Looong trip in my '64 eight door A100

Hey there! I've been on the road for the past two weeks and thought I'd share some pics and locations I've experienced thus far.

Long story short, I left my job a few weeks ago to take some time off and search for the next career move. And I decided to clear my head out on the road with the van with the only thought of heading North from San Francisco. There was a couple events in Portland I wanted to attend, but other than that, it's been a crazy series of events that put me in some cool places and now I'm in Canada with my 'ol van!

I'll break this up into multiple posts cuz I'm still confused with the image uploading, and I have tons of pics

These first two posts are in the Mt. Shasta area. Lots of dirt roads to explore there. Verrry slowly in a van. Almost got stuck in some snow as well, which is crazy to think in June...

I also hiked up to where people summit the mountain. That looks fun!

before I continue posting, my images are getting cropped very weirdly, and it's annoying the crap out of me. I resized to 800px wide. Why are they still getting cropped?

Edit: played around with the import on the last posts. Pics are sized at 800 x 530px, but I selected 640px on the import. Still are slightly cropped but better. Maybe it doesnt like the aspect ratio I shoot in.

Took some very nice forest roads that I got from a guy at a gas station, a back-way into Lava Beds national park. Didn't see a person for hours - hard to find in California.

The route put me near Medicine Lake, so I ended up making a pit stop there to fish and swim. You can see trout in one of the pictures, but I didn't have any luck and was getting eaten alive by bees so I spent more time swimming than fishing  

Then I took dirt roads the rest of the way to the Lava Beds, relying on GPS to connect the route.

Arrived in the Lava Beds early evening, did some hiking and setup camp.
This was the first time in a couple nights of having a developed camp site. I didn't complain!

I made this bed before the trip, I could provide more info on that if anyone is interested, but essentially the middle section slides out so I can still use the van as a motorcycle hauler. I'm 6'1" and sleeping perpendicular to the van is a squeeze but it works and the open space is worth it.

The side sections are stationary store most of the roadside emergency items, plus an auxiliary battery with 110V inverter, which has been sooo valuable along this trip.

I also setup low power 12V LED lights, in place of the stock dome lights. These are actually an IKEA hack and are really really great and warm in color. Also have been so useful at night. I wired them to the auxiliary battery and can provide more info on that if wanted.

Also made an internal surfboard rack / curtain rod that you might see in some of the other pics. Another IKEA hack that's been great - low cost and clean aesthetic. Again, more info if wanted!



Here's me exploring some caves like an idiot. It was actually really fascinating and would highly recommend it. Unfortunately I didnt figure out a lighting setup for pics until the last cave which is not the most interesting one. Still amazing.
The pics are still importing blurry but look much nicer hi-res.

Through central Oregon to Bend. Where much good beer was consumed before camping out in town. One of the things I like about this van is that it's a very good city camper. It's much less likely to get picked out by police than other popular camper vans.

And through the Cascades heading to Portland.

In central Oregon, I was getting so much side wind, it was the most terrying driving experience I've ever head. Single-lane, right next to oncoming traffic full of big rigs. I had to keep it at 45mph to maintain any control, which pissed everyone off behind me. Was so glad to get that over with!

Right on man...cool trip so far. Keep those pics coming.

Nice adventure and love the pics !

One of the events in Portland I was attending was called the "Trifecta" - where snowboarding, skateboarding, and surfing is done in the same day just for the novelty. Its works like this

- Leave Portland at 6am to be at Mt. Hood by 7:30. Snowboard a couple hours.
- Be back in Portland for lunch at a skate/BMX park
- Leave portland around 4:30 to be at the coast by 6:30 and surf through sunset, camp at the beach.
- Drink lots of water, coffee, and try not to get injured.

The next day I had some friends doing a flattrack race in Castle Rock, WA.
Theres a fun event there once a year called Dirtquake where anyone can race anything, it's a human-motorcycle spectacle!

Nice Road Trip! Looks like good times.
Especially like the last picture there with the Nose to Nose 8 doors.

Yah, you can almost hear Deliverance theme playing in the background! That looks like one Amazing trip!!! I especially like the Campfire pic at night...but they're all Fantastic. Please keep them coming. The 640 pixel setting is the best option for this website not cropping. I have a question regarding your interior walls. Did you do some kind of coating on them? Looks like specs in the paint. Thanks for taking us along on your "Clear your head" trip!

nice toad trip to clear the mind..

Living the dream bro!

vanny wrote:Yah, you can almost hear Deliverance theme playing in the background! That looks like one Amazing trip!!! I especially like the Campfire pic at night...but they're all Fantastic. Please keep them coming. The 640 pixel setting is the best option for this website not cropping. I have a question regarding your interior walls. Did you do some kind of coating on them? Looks like specs in the paint. Thanks for taking us along on your "Clear your head" trip!

Thanks! I'll keep them coming - i'm several locations behind... too busy havin fun

The PO did some type of coating that is almost like truck bedliner or garage floor specs. It's rugged and pretty durable and kinda looks vintage. I'm not exactly sure what the details are on it though or how it was applied.

Looks like an amazing trip. Love the pics! Any more info on the Ikea hack surf racks/ curtains?
Thank in advance.

I used these brackets so the rods can go laterally across the van.
http://m.ikea.com/ca/en/catalog/products/art/80269136/

The nice thing is they have a set screw that threads into the mount to secure the rod. I drilled holes in my rods so that the set screw goes into the rod. Or else the rods will fall when driving.

Then I put some foam plumbing insulation around the curtain rods for padding. The board sits on top and I use a bunjee cord to keep it tight against the foam.

I can try to get a more detailed pic of how it doubles for curtains but I have crappy and sporadic wifi while I'm in Canada. Will be stateside in a few days and can try then. Got some great pics from Tofino to share as well.

Awesome thanks

And then....🤓

What a great journey ! I envy you . And yes the wind in central Oregon makes for an exciting drive in our vans ! Bill

Nacho wrote:Looks like an amazing trip. Love the pics! Any more info on the Ikea hack surf racks/ curtains?
Thank in advance.

Here's some other pics of the rack setup.
For the front, I split the foam and used these curtain clips to hold the fabric: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/10217240/








Mine is mounted just slightly too close to the ceiling. its a tight fit for the board. When I get home I will make a slot on the mounts to move it down a bit. Otherwise does it's job, and I've been loading-unloading the board almost daily.

Another IKEA hack visible in that last photo... The are super low power LED lights from IKEA:
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/00119424/
The LED pucks are actually 12V and plug into a 120V transformer. I just removed the transformer and wired the lights and switch to my auxiliary battery. And removed my factory dome lights. They come with an adhesive pad, it's relatively plug-and-play.

They are very bright and warm in color, and are very low profile. Been running them at night for over a month so far and loving them.

Posted this in "between the seats" if anyone has an answer, please let me know there! thx

https://vintage-vans.forumotion.com/t52557-holley-1920-econmizer-valve-comes-loose

back tracking on some "old" photos and locations. Will keep most of my pics van-centric

Mukiteo Ferry in Washington and some of Vancouver BC area: