Wander the West: glad to see! - Wander the West

Since moving on from our truck camper we have gone back to our first choice for travel,having started with vw vans back in the "day" on to step vans,ford vans,astro vans,water boxer vw vans we now wandering in a ford van which we converted to a pop top to make it simple for camping,of course we did all the normal stuff.
solar,dual batts,engle frig,sink, heater,swivel passenger seat,replaced fixed windows with pop out windows.
ford has small v/8 locking diff,gets us every where we need to go.
most of the time we carry a yamaha tw200 dual sport to explore once we set up camp.
as we drive slooow we also average 18 mpg,not great but as good as we got with the toyota truck.
so if you see us out and about say hi we always have time to visit!
drive slow and enjoy "its the journey"
Les,LQhikers.

les, good to hear from you again. Great lookin' van conversion, nice work.

DLN, on 13 April 2011 - 08:20 AM, said:

x2

Hope this new section gets you chiming in more. Always enjoyed your posts as they showed good ideas and shared good advice.

Hope to see you on the road sometime. I also like using the bike for further exploration. All that van needs is a diesel

Les, great to see you back...always the innovator. Will keep our eyes peeled.

Les we're all happy to hear from you. I wish you'd stop in more often we miss your input. The van looks great. Are you still swimming? One of these days I'll stop by for a welding lesson. I'm thinking of getting a wire welder.

Thanks fellow wanders,never really left just,not really into spending much time in front of a computer,would rather be outside or into a good book!
Barkoi1: don't need a diesel,do not tow anything heavy,not in a hurry,ford 150 is CHEAP for maintenance, cheap for insurance,same size as diesel,except lighter.much cheaper to buy,etc.
and as far as offroad travel the places we go 90% of the time you do not need 4x4.a lot of people today think you need 4x4 to go places like Saline Valley as good as the roads are most of the time you can drive your car in.
don't get me wrong i have used, abused, and loved my past 4x4s.also as someone who likes to build things this van is but another toy!
Jay:i'm back just about 100% took two years,swimming is the reason never gave up on that!did have to give up the kayak
just could not paddle worth a darn!I do not know how any one can live without a wire welder!
Sunman: always look for your Baja posts as someone who started going to Baja with my dad when i was 8 years old i feel sorry for anyone who has never enjoyed what Baja is.
Drive slow and enjoy "its the journey"
Les,Lqhikers

lqhikers, on 13 April 2011 - 10:51 AM, said:

Les great to hear you again.I have used or modified some of your ideas.Keep them coming.The van looks great.I will have to share this with a friend who is thinking about doing a van camper.

Thanks again

Frank

Reminds me of my first camper which was a Chevy van. I like the pop top and rear screens. Good to see your your posts and recent innovations.

Iqhikers,
I love your home made poptop it is very cool I have seen it before other places. Hopefully we can draw more do it your selfers to the forum for everyone to gain and share the knowledge.
Derek