Traveling by Van

[antmanbee]

I left the east coast of Florida yesterday but not till 3PM. It turns out I had many more things to do than I thought. Anyways, the van is fully packed and ready to travel. This evening I am west and a bit north of Tallahassee. On Thursday morning I will be in New Orleans about 2 miles from the French Quarter and spend 1 or 2 nights there. Next I will head down following the southern most part of Texas and then up along the Mexican border. I have crossed Texas many times but never through the very bottom.
I hope to meet up with some of you guys along the way. My V7 is ready for a ride.



I have been getting about 14mpg from this beast even with the high-top and solar and bike on the back. Not too bad I guess. A lot of the newer vans on the road are diesel and get a few mpg more than mine but I think I come out ahead with the cheaper price of regular gas.

[Ncdan]

Good luck ya ole free spirited hippie, keep Lisa and I in the loop my friend 👍

[cliffrod]

Travel safe, man.  Hoping the adventure is a good one.

[LaGrasta]

Fantastic story and new travel set-up. Be safe, have fun, and be blessed.

[SemperVee]

 Sounds like a way cool trip to be both with new and old friends with periods of quietly enjoying being alone.   

[John A]

On the road again! beauty. Best vibes for a good trip…

[Burkslaw]

Glad to see you're on the road again! I will expect photos of twisty roads, fine roadside restaurants, scenic views, women, other motorcycles, fellow bikers, women, and fine roadside restaurants! "If you're not living on the edge, you're taking up too much space."

[antmanbee]

Thanks for all the well wishes everyone.
I am looking forward to my day in New Orleans tomorrow. I have not been there for 40+ years.

[LaGrasta]

One of my very favorite cities, New Orleans, architecture, food, music, people! Enjoy!

[antmanbee]

Thursday in New Orleans was fun. I probably walked 10 miles before dark including Canal st. and quite a bit of the Quarter and also Frenchman st.
Here are 3 cliched photos. I surprised myself at the lack of originality of the subjects.






I was hoping to find some granite sculptures in the cemetery but did not have much luck. I was probably looking in the wrong area. There are miles of these cemeteries.
I did luck upon an excellent bakery of French rustic bread.
Today I am in Texas somewhat near to corpus Christi. I will probably be wandering around Texas for a week or so.
Hope to see some of you guys.

[Ncdan]

Nice, keep the pictures and history coming.
I’m sure Clint would like seeing the sculptures👍

[cliffrod]

Thanks for looking.  I’ve got a couple of books in my archive featuring cemeteries in New Orleans.  Not much granite sculpture.  Ornate Marble is more prevalent.  It’s a unique place with so many above-ground installations, really unlike anything else.

Lafayette 1 is across the street from Commanders Palace.  I spent time looking through there & comparing it to what I was already familiar with from VT, but it was before I knew as much as I would later learn.  Never got to St Louis Cemetery to see the famous Weeping Seraph of Whetmore’s design.   I’ll get back there someday.

Glad you enjoyed things while you were there, Antmanbee.   

[John Croucher]

I have got the wife convinced that selling out and a house on the lake will get boring.  A Van, 2 scooters and b&b are the way to go.  No house to maintain, grass to cut or over head to maintain. Old Hippies. And a middle weight bike in the back.  She said a toilet. She didn't ask for much.

Your set up looks great. Need to get started on the Scooby-Doo Van

[bobrebos1]

I have got the wife convinced that selling out and a house on the lake will get boring.  A Van, 2 scooters and b&b are the way to go.  No house to maintain, grass to cut or over head to maintain. Old Hippies. And a middle weight bike in the back.  She said a toilet. She didn't ask for much.

Your set up looks great. Need to get started on the Scooby-Doo Van

You are right.  Seems like all I do is cut grass from March through November.  That’s 9 months out of a year!  Geeezzz

[antmanbee]

I have got the wife convinced that selling out and a house on the lake will get boring.  A Van, 2 scooters and b&b are the way to go.  No house to maintain, grass to cut or over head to maintain. Old Hippies. And a middle weight bike in the back.  She said a toilet. She didn't ask for much.

