Settling in?

My lovely wife went out to the van to get some of the stuff we hadn't unpacked yet. It as taking her a while so I went out to see how she was doing. She was just hanging out in the back of the van. I joined her and we hung out together. Is it a bad sign to be hanging out in the van in our own driveway?

Frankly, after three and a half months, the van feels as much like home as the house. During our trip we had discussed maybe selling the van. It would have been part of a bigger plan, including trading in my wife's little car for something a bit bigger. Now my lovely wife feels like holding onto the van until it completely dies.

Actually, I have a dollar figure beyond which I won't spring for repairs. No mechanic is going to learn of this number unless a job estimate exceeds it. At that point we'll let it go. Probably the van will only be suitable for scrap by then anyway.

It's in pretty good shape overall. The large 7.3 turbo diesel is pretty bullet proof. It could use a small bit of body work, but nothing major. True, the AC died. That may get fixed. If it's too expensive we can live without it. After all, summer in New England is not like summer in the deep south.

Next month I'm taking it in to my mechanic for an oil change. I did the last one at home with a friend. This time my mechanic can do it and he can also check out the brake repairs that were done in Florida. He can also tell me what's going on with the AC and anything else he finds.

We have plans to tow our Oday 19 to the coast of Maine, wilderness lakes, and maybe go to Lake Champlain in Vermont. We will make sure the van is up to the job. Also, we may buy a larger trailer sailor, so we'll need the van to be in tip top shape.

-Sixbears