Adventures of the Black Pearl

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KJ1H

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As I posted in the newbie forum, my van adventure begins with the acquisition of this 2003 Dodge conversion van, which I've named the Black Pearl. (Pirate flag to come.  :cool:)

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Overall it's in pretty good shape for the price I paid, though it does need some things. My first priority is to get it running safely and reliably enough to pass state inspection, since unfortunately that's a thing here in New Hampshire. I'm just buttoning the steering column back up after replacing the ignition switch, which was worn out and disabling important items like turn signals, power windows, and most importantly the stereo.  :) The front brakes just started grinding so that's next. While I'm in there I'll pull the left front ABS sensor wiring, which is causing dashboard warning lights (and another cause to fail inspection) so I can replace it with the correct part. There's also some rust below the passenger front door, which I'll cut, paint, and rivet a patch panel into. The parking brake needs adjustment so that it works, and finally it needs tires. It's a bit of work, but the parts are cheap and I'm pretty handy at working on vehicles, so I can do all the work except installing tires myself.

Once it's on the road, it's time to deck out the interior. I plan to do a no-build build, at least for starters, just to try things out and figure out what I want and need. The van has already been lived in, with a plywood platform bed across the back. The previous owner was a woman who was undoubtedly shorter than me, since I can't lie down flat on the existing bed. I'll be moving and/or rebuilding it to fit my needs and dimensions, as well as adding something more than a 2" foam "mattress."

I have three goals for my build:


  1. I want to be able to work out of it. As a technical writer and freelance journalist, this means electrical power for my laptop and an internet connection. Much of this type of work is available remotely.
  2. I want to bring my dual-sport (on-road, off-road) motorcycle with me. The van doesn't have a trailer hitch but that's easy to add, as well as a motorcycle carrier that will eliminate the hassle and expense of pulling a trailer.
  3. I want to have a portable ham radio station. This is not only for fun, but also because I enjoy working communications for stage rallies and hillclimb events. I already have most of the radio equipment I need. I just need to figure out the best way to install it and power it in the van.

All this is very do-able. I just need to take it one step at a time, do it right, then test it out with some local trips. My goal is to have it ready to use for the Mount Washington Climb to the Clouds race in early July. I've got some time.

Stay tuned to this thread for the continuing adventures of the Black Pearl...
 
Welcome KJ1H.  What do you ride?  You'll have a similar setup to what I travel with carrying a Yamaha XT225. I've been rearranging the interior of mine so I can easily get to things without having to open the rear doors.  I've thought about getting a front hitch and carrying the bike there but my van is only a 1/2-ton so that's probably not a good idea.

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slow2day said:
Welcome KJ1H.  What do you ride?  You'll have a similar setup to what I travel with carrying a Yamaha XT225. I've been rearranging the interior of mine so I can easily get to things without having to open the rear doors.  I've thought about getting a front hitch and carrying the bike there but my van is only a 1/2-ton so that's probably not a good idea.
Nice! I have a Kawasaki KLR650. I may eventually get something smaller, if I'm relying on the van to do the long-distance travel. Your setup does look very similar to what I have in mind. I'll be setting up my interior so that back door access isn't required, though I'm sure I'll open it plenty for ventilation when the bike isn't loaded.

Have you had any trouble with your tail lights and plate being obscured by the bike on the back? I'm pondering making it so I can add extra tail lights and/or move my plate to keep it visible when the bike's loaded.
 
KJ1H said:
Nice! I have a Kawasaki KLR650.
Have you had any trouble with your tail lights and plate being obscured by the bike on the back?

Yeah, KLR's are nice but for me the extra 100lbs. would be a no go. I am thinking about taking a break from van travel for a while and do the Continental Divide Ride in May or so. If I can swing that, I will sell the XT and shop for an older 650 or maybe a DRZ400. One thing about used KLR's is that there are plenty of them available for sale.

The tail lights: From this past June to November I traveled from Missoula,MT to Kansas City and then down to AZ and never was stopped (or rear-ended), so I guess they were visible enough.
 
If I go full time, I'll swap the KLR for a smaller bike too. No need for a bike that can gobble up miles when the van is already doing it.

