Touchdown!

Morning folks, its warm and sunny in Melbourne. We are lounging in our hotel, waiting for van news.

Here is a quick update on the last couple of days.  We arrived in Melbourne on Monday afternoon. After leaving LAX at 11pm on Saturday.  We arrived in Sydney to find our checked bags were lost.  No word on when we will get them, but they are probably still in LAX.

We have cleared the van with customs, and started the quarantine  inspection paperwork.  The ship is being unloaded, so we are waiting for our container to offload to the shippers warehouse for unpacking.  At which point we need to clear AQIS inspection.  Once that is done we can pay the remaining fees, and claim the van.


Other than some mild jetlag (and a cold for me) we are doing well.  We started shifting our sleep schedule before leaving the USA, so we only had a few hours of offset to deal with.  

In Transit

Quick and dirty update from DFW airport.  We are in the process of getting to LAX where we will hopefully catch a flight to Sydney.  It looks like we will be arriving in Australia on Monday morning.  Of course nothing is certain when we are flying standby.  May the almighty Priority List smile upon us!  The van is in Syndey, soon to be on its way to Melbourne.

See you next on the other side of Pacific.

July Update

Late last year we set ourselves a goal of having the van complete enough for a shakedown run in September.   Why September?  In Oklahoma (where we live currently) the devils own hellfire descends from late June through the end of August turning the air into the consistency of a hot wet sock.  Needless to say with daytime high temps over 90F and humidity rarely dropping below 50% camping is not a desirable option.  Thankfully come September it gets cool enough that sleeping at night is quasi-reasonable.

So, 9 months later, where are we on our goal?

Well, we have most of the cabinets built but not yet painted.  Noticeably lacking at this stage the galley, which needs a counter top before we can complete its build out.

The drivers side vertical cabinet has been framed out.

The bench seat is ready for its upholstery.

Here the bench seat is getting its last round of structural reinforcement.  The aluminum angle is bonded with construction adhesive.  Several gussets were attached to the back wall in order to stiffen the backrest.  The bench is secured to brackets with through bolts.  The brackets are bolted to rivnuts in the van floor.  The same goes for the inverter and water tank.

 Here is the bench seat with one coat of acrylic alkyd paint.  This is the color we chose of the cabinets.  The exposed surfaces were smoothed with primer surfacer (3 coats with 220 grit sanding in between).

The water tank mounts have been fabricated, and the tank has its fittings welded on.

Here is the water tank in-situ with one of the hold down brackets.  The brackets will be backed with 1/2" and 1/4" closed cell foam to protect the water tank.

The water tank we chose is a 40 gallon unit from Ameri-Kart.  It comes blank with no fittings installed. Normally the fittings are spin welded to the tank.  However spin welding requries special tooling and a powerful router.  Having neither of these I picked up a plastic welder from Harbor Freight for ~$80.  The tank is made from polyethylene so I chose fittings and filler rod to match.  After a bit of googling and some practice we have a custom tank!  My total costs were about the same as a custom tank.  Difficulty?  Surprisingly low.

The water heater is ready to install, and I have an pile of hose and fittings to plumb it in with.

The over-cab cabinet has been framed in and is ready to accept the switches and rear view camera.  The visible brackets are anchored to the van with rivnuts.

Some of the major unknowns at this point are:

• Indoor shower (pan, head, plumbing)
• Air heater (location, ducting)
• Curtains/shades (fabric, mounting)  
• Bench Seat belts (math needed)
• Gray water tank (will likely be a custom affair)

Will we make it to our shake down in September?  If we do the van will most likely be lacking a few of the desired options (cabinet doors, flooring, storage nooks, paint).  Of course, as long as the sink, cooktop, and bed work, we should be good to go!

Our Next Adventure, Planning Edition

To the faithful who still follow our currently boring blog; I say Greetings!

To the new readers who have just stumbled here from the vast depths of the internet; Welcome to the great intermission between adventures.

It has been several months since we sold Chuck, it was sad to see him go, but we must continue; spurred ever onward by the relentless and dogged flow of time.

NEWS!

We have found Chuck's replacement!  The as-of-yet unnamed van is a 2004 Dodge Sprinter, here are the vitals.

