Another crazy scheme

Ok I may have truly lost the plot on this one. We are at the point where we need to make some decisions about our camper van. This is our third one and when we bought it 9 years ago we thought it would be ideal for us. We have enjoyed it. It’s great to have a furnace that you can turn on from the bed, and an inside potty. Richard has used the shower once and we pretty much came to the conclusion that it was more work than it was worth. The body of the van needs painting and there are a few other things that could use some attention. So the question is do we invest money in this vehicle or do we look for another solution?
To be honest, the van sits in the driveway most of the year. Last year we came back from a holiday to find the door open and a bunch of stuff gone. We might not have checked to see it was locked before we left. We just don’t know. Since then our garage door has been open twice when we didn’t know it and we have had items stolen. Clearly we need to be more conscious about security.

The plan for the neighbourhood would see a three storey multi unit apartment go in behind us.The back lane is already crowded and we can see that we might have difficulty manoeuvring the van out of its spot when we do want to go camping. Also it’s a dead giveaway that we’re not home when the van is gone. What if we had a camper that we could put in the garage? Of course that won’t matter if we don’t remember to close the garage door, but it would save wear and tear on the vehicle.

Recently we took a trip out to Vernon in the Okanagan with our 30 year old Toyota Previa. We love that thing. It’s quirky and it too needs some TLC. We’ve looked at alternatives and have come to the understanding that we don’t really want an alternative: we want this van with a few more bells and whistles. So this brings me to the latest crazy scheme. What if we were to sell the current camper and make the mini-van into a camper customized just for us?

On the one hand we’re giving our heads a shake. The van is 30 years old for crying out loud! But Toyotas can go for 400,000 km on the motors before they give out and we have under 300,000 in 30 years of travel. It could fall apart at any moment. It could but so could any other second hand vehicle and we know exactly how this one has been maintained. It needs body work because it’s starting to rust. Well, yes but so does the RoadTrek.

I’ve always wanted to do a van conversion. I know, if we do it, it will be a headache at times and we will wish we had never thought of it. At the moment I’m excited by the possibilities. The Previa gets great gas mileage compared to the RoadTrek. It’s way easier to drive and we are very fond of it. In our lives the latter counts for a lot.

I’ve been down the YouTube rabbit hole on camperized Previas and have found a channel by an Oregon couple who have converted their 1992 Previa into a camper and live in it full time. Their blog posts are very instructive and we can learn from their experience. Also we don’t have to go whole hog if we don’t want to. We can start slowly with a minimum amount of fuss and then decide how much time and effort we want to invest.

We have already started to investigate. The other day we pulled out one of the rear seats. It was much easier than we thought it would be, a matter of two bolts. There is actually quite a lot of space inside. There’s no potty which means that there’s no black tank to worry about. The water system could be very simple so we wouldn’t need to worry about either putting antifreeze in the lines or blowing them out at the end of the season. As well, there are solutions to not having a potty. As we have found, any camper is a compromise, even the one you think is the absolutely perfect model.

We like the idea of some of the new camper vans but they are just too ‘perfect.’ They are beautiful but not cozy and they don’t have all the wonderful little nooks and crannies for storage that Kermie the lime green Volkswagen had. Kermie was our favourite camper. It was severely underpowered; the engine leaked oil, and the steering would freeze up in the winter because the engine was in the back. Nevertheless, we liked the coziness and practicality of the build. There wasn’t an inch of wasted space; it was easy to park and good on gas. I guess what we really want is the feel of Kermie without that particular set of problems.

I know myself well enough to understand that I love the seductive sparkle of a new idea. Some of my ideas are great and some are total duds. The nice thing is, we don’t need to do anything about our vans right now. For the moment I’m enjoying the many possibilities. One thing I do know: the old red Toyota van will continue to have a place in our garage for the near future. I’ll be sure to let you know if this idea ends up having legs or if it falls flat. Stay tuned.

Twenty-nine years and counting

This is weird but I know exactly what I was doing 29 years ago on June 11. I was teaching at Dr. E. P. Scarlett and we had a celebration of creative writing. I was wearing a skirt, which was unusual for any year. Richard came to pick me up after school. I remember I was having trouble with an ankle tendon and was limping a little.

We just had the interior detailed

I got into the car and we headed for the auto brokerage. It was the only time we have used a broker to buy a vehicle and I don’t remember exactly what our rationale was. We got to the lot and there it was, a brand new 1993 cherry red Toyota Previa. It came from Vancouver and we thought it was just about the coolest van going.

We had arranged to sell Kermie the 1970’s Volkswagen pop top and we were looking for something that would let us sleep in it and carry bikes. We christened the new van Beano, after its jelly bean shape, not the product designed to reduce gas after you eat beans. Once we realized the confusion we thought of calling it Jelly Bean instead but Beano had already stuck.

