The next BIG obsession

Have I ever alluded to my need to always have a project going? I'm a lot like my recently deceased dad in that way: I go existential if I don't have something to obsess over. Sometimes that obsession isn't a project; it might be doing some research related to a new gizmo or the 'need' to update one of my bikes or ski gear...

Well, the latest obsession has to do with vans. Rachel and I have been purveyors of VW Westfalias ever since we bought our first one back in 1987, a classic air-cooled, green 1978 Microbus.

We took it on an awesome 3+ month road trip to climb and explore the Western states. So much fun! And probably the experience that sealed the deal for our monogamous life :-)  Of course, we had the essential 'How to Keep Your Volkswagon Alive (for the complete idiot)' and we made good use of it.

Somewhere in there, we had a short stint with another Type 2, '77 Microbus, just a regular one but with a huge, leaky sunroof - I just couldn't ever get the leak fixed so I sold it.

Then a 1984 water-cooled T3 that was a nightmare for lack of power: it had an automatic transmission and air conditioning. Imagine that. And I bought it. Yikes. After a year or two of suffering, and a somewhat stressful/somewhat enjyable road trip to Canada with little Kelly, we sold it and picked up one of the finest ones ever made... 

...a 1989 Westfalia Wolfsburg Edition. A fine burgundy colored machine with adequate power and somewhat reliable engine. It was a weekender edition, so no sink and stove, just a super practical layout for road trips. Boy did I love that van. Our girls would have grown up camping and road tripping in that thing to this day - if only it had shoulder belts in the back bench and airbags in the front. Alas, after a few years and the addition of little Leah, our parental safety mindedness led us to unload it to a nice young kidless couple here in Boulder.

And then on to our most recent, and endearing van, a 2003 Eurovan MV with the weekender package, pop top and all. A real car with real horsepower (183 of them) and decent handling. I loved it almost as much as the '89. It's just perfect for most road trips if you don't have to bring too much gear. After much debating, we sold it for a very good deal to Kelly, who added oversized tires and solar and lives in it off and in California.

And so here we are, time to move on to the next one. Something with room for toys and comfort for long road trips. After a year of research and a month of trolling the for sale boards, we bought a slightly used 2016 Mercedes Benz Sprinter Cargo van.

This is a different beast! No need to pop a top as the inside of this high-roof version has plenty of room for a bed and all the gear we'll need on our future romps around North America. We''ll even be able to store our mountain bikes under the bed! It's a cargo van so it's a blank slate for outfitting for our needs. A 4 cylinder diesel gets decent mileage (should be a bit better than the Eurovan) and has good power.

Butt to butt, little beast and big beluga:

So there it is: my next project and obsession. No doubt getting this new van outfitted will be a long-term endeavor with lots of mini (and big) projects to obsess over. I can't wait!