The Van!

So I believe it is about time the Van get it's own post.
Before we had kids, Chloe and I had an awesome roadtrip set up: a 4X4 Toyota tacoma with a Flippac on it. It could go anywhere off road to get to some of the more difficult climbing destinations, took seconds to set up, had tons of room for two and got pretty decent gas mileage. With the advent of two little kiddos, however, it was time for an upgrade if we were to maintain our lifestyle of climbing and dirtbagging on the road. As it turns out, the options for finding a good family camping vehicle that can go off-road when needed, and have some respectable gas mileage, are extremely limited, (ie. almost non-existant). One basically has to build his/her own. Sportsmobile offers some options, but uses the Ford/Chevy vans as the 4X4 option and they have their own issues, not mention averaging a whopping 13-14 mpg when all is said and done :( We opted for the classic VW Vanagon. Much smaller in length, all of it's own issues, and as it turns out, from 1986-1991, a limited amount of all wheel drive versions were produced called "Syncros." As many know, the classic Vanagon has all kinds of issues with all the stock items (especially the engine). The advantage of this vehicle, however, is that it has been around for quite some time, and all the issues are known, have been discovered, and there is quite the diehard following that goes with them, and thus a lot of improved/updated parts and ideas have come along to make these things very reliable. Vanagons (and Syncros) have standed the test of time all over the world and have been to just about every remote corner of the world along the way. Built on a solid truck type chassis, the basis of the vehicle is solid.
So, last year I found a 1987 Syncro with 117 000 miles and bought it. I spent the last year getting it up to speed for many many more roadtrips and adventures to come. Here's the basic list of some of the more major improvements I did and had done to it:
-replaced the stock engine with a VW 1.8T (turboed) engine having the HP go from 90 to 240 HP
-rebuilt transmission and larger 4th gear installed for cruising on the the freeway
-cruise control
-updated supsension system with Fox Racing shocks and 8 different dampening settings
-airbags in rear suspension
-replaced bumpers
-HID headlights
-decoupler to change from 2WD to true 4WD while on the road
-Audi disc brakes installed on all four wheels
-new stereo
-new pop-top tent
-entire body and camper top Line-x covered for rock chip protection (and cheaper than an a new paint job)
-Shady Boy awning off the side
-new roof rack
-thermostat controlled interior heater
-second propane tank
-auxillary battery
-solar panel on roof
-LED interior lights
-water heater for hot showers in the middle of winter
-footpump for sink faucet
-rubber matting on the floor instead of original carpet
-screen doors for side slilding door and rear hatch door for better air circulation and cooler temps with no bugs while kiddos nap in the van in the summer ;)
-National Luna refrigerator (amazing!)
-jump seat behind front passenger seat

...and many other smaller improvements along the way. Basically this van has come together very well for us and is a dream to live out of while on the road with the family. Sky is crazy about it and can spend hours playing in it. It sleeps four adults comfortably, two below, two up in the pop-top. Whether it's snowing or cooking hot outside, we can be comfortable camping anywhere with this rig. It does amazingly well off road and allows us to still reach all those hard to get to free camping spots, with confidence that we won't get stuck out in the middle of nowhere with two little kiddos :) We average 18-22 mpg on the highway and around town with tons of power to spare, even fully loaded with stroller, gear for two kids, and all our climbing gear! There will always be improvements that can be made on this rig, and I'm sure will come along the way, but we're all set for a whole lot more fun with it :)
-Brendan