I did the front brakes this past weekend. Much better now. While I had the front wheels off I noticed that one of the tires, which I knew was worn, was actually worn all the way through to the steel cords on the inside edge. The van is officially grounded until I take it to a tire place for new rubber, which is happening this Saturday.

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I experimented with the interior layout a little bit, too. I partially dismantled the bed it came with and rotated it 90 degrees, so it sits lengthwise instead of across, which I'm too tall to fit comfortably. This works fine. I also threw a folding table in the back to mock up what I have in mind for a workstation - laptop computer, ham radio, cooking, etc. Optimally I'd use a different flat surface for cooking than my other activities. Still brainstorming and playing a little van Tetris to see what will work for me.

Until the tires are done, though, I'm not going anywhere. Then I have to look into the non-functional parking brake. State inspections are a pain. 0/10, would not recommend. :) But I live in a state that has them and haven't cut ties yet, so I have to live with it. Hopefully I can find a shop to do it that won't see a bunch of dollar signs the moment an older vehicle pulls in, which is always a concern.
 
I added some cheap LED lights to the interior.

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I do plan to install a house electrical system later, but until then this should suit all of my lighting needs.

I'm getting new tires tomorrow. Then I need to figure out what's wrong with the parking brake, fix that, and hopefully that makes the BRAKE warning light on the dashboard turn off, as well as patch a rust hole under the front passenger door. After that, it's inspection time, meaning just maybe this beast can be street legal.  :cool:
 
It won't win any art awards, but the rust hole is fixed.

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I used an old license plate as a patch . :D I riveted it on, bondoed around it, and painted the whole thing. It's not pretty but it does the job. I mostly replaced the ABS sensor, except I couldn't get the old sensor out of the hub with the tools I had available. The wiring was broken, so I wired up the new one, but I had to zip-tie the sensor itself out of the way until I can get the old sensor out. The parking brake hardware is similarly seized and beyond my own ability to repair. I hate rust, and I hate state inspections!

I have a lead on a local guy who can fix all this, though, and get it the all-important inspection sticker. Then I can focus on what I actually want to be doing - building out the interior for #vanlife. Wish me luck...
 
It's been a minute, hasn't it? I broke my heel bone in March, so progress on the van has slowed significantly. For two months it served as my handicap-accessible van rather than a home on wheels. I had surgery to put my bone back together (I'll set off metal detectors now), and have been focused on recovery ever since. So far I'm making great progress.

Just before I got knocked off my feet, I built a bed frame for the van and bought a futon for it. 

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Couch by day, slides out into a bed by night, but if I'm alone (which I will be most of the time) I'll just leave it in couch mode. I also tossed a folding table in there, which can serve as my computer workstation, food prep space, or whatever. Other small additions are an old cooler I already had, that cheap butane stove everyone has, a 5-gallon water jug, and a cheap electric pump/faucet from Amazon to supply "running water."

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Earlier this month I finally took my first trip in the van, just a weekend away to a campground in central NH along the Kancamagus Highway. I still wasn't very mobile yet, and brought my girlfriend with me, both for company and to help me out. It was an amazing experience. I was more relaxed than I have been in a long time, and just about everything worked exactly according to plan. The only issue I ran into was on our way home, when one of my rear spring shackles broke. Thank you, New England winters and the resulting rust! We made it home ok, though.

Since then, I've recovered enough to start driving my stick-shift Subaru again, which means I could let the van go to a local shop to get not only the shackles replaced, but also the front shocks which were dead. Right now he's working on repairing the massive oil leak I've been dealing with since the van became my unexpected daily driver. Once that's done and I get it back, I'll be planning my next adventure. This time I'll be going alone, since I'm walking on crutches now and much more "handi-capable" than I was for my last trip.

My next purchases for the van will be a trailer hitch so I can bring my motorcycle with me (I just started riding again a week ago), and a Jackery battery to bring some extra electricity with me in the van. I also want to get the van equipped for amateur radio. Since all of the racing events I normally help with have been canceled this year, I'm just looking for communication on the road at this point, nothing fancy, and am looking into mobile antenna mounting options (see other thread).
 

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So how is it living in a black van with the heat? Does it make a difference versus a white one?
 
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