Origin: Manufactured by Mercedes-Benz in Germany in late 2003

Drivetrain: 2.7L Inline-5 CDI (Common Rail Direct Injected) Turbo-Diesel | 154HP and 243lb-ft |  ULSD and LSD fuels | 5-speed automatic transmission

Body: Arctic White | 140" wheelbase | super high roof (72" interior hegiht) | 5 doors

Equipment: Base Cargo | A/C | Manual locks and windows | 2 seats | rubber and plywood floors

Condition: Good | 105,000 miles | fleet maintained | a few dents and scratches

We flew to Orlando Florida to pick it up and drove back to Tulsa over 2 days.  Besides some comfort issues the trip was uneventful (except for a bit of drama at the outset).

When we were first inspecting the van, I noticed that the turbo resonator was completely split!  This is a common failure point which results in low power and/or limp home mode (LHM).  Thankfully I had a roll of duct tape and the 2 tools required to change this part.

After applying a copious amount of 3M industrial duck-tape the van was mobile once more.

The resonator as we found it.

Some dirty hands for scale.

3M High Temp adhesive tape (great stuff!).

A really hot abandoned Florida parking lot.

We then proceeded to drive the van to a Freightliner dealer who had the part in stock!

mmmmmm fresh....

Then it was off to Walmart for a open space to park and swap.  Two bolts, a box of baby wipes, a well burned back and several clamps later, we were ready to roll!  Only a couple hours later than desired.  Not a bad delay all things considered.

Did I mention hot parking lots?

And we're off!

The rest of the drive was about 21 hours of uneventful-ness.  Although figuring out the climate control system was a bit of a challenge.  Something about European cars maybe?

We have been daily driving this van for several weeks now, and no issues to report (except really cold A/C). The plan as it sits, is to finish up some maintenance items, and a few minor fixes.  Then we will set upon doing upgrades.  Air suspension seats, cruise control, and power locks are at the top of the list.

Then, let the up-fitting commence!  Just thinking about the epic pile of hardware we will need is making me drool...  The final product will be something like Chuck, but so much more.  Giving a couple of engineers a blank slate, is a very bad idea (especially for the budget).  I hope to keep a somewhat detailed log of our build out progress.  The conversion clock is ticking, with approximately 18 months to completion, its going to be tight.

Until next time; make your plans big and keep your ideas grand.

Into the Sunset

Chuck is gone.  Here it is, no easy way to say it.  Lots of memories and thousands of hours gone into the setting sun.  Hopefully we will meet again.

Exactly 7 days and 1 hour ago Chuck was taken by his new owner.  Left for warmer shores (So-Cal Bound!)


Alex, the founder of Genasun flew into Tulsa to pick up Chuck and head for southern California.  He promised to take Chuck camping in the mountains and keep his oil topped off, its the best a van can ask for.


Its bittersweet, but we are looking forward to our next adventure.  The search for the next van is on in earnest now.  No van could truly replace Chuck, but eventually, just maybe, we can find another 4 wheels to call home.  Our schedule is pretty tight, we have about 8 weeks to acquire our next ride, and to begin the long conversion process.  I will be posting build details to this blog as they develop.  This promises to be an epic undertaking, the complete Up-Fitting of an quasi-expedition vehicle.  Look forward to it!


Until next we meet upon the paths that wrap this earth, farewell good Chuck.

“Benedicto: May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds..."

― Edward Abbey

Chuck's First Road Trip

The Time of Parting

The time has come. After 60,000 miles, countless border crossings, and 5 tires; today I posted Chuck's for sale ad.  I will miss him, but C'est la vie.  Within 4 hours I had a buyer call, after some discussion he decided to pass on Chuck.  His final comment was that I should have a higher asking price!  Something about Volkswagen vehicles inspires loyalty in their owners.  

Why are we selling Chuck?  That subject is going to need its own post.  It has nothing to do with Chuck's road-worthiness.  Instead our needs have changed, don't worry, we haven't yet given up the vagabond dream.  Road-Trip 4 Life!

