Motovan--2000 Ford E350 ex-wheelchair van

ultraclyde wrote: Did you detail the HID headlight upgrade earlier in this thread? If so I should go back and read that.

Yes, let me know if the pictures work. I might not fix them but at least I'll know.

Sounds like you have your work cut out for you! Have a great trip!!

1:43 AM, mostly packed, heading to bed. Early ish departure tomorrow.

You are putting this adventure in the adventure forum, right?

mazdeuce wrote: You are putting this adventure in the adventure forum, right?

Way too much time and effort for me to be able to do that, but we do have a trip report started over on ADVrider. It's part of my brother's story with his Tiger. Start on page 50 http://advrider.com/index.php?threads/the-adventures-of-tyson-and-hobbes.701552/page-50#post-28888509

I did make a video for you guys on one of our last days while packing up.

https://youtu.be/dmn7avunv_A

No one likes my video tour?

Went camping just 7 miles from my house this past weekend with my GF. Hauled the Aliner because I felt like we haven't been using it enough. It was the first time I'd slept in it since the Christmas Valley trip before Christmas.

Who needs a pickup when you can haul this much firewood?

This is also why I keep a full size broom inside.

I brought back 4 bottles of this tequila from Mexico. It's pretty damn good for being in a plastic bottle! When you factor in that it was only about $1.50 a bottle it's really good E36 M3!

I got drunk and burned every bit of that firewood. Made breakfast the next day and rode a big loop of all the single track at Cline Buttes. It rained the whole time but never enough to get soaked.

Clicked 150k miles last night

Sweet! Im ready for camping season again.... Still a bit nasty around here

java230 wrote: Sweet! Im ready for camping season again.... Still a bit nasty around here

Haven't you been camping in ski hill parking lots all winter?

Petrolburner wrote:

java230 wrote: Sweet! Im ready for camping season again.... Still a bit nasty around here

Haven't you been camping in ski hill parking lots all winter?

Yep! but thats different than being out in the woods.... But its dumping snow so there will be a bit more skiing!

Beer fridge for the Motovan.

Seriously wish I'd have bought this prior to the last Baja trip. It sucked constantly running out of ice and having the cooler filled with water. Lunch meat and veggies got soaked because they weren't in a water tight container. This is taller than my cooler and holds 65 quarts. I can still stack 6 cargo containers in the normal spot. My passenger won't be able to reach back and grab me a beer, I mean Red Bull, while I'm driving though. Well I guess if I leave the latches unlatched and put the road sodas in the smaller basket up front we still could make it work. The lid is heavy enough that the latches aren't really necesary. Friggin' thing weighs 66 pounds unloaded! That's what the wire baskets are for. You pull the basket out and take it to your fridge at home and load it up. Then just carry the basket to the van instead of the loaded cooler that now weighs 85 pounds.

Nice! I miss my fridge. I sold it off as it was too small for my family...

java230 wrote: Nice! I miss my fridge. I sold it off as it was too small for my family...

This 65 quart fridge is definitely overkill for me. Look at how it dwarfs that 18 pack of PBR!

Another race weekend is in the books. Dust and mud.

looks nice! there is a norcold mrft660 near me cheap, but its like 2" too big each way....

java230 wrote: looks nice! there is a norcold mrft660 near me cheap, but its like 2" too big each way....

Sawzall?

In reply to Petrolburner:

That and a torch crossed my mind, but I still need a seat for the kid.... Im going to make a cardboard replica and see if lifting it enough to clear the wheel well will work...

Just got off the phone with Jeremy at WeldTecDesigns. More good stuff is destined for the Motovan. I ordered his Fox Shox steering stabilizer and 2nd leaf spring for my add a leaf. The first one I put in is full length, with a half wrap on each end. The second one he designed is shorter and goes on the bottom of the pack. I probably should have just gotten custom leaf springs made in the first place, but at this point it's the cheapest way to get where I want to be.

He also offered me a really good deal on his prototype winch bumper. It's a pre runner style tube bumper with the winch mounted up high. Looks awesome. Right now my winch is the first thing to hit the ground on a steep approach. I'll be down in SoCal next month and I'll swing by the shop and bolt it on. It'll be raw, I'll pull it and paint it when I get home. I could have him powder coat it before I get there, but I think I'd rather have a coating that I can touch-up myself.

Nice! Lots of good parts going on that thing. Ive been thinking about bumpers too....

Here are a couple of my favorite photos of gertrude from the February Baja trip:

Valle de los Gigantes

Towing my Dad's boat after his hitch got torn off the first time. (Yes it happened again later on in his trip)

Gertrude parked in front of Misión Santa Gertrudis

On the way out from Misión Santa Gertrudis

Sometimes the road is just gone.

Stadium seating

First beach launch of the boat.

First retrieval of the boat

I didn't air down or get stuck! The rear tires started out on hard wet sand and then I floored it just for the heck of it through the soft stuff. Subsequent retrievals were more difficult although I still didn't get stuck, I chose to air down.

I've got a trip coming up to SoCal that isn't going to involve dirt bikes. I know it's sad. It's a wedding instead. The redeeming factor is that I'm picking up a badass bumper in San Diego. Anyways, I built a bed platform to fit our actual matress. It's collapsible, multi purpose, and it has room for my favorite bins underneath.

Thats pretty damn slick, and very luxury! And folding tables are always useful later too.

Not sure those tables are structurally sound enough for extravehicular activities... fyi. :P

Your brother needs to finish his trip story. I've been updating all the time to read more about the trip.

The tables fold in half and have three position height legs. $100 for three. I probably could have built one for less but it wouldn't be that compact when not in use and I don't have the time anyway. We slept in the driveway last night to try it out. A low of 25°F and we were plenty warm with the roof vent cracked and the smallest side window open.

In reply to Mad_Ratel:

They survived a pretty good testing last night. I couldn't find a weight rating on the labels.