Sprinter Build Out Day One

Last Friday we drove home our brand-new (to us) 2011 170" wheelbase Mercedes (Freightliner) Sprinter van! That's right, after years of discussions, internet searches and endless sketching, we are van owners!! Now, our poor baby has been treated roughly in the past. Her 118,000 miles has given her a number of dings, scratches and, well, wear that needs to be attended to. Apparently her previous owners have never been ship dwellers. I had the mandate that our living quarters be spotless from my days living at sea. So, first order of business: Cleaning!

Exterior Cleaning Treatment: 
Thourough spray down and initial rinse
Meguiliars Cleaner and Wax applied with shammy and sponge (don't neglect the roof and don't wax anything you would like to see out of/shine your headlights through later!)
Rinse spray
Armor-all Detail spray for the black trim.

I must say, a vast improvement already! We will come back with some sap remover to work on the stubborn sticker residue left from when this was a moving van.

Prepping the Interior For Cleaning and Build Out: 
Remove bulkhead
Remove side panels (save these to use as templates later)
Remove subfloor (this triggered my first van ride to the home store. Turns out you need Torx 30 and Torx 45 bits to get the bolts holding the subfloor down out. Save the subfloor panels to be used as templates later.)
Rip out the nasty felt product that's been under the subfloor for the past 6 years

We now have a (mostly) empty cargo area with a ton of gross dirt, dust and other unidentifiable debris that's been hiding under the subfloor. (as well as five or six quarters. Score!) Next up will be sessions with the shop vac and a major interior dusting.

Nothing to see here.
Until we get the new site up and running. This is going to be a repository for links we have collected on building out our new (to us) 170" Sprinter Van!

Interested in Sprinter Buildouts? You might find something you like in here....

http://mojagear.com/journal/2016/06/28/convert-cargo-van-ultimate-climbers-camper/

http://www.buildagreenrv.com/our-conversion/

http://thevanual.com/

http://stephdavis.co/blog/to-van-or-not-to-van-van-living-1/

mosquitocurtains.com

aluminess.com

https://www.adventure-journal.com/2016/05/building-out-a-bitchin-sprinter-van/

http://www.dirtbagdarling.com/adventuremobiles-a-look-inside-our-converted-sprinter-van/

http://www.dirtbagdarling.com/adventuremobiles-heres-what-to-know-about-your-camper-van-build-out/

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=T-h8ruMKBog

http://sprintervanusa.com/how-to-convert-a-van/

http://www.thefitrv.com/rv-reviews/winnebagos-4x4-concept-adventure-vehicle/

Rock and Brews Tour 2014 Stop Three

Stop 3: Turtle Lake bouldering and Durango breweries.

            I suck at bouldering. I don’t know if it’s the lack of fitness, the ADD, the whole hitting the ground every time you fall or what but I have never had the drive to be a boulderer. However, it is an excellent way to involve the whole family while climbing and let one parent get a good pump on while the other plays with Yvie. So I asked my friend Jay to be my bouldering mentor and feed me areas and routes to try out. As we drove south, Jay fired off that we should check out Turtle Lake as we passed through Durango (Also a big craft beer town!). So of course we must go!

            The Rock: After spending the night in the National Forest, I drove the On The Loose-mobile over to Turtle Lake. We were greeted by the Roadside Boulder which had a wonderful straight up V1 to warm up on. The rock here seems to be a close relative to the volcanic tuff we found around Penitente with rounded holds interspersed with crisp edges and interesting cracks. We spent a splendid morning trying out the problems on the boulders close to the road and exploring the area. We even encountered a mystery. Written on a small rock at the base of one of the boulders was an invitation to find a treasure map written somewhere on top of the rock formation! We scrambled to the top and spent some time looking but did not find the map. Maybe you will have better luck unlocking the mystery of Turtle Lake!

            The Brews: Jay was not wrong in calling Durango a craft beer town. We discovered four breweries in town and managed to visit two: Brew Pub and Kitchen and Ska Brewing! We had an excellent dinner at Brew Pub and Kitchen the first night. Friendly staff and an excellent porter! After refueling and restocking our supplies we hit the Ska Brewery on our way out of town. I’ve long been a fanboy of this excellent brewery and it was exciting to be on site and taste some of their beers.

From Durango, we now point south. We will be heading into the desert to visit the ancients at Chaco Canyon NP! See you out there!

The Road trip Mindset:

The Road trip Mindset:

“When are we going to California?” This question has been coming at an almost constant stream from my daughter Yvie. The response each time is “We are going to California right now sweetie.” This answer is true; it’s just that we are getting there via the Sand Dunes, Penitente, Durango and now Chaco Canyon. We are constantly going to California, just not via a very direct route much to the chagrin of our four year old that can’t wait to see her cousins and play on the beach.

            In our everyday life we are constantly deluged by deadlines.

Rock And Brews Tour 2014 Stop Two

Stop 2: Penitente Canyon and Three Barrel

Awesome history to this climbing area.

            Somehow we’ve managed to live and climb in Colorado for eight years now and had yet to visit Penitente Canyon down in the San Luis Valley. Maybe the rumors about the laziness of Front Range Climbers is true. (We do have Eldorado Canyon in our back yard as well as a half dozen other world-class destinations within an hour or two.) At any rate, we finally got down to this amazing place; and they have a local craft brewery too! Three Barrel Brewing Company in Del Norte, CO. Bonus!

            The Rock: Penitente Canyon is an excellent cragging destination for beginners and experts alike. The volcanic tuff that makes up the rock here provides great friction and the weathering (or possibly other geologic processes, maybe gas bubbles?) has created interesting pockets both of which make for excellent climbing.  Although rattlesnake warnings abound both in guidebooks and at the trail heads, we did not have any rattler sightings and found the canyon to be very family friendly with short approaches, short climbs

Rock And Brews Tour 2014 Stop One

Stop 1: Vedauwoo and New Belgium Brewing

            Okay, so maybe it’s a stretch calling New Belgium Vedauwoo’s local brewery as it is over an hour’s drive to the south and in another state. But, we did go there after cragging up in the ‘Voo so we will count it as the inaugural stop on the 2014 Rock and Brews Tour.

Road trip begin

Road Trip Commences with a Yo-yo to Vedauwoo!

The On The Loose Mobile at it's first stop!

After a solid week of midnight and 2AM preparation nights, we finally launched off on this year's tour! Driving the rig up to Vedauwoo for the weekend, we met up with friends for an afternoon of fairy house making, bouldering and an awesome night around the campfire surrounded by the pre-cambrian granite domes of this Wyoming masterpiece.