On the off chance that Chuck's next owner is reading this, the ad is listed below.
TheSamba Ad

For those of you wanting a few parting van shots, here is Chuck all cleaned up and out, ready for his next adventure.

If you are feeling a bit nostalgic here are a few posts to remind you of Chucks long journey. 

Transmission Mission

Exhaust Madness

One Thing After Another

The Casualty List

We are designing our next home on wheels currently.  (it has yet to be named or procured)  We hope to have a vehicle sometime mid summer, and to start the long planning and conversion process.  If may be a long stretch between posts, so if you haven't, I would suggest following us by email.  Thanks again for reading and following us.  Our goal has always been to inspire others to achieve there goals, and to think outside the box.  

The Long Intermission

Well, it seems our travels have come to a pause.   It will be some time before we can once more take Chuck on an Epic Road-trip.  Jen and I have started working again, and will be doing so for the foreseeable future.  For one last hurrah some friends of ours have borrowed Chuck for a spring break road-trip.  They have assented to writing a guest post.  So look forward to it!

If you noticed the font issues, some change at blogger has altered the way fonts render.  I will be remedying that in the near future.

We have some big plans for the next couple years, and we will be posting them over the next few months.

Until then, peace out!

On South Korea

In case you have been in one of the many remote parts of this world lacking the amazing Internet, we have recently returned from a two week jaunt through South Korea.  In preparation for a series of posts covering our experiences there, I will be providing you with some background on South Korea.

From Wikipedia:

South Korea ( listen), officially the Republic of Korea (Korean: 대한민국; Hanja: 大韓民國; Daehan Minguk  listen), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula... It shares land borders with North Korea to the north, and oversea borders with China to the west and Japan to the east. South Korea lies in the north temperate zone with a predominantly mountainous terrain. It comprises an estimated 50 million residents distributed over 99,392 km²(38,375 sq mi).^[6] The capital and largest city is Seoul, with a population of 10 million.

You can see South Korea here, sandwiched between Japan and China.  The latitude of Korea is approximately the same as the southern US states.  Its land area is less than half of the State of Kansas in which I currently am.

Like several countries in this region, Korea's earliest written history starts as early as 2000 BC.  It is difficult to comprehend but like China and Japan, South Korea has a extensive history and several millennium of cultural development which influences its people.  It is also hard to comprehend for Westerners, but Korea's racial diversity is nearly non-existent with most Koreans being highly homogeneous for many generations.

In addition to a long and large ancient history, the Korea of today is heavily influenced by a series of wars and occupations.  Most notably were the Korean War, which resulted in the splitting of the Korean peninsula along the 38th parallel, and the occupation by the Japanese from 1910-1945.  This occupation was accompanied by extreme cultural suppression, to the point of requiring Japanese to be the official language, suppressing Korean completely. 

Suth Korea is a modern country with a high standard of living and individual income.  South Korea ranks 15th worldwide in nominal GDP according to Wikipedia.  Despite the high level of development and presence of western influences South Korea is decidedly non-western.  From where Koreans shop to how they live and eat, shows strong and somewhat striking differences to the various lifestyles we have encountered in our travels.

The next few posts will be devoted to covering the two weeks we spent roaming Korea.  Due to our exclusive use of public transit, we spent more time in the urban environments there.  This should provide a bit of a break from the often rural settings for our travels.  

Reasons and Night Life

Editors Note:Those seeking cool pictures of our roamings should wait for a few more days for their fix.  This post is mostly philosophical in nature.

Wherever we roam, we inevitably encounter fellow travelers.  While we may share the same locale, and often the same nationality as them; our motivations for traveling are usually different.  Many backpackers are simply looking for excitement with a different backdrop.  Often this takes place separate from the local culture. 

Some are looking to meet new people. To gain new experiences, to test themselves. A few are seasoned veterans who simply enjoy having each day greet them with a different face.  An even smaller number fall in love with a country, a people, and become permanent ex-pats.

Still more are seeking a freedom they cannot have or are unwilling to use in their native settings.  Being freed from obligations, expectations, and cultural limitations is an interesting litmus test of a person's basic nature.  When you are accountable to only yourself what are your limits?

