freightbike
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- Oct 16, 2016
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Back in the late seventies, early eighties, I had a 77 chevy 3/4 ton short bed, 350 4 barrel, three on the tree. It was painted, "Redondo Blue", and I called it the" blue pumpkin". It had multishaded blue shag carpet glued over a half inch of polyurethane, glued over 1/8th inch mdf screwed into the ribs over polystyrene bead board insulation. I did all the work myself, losing quite a few brain cells with the application of all that contact cement, but the result was pretty spectacular. I got rid of the stock seats and got swivel captains chair type seats and a foam mattress covered with the same carpet over a sheet of plywood over milk crates to raise it off the floor. It had a venture vent in the back and a moon roof over the front seats.
In late summer of 79 I quit my job and headed out west to seek my future and possible fortune but mostly because I wanted something different than the life I had led up to that point. That, and I was a twenty four year old virgin and very naïve. I had spent some time on the road as a semitruck driver when I turned 21. I was driving from Plymouth MN to points between Boston and Baltimore, then back to MN.
I pretty much lived out of my van for several months on my trip out west. staying at relatives or boondocking here and there with no clue where it was legal. I remember getting chased out of my Oceanside parking spot up in northern California after reaching the pacific first time in my life. "No Camping" signs clearly posted, but I was just parked there for a few hours to keep from driving while sleeping.
I went back home to MN when my mom died, left the van behind with relatives in OR. Bought a little sail boat (LASER) with some of the inheritance. I got a friend to bring it out to the Athabasca glacier in Alberta Canada where I met up with him and with the boat on the top of my van, continued on with more adventures.
Eventually, I wound up back home in MN. However the dumb kid that left a year ago came back a little less dumb and no longer a virgin.
I recently purchased a Chevy Express Cargo 3/4 ton work van with side panels that tilt up. I'm sure I paid too much for it but when I saw the tilt up feature there was no chance I was going to be a savvy negotiater, the salesman knew it by the look on my face.
I have about five years left before I'm likely to retire from concrete truck driving and I very much am looking forward to going back out on the road and reliving the happiest times of my life.
In late summer of 79 I quit my job and headed out west to seek my future and possible fortune but mostly because I wanted something different than the life I had led up to that point. That, and I was a twenty four year old virgin and very naïve. I had spent some time on the road as a semitruck driver when I turned 21. I was driving from Plymouth MN to points between Boston and Baltimore, then back to MN.
I pretty much lived out of my van for several months on my trip out west. staying at relatives or boondocking here and there with no clue where it was legal. I remember getting chased out of my Oceanside parking spot up in northern California after reaching the pacific first time in my life. "No Camping" signs clearly posted, but I was just parked there for a few hours to keep from driving while sleeping.
I went back home to MN when my mom died, left the van behind with relatives in OR. Bought a little sail boat (LASER) with some of the inheritance. I got a friend to bring it out to the Athabasca glacier in Alberta Canada where I met up with him and with the boat on the top of my van, continued on with more adventures.
Eventually, I wound up back home in MN. However the dumb kid that left a year ago came back a little less dumb and no longer a virgin.
I recently purchased a Chevy Express Cargo 3/4 ton work van with side panels that tilt up. I'm sure I paid too much for it but when I saw the tilt up feature there was no chance I was going to be a savvy negotiater, the salesman knew it by the look on my face.
I have about five years left before I'm likely to retire from concrete truck driving and I very much am looking forward to going back out on the road and reliving the happiest times of my life.
