Non van owner, but looking

[AllanA]

Hello all,

Hope all is doing as well as can be expected during these times.  I'm a noob here, haven't even been lurking around  

I'm starting to look around for a van and thought I'd float a few questions with people in the know    I started to develop my questionnaire here, but thought better of the that, and I'll just post up a link to my questionnaire, once submitted.

Oh my past experience with a van was that I had at one time a German spec'd '71 Westfalia.  Lets not bring this van up as I lost it when the city came by and towed it away.  They said that it was because of "abandonment".  I looked to see what they considered "abandonment" and it was 3 parking tickets in a row on street sweeping days.  I had two tickets in a row and another one after a week of missing.  It wasn't 3 in a row.  Anyways I was new to the city life in Long Beach and wasn't used to street sweeping days.  They ended up digging up all kinds of parking tickets I had.  The biggest one was some kind of red zone that was well over 1k in price.  They dug up tickets from cities >400 miles away.  I didn't have their total and just gave up the van.

That van had a nice lay out with many accessories.  Had a bench seat with the spare under the middle passenger.  Had a two-way frig with room for 4 adults and two kids over the front seat area.  Plus I had the big tent that went with the van.  I know nowadays that van setup would fetch a nice sum, but............  That year had a nice motor that could be taken out and swapped in less than 2 hrs, so they say.  Oh also the first year with discs up front.

So looking for a new chapter in the van life.  The link will follow on my questions.

Thanks for reading and I wish you the best.

 

[RvDreams]

Welcome AllanA to the CRVL forums! To help you learn the ins and outs of these forums, this "Tips, Tricks and Rules" post lists some helpful information to get you started.

Most of our rules boil down to two simple over-riding principles: 1) What you post should provide good information (like your introductory post), and 2) Any response to someone else's post should make them feel glad they are part of this forum community.

We look forward to hearing more from you.

 

[AllanA]

Thanks RVDreams,

Well it sounds like it would be pretty easy to melt into the scene here. I was hoping I could edit my post. Just needed to add the link I mentioned I wanted to add after posting. So I guess I'll just post it here;

https://vanlivingforum.com/showthread.php?tid=43942

 

[tx2sturgis]

... Had a two-way frig with room for 4 adults....

Wow...that's a VERY large fridge!




BTW...welcome and good luck in your journey.

 

[Belinda2]

AllanA,
Welcome! We are glad you are here. You have had a lot of adventures and seem like you can share a lot of what you have learned here. You are not afraid to "branch out" and try different vehicles. Good for you! I wish I had your knowledge base!

 

[AllanA]

Wow...that's a VERY large fridge!




BTW...welcome and good luck in your journey.

Funny how a comma can mess things up huh?

I really liked the '71 German spec'd Westfalia I had at one time.  I did all the interior and replaced the canvas pop-up on it too.  Basically all the interior stuff was done.  It was waiting for a paint job.  

It had some nice options on it too;

• single adult folding bed over the roof opening of the van roof
• first year of disc brakes
• had the 1600 dual port motor that could be taken out and replaced easily in a day.  (not sure on the record, but I bet it's less than an hour)
• 2-way frig
• bench seating up front
• sleeping area over upfront seating which was designed for kids or could be good storage area while parked
• outside tent designed for the van
• area behind the bench was the kitchen area.  Stove, sink, frig, and storage 

I think it was designed for up to 3 adults to sleep in and a couple of kids.  Obviously the tent could sleep people too.

 

[[email protected]]

Funny how a comma can mess things up huh?

I really liked the '71 German spec'd Westfalia I had at one time. I did all the interior and replaced the canvas pop-up on it too. Basically all the interior stuff was done. It was waiting for a paint job.

It had some nice options on it too;

• single adult folding bed over the roof opening of the van roof
• first year of disc brakes
• had the 1600 dual port motor that could be taken out and replaced easily in a day. (not sure on the record, but I bet it's less than an hour)
• 2-way frig
• bench seating up front
• sleeping area over upfront seating which was designed for kids or could be good storage area while parked
• outside tent designed for the van
• area behind the bench was the kitchen area. Stove, sink, frig, and storage

I think it was designed for up to 3 adults to sleep in and a couple of kids. Obviously the tent could sleep people too.

That’s the old style VW van? I had one of those, but a 4’ Safari sunroof. The whole thing burned up on the freeway way when a gas hose came undone. Lives that vehicle. The 2 downers; third gear up the hills. It would get me there but just have to take my time. The roger downer, just 1/32” sheet metal between you and Jesus. Better visibility than a motorcycle but about the same protection.
Thoughts?
Thx!

 

[afblangley]

Anyways I was new to the city life in Long Beach and wasn't used to street sweeping days. They ended up digging up all kinds of parking tickets I had. The biggest one was some kind of red zone that was well over 1k in price. They dug up tickets from cities >400 miles away. I didn't have their total and just gave up the van.

The same thing happened to me when I first moved to San Francisco. I forked over the money to get my car out of hock. But I knew it would happen again because parking was nary impossible. So the next day, having never had previous desire, I signed up for a motorcycle riding class. The motorcycle I bought cost less than the sum I paid for my tickets.