Cars, what do you keep in them? How did you hook yours up? Outfitting new surf wagon.

General Discussion
21

Your Subaru is a great car…My wife drives an Outback, before that a Legacy…You mentioned the Forester as being a great rain car…Gotta tell you, Sprinters are better…The elevated body and up-high seating, along with a huge front windshield, keep the roadspray issue something others down low to contend with…Oh yeah, up here in the Pacific Northwest, we get some serious rain too…Months of it…

Once you get a Sprinter it’s hard to look at any other vans as a step forward…

You asked about sleeping…In my van I keep a pair of 3" thick foam pads(encased in fleece sleeping bags) on the driver side wall, above the cabinets…At night they go on the floor which was left 49" wide to allow 4x8 plywood to fit…It’s simple and saves space for daily duties…It works well…Built-in beds are space wasters…I have yet to see one that has more versatility than mine…Full access to floor space is a big deal…

Joe & Gina’s van is built slightly different but retains the full width (49") at the wheel wells…They opted for inflatable sleeping pads that store similar to mine, on top of the driver side cabinet…

If you are looking for a Sprinter, the word is the '06 is the most prefered…The engine is the time tested 5 cylinder deisel…Later models have a softer ride, but don’t get the better mileage that the pre-'07’s get…

Size wise the 118" is a great vehicle if it does a lot of city driving…More nimble that it’s size suggests…Joe & Gina’s is a Seattle rig…Mine is a 140" and I like the added length…I can carry 14’ boards inside…The longest model is enormous inside…Oh, the things you could do…

I can only reccomend the high roof models…Why stoop to get arond…???..

Price wise, $15k can get you a clean, straight, well maintained rig…They are out there, and time spent searching for the hidden jems is well worth the effort…

The cost to take a steel shell to a turn-key, ready-for-whatever, is in the $5 to $7k range…After that you’re set…And the envy of most…

In a couple weeks I’m heading to Australia for three months and after I get back around  Christmas, it looks like I’ll be converting a 2013 Sprinter for Northern Hemisphere action…Should be fun…

22

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Dodge-Sprinter-Passenger-Van-144-WB-10-Passenger-2006-Mercedes-Built-Sprinter-/130756092907?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item1e71aba3eb#ht_500wt_975

6 hours 12 minutes

ahh the ebay disease…

…ambrose…

if I had 10$

to buy ice cream 

I would walk

to the store.

 

4 bids

23

5 to 7 K is reasonable for the work you are doing. The sleeping arrangements you suggest,seem like a good compromise.

24

I guess I’m strange here. I just drive the seal slayer 2000. 1990 ford f250. Put lots of gas in it, a bunch of oil. Starts every time. As for gear, well… what ever fits in the tool box in the back. Fullsize bed fits my boards most of the time. If not they hang out the back by a foot or so.

25

F 250 makes a good baja rig. Then again I have done baja in an old chevy belair leaking oil and bad tires over some washed out roads and we did fine. back in the day when I was young and dumb.

26

I just hooked mine up with bigger wheels for better sand traction.

27

My Baja rig…

You can fit a 10-0 in or on…

You can sleep in or on…

rogelio

28

My southern cal car…I call it my Rincon car…bought it when gas got expensive and I was starting to think too much about where I might surf due to cost of gas…it is a Saturn…

.

 

29

My Texas car…obviously it can carry a lotta boards!

I drove this 86 Olds Cierra from southern cal to south Texas…recently with no A/C…at 75-80 with all the windows down and a cooler full of cold ones, it was not that bad…despite the 100 degree+ temps…

Planning on bringing a board down here to surf the Gulf…

30

I wrecked the Oahu Altima on the Pali Hwy…replaced it with a Maxima…I am sold on the Nissans…you can get a 10-4 in either…

31

keep my camera b!tch in mine

 

32

 

 

diesel hiace 3 liter

33

For my normal day trips, the beach essentials. Beach chair, good book, volleyball and frisbee, deck of cards, travel backgammon, blanket, extra SPF, a sponge bob kite [super fun] and obviously, the surf essentials. Extra leashes, extra wax, fin key, wax comb, etc.

 

And the most important of all, plenty of hand planes and a pair of fins for having fun and making friends. 

34

In both of my surf vehicles:

Extra leash

Towel

Wax

Cliff Bars

Sandals

Drinking Water

Fin key/bottle opener

Bamboo matt for changing (the cheap roll-up kind)

Extra straps and bungee cords

Jumper cables

 

35

everyday car only things that stay in it are sunscreen, wax, fin key. the rest (towel/surfboard/water) you put in when you go surf....surfing should be easy......

car tricked out to live/surf/travel....sky is the limit...very fun! have done this a couple times. toyota hiace in australia and a dodge mark III across US / west coast. before digital cameras were popular, will see if i can dig up some pics.....