A COVID Home Companion print edition

In the pre-pandemic days, there were so many great ideas and plans.  Maybe some day we get the dog a puppy.  Wouldn't it be cool if we had a camper van some day?  They seemed like reasonable thoughts and as Washington was entering Stay Safe Stay Home territory it additionally seemed like good timing for some of these things to happen.  Turns out that bringing home a puppy the literal minute that she qualified for separation from her litter was maybe not the slam dunk awesome timing that it might have seemed at the time.  When you can't get away from her and she from you, it poses a unique challenge.  That, however is a different story.

Early in the days of COVID, I took advantage of a puppy nap to go to the grocery store.  My car's battery was long in the tooth and – especially with the lack of driving – was struggling with life.  Long story short, the battery full-on died and I had to replace it.  I'm not the finest mechanic out here so accomplishing the feat was challenging and rewarding when the car actually started.  It turns out, however, that the starting was a fluke.  Feeling accomplished and proud, I parked behind Laurie secure in the fact that my car started and I could move out of her way when she needed to get out of the driveway to go and be an essential worker.  Cue the lack of starting again.  This is also not the point, but does get us toward the big point, so cut to the chase, through a small amount of google searching, I decided two things: the first being that I had an ignition problem and the second that I had no interest in learning how to fix it.  Oh... three things. The third, I need a new car.  Here is where we connect to the point (I know).  "If you're going to get a new vehicle, let's get a van".  Naturally.  I had been monitoring the van market in Seattle (and Portland because it would have been easy to train down and collect the van if it came to that), so stepping up the efforts was not a big deal, but it does bring us to the point.  I learned several lessons that I mean to share with you (and anyone who may find themselves in the market for a camper van and find themselves looking for advice of someone who has done it.)  

Before we get to the good stuff, I think it may be prudent to establish what the print Companion is *not* going to be.  As near as I can figure, Laurie and I will not at any point be selling our house to become full-time van lifers.  That's cool and all, but definitely not for us, especially now with 5 cats and 2 dogs. And one 1989 Ford Econoline 250 framed Coachmen Class B RV.  As such, this will be more about enjoying the benefits of part-time "bug-out" type camping and definitely not be another of the "WE'RE LIVING IN OUR RV" type sites.  There will be no YouTube component.  There may or may not be regular #content, there may or may not ever be a twitter account associated with this blog and there is not likely to be a lot of "van tutorial" kind of stuff. The van that we purchased is in good repair and has been refinished to a certain degree inside (by design).  As such, this will not be a "LOL We got a van now we have to fix it! LOL" type thing.  We're going to make blackout curtains for the van.  We're going to install a fancy CarPlay compatible stereo for navigation. And a backup camera. But there are no plans to do any appliance changing or anything like that.  We're just going to put together a bug-out bag so that we can leave at the drop of a hat and hop in the van and get out of the house occasionally.  Cool?  Cool.  So let's start at the very beginning: 

On Lessons I Learned While Shopping Online For A Camper Van 

• Know Exactly What It Is That You Want:  This may seem self explanatory, but having a focused view of what you want is going to help prevent you from making a horrible, horrible mistake down the line.  Ok good, but what do I need to think about?

  1. Price. Duh.You are likely looking at a cash transaction, so you need to be realistic and ask yourself "Literally how much cash can I liquidate RIGHT NOW?"  We'll circle back to this.
  2. Mileage.  If you are more mechanically inclined than myself, maybe you can look at something with more miles on the engine.  It could save you a bit of money.  Also, it is important to know "How many miles are on the engine currently in the van?" If you look for any amount of time you will find older vans with replaced engines, so if you find yourself in this case, hold that question handy.  
  3. Aesthetic. This is going to be slightly all-encompassing here.  My original hope was to have an older-style body.  The challenge is that frequently, an older-style van body frequently has an older motor.  If this kind of van is in good shape, the motor probably is less so.  Or if the motor is new, the van itself may not be in great shape.  In my experience, the two rarely line up.
  4. Where are you willing to give ground from the ideal vision of what you want?  Unless you are living 100% right and receiving regular cosmic blessings, you are not likely to find *exactly* what you are looking for in the used van market. You'll need to prioritize these items and have an idea what is going to be the most important thing for you. For us, it was relatively low mileage and as close to immaculate shape as we could get.  
   

