Acheateaux
Adventurer
What follows is a cautionary tale and as such, should be prefaced with a warning…
Turn back now. Proceed no farther. This will not be a tale of triumph, but rather a tale of woe, heart brake and misery. Nothing good can come of this. This too shall not pass.
The back story…
I, as all of you, have been enamored with the 4wd van bug for quite some time. Seeing them on the beaches on SoCal into Baja, the ski lots of Colorado and the deserts of Utardia began to peak my interest. Quick internet sleuthary revealed prices way outside my salary money collected from the tips of kind pub folk and left over from binge drinking. Plus I had a Honda Element that got me, the woman and our furry child around just fine and with the ninja bed, lended itself well to street “camping” in-between surfing all day.
Fast forward 6 years and we now have a 1 year old daughter, the light of my life, my reason for living, the provider of vomit covered shirts and many a sleepless night. While we are accepting of the change to our very nomadic lifestyle, we still wish to retain the ability to GTFO of dodge at a moments notice.
How is this to be accomplished?
A noble steed, staying packed and ready at a powder forecast hinting of fun, a surf trip strike mission or just a change of scenery. Something we can swing by the store on the way out of town and drop the wife off at work on the way back in.
The base rig…
2000 Ford E-350 with a 7.3l Powerstroke purchased in the spring of 2013. 145k on the odometer and the kind gentleman it was purchased from had just had all the injectors done. Gets around 18mpg. We’ll see how that changes after…
The plan…
A versatile beast. We are your classic 80 percenters, attaining 80 percent proficiency in some extracurricular activity then onto the next sport. Trips with us commonly include a little bit of everything. Mountain bikes, road bikes, surf boards, paddle boards, white water gear, towing a raft, skis, snowboards, climbing gear, running gear. Ideally the GnaRV maintains versatility for use when not out and about. More on that later. How to attain this lofty goal?
24” Fiberine bubble top, Maxxair manual fan. Yakima gutter clips
Ujoint conversion 4" on 33's. Weld up some tube bumpers, hopefully figure out a swing out for the bike rack to keep access to the back...
Interior build out.
Wood flooring to make sand/snow/dog hair/cheerio disposal more easier-er.
Floor plan. 4 captains chairs with a dinette/byebyenightnight in the rear, drawers out the back with bench lift ability (is that even a word?) to access gear from the top. Dinette is removable to keep utilitarian… use. Dirt bikes, mountain bikes, etc...
Modular chuck box, dry food storage and fridge. We cook outside, relish sunshine and outdoor endeavors. Probably some mid 40 quart fridge/freezer combo. I like the edgestar baskets for grab and go ease of use/packing.
Stand by...
Turn back now. Proceed no farther. This will not be a tale of triumph, but rather a tale of woe, heart brake and misery. Nothing good can come of this. This too shall not pass.
The back story…
I, as all of you, have been enamored with the 4wd van bug for quite some time. Seeing them on the beaches on SoCal into Baja, the ski lots of Colorado and the deserts of Utardia began to peak my interest. Quick internet sleuthary revealed prices way outside my salary money collected from the tips of kind pub folk and left over from binge drinking. Plus I had a Honda Element that got me, the woman and our furry child around just fine and with the ninja bed, lended itself well to street “camping” in-between surfing all day.
Fast forward 6 years and we now have a 1 year old daughter, the light of my life, my reason for living, the provider of vomit covered shirts and many a sleepless night. While we are accepting of the change to our very nomadic lifestyle, we still wish to retain the ability to GTFO of dodge at a moments notice.
How is this to be accomplished?
A noble steed, staying packed and ready at a powder forecast hinting of fun, a surf trip strike mission or just a change of scenery. Something we can swing by the store on the way out of town and drop the wife off at work on the way back in.
The base rig…
2000 Ford E-350 with a 7.3l Powerstroke purchased in the spring of 2013. 145k on the odometer and the kind gentleman it was purchased from had just had all the injectors done. Gets around 18mpg. We’ll see how that changes after…
The plan…
A versatile beast. We are your classic 80 percenters, attaining 80 percent proficiency in some extracurricular activity then onto the next sport. Trips with us commonly include a little bit of everything. Mountain bikes, road bikes, surf boards, paddle boards, white water gear, towing a raft, skis, snowboards, climbing gear, running gear. Ideally the GnaRV maintains versatility for use when not out and about. More on that later. How to attain this lofty goal?
24” Fiberine bubble top, Maxxair manual fan. Yakima gutter clips
Ujoint conversion 4" on 33's. Weld up some tube bumpers, hopefully figure out a swing out for the bike rack to keep access to the back...
Interior build out.
Wood flooring to make sand/snow/dog hair/cheerio disposal more easier-er.
Floor plan. 4 captains chairs with a dinette/byebyenightnight in the rear, drawers out the back with bench lift ability (is that even a word?) to access gear from the top. Dinette is removable to keep utilitarian… use. Dirt bikes, mountain bikes, etc...
Modular chuck box, dry food storage and fridge. We cook outside, relish sunshine and outdoor endeavors. Probably some mid 40 quart fridge/freezer combo. I like the edgestar baskets for grab and go ease of use/packing.
Stand by...
