The Great Van Caper
August 9, 2008. Harris and Judy buy a van. This adventure started several years ago, when we were looking into buying a used tent trailer. Nothing seemed to suit, so we continued looking. I don’t remember why we started looking at class B vans, but we went through several makes and models, getting progressively more expensive until we ended up with this one. A diesel engine 2005 Sprint, made by Pleasure Way. Harris found it on Craig’s list (where else?) a couple of weeks ago. He continued to look at it, think about it, and finally made an offer. Then, in the space of 2 days, we decided to go for it. We flew to Los Angeles at 6 AM today, drove the van from the airport to the RV park with the owner, and bought it! We know nothing about owning or operating an RV! So, I guess we’ll learn by doing.
We filled the tank, bought a few things at Target and Camper World, and left LA. What a big city! It took over an hour to get clear of it. We drove north, and stopped just outside Sequoia National Park for our first night. We’re in a private RV park, not bad, and can hook up to electricity and water so we can see to unpack our stuff.
I really wanted to see Sequoia and Yosemite, since I’ve never been to either, and figured now was as good a time as any. So, I got to pick the route home so far. Don’t know what I was thinking. Central California in the summer??? It’s been 100+ degrees today! It’s fine in the van, with the AC going, but we’ll see how the night cools off, or if we’ll have to have the AC going all night.
Aug 11 (pt 1) or “Honey, Did we make a mistake?”
During the day, we were going up and down incredibly beautiful (but incredibly steep) stretches of road. All of a sudden, the check engine light came on and stayed on. What do we do? What did we buy? How badly were we taken? That really was a too-good-to-be-true deal! Reading the manual while other not printable thoughts ran through our minds found these words (amongst many others) “You may experience a lack of power when the check engine light comes on” Not very soothing words when you are going up 7000’ mountains and then down them… It was Sunday and we were three hours from a Dodge dealer that was down the road that only vehicles under 23 feet were allowed. We crossed our fingers, watched the temp gauge, and looked in case an oil light or a “You ruined the car/engine” indicator light blinked on and continued onward to our next camping destination ever thankful that we didn’t experience that lack of power…
Aug 11-(pt2) The First Night “Dry Camping”
Dry Camping means that you are not hooked up to the grid…no power (for the air conditioning !!!), no water, no sewer hookup. Last night we found a cheap ($22) RV park that we were able to run the AC, not worry about using up water and were able to take showers in the main building. Tonight no such luxuries… We were on our own, off the grid, masters of our own destiny. Luckily, we were at 7000+ feet of elevation which rendered the lack of AC moot. We opened the windows and found ourselves early in the morning spooning like honeymooners due to the fact that we brought only 1 light blanket with us. The only causality was the door mat we left later in the day after stopping in Sequoia National Park for lunch after a hike.
(sidenote: on the 10th, we hiked up to Moro Rock….actually climbed the stairs…400 stairs to gain 300 feet of elevation…great views from the top, but a little too hazy to see the Coastal Range to the west. Some of the way was very narrow, only allowing one person at a time to pass…which made for interesting people-blocks, some going up and some going down.
Then we continued on the shuttle bus to Crescent Meadows, and did a short hike to Tharp’s cabin, which was made long ago inside the fallen trunk of a Sequoia tree. Fun to see. Back to the shuttle, back to our van, continue on to find a camping spot. On the way, we saw a big back up of cars on the side of the road, which usually means wildlife. Sure enough, we saw a mother black bear and 2 cubs.
Monday Aug 11th Or what’s that saying about the warranty running out right when…
The check engine light mysteriously went out today when we started the car. The mileage read 35,849 miles. Fresno, the next (and only) large city on our way to Yosemite, was 80 miles away. The warranty says 36000 miles. Do we figure it was a fluke and carry on? Or should we check it out? Duh, we decide to check it out. The day was spent driving out of Sequoia national park to Fresno, trying to find a Dodge dealer, waiting 3 hours to be told the light wasn’t that important. The temperature gauge in the front of the car was malfunctioning, and not covered under the warranty since someone else had already fixed it. So we have to find out if that person was a dealer, and if so, get it fixed again. But at least we know the engine won’t just die on us! (knock on wood). Rest of the day spent driving to Yosemite National Park, finding a campground that didn’t require reservations, and setting up “camp”..which is so much easier than setting up a tent, et al!
