/what works.

great stuff, and happy trails!

-Brian

 

[el-cid]

I love the Canfield F1 that's worth probably 3-4X what the van's worth (I had a F1 for a while too, sweet bike). Sweet van too!

 

[Deleted member 1276]

Nice van? Pshhhh - nice Canfield!

 

[T.Low]

Great shuttle vehicle indeed. Again, like how you utilize it.

 

[Herbie]

Yeah, another Astro! :bike_rider:

I've been spooling up my build too (major work starting soon), so this board is about to get a whole heap o' Astro all at once!

 

[JMyerz]

Nice Astro!

Are you from Oregon? It looks vaguely like a Oregon plate on there. Excited to see the rest of the build!

J

 

[wanderer-rrorc]

Im stealing your storage idea in the back...and the bookbag rack!!:wings:

getto-bago...me thinks the wifey wouldnt let me put that on the van...:Wow1::sombrero:

 

[GhettoBago]

Hey all, sorry for the slow response, just returned from a 5 day race weekend... 12th place out of 40 with a gnarly crash, not bad for being off the bike for a year and a half!

And you boys that know what canfields are, you know you're rides! Lance Canfield was actually camped out with us all weekend, super chill guy!

Thanks for all the cool comments, it has been a budget project for us for a while... it was nice to get home to find lift kit pieces had arrived while i was gone!! WOOOHOOO!

So yeah, the shelving is the basic wire stuff from the box stores, I think I had to do some snipping to get them to fit just right, and mounted a wooden bracket onto the bolts from where the seatbelt harware mounted before, then mounted the shelving directly to the wood.

The biner's are just cheapo keychain biner's, they were like $3 each and the webbing & grommet kits are cheap... go with metal biner's so they don't sag and pull apart (plastics don't hold up)

Anyway, I'll have some new pics in the coming weeks... the lift is for sure & the murphy bed floor design may get underway before our upcoming 20 day trip!

And yes, we are from Portland Oregon (greatest home base on earth!)
Cheers all!

 

[GhettoBago]

Finally knocked off the water storage project...






I was stoked to get it to fit so that it allows plenty of room still to sleep us & the dogs, I fit laid down with ease between the box & drivers seat. I plan to make some sort of elastic cord storage on the side for stuff too!





Easy to take out.





Instead of blocking the accesory outlet, I decided to incorporate it... and damn do stupid things like that ad tons of steps!!