We have been on some wonderful adventures in Beano over the years. We have slept in it a few nights when we arrived late the night before a cycling tour was to begin. Once when we were preparing for a ride on the Going to the Sun Road in Montana, the wind roared like crazy all night and we were amazed at how quiet it was in the van. We slept in it again the night before The Silver Triangle ride one year, and it carried us to the start of many cycling trips in Alberta and B.C. It has outlasted several single bikes and one tandem.

We bought the van before we bought our first tandem and the tandem not only fitted into the van easily when the middle seat was removed, it also matched the colour almost perfectly. We didn’t have the opportunity to pick the colour of the tandem. There was only one in stock when we wanted to buy ours so the match was a lucky accident.

When Beano was new it carried 6 of us and all our gear from Vancouver to Sydney where we rented kayaks. We paddled to D’Arcy Island and spent the night there before paddling back and piling into the van for the return trip.

Beano hosted a ‘touring’ poetry group at one point. The L group, as we called ourselves, was invited to do a reading at a bookstore a couple of hours north of Calgary. I remember driving the backroads with Richard the evening before the reading so we could get the required number of miles on the engine to break it in for the drive the next day on the highway.

In addition to carrying people and their cargo, Beano has been used as a moving van a number of times. I moved my school stuff in it when I transferred from Scarlett to Ernest Morrow, then when I moved from Morrow to Pearson, and finally from Pearson to Forest Lawn.

It helped Richard’s parents move to the house on the hill, and moved David’s stuff two or three times. It also carried some of Mum’s stuff when she sold her house and moved into the seniors’ lodge. It has carried dressers and beds and most recently, new chairs for our living room.

I love driving it because I never have to worry about having enough cargo space. It won’t fit a full 4X8 sheet of plywood lying down but it will take that sheet if it’s first ripped in half lengthwise. We brought Richard’s lathe home in it and almost every other piece of machinery that now lives in the shop. It has carried workbenches and tool boxes and chunks of trees salvaged for woodworking projects. It has carried all the birds we have had and their various cages and it has made many trips with friends and family. I remember one very hot summer Richard and I picked up Mum and took her for a drive just to cool off because Beano had air conditioning.

It has had its windshield replaced 3 times, has been broken into once, and has been in one accident. I think the guy behind me fell asleep at a light and bashed into the back end. The break-in occurred when it was parked at a helicopter landing site just west of Golden while we were at a backcountry lodge hiking. That is a number of years ago now and, at that time, we got the second last tail light available for that model in North America.

And that, eventually, is the problem with old vehicles: you can’t easily get parts. So far we’ve been lucky. We’ve had to have it towed a couple of times when the battery died but it’s still running. It has been in a garage most of its life so the rust isn’t as bad as it could have been. When I had the summer tires put on it a couple of weeks ago the guy informed me that there was still lots of tread on the winter tires but they were ‘older than dirt’ and he couldn’t, in good conscience, recommend that I put them back on the van for next winter. I told him to toss the tires. I’ll buy a new set in the fall.

Beano is rusting

I don’t know how much longer we’ll keep the van. A lot depends on parts. Once things start to go wrong with it and the dealership can’t get parts, it will be time to pass it on to someone with the desire to look for parts in junk yards. I’ve heard of those vans going for 400,000 km if people are willing to give them the TLC they need to keep them going. I’m rather hoping I can drive it until we’ve had 30 years together. If it keeps running well chances are good but there’s no guarantee.

I don't know what I’d replace it with. We’ve been waiting for a hybrid Sienna for years and they’ve finally arrived. Still, I go back and forth on whether I really need another van or not. I know a lot of people make fun of minivans but I’d be hard pressed to find another vehicle that is so versatile. Then again, maybe I could get away with something more like an SUV. I’m certainly not ready to take the leap to a one car family. For me it’s not only about convenience: it’s also about independence. There aren’t that many times when we each need a vehicle at the same time but they still occur and I like the freedom of not having to plan transportation around a single vehicle. It’s a luxury and I enjoy it.

The siren call of new vehicles is also having an effect and I drive Beano less than I once did. Now, when I drive an hour out of town to work on ukuleles each week, I more often take the Previa. It has a backup camera, adaptive cruise control, bluetooth pairing with my phone, and heated seats. I do like those features.

In spite of all the whistles and bells available, I remain attached to Beano. Each time I get into the driver’s seat I marvel at what a good old van it is and how much I enjoy sitting higher up than in the car. So here’s to Beano, 29 years and counting, and here’s to whatever adventures are still in store for us in its company. I’m sure that, when the time comes for Beano to go to another owner, there will be another blog post. Stay tuned.

Not bad looking for 29