Holy cow, that is one comfy and luxurious set up.
I found out a few weeks ago that our VW Touran can be modified for camping as well, not necessarily for a family of three, but for short solo, or father-and-son biking trips quite nice.
Bonus, I can do it myself.
Looks about the same as most mini-vans…so ya, lots of room:)
http://www.sigmarine.com/SIG-CCHSF.html
I burn 1"x5" pieces of wood. Small trees and branches are perfect. It only holds a small amount of wood so you do have to keep adding more fuel quite frequently. It also isn't an airtight design so it doesn't damper down too well.
On cold mornings it is very nice to have and keeps me from having to use the propane furnace too much.
What does one of those set you back?
sign up for the nsmba here
What does one of those set you back?
About a foot? Tiny fire is tiny.
:o lol
Cutest firewood pile ever? Me thinks so…lol
About a foot? Tiny fire is tiny.
:o lol
A foot is about right. :D
I normally fill a plastic tub with wood like that and keep it at the head of my cot. I can light the fire without leaving my sleeping bag which is nice on those -12 degree mornings.
>>---------> (x)
My flickr
earth roamers. they should be called earth crushers, good god. like some kind of insane Russian military vehicles i've seen in videos destroying some fish bearing streams.
how bad is this. at least it's green.
The stove was $399 + pipe, cap, etc…
Not exactly cheap but none of the tiny wood stoves are.
That stove is awesome. Must be great to go to sleep with that burning at your side.
It is easy to dodge our responsibilities, but we cannot dodge the consequences of dodging our responsibilities.
- Josiah Stamp
Every time I see an adult on a bicycle, I no longer despair for the future of the human race.
- H.G. Wells
anyone have opinions on the Mitsubishi Delica L400(rounder body style, 2.8td engine) ?
I'm shopping for a new vehicle right now, and no matter how much I want to stay away from the hipster-status of such things the inner dirtbag in me is having a really hard time passing up the diesel/4x4 capabilities/big enough to live in for a while status.
I don't want a conversion van (too much $$$, too big to daily drive), the Delica is the middle ground and would be enough for a few planned road trips this year…unless its prone to blowing cylinder heads and timing belts in the middle of nowhere.
Well i have owned a series 2 l400 for about a year now. it is a great vehicle. I daily drive it, have done lots of long road trips.
Dont worry about the hipster part, I have actually had interest from the redneck crowd in cache creek.
pros-
Build quality is very good (better then an astro van, which i also looked at before purchasing)
its quite good off road (proper 4x4) obviosuly you cant to go crawling in it, but i still have yet to get stuck.
me and my girl sleep inside no problem as all the seats fold done and an air mattress fits perfectly.
if you get one with the middle bench, it rotates 4 ways so if you dont want to remove it, you can easily adjust it to fit tools/wood etc inside.
I find the mileage to be decent for the type of vehicle, plus diesel was 94 cents in gibsons yesterday… 50L tanks gets me 400km around town. I drove to nelson last summer and got 600k out of one tank.
I also enjoy driving it, it feels great.
Old technology means you can run lots of different fuels in it. Veggie/wvo Apparently people are running Jet A fuel in vancouver
Cons-
If youre over 5' 11" it maybe a bit cramped unles you get the high roof model
Parts and labor are expensive. not sure how handy you are but be prepared to spend $$$. I had to do the rad/hoses that was $1100. Last week i had to do the seals in the steering rack ($900). now everything else on the van is supposed to be good to go. All the delica forums say they are reliable avec preventative maintenance. Remembering its a 15+ year old import….
FINDING PARTS and or mechanic- I got lucky i found a guy on the coast who will work on it but i must supply parts. Theres a shop in vancouver called Japanoid who is good for parts, and service but i believe youre in the Kootenays? which leads me to my next point.
Outside of the LM with the exception of kamloops i believe its hard to find parts.
Last summer I overheated BADLY just outside of Salmo. Called all the neighboring towns NO one would work on it or look at it. A shop in Trail said they would look but wont get parts + a 2 week wait. Same story with a shop in Nelson.
I ended up getting towed to Canadian Tire in Trail and tried to flush my rad in the parking lot. evently the guys at CT used their machine and I made it back to vancouver.
