The Van of Discovery

The more I drive and camp in this van, the more I absolutely love it. It is the best purchase I have ever made for myself. I do, though, think that I mAy NeEd ShOcKs As I bOuNcEd ThRoUgH tHe WhOlE sTaTe Of NeW yOrK.

Driving: I had no problems with trucks, either psychologically or physically. Recent discussions on RV groups were concerned about the sway that trucks caused when passing. I found no problems of this kind with my 170. I kept the cruise control at 55 and only three times did it downshift to second gear. The first time it happened, I never felt it, just heard the motor and momentarily panicked because I didn’t know what was wrong with my van. When it shifted back into Drive, I barely felt the transition.

Camping: A day or two ago, I had no propane, so Patrick gave me fabulous instructions on what the problem was and how to overcome it. I got to the campground and I couldn’t get the hot water heater to light. After ½ an hour of walking in and out of the van in the rain and mud switching the power on or off and/or watching the pilot light blow out, I finally surmised that if I lit the stove and kept the gas flowing, maybe the hot water heater would light. So, I came back in to light the stove: no gas.

So, I resorted back to Patrick’s instructions: Turn the gas slightly, wait ten minutes; turn the gas slightly, wait ten minutes; turn the gas slightly, wait ten minutes, etc. Didn’t work. Tried the whole process again after turning the gas off and waiting 15 minutes. Didn’t work. Next attempt: stay at the dial and turn it a fraction, wait ten seconds, turn it another fraction, wait ten seconds, turn it a fraction, etc. It took me 15 minutes to turn the dial one full turn. In the mud and the rain I am stooped under the wheel well of my van and my finger gets stuck behind the dial, wedged under some propane tank orafice or bracket. Panic is starting to set in as it is now getting dark. I took a few deep breaths trying to get myself to relax, turned the dial very slowly back and forth a few times and managed to free my finger. I gave up on the gas idea for the rest of the night.

Next morning: With no gas, how am I going to cook my eggs? I really don’t like microwaved eggs, so I decided I’d try a different approach with the gas. No matter how little I turned the dial last night, I still got that psssst rush of gas at that first quarter turn. I thought, maybe if I turned the dial ever so slowly so that I wouldn’t get that psssst, it would work. I tried it and it worked. I had gas for the rest of my camping adventure.

Last night: I don’t know if it was out of desperation, boredom, or curiosity, but I decided to try out the shower. Between setting up the shower curtain and the hose, placing my soap and shampoo within reach, taking a shower with two drips of water per second, drying off, drying the curtain and putting it away, and mopping up the three inches of water that flowed to the front of the van, my shower experience took over an hour. I already know I need a new shower faucet because it leaks. I think I will also shop around for a lighter shower curtain. After observing the curtain clips, it looks like this will be a major undertaking to replace the one that I currently have.

The more I use and experiment with this van, the more I come to the conclusion that it wasn’t used much in its eight-year lifespan. I truly believe that it sat more than it was used. The previous owner purchased it and drove it to Alaska from Cape Cod and, according to her daugher, “lived in it for awhile.”

I’ve “lived” in it for approximately eight days total since the day I purchased it last October and I have already managed to break a plastic piece off the passenger chair, slice up the cutting board, scrape the cement curb of my garage, and hit a stone wall in my driveway (both moves damaging the fiberglass storage door). Did I ever mention that I was clumsy? If this van was “lived in” by the previous owner, she was either an extremely fastidious person or she drove to Alaska and back but LIVED somewhere else – like with a friend or in a motel. The only clues that this van was ever used at all were the 38,000 odometer reading, the stains on the carpeting in the driving area, and the body damage: dent in upper right rear quarter, broken tail light, bent support and running board on passenger side.

The generator had 6 hours on the clock. After reinstalling the generator and observing the hours I’ve used so far, I doubt if this generator was ever even started by its previous owner. The six hours that was on the clock when I first picked it up was probably run by Onan or Roadtrek.

There are no stains or rips on any of the upholstery, no clips broken on the curtains, no stains or rips in the curtains, minimal dings and bangs in the cabinetry, no burn marks on the stove or in the microwave, no spilled stains in the inside of the cabinetry, and no mold on the shower curtain (in fact, not even any dried water stains or soap scum).

We still have a long way to go to repair the outside damage. For a fairly new RT, it looks like a train wreak, but it is fully functional and I love it completely.