Van driver's club

[fhm555]

Not familiar with specifics regards make, model, or year, but there used to be a big van conversion place a couple bergs over and they did a ton of conversions with a fiberglass topper that added stand up room. The top of the van was cut out, but I don’t know how close to the drip rail they got. The few I got to look inside were upholstered floor to ceiling so I don’t know how it was mounted, but it was pretty slick and very well done.
Here’s an installer, it was the first that came up when I googled “full size van topper”. There is at least one shop in Birmingham that does them. They installed a set of stump guards/steps on a new truck for me a few years back. They have several locations around this area but I don’t know if they all offer the same services.
It’s been a while, but most places that sold camper shells, installed sunroofs, etc., should be able to do it, or point you in the right direction.

Sorry about that, brain farted.

Wasatch Overland

Est. 2019

wasatch-overland.com

 

[The Golden Boy]

I've been a station wagon guy since like 1994 when I sold my Mustang. I'm unashamed. The Taurus could fit the entire band's equipment and one passenger.

1988 Taurus Wagon
1994 Accord Wagon
1998 Outback
2003 Outback
2001 BMW 5 series
2014 Acura TSX Wagon.

Acura TSX Wagon by Dave The Golden Boy, on Flickr


Back in the day- being able to stand my Marshall 4x12 up in the back was the deal. I could stand it up in the Taurus, but not the Accord, and could in the 98 Outback, but not the 03. At some point it didn't matter; I wasn't hauling a whole band's equipment in my car- just my stuff. I think the BMW was the perfectly sized wagon with the most usable interior space.

When we met, my wife had a 1998 Trans Am. At some point it was too difficult getting the kids around in that car and we bought a Ford Windstar minivan. We had that for several years and then found her a 2012 Odyssey minivan- that thing rules. I can fit *my* equipment in my wagon, but not much extra. If I have to take any other gear, PA stuff or anything- the van is awesome.

 

[MJ5150]

I had no idea Acura made a wagon. That's a tight ride.

-Mike

 

[dbsfgyd1]

It came up in another thread that I have a van. There's always that stigma of being a person with a van. Mine is a dark green 2002 Chevy window van with blacked out windows. It was owned by the government, and looks just like a bottom of the line government vehicle. The tinted windows are all about avoiding having people look at the gear that's sometimes in the van, not for nefarious purposes. But, there's that stigma and the standard issue jokes.

I can't be alone in putting up with the stigma in order to achieve the high level of usefulness that having a van brings. The few, the proud, the van drivers - we need a club, and now we have one.

Back in the touring days I had a Ford F-500 with an old 12’ Ryder van box on the back. Nice piece of machinery. 5 speed on the floor with creeper gear. Creeper gear was useful in western Pennsylvania that made starting out on steep hills a breeze, without shifting all the gear up against the door in the back. No Air conditioning however.

 

[Fishheadjoe]

If a Ford Flex is considered a "Van", then I am in!
Fishheadjoe

 

[WG Plum]

I don't think a Subaru Forester counts, but I do wear comfy shoes. I can haul an upright, a 212 cab, amp, effects board, plus a ton of other stuff as needed.

 

[jimmydean]

This is a club I am glad to not be a part of anymore , always the last guy to get home , the gas , the only one to help the Drummer with his 10pc. kit . One night I was so tired after lugging my SVT rig in from the front of the house , I forgot to park the van in my garage..........left the van open on the sidewalk all night .

 

[Mister_GothFrak]

Guys... I'm going to sell one of my vans.

 

[hbarcat]

I have an '86 Chevy G20 conversion van. It does double duty hauling me an my band and all our gear to gigs and I haul my little fishing boat with it and sleep in it when I go camping.

The fold out bed is surprisingly comfortable and it sleeps two.

I ended up selling it in October of 2019. A few weeks after I sold it the buyer contacted me to share with me some news.

He parked it on the street infront of his house on Halloween night and vandals set fire to it and burned it to the ground.

 

[Gaolee]

Guys... I'm going to sell one of my vans.

One of your vans? You have multiple vans? I'm impressed.

I still have a van and probably always will. Worst case, I can sleep in it.

I sold the dark green Chevy to a family who were moving back to Mexico. I'm sure it's happy there. I now have a 2010 Transit Connect, which is about as anonymous a van as you can possibly have. It's the perfect stealth vehicle. Everyone has seen dozens of little white Transit Connect cargo vans and nobody remembers a single one of them. I'm not sure if that's creepy or just a little weird. Either way, I'm ok with it. Like the Chevy, it was ex-government issue. I seem to like ex-government vans.

I have thought it would be a step up, at least in style, to replace the van with a '66 or '67 Fairlane wagon. It wouldn't be a step up in reliability, but you gotta make sacrifices. In the mean time, I'm still a van driver.

 

[Mister_GothFrak]

You have multiple vans?

Yep! The green one pictured earlier I bought in 2017 and fully intended to have a high top built / added to it. I just haven't had the money for it. I spent that amount on basses instead! In the meantime, I've been watching plenty of "vanlife" videos and learning from other people's mistakes and getting good ideas figuring out exactly how I want to build mine. So far, it's only had a minimum amount of work done. It does have a pretty fancy after market alarm and camera.

It has over 750,000 miles. The transmission just started giving me problems. As in, it no longer goes in reverse. Last year I had a new cat installed + secured, new fuel pump, and a bunch of other stuff done. Fuel pump may have been early due to me testing out E-85.. lol. It ran great on it even if it wasn't built for it. I know I can convert it. It's just a matter of changing out a few hoses, o2 sensor, and something else. This is just to be more sustainable using plant based fuel than anything else. I'm aware that it's a money sink and really don't care. I hardly even drive the thing. lol

The other one is a white cargo van. Same year but, base model with a metal wall + door separating the cockpit from cargo area. Rear door doesn't open from the exterior, side doors have a heavy duty lock. This one only has 115,000 miles. It used to be part of a fleet for an electric maintenance company. I have pretty much all the paper work for all the work that's been done to it. Also has a new cat. Great condition now.

When I bought it, the engine had a thrown rod. So, now it's got a salvaged rebuilt engine (same approximate miles) with new belts and new water pump. Only issues are that it needs new front brakes and an oil change. I don't drive this one either. lol

This is the one that I'm selling. Hopefully I don't need to drive anywhere for a while! But, if I can get what I'm asking for then it'll pay my rent and cover the costs of fixing the other one.

Actually, I'm not sure what I want to do with the other one. I'm intrigued by the newer Godzilla engine. Those things can be sup'd up into real monsters. Only part I dislike about gasoline engines is that I can't really use a jake brake. If I can find someone to swap this then I can replace the malfunctioning transmission and get another half million miles out of this thing!