by Al Christensen | Oct 14, 2023 | Mechanical, Vans, Vehicle Maintenance
THE ODOMETER FLIPPED OVER to 340,000 miles somewhere between the Grand Canyon and the Mogollon Rim. Two-thirds of those miles were mine. Ten years wandering the West. About 22,500 miles a year. I chose van life so I could travel. My 2007 Chevrolet Express was running...
by Al Christensen | Apr 17, 2023 | Mechanical, RVs, Travel Trailers, Trucks, Vans
AUTOMOTIVE JOURNALIST and rescuer of rust bucket Jeeps, David Tracey, is ambivalent about diesel engines. “I like the idea of the diesels,” he wrote, “even if I would never want to maintain one.” Other folks are absolute fans of diesels. Diesels crank out tremendous...
by Al Christensen | Apr 4, 2023 | Minivan, Vans
THE FIRST TIME I SAW A TRANSIT CONNECT used as full-time living space was at the 2014 Rubber Tramp Rendezvous. A guy named Randy had done an attractive and very functional conversion. I’ve seen many nomad Transit Connects since then. They’ve become a popular choice,...
by LaVonne Ellis | Mar 21, 2023 | Changes, Emergency, Inspiration, Vans
IT APPEARED OUT OF THE DARK on a lonely Arizona road — a large, black Angus steer, standing in the swath of my headlights, turning to gaze curiously at me as my foot moved so, so slowly from the gas pedal to the brake. Then, with a swift, sudden FWOOMP! — everything...
by Al Christensen | Mar 17, 2023 | Build-Outs, Giving, Vans
JONNIE DeROSSETT had been in nursing for 30 years and waspondering the idea of combining work with her love of travel. The pandemic made her realize there was no better reason to follow her dreams. So she bought a van and got to building, documenting the process on...
by Al Christensen | Mar 15, 2023 | Mechanical, Trucks, Vans
I’M NOT AN AUTOMOTIVE BRAND LOYALIST. I’m loyal to well-engineered, low-trouble vehicles that meet my purposes, whoever makes them. So I’m not writing this as a Chevy driver whose knee-jerk reaction is to bash any and all things Ford. It’s because there are problems...
by Al Christensen | Jul 17, 2022 | New Mexico, RV Living, Skoolies, Vans
style="display:block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7662527707655081" data-ad-slot="8472325861" data-ad-format="auto" data-full-width-responsive="true" OPPOSITE OF WHAT ONE MIGHT EXPECT, summer is the wet season in the desert Southwest. (Wait, deserts have a wet season? I...
by Al Christensen | Jul 14, 2022 | Vans
style="display:block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7662527707655081" data-ad-slot="8472325861" data-ad-format="auto" data-full-width-responsive="true" THE CURRENT GENERATION of full sized General Motors vans has been in production longer than any other new vehicle currently...
