![\"100_6390\"](\"https:\/\/www.van-tramp.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/100_6390.jpg\")
<\/a>Big Blue is a 1989 Dodge Maxi-van with a 5.9 liter V8 engine. His name is not Big Blue actually. It is “Jonas”, named after a large whale that traveled the world (but was cursed to never touch water) from a book I loved in my earlier years. I was in the market for a van in early 2010 and was lucky enough that this old beast was for sale in Boulder, CO, just a few miles down the road from where I was living. I bought Big Blue in March of 2010 and started traveling immediately.\u00a0Though I have considered many a replacement, I simply can not find a more versatile road-trip vehicle. Although the fuel mileage is poor compared to a passenger car, it is great compared to a full sized RV or truck and trailer setup. It is large enough to pretend to be an RV yet small enough to fit into a standard parking spot (only just) for which-ever suits me best that day.<\/p>\nVan comforts<\/h2>\n\n- 92 sq foot of living space, plus unlimited front yard everywhere we go<\/li>\n
- Two bedrooms (full bed in rear and captain chair folds down for another) to sleep up to 3 people<\/li>\n
- Kitchen using a propane camp stove, 2.7 cubic foot 12 volt fridge, and a foot operated sink and faucet.<\/li>\n
- One and a half bath (outside solar shower and a tree to pee on just about anywhere, along with a cassette toilet inside).<\/li>\n
- 21 gallon fresh water storage for everyday needs.<\/li>\n
- Wired for 120v shore-power for those times we want to live like common folk.<\/li>\n
- Off grid rechargeable power including a\u00a0200 ah Lithium battery, 300 watts of solar panels<\/a>, and a\u00a0600 watt pure-sine inverter powering dedicated outlets to charge and power all our devices.<\/li>\n
- 12 foot retractable awning to double our livable floor space at any time.<\/li>\n
- Full LED interior and exterior lighting for a total of roughly 1500 lumens of interior lighting.<\/li>\n
- 5000 lbs towing capacity, including 6-pin connector and trailer brake controller, to tow an in-law unit if we so please.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n
History<\/h2>\n
This all started after a trip to Yellowstone in my little sports car in 2009 where I camped for a few nights in a tent (and the rain). Afterwards, I was seeking a vehicle more suitable to the road-trips I wanted to take. It wasn\u2019t easy camping out of a two-seater car, even by myself, and I wanted to bring my son on some of my trips. I waffled back and forth between a mini-van that I would customize myself or a large V8 van conversion, or possibly even a Class-C RV.<\/p>\n
After careful consideration I realized that a mini-van would not be able to tow (an important option for me), and a full-fledged RV was not practical for a 1-person trip, so the middle ground van-conversion was settled on. I had one in the past and loved the freedom it gave me, so I searched for one similar to it and stumbled across the exact van I wanted only 15 miles away. I purchased what is now my van, Jonas – aka \u201cBig Blue\u201d – 5888 days ago, on the spot and started my van-life travels.<\/p>\n
I did do a bit of customizing to the layout during those first years, but nothing significant. After a few years of getting to know what I needed from my van,\u00a0\u00a0the interior was rebuilt<\/a>\u00a0to a fresh layout which gave me some dedicated desk space, a closet, and a much needed longer bed to sleep on.\u00a0In early 2016 the interior went through a minor renovation<\/a> to make it girl-approved for Kerri and my first trip into Baja. After that 3-month trip we decided that Big Blue needed a repaint so we could spend more time in it in the states. So he was\u00a0repainted at the end of 2016<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"van-before-n-after\"](\"https:\/\/www.van-tramp.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/van-before-n-after.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\nAt the end of 2017, in preparation for the entire 2018 year living in the van, we did a complete rebuild of the interior<\/a>\u00a0and more. The results of the 5 week rebuild were dramatic with the cedar plank walls, and functional with the addition of;\u00a0 A new 21 gallon fresh water tank, a larger 2.7 cubic foot fridge, bigger memory foam mattress, sink, foot pump, and plumbing, a shiny new 200 ah Lithium battery, an additional 100 watts of solar for a total of 300 watts,\u00a0MaxxAir fan<\/a>,\u00a0rear airbag suspension lift, and larger all terrain tires.<\/p>\n
History<\/h2>\n
This all started after a trip to Yellowstone in my little sports car in 2009 where I camped for a few nights in a tent (and the rain). Afterwards, I was seeking a vehicle more suitable to the road-trips I wanted to take. It wasn\u2019t easy camping out of a two-seater car, even by myself, and I wanted to bring my son on some of my trips. I waffled back and forth between a mini-van that I would customize myself or a large V8 van conversion, or possibly even a Class-C RV.<\/p>\n
After careful consideration I realized that a mini-van would not be able to tow (an important option for me), and a full-fledged RV was not practical for a 1-person trip, so the middle ground van-conversion was settled on. I had one in the past and loved the freedom it gave me, so I searched for one similar to it and stumbled across the exact van I wanted only 15 miles away. I purchased what is now my van, Jonas – aka \u201cBig Blue\u201d – 5888 days ago, on the spot and started my van-life travels.<\/p>\n
I did do a bit of customizing to the layout during those first years, but nothing significant. After a few years of getting to know what I needed from my van,\u00a0\u00a0the interior was rebuilt<\/a>\u00a0to a fresh layout which gave me some dedicated desk space, a closet, and a much needed longer bed to sleep on.\u00a0In early 2016 the interior went through a minor renovation<\/a> to make it girl-approved for Kerri and my first trip into Baja. After that 3-month trip we decided that Big Blue needed a repaint so we could spend more time in it in the states. So he was\u00a0repainted at the end of 2016<\/a>.<\/p>\n At the end of 2017, in preparation for the entire 2018 year living in the van, we did a complete rebuild of the interior<\/a>\u00a0and more. The results of the 5 week rebuild were dramatic with the cedar plank walls, and functional with the addition of;\u00a0 A new 21 gallon fresh water tank, a larger 2.7 cubic foot fridge, bigger memory foam mattress, sink, foot pump, and plumbing, a shiny new 200 ah Lithium battery, an additional 100 watts of solar for a total of 300 watts,\u00a0MaxxAir fan<\/a>,\u00a0rear airbag suspension lift, and larger all terrain tires.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n