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1st trip west in the Promaster

13K views 55 replies 13 participants last post by  Agentwomack 
#1 ·
Left after work yesterday. Drove 300 miles and slept at Rocheport, Missouri. Sure was nice to have that bed.

Typing this from the passenger seat while Tracy drives us through Kansas City morning rush hour.

John
 
#5 ·
#8 ·
Well, we're home now. Actually shortened trip and got home late Thursday night. Weather has been strange and disruptive, lots of late-season snow has passes closed and high winds made the desert a non-starter if I didn't want the van sand-blasted (I didn't). Week one was beautiful, relatively cool weather for where we were, while week two was cold, windy, rainy and snowy with some cold sunshine thrown-in the mix as a tease.

The Promaster is excellent. We really, really, really loved traveling in and living out of it. Our only regret is that we hadn't been doing this all along.

John
 
#10 ·
Those desert pinstripes separate the 4X4 adventurers from the posers. My 3rd gen. 4Runner wears them with pride.
 
#12 · (Edited)
I remembered to zero the odometer on the way into work.



It's still amazing to us that we stumbled upon what was virtually a new van with low miles and a great price. We bought it in February and didn't really get started with the conversion until March. Then we had to deal with the weather, as we don't have an inside space for working on it. But it's ready enough for a shakedown.

Night one was Rocheport, Missouri, at the Katy Trail State Park. I remembered from my motorcycle travels that they don't lock the flush toilets at night, and that there's very little traffic. It made a good first night stop and we slept well.



Continuing west in the morning, Kansas City and its associated traffic and construction go by easily.



Open road feels good and the van feels solid.



One complaint that scared me away from even considering the Promaster for a long time was the torturous seating. I actually prefer it to the car-like seating of other vans and trucks, because it keeps me awake and is less-stressful on my back.



Blasting across Kansas and through Denver, we are in the mountains before dark.



There's still considerable snow at relatively low elevations, and of course it's cold outside.



It's exceptionally beautiful though, and it's good to be here.



This being animal country (everywhere being animal country, that is), shortly after dark we stop at the rest area in Rifle, Colorado and hit the pillows for the night.

John
 
#16 ·
Friday morning in Rifle, and it's chilly. About 5 minutes with the Buddy Heater and we're in business.



The frost on the windshield has for the most part turned to liquid, outside and in.



The rest area is geared toward the overnight parker, with plenty of parking and a really nice little lake that I'm told is stocked.



Even parked adjacent to the building, it was a quiet night and not a noisy morning.



Breakfast.



What a difference having a refrigerator makes. There's cold oat milk to drink!



A quick stop through REI in Grand Junction and before long we're past Cisco and headed south.



John
 
#17 ·
As just about anyone who's traveled the Southwest knows if they've be paying attention, the blooms this year are significant and it's easy to forget this is a desert sometimes.



At some point we won't be so eager to get down on the ground because getting up will be a challenge, but for the moment it's all about lining-up the foreground and background.





I've probably got that section of fencing in about 300 photos over the years.





Moab has this new-to-me food truck lot, which, frankly, is kind of wonderful.



I eat it all. It's more than I ever eat for lunch, and it's yummy.



A quick stroll around town and through the used gear/clothing shop and then we're off for a hike.

John
 
#21 ·
Some things seem so obvious. Some things not.



I've wanted to hike to Delicate Arch for a long time. Today is the day.



It's odd to be one of the older people at the top. It's also odd to be so completely winded. I suppose those are benefits of survival. Tracy, on the other hand, had no problem with the exertion.



I'm glad I did it, and will probably do it again at a slower pace.



This is the view directly behind the rise where sits the Delicate Arch. There simply aren't uninteresting/unfantastic views here.



The hike back down was kind of challenging for my knees, but again we were making a pretty good pace so that we'd be able to find a spot south of town to park before dark. We were looking for the kind of place that's magical in the morning, so there was some poking around to find the right (vacant) spot.



This looked good, but there was already someone not too far down the way and it kind of looked like they were setting up a compound of sorts, so we kept looking.





The Promaster really does pretty well on 2-track with a decent hump in the middle.



Our spot wasn't exactly breathtaking, but plenty fine considering the length of the shadows.







Inside, dinner is being prepared.



