Good Food And Great Weather
8 hours ago
Sunday, March 17, 2019
Do I miss the van?
Quite a few people have asked me if I miss the van. Yes I do. My ambulance van to camper conversion was pretty sweet. After seven years of ownership I had it pretty much dialed in to where I wanted it. The ability to run on waste vegetable oil was a big plus.
On the other hand, its time had passed. The days of being able to find free or inexpensive waste vegetable oil have come to an end. When running free veggie fuel the van was economical to drive. When burning diesel at 12 mpg -not so much.
It wasn’t one thing that convinced me to let it go. The van was at an age where it would need some pricey repairs. A 2001 vehicle isn’t going to run forever. This month it would have been due for rear brakes. Registration, inspection and insurance would have also come due this month. It’s nice not to have that stress in my budget, especially after my hospital stay.
The sting is lessened somewhat by having all the camping gear and alternative energy to tent in comfort. Our new L. L. Bean tent is well made and has already paid for itself. Before selling the van all the solar electric stuff and the 12 volt refrigeration were removed. It’s really nice to have independent power when tenting.
Friends and family members are doing camper builds and complete refurbishing of classic trailers. Right now it’s been enough to be able to watch and help out a bit. I’ve seen a lot of different camping rigs over the years and have some ideas on what works.
Will I get another van? I’m really not sure right now. To be honest, I’d get a lot more use of a truck these days. Even an old solid SUV would be good. The van was fun, but it’s time to move on and have some new adventures.
-Sixbears
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Actually for various reasons, I would have loved to have your van. It would have served us well for the reasons we want a camper.
ReplyDeleteThen too , many of the reasons for your selling the van , also apply to our motorhome. Much too expensive in maintenance costs, licensing and insurance for use only occasionally... After much thought , we've decided to instead plant it in the backyard and make it into an extra bedroom. Thus still a useful thing but costs us little on a yearly basis. No license nor insurance requirements just to park it, so long as it still has wheels and tires on it.
Gonna look instead for a small camp trailer that one of the toy yoyos can pull.
Since last you were here. I've put new springs and refurbished the axel on the bugout trailer, tho have yet to install the solar panels...
The fencing project is coming along nicely. Only a thirty foot section to do between the house and garage. Then build all the gates...
I think you made a wise decision about your motorhome -even though it's a less fun decision. Sometimes we have to be practical, darn it!
DeleteA small camp trailer sounds like a fine idea. It's something you could get a lot of use out of.
Ever consider putting cameras on that fence?
Yup , got a nine camera set-up with DVR
DeleteThat's gonna do pretty good coverage. Back before my accident, I was working on a hotel renovation project. Got to cart away their whole system for free.
Good to have. Sometimes people forget that fences block the view in two direction. Good to see what's happening outside.
DeleteI had a lot of good times in my old '86 Suburban. Take out the third seat, fold the rear and you have a good tent size footprint for camping out in style. Bi-Fold side doors for draping a tarp at rear bumper - great for watching the rain fall and enjoying the sound of it.
ReplyDeleteIt drank the gas or course, but not horribly - 15 in city, about 18 on the highway. The person who had owned it previously ditched the dual tanks (couldn't reliably remember if the tank switched off had gas or not). It was replaced with a big 40 gallon tank. I could drive approximately 750 miles on the highway - that was comfort when driving overnight in country I did not know if gasoline was available 24/7.
Those old Suburbans were beasts. I'd be tempted if one came my way for the right price in the right condition.
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