Your set up looks great. Need to get started on the Scooby-Doo Van

There is a lot to be said for shedding it all and simplifying in your life but it is not easy to do. We get attached to all our stuff (junk). Sometimes I think the best idea is to have a small, inexpensive home base that needs almost no maintenance, to visit on occasion and then spend the rest of the time adventuring in one form or another.
The van is pretty good for this as it is easier to go most anywhere and park unlike a larger RV. With the right size van not too much creature comforts are sacrificed.
I think the sweet spot is one of the newer Promasters, Transits or Sprinters on the extended chassis with the high top. These are a little bigger than my rig and can be set up with a shower/toilet area. They are in demand and expensive to buy.
I was not willing to drop a lot of dough into a van like that, not knowing if I would really like it and for how long I would travel like that. I only have about 10K in my van build, all in including the purchase price. But I do have so many hours in the build that probably translate to paying myself a dollar an hour. I spent about a year building and for the most part it is enjoyable for me to do a project like this.
This is what the inside of my van is like with all my stuff in it while traveling.

[antmanbee]

My pictures look like they are uploading but do not appear.  ???

[Moparnut72]

They are there for me. Nice job.
kk

[NWrider]

Nice looking conversion!   Do you happen to have a picture with the bed down and dimensions?  Do you have a table to eat/work at?  I'm still looking at van conversions and factory options -- not too many that have a bed 78-80" long.

[LaGrasta]

I love what you've done. Like mentioned, the ProMaster is a great rig. Being front wheel drive, they have lower floors with increased overall height, as well as being slightly wider. I've reseached, but damn so so expensive.

I may consider a used shuttle bus, so many configurations, and much more affordable. I figure about 6 or 7 windows long, the a wheelchair lift on the side would make for easy motorcycle loading!

[antmanbee]

Here is a picture of the bed down. My bed is a standard size twin. I could have made my bed longer but that would encroach on the couch. If you buy a pre made van I would imagine your options are limited. A twin XL would work for you NWrider.
The ProMaster is a bit wider for going side to side but I don't think it is 78-80".
My couch is 6' so it could be used as a spare bed.



A mural on the side of an old building in Edna Tx near to where I stayed the last couple of nights. The town looks half closed up but at least it is not a giant strip mall.

[antmanbee]

This is where I am staying tonight.

And it is across the road from this.








Please don't take this political. This is just where I am staying.
I am just a mile or so from the southern most point in Texas and about 18 miles from the space port.

[LaGrasta]

Last weekend, some friends and I rode our dual sports along the California border wall. It's pretty cool to see up close.

[antmanbee]

Today I was at Starbase. Pretty cool.

[Tim Henry]

They look like Dr. Evils' rocket

[tazio]

Today I was at Starbase.

Cool! Following your travels my friend!
Here's one from a few years past, my R75/5 on South Padre Island,TX.
Not far from your location.
Hope to see you again one day soon!
~Michael
P S. If your Florida digs need looking on, let me know

[Testarossa]

Something similar: Built an insulated AWD van six years ago and have traveled all over the West with it. Can carry a 400 lb bike on the back. I use it for skiing a lot -- all the water tanks are inside the insulated space.

[antmanbee]

Something similar: Built an insulated AWD van six years ago and have traveled all over the West with it. Can carry a 400 lb bike on the back. I use it for skiing a lot -- all the water tanks are inside the insulated space.

Looks like a great van. Did you reinforce the carrier/hitch? AWD is nice to have but for me my biggest problem on rougher terrain is my motorcycle carrier extends out pretty far and is prone to scraping if I am not really careful.

[Testarossa]

Did you reinforce the carrier/hitch? AWD is nice to have but for me my biggest problem on rougher terrain is my motorcycle carrier extends out pretty far and is prone to scraping if I am not really careful.

When I installed the hitch receiver, I also installed air bags to boost the rear axle springs. Inflate those to 10 psi unloaded, 40 psi or more loaded, or the rear squats pretty badly. I avoid rough ground when the carrier is loaded. With bike aboard, the truck is at or above GVW.

[Moparnut72]

I bought a Harbor Freight motorcycle carrier to carry my 125 cc Yamaha on the back of our 5th wheel. I sold the Yamaha and wanted to carry my new V7lll. So I beefed up the carrier to handle the additional weight. Then I got the manual out for the trailer. 300 lb limit on the hitch. The best laid plans of mice and men. I've considered beefing up the hitch on the trailer but I am reluctant to drag my arc welder under the trailer and my wife might be watching. She has concerns when I start modifying stuff.
kk

[antmanbee]

She has concerns when I start modifying stuff.
kk

I hope that doesn't stop you.

My receiver hitch is rated at 600lbs tongue weight or 1000lbs if I use a load balancing hitch.
My van is a E350 1 ton but it is only rated at I think 5 or 6000lbs because I have the smaller 5.4 engine and I think a 3.56 axle. The 4.11 with the 10Cyl or Diesel can tow 10,000lbs.
With the weight of the carrier and motorcycle together I am at around 500lbs total.