Van Life- The Beginnings
The van… hot danggggg… What did I do?! Well… There’s a lot of options when it comes to cargo vans depending on your needs to fit into a build… I realized very quickly that I had a few essential needs in a van.
I need enough power to be able to do whatever is necessary for work… charging camera batteries(check)… editing a video (check)… go somewhere off grid (check)
I need to be able to stand up and move around without always being hunched over
be fully self contained in case I get sick or there’s really bad weather
The ability to carry all my equipment for filming & outdoor activities so I’m always ready.
This immediately forced me to look at high roof vans with longer wheelbases… My options were Mercedes Sprinter, Ford Transit, and Ram Promaster… After checking them all out in person there was only 1 which fulfilled need #2… The Ford Transit… Specifically the Ford Transit 148 ext.
Now, this van is basically a unicorn on the used market as it’s incredibly popular. The thing is HUGE, but checks all the boxes for what I need. I spent most of December hunting for this van anywhere in the PA/NJ/NY/MD area… No real worthy deals popped up until….
New Years Day!!
Conveniently my local ford dealer posted exactly what I was looking for, but it didn’t have a price. I immediately called my sales guy & he got me into the van before anyone else (oh and it hadn’t even been through their service dept).
After a test drive it was a done deal… This was the one… Jumped on it. It took them a week to get the van through service which ended up being a blessing. Since I’d already bought the van, they called me as soon as they figured out 3 of the 4 tires needed replacing… So I was able to have them put on the exact all terrain tires I wanted while only paying the difference!
As soon as I got the van… it was time to get to work (which some aspects I definitely underestimated)… I knew I would be doing the bulk of my build in Texas, but wanted to get as much done as I could while in PA waiting for my Outback to get fixed (this is a story for a whole diff day)
My buddy Michael came over from Jersey and jumped right in helping me out with getting started… I had 2 main goals for my time in PA Get the Maxxair Fan, floor, and wall insulation installed.
It was a solid amount of work… but we did it!! Now…. Off to Texas 😃😃😃
