The day has finally come to start the interior build! The overall condition of the interior was actually pretty good for a 40+ year-old vehicle. The appliances didn’t work but that didn’t matter to me since I knew I would be doing a full build-out of the interior. I plan to use this van for…
The best thing about having a van is being able to just “get up and go” with minimal planning. Being in San Francisco, there is so much proximity to awesome wilderness and nature. I never get tired of picking a direction and setting out. Once I had the new top complete I decided to take…
Being an engineer, I love the challenge of problem solving. I’m definitely a nerd, but I also have fits of creativity and style. Planning out the 808Van brings out the best of both sides of my brain: combining my analytical approach to optimizing space, with a passion for design. To say I obsessed over the…
The first major update to the 808van would be new canvas for the pop-top. Being over 40 years old, the original canvas had been patched up over the years and smelled a bit . . . rustic. While it was not in terrible condition, it was the one area of the build I had absolutely…
As I mentioned while introducing the CandyVan back in 2012, my father was a 70’s vanner who loved to camp in his 1978 Ford. We always had vans growing up, although they were used mostly for New England road trips and tailgating at Army football games. But growing up and hearing about the vanlife, I…
I knew I wanted to make some interior improvements to the CNDYVAN, and being the middle of winter I decided to start on the build to be ready for this summer’s adventures. I thought about doing the work myself, but I knew that my fit and finish would not be perfect, and I did not…
Kauai is one of my favorite places in the world. There is no better place to shed the distractions of the mainland by entering an island paradise. No, I’m not talking about sitting next to a pool drinking Chi Chi’s and racking up your Mahalo Rewards. I’m talking about going to the edge of the…
A lot of people ask me: what is Rule Number 6? I was first told the story back in college. One of those anecdotes that you always remember. It actually comes from a self-help book, but it stuck with me through the years because Rule No. 6 is how I aspire to live. If you…
As long as I can remember, I have always wanted a Sportsmobile. A van that can go-anywhere and do-anything, all while looking badass. Now that is a van with character. My pops had a 1978 Ford van that he used for camping all over the Northeast, so the vanlife flows in my blood. For the…
Throughout the trip we had run a day or so behind schedule. This actually worked in our favor, catching the ferry out of Prince Rupert, but now we found ourselves in a bind: The only way we could get home in time was to ride the length of Victoria Island as soon as the ferry…