Photo Epic: #minivanlife

5/15/2017

Maiden voyage to Angel Fire last year. We've made some improvements and added many miles to the odometer.

Vanlife seems to be nearing epidemic status this spring. Although I may secretly long for a full size, custom, 4WD Sprinter, its not a good time for me to sell the house or go deep into buyer's remorse. So we settled for a mini-van. We scored 'Roxanne the Van' with less than 10,000 miles on the odometer (we've managed to triple that number in the past 12 months). Last year we recreated all over the Western US and up to British Columbia. Usually I like to go against the grain and avoid lauding too strongly any new trend, however, we totally love our van! Its delightful to be able to pull over anywhere and grab some shut eye before the next adventure.
Say what you want about #vanlife, but I am sold.

Minimalist interior. We recently added a fold down table that makes for a nice shelf or a petite desk. *Sucia dog approved.

Angel fire last weekend; possibly the most perfect campsite ever- complete with elk and our own private pond.

Cruising to one of our favorite TH's.

If you lived in your car, you'd be home by now.

Our Rhino Rack awning pops out in about 60 seconds and makes for a nice TH lunch spot. Add tables and chairs and we have a traveling al fresco restaurant.

Road Shower helps us feels refreshed after a long day in the saddle.

The build:
2010 Ford Transit Connect, cherry red
Rhino Rack, Sun Seeker awning
Road Shower 2, solar shower
1Up USA, Heavy Duty Double hitch mount bike rack
Yakima cargo box (got it over 10 years ago at REI garage sale- not sure which model)
Yakima Front Loader, roof mount bike rack
Homemade interior subfloor and murphy bed that folds up and expands from a single to a double with plenty of storage underneath.

What's your dream van?

2 Comments

Daniel

8/26/2017 09:28:26 am

I am about to do almost your exact set up to a 2012 Ford Transit Connect. My current hitch rack gets in the way of the barn doors in the back and I was looking at the 1-Up racks since they seem to be much more low-profile. I have two questions: 1) do your back doors swing open over the tray without any problem? 2) I noticed you have two trays on the back; do you have a 2" hitch or are you just pushing the 1.25" one to the max? I know 1-Up only sells the 1.25 for a single bike. I have the 1.25. Thanks! Love the set up!

Leigh

8/27/2017 08:11:22 am

Daniel,
Welcome to Vanlife! The 1-Up is pretty awesome and we have few complaints. We did go with a 2 inch receiver, knowing we were never going to tow with it, but the weight if we ever add a bike tray gets to be a lot when you figure in the leverage. The doors swing open just fine with the rack in its lowest position (see 3rd and 6th pictures from the top), but its virtually impossible to get in the back when bikes are on. We usually arrange storage bins so that the stuff in the far back is only needed when we are in camp, not while we are barreling down the highway.
Good luck!

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Photo Epic: #minivanlife

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Leigh Bowe

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