No matter how much you get out and adventure, it always feels like there is more to explore. I have wanted to sleep out at Alabama Hills for a while. Part Joshua Tree, part Sierras, Alabama Hills offers incredible views and tons of BLM land to play. It’s also more remote being further from the…
Prewitt Ridge in Big Sur has been on my “Must Camp” list for years. I have explored a lot of Big Sur, including several multi-day backpacking trips, but I have never made it up to Prewitt Ridge. With the 808Van ready to prove itself and the long July 4th weekend we decided to head South…
Its taken me three years to get to the point where I felt comfortable bringing friends on a 500 mile camping trip in the 808Van, and here we are. After sheltering-in-place for several months we were in desperate need of some nature time over Memorial Day weekend. So we packed up the van and headed…
But wait, there’s more! Over the past few years the 808Van has left me stranded on the road a few times. Sometimes due to old parts breaking, other times due to debugging new upgrades. Getting stranded on public roads is unfortunate. Getting stranded off-road is dangerous. So before taking the 808Van anywhere too remote I…
No build is without it’s setbacks, and the 808Van had its fair share. Installing the new motor created a bunch of issues and required a lot of extra work to get it running properly. My partner-in-adventure put up with a lot over the years. So we were hoping for a fun and carefree trip over…
The 808Van was never meant to be just for #vanlife Instagram likes. It was always the vision to have a rig that had modern capability with retro style. So once the interior was done the next step was to get the van running as good as it looked. The interior was complete in early 2018,…
If you were wondering, the 80/20 rule also applies to vans. It seemed like the van was “almost done” for several months, but each time I stopped by to check on progress, we came up with some more cool ideas to sneak in! When I finally picked it up at the end of January, it…
We are now in the home stretch of the build with the interior beginning to take shape! No matter how much you plan, measure, and visualize in advance the build remains a fluid process. With insulation and the walls in place I had several inches less lateral room than I initially anticipated, which led to…
After moving out to California, I started a tradition of choosing a new challenge every year. I do not have many rules around this, except that it had to be a something new that gets me out of my comfort zone. In 2010 that challenge was attending Survival School, and it was one of the…
Its been about a month since disassembling the interior of the van and we’re now at the point where progress is picking up. Up until now, a lot of time has been spent with unexciting prep work – plugging holes in the floorpan, laying insulation, and getting ready for the wiring and plumbing. But with…