•  Where do I look?  If you are 100% committed to the process, the answer is, essentially everywhere.  My heavy lifting was done in the usual suspects: craigslist and Facebook Marketplace.  There is a group on Facebook that deals with selling exactly what you are seeking.  Join that too.  This is a great way to low-key track what the market looks like as you see vans come and go and have an idea what people are paying for what kind of vehicle.  Apps on your phone such as RVTrader (or .com if you're on your computer), rvt.com, or RV shops near you can all be options as well, but in my experience, if cost is a consideration – which on some level I think is true in most cases – they tend to the pricier side of things.  Perhaps they insulate you a little more on issues of quality, but if you are diligent, you can save some dollars by insulating yourself on issues of quality.  The successful conclusion of my search ended up coming through Facebook Marketplace.  Whatever your resource, stalk it heavily.  I was checking FB Marketplace and craigslist probably 10 times a day.  If you allow the task to consume you, it will maximize your chances of a positive result.  It also could get you into an aesthetically pleasing '70s van with a really cool Bigfoot Research graphic on the side but also close to 300,000 mi on the original motor with a foreboding jug of coolant in one of the images.  Remember #3 above? This is how you keep from getting into a situation that seems cool, but is too much for you to chew.  

An important corollary: Don't limit your search to your direct or connected locales.  If it is an option to you – if you've, say, moved half way across the country and you have a place called "back home" – look in as many craigslists or Marketplaces as possible.  A caveat: have a) someone there that you trust to inspect a vehicle mechanically and b) someone there that can liquidate the cash and get it to the seller at the time of your inspection.  Especially now, but seemingly the Class B market is like the Seattle pre-pandemic real estate market.  This stuff moves FAST and if you find one that ticks most of the boxes, you won't have time to think about it.  The man we bought our van from had to cancel 6 more appointments following ours (we happened to be first, thankfully).  One of those would have snapped this van up based on its condition and who the guy was (by this I make reference to the fully restored Dodge RoadRunner in his garage.)  You may think that up to this point, I have been doom-and-glooming this, but that is not the case.  If you are a motivated buyer, looking to wrap this up soonish, heed this paragraph.  If you're casually looking, that's cool too.  Just know if you see a van that you like you will need to be able to commit right away, or you will look back at it with regret.

• It is done.  I own an RV/Van.  Now what?  Research, research, research:   

SUGGESTION: Do all your licensing right away, pandemic or no.  I am a delayer by nature and the DoL here is severely stripped down, so if you are going through the available processes, you are probably looking at 4-6 weeks lead time to get things done.  Do not endanger your plans based on your own internal wishes that an easier way exists.  

There are approximately 18 kajillion people on the YouTube making videos about their RV life and such.  Some will be helpful, some will be less so.  Start from the beginning.  Search the YouTube for the specific vehicle that you have purchased.  For me that looked like this: 1989 Coachmen Dearborn.  

 

 

It will get you started.  In the first place this started out for me as a "Man it'd be cool to see the inside of the van again" kind of thing. (FaceTime tours of the vehicle are your friend)  As you start to dig in on these things, you'll get an idea of where you should focus next.  Watch "10 Items You Need When You Start Rving" type videos.  If you're starting from zero like I was, you will run across things about things you had no earthly idea you might need.  Shop the items you identify and have them on hand for when you get the physical vehicle in your possession.  If it's possible, send them where your vehicle will "stage" until you can get to it and pick it up. If you can do that, you're already ready for the trip back home. 

• The Item Shortlist (not comprehensive): Surge protector for plugging into shore power at campgrounds.  Water pressure regulator, 90-degree elbow for the connection on your vehicle, in-line water filter. If you are acquiring an RV with some form of bathroom or bathroom remnant (read: toilet), Black tank treatment pods and RV TP, a see through black tank dump elbow connection (so you can see when you have rinsed your black tank adequately), First-aid kit, Emergency radio, leveling blocks (I hear if your RV is not level, your 3-way refrigerator may not work well if at all), Black tank dump hose, City water hook-up hose, Shore power extension cord (usually 30 A or 50 A).  These items will get you from here to there and prepare you for the "preference items" that aren't make or break but about which you will not know until you're actually in the vehicle.

• The Window Decal: Don't get caught by surprise.  After you purchase your rv/van, you will receive a contract in the mail.  A clause in that contract stipulates that you, as a new member of "the club" are responsible for the placement of an awesome rear window decal before you can truly hit the road.  Be prepared for this.  Mine is an awesome Mordor/Disney hybrid.  You were warned (This is not entirely true.  I mean, there is no contract.  But the window decal is fun.)

At any rate, our functional gotcha date for the van is imminent, and so we go live here.  After we meet The Titsworth (she's named after the previous owner who sadly never tripped with her), I may edit this back with some photos of things I can't photograph at this time, so don't be surprised if this post changes to any degree.  Ultimately, everything is in place for our "maiden voyage", so coming shortly will be some sort of itinerary-type post of what the first trip will look like! I'll take such questions as you may have in the comments up to but not including requests that I shut up.