We're tired. Now we're fed. The weather is perfect. I mean PERFECT. The van is working out better than I had imagined it could.



John
 
#22 ·
Sun comes up and we're still happy with our location.



The view out the back with the doors open. We need to arrive at a screen solution for that and the slider at some point.



We could use a little more counter space, but I have no idea where we'd pull it from. Anyway, time for coffee.



I constructed the top part of the fridge box as a combination bench, step-stool to get on the bed and curbside table.



Rather than a slide or catch or brace to hold it, I installed a couple of climbing anchors and use light cord and a couple of carabiners to hold the table top somewhat level. And being the slob/opportunist that I am, it's useful for hanging jackets and pants. I shall install more.



The Yeti is in the rear, just inside the rear driver-side door. It's reasonably happy running the fridge, toaster and LED lights. We haven't used the induction cooktop (single burner) yet, but anticipate that we'll still be back to fully charged before sundown on any sunny day with 360 watts of solar on the roof. The Yeti is not wired into the van's electrical system. It's completely separate.



And the fridge box.. It was originally built flush with the slider, but then I realized that since I'd changed where I planned to put the hinges, it would no longer open with the slider closed. Oops. So I moved it a couple of inches inward and everything seems happy. I was going to run a cover all the way back to the bed platform, but in the hurry to get things put together in time for this trip I might have not done that and a bunch of other things. C'est la vie. That's the toilet's resting place in the back, behind the fridge, on the floor.



John
 
#24 ·
Stationary. Neither of us can get up on the bed without it. Planning sometimes goes awry. We investigated installing the fridge on slides, but we were in a time crunch and I did what was simplest. Not sure if this will stay put or if we'll design something that uses space more efficiently. We ultimately want room for a pair of German Shepherds, and right now there isn't enough space but we have more storage than we probably should.

John
 
#25 ·
We're on the road soon enough. When we test drove this van, I asked Tracy how she liked it. She said it felt like she was driving a delivery truck, so of course I pointed out that she was driving exactly that. :)



Wind really affects fuel economy at highway speeds, but otherwise it's rock-solid on the highway. Feels plenty solid in rain as well.



We find a spot in the Mojave near where I've camped before. It's quiet and lovely.



This is a pretty good example of the kind of roads I like to take to get to the places I like to go. The Promaster has plenty of clearance for this, and the front wheel drive makes it crawl over obstacles instead of being push across them. I'd really love four-wheel-drive, but this seems much better than rear-wheel-drive.



The sounds of the desert and the roof fan on 10% made for an excellent night's sleep. We're up before sunrise.





Whoever came up with the idea for using gutter screens up front is a genius. A bit of tissue to fill the small gap at the rear and mosquitos and other bugs can't get in without a fight.



Freshly-toasted Pop Tarts in the morning sun.



My wife deserves nice things, so we headed north-ish to Tecopah Hot Springs for a soak.



Then off to Death Valley to find a place to park. At some point, probably due in no small part to the desert theme, the van gets a name.

Walter White Van

John
 
#27 ·
Excellent road trip report. Glad to hear the PM drives well.

I know that you've made it through the rough roads fine, but what happens inside the van when you're bouncing around on them? Do you have everything tied down well? I'd like to go to areas like this one day.
 
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#29 ·
Thanks!

Everything large except the mattress is secured. The mattress has a ~3-inch lip holding it in place, front and back. The bulk of our storage is in milk crates, on a shelf with a lip such that they stay put in a panic stop, and that they must be lifted over to access. Other things are in the latched cabinet that has a couple of shelves and a partition keep the fresh and grey water jugs in place. We do have some IKEA stainless containers over the sink into which small things simply rest. It's kind of loud when we're on bumpy roads, but what kitchen wouldn't be? Over them is a shelf with a short barrier, which relies on gravity as well. Thus far, knock on wood, if we remember to put things away before moving the van, it all works better than I would have anticipated. There's room for improvement, but no pressing need at this point. I tend to drive very slow off-road, so that's not been a problem. Bad gravel roads, on the other hand, make it sound like everything's coming apart, so I take those slow as well unless there's a magic speed where the suspension starts working and smooths things out. That's kind of a unicorn though, on what is essentially a partially-loaded truck.

John
 
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