This is the biggest drawback for me. How many spare parts and tools do you bring on a road trip?
Im going to drive the oregon coast next week and im scared to venture into America, but delica.ca forums have helped me pin point possible places who will fix it just in case…
Over all I would say buy one! There are 3 great delica forums (Canadian, UK and Aus) which are excellent resources and you will be able to keep your van running if you dig deep in those forums.
You know you went to far when even Tungsten thinks your a Jack Ass.
1100 for a new rad and hoses holy fuck
Ha Ha! Made you look.
1100 for a new rad and hoses holy fuck
yep 580 for parts. could have gone cheaper probably but warranty! i guess they dont lie when they say diesels cost more… the worst part was the almost 400 dollar tow into trail, and leaving 3 people to hitchhike their way into town..
You know you went to far when even Tungsten thinks your a Jack Ass.
Cool thanks for the input, I think I'm ready for van-life.
After alot of research I'm now looking at a petrol L400 with the 3.0l V6 - acceptable fuel mileage for what it is with alot more get up and go than the 2.8 coal burner and a better track record in cold winters - the 3.0 petrol engine is the same (with different layout) as the Chrysler 3.0 found in alot of NA minivans so shouldn't be too hard to figure my way around.
I'd love the 2.8td and have it converted to WVO but lack of willing mechanics across the board means I'll be fixing anything myself. Petrol engines = simple, diesel engines = I do not have a fucking clue and the last thing I want to do is teach myself how to rebuild an injection pump on the side of the highwhay.
$580 for a new rad and hoses (assuming new coolant and clamps thrown in too)…expensive but if you're paying full retail for quality parts that's not much more than any other vehicle on the road
Old technology means you can run lots of different fuels in it. Veggie/wvo Apparently people are running Jet A fuel in vancouver
All the delica forums say they are reliable avec preventative maintenance. Remembering its a 15+ year old import….
.
I was told by a guide who had rolled a cab-over that the newer delica's handle better?
I was working in the bush for an RPF who liked the old cab over delica, he would pour canola from costco cube into the tank and then use the same oil to cook chanterals to eat with our steaks, he he looked at me and said "don't worry this can is canola that one is diesel"
SVO maybe over WVO from what I've read if you got your sytems down Vegy oil runs ok in the fuel systems of older tech diesels probably not a good idea in a modern VW TDi but I don't think jet fuel has any lubrication properties … maybe not a good
idea??
The cool mini pickup threads that get regurgitated every 2 months are usually based on the toyotas PU's that came out in 1990 which could now be 25 years old … old [HTML_REMOVED] worn out
It's cool to be different and all, I get it…but to own a vehicle for use in the bush and/or away from home that you KNOW will leave you stranded for who knows how long due to parts availability is quite adventurous for sure.
A couple Astro/Safari pointers -
20mpg all day long(or more)…Excellent for what it is
AWD actually means full-time 4wd…there's just no low range(some models have 3:73's and a rear locker btw)
Even the smallest of Napa Auto Parts stores in the smallest of towns has most of what you might need on the road…or overnight on ANY part. Having said that…these things are reliable. (I'm at 330K on mine and it hasn't needed anything out of the ordinary…just regular stuff you'd expect. Side note - my Brothers Suburban(same thing, just 350 and bigger body)…is pushing 450K now, same story)
An 8ft bed if you want
It's cool to be different and all, I get it…but to own a vehicle for use in the bush and/or away from home that you KNOW will leave you stranded for who knows how long due to parts availability is quite adventurous for sure.
A couple Astro/Safari pointers -
20mpg all day long(or more)…Excellent for what it is
AWD actually means full-time 4wd…there's just no low range(some models have 3:73's and a rear locker btw)
Even the smallest of Napa Auto Parts stores in the smallest of towns has most of what you might need on the road…or overnight on ANY part. Having said that…these things are reliable. (I'm at 330K on mine and it hasn't needed anything out of the ordinary…just regular stuff you'd expect. Side note - my Brothers Suburban(same thing, just 350 and bigger body)…is pushing 450K now, same story)
An 8ft bed if you want
My father had a 1970 'burban that I grew up with, and he eventually converted it to a bush truck in the mid 90's. Its still going mechanically. The body is rusted out though. Last I checked it had over half a million miles on it.
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