August 9, 2008. Harris and Judy buy a van. This adventure started several years ago, when we were looking into buying a used tent trailer. Nothing seemed to suit, so we continued looking. I don’t remember why we started looking at class B vans, but we went through several makes and models, getting progressively more expensive until we ended up with this one. A diesel engine 2005 Sprint, made by Pleasure Way. Harris found it on Craig’s list (where else?) a couple of weeks ago. He continued to look at it, think about it, and finally made an offer. Then, in the space of 2 days, we decided to go for it. We flew to Los Angeles at 6 AM today, drove the van from the airport to the RV park with the owner, and bought it! We know nothing about owning or operating an RV! So, I guess we’ll learn by doing.
We filled the tank, bought a few things at Target and Camper World, and left LA. What a big city! It took over an hour to get clear of it. We drove north, and stopped just outside Sequoia National Park for our first night. We’re in a private RV park, not bad, and can hook up to electricity and water so we can see to unpack our stuff.
I really wanted to see Sequoia and Yosemite, since I’ve never been to either, and figured now was as good a time as any. So, I got to pick the route home so far. Don’t know what I was thinking. Central California in the summer??? It’s been 100+ degrees today! It’s fine in the van, with the AC going, but we’ll see how the night cools off, or if we’ll have to have the AC going all night.
Aug 11 (pt 1) or “Honey, Did we make a mistake?”
During the day, we were going up and down incredibly beautiful (but incredibly steep) stretches of road. All of a sudden, the check engine light came on and stayed on. What do we do? What did we buy? How badly were we taken? That really was a too-good-to-be-true deal! Reading the manual while other not printable thoughts ran through our minds found these words (amongst many others) “You may experience a lack of power when the check engine light comes on” Not very soothing words when you are going up 7000’ mountains and then down them… It was Sunday and we were three hours from a Dodge dealer that was down the road that only vehicles under 23 feet were allowed. We crossed our fingers, watched the temp gauge, and looked in case an oil light or a “You ruined the car/engine” indicator light blinked on and continued onward to our next camping destination ever thankful that we didn’t experience that lack of power…
Aug 11-(pt2) The First Night “Dry Camping”
Dry Camping means that you are not hooked up to the grid…no power (for the air conditioning !!!), no water, no sewer hookup. Last night we found a cheap ($22) RV park that we were able to run the AC, not worry about using up water and were able to take showers in the main building. Tonight no such luxuries… We were on our own, off the grid, masters of our own destiny. Luckily, we were at 7000+ feet of elevation which rendered the lack of AC moot. We opened the windows and found ourselves early in the morning spooning like honeymooners due to the fact that we brought only 1 light blanket with us. The only causality was the door mat we left later in the day after stopping in Sequoia National Park for lunch after a hike.
(sidenote: on the 10th, we hiked up to Moro Rock….actually climbed the stairs…400 stairs to gain 300 feet of elevation…great views from the top, but a little too hazy to see the Coastal Range to the west. Some of the way was very narrow, only allowing one person at a time to pass…which made for interesting people-blocks, some going up and some going down.
Then we continued on the shuttle bus to Crescent Meadows, and did a short hike to Tharp’s cabin, which was made long ago inside the fallen trunk of a Sequoia tree. Fun to see. Back to the shuttle, back to our van, continue on to find a camping spot. On the way, we saw a big back up of cars on the side of the road, which usually means wildlife. Sure enough, we saw a mother black bear and 2 cubs.
Monday Aug 11th Or what’s that saying about the warranty running out right when…
The check engine light mysteriously went out today when we started the car. The mileage read 35,849 miles. Fresno, the next (and only) large city on our way to Yosemite, was 80 miles away. The warranty says 36000 miles. Do we figure it was a fluke and carry on? Or should we check it out? Duh, we decide to check it out. The day was spent driving out of Sequoia national park to Fresno, trying to find a Dodge dealer, waiting 3 hours to be told the light wasn’t that important. The temperature gauge in the front of the car was malfunctioning, and not covered under the warranty since someone else had already fixed it. So we have to find out if that person was a dealer, and if so, get it fixed again. But at least we know the engine won’t just die on us! (knock on wood). Rest of the day spent driving to Yosemite National Park, finding a campground that didn’t require reservations, and setting up “camp”..which is so much easier than setting up a tent, et al!
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