An intriguing trend in the budget/ backpacker community is the tendency to use travel as sort of a rolling review of nightlife.  The typical backpacker on this kind of course is checking off landmarks, and canned experiences from social media during the day; and hitting up the "local" (read familiar backpacker) bars and hangouts at night.  Change locations and repeat.  This is most common in big cities with well established routes and infrastructure for budget travelers.  The Internet has made this easier by concentrating information and connecting people.  Thus reducing the difficulty and variety of experiences. 

I have no right to judge, nor its my experience representative, but I feel it is a shame to waste such great opportunities hung over in a dorm, checking off lists on Facebook, and Skyping your friends back home. 

I may be a bit biased as I find most clubs and some bars to be difficult, at best, settings for socialization.  I have also concluded that inebriation is a hindrance.  Being married means I am not hunting for hookups either.

So, why do we travel?  I guess what most people see as reasons to stay home we see as exciting opportunities.  The unknown is still scary, but the reward far outweighs the risk and frustration.

On that note we will be concluding our visit to South Korea shortly.  Be looking out for some cool pictures once we recover from the inevitable jet-lag.

Today in Pictures

Fresh from my thumbs of thunder here's some Koreatastic photo-ness.

A little taste of home.  Straight from Louisiana to my South Korean table.  They really like their spice here.

It is very important to know I am not welcome in their ladies room...

I guess they didn't have the Mexicans to inspire the tortilla chip.

I thought this was an air freshener at first.  I wonder what butter fresh would smell like? Delicious I would bet.

The often-imitated-but-never-duplicated American cheeseburger.  And yes, those are pickled peppers on the side.  Almost everything here is served with a pickled something. Jen loves this.

It is formulated to provide fresh and clean...

A little bit of heaven.  This bottle most likely cost more to import than our meal cost to make.  We decimated that bottle.  

Hefty import tariffs on prepared foods make the only cheap beer the local Cass (its just as bad as Nicaraguan beer).  This Heineken was on sale for 9,000 won (about 9$US).

The fabled empty bus.  Even more rare than a pink unicorn.  We have been lucky to see it once since coming here.  On a related note, Koreans produce no body odor.  Though, they do smell slighty of fermented cabbage (kimchi) and garlic.

What Comes in a Can and Rhymes with Ham?

Sometimes, cultural icons will follow us from one country/culture to another.  Often these stress good things such as ubiquitous public restrooms and free WiFi.  Sometimes they steed from the darker side.  South Korea meet Spam.

Notice the local spam clone Richam.

Pairing

South Korean culture has a big focus on young adult love/romance.  There seems to be a substantially larger formal social construct around dating.  This is part of a culture that is undeniably modern and decidedly non-western.  A fun example is the matching his-and-her underwear in this shop (one of many).  How many men do you know that wouldn't be caught dead with matching pink undies?

We are traveling to Jeju island next. You should be looking forward to an account of our visit to the love park there.

Party Hard

The series of mini posts generated by my thumbs of thunder via my smartphone continues.

We went to have some traditional Korean barbeque with friends after a movie (in a DVD bong).  I discovered that these Koreans really know how to party.  Or at least blow off some steam.  The table next to us contained some university students.This is what 6 shots of high-test sake (Asian equivalent of whisky) will do to you.  This guy couldn't have weighed more than 125lbs.  I am guessing a post-exam celebration? Notice the charcoal grills on the tables.  Patrons cook their own food on them.  An interesting method.

The Engrish is Strong

Any non-native English speaking country that has English signage is bound to have some questionsEngrish (mangled English); South Korea is no exception.  Unlike many less technically advanced countries they can at least use spell check.

Wedding Crashing

Crazy Korean wedding ...stuff.  One word, overwhelming.  Well, two actually; the second is karaoke.  An experience not soon to be forgotten at the least.

Traditional Contemplation

Enjoying some traditional Korean architecture at the hidden gardens and attached palaces in Seoul.  The lack of a laptop will prevent the writing of posts for the time being.  Rest assured we will be gathering resources and posting material over the next few weeks.   Until next time. annyeonghi gaseyo.

EastBound, Way East

A quick update between flights.  Asia, here we come.  Can you guess what country this is?  The hint is parallel.