Meet Patience

We are travelling South in an '86 VW Transporter (Vanagon) that we purchased in downtown Vancouver in January 2009. She's not a pop top, but she's styling and way more stealth! The guy who transformed her into what she is today really new what he was doing. He installed shelving, storage, a bed, wood paneling and a swivelling front chair to make it feel like home and to maximize the space. We're surprised at how much room we have and how easy it is to keep things tidy. In our attempts to get her ready for the trip the van earned her name "Patience" and continues to remind us of her name often. Although she has also earned the nickname "White Heat". She's not a quiet ride or a cool ride, but we love her! Here are some of the things that we have done so far...

Fixed coupling in the steering column (Whistler, BC)
New Battery
Front brakes and bearings
New distributer cap, rotors, spark plugs and ignition wire set
New ignition coil
Oil change once using 10W30 and once using 20W50 (she likes it thick)
New thermostat, thermostat housing and coolant flush
New rear CV joints and boots
Fixed a cracked transmission mount (Nelson, BC)
New rear brakes due to a leak (Nelson, BC)
New front shocks (Laramie, Wyoming)
Two new tires and alignment (St. George, Utah)
New starter and hot wire relay (Phoenix, AZ)
New coolant plug due to exlosion (Guanajuato, Mexico)
Got horn fixed (Guatemala and Juayua, El Salvador)
Disconnected the alarm (Juayua, El Salvador)
Installed thermoswitch (Juayua, El Salvador)


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Canada

We had a crazy July packing up our apartment, holding two garage sales, storing all of our stuff we didn't sell at friend's houses all over Whistler (thank you Gail, Corinne, Jonas and Stacey, Jake and Clare!!!) and fixing up the van. We had a loads of help and were offered great couches to surf on until we left Whistler (thanks Jake and Clare and Mich and Alex)! Pete then drove the truck and the van to Nelson while Karen went to Ontario to visit with her family and friends. Both sets of parents then met up in Nelson for a few weeks to help spoil us before we set off. We were stuffed full of amazing food and wine so luckily we had time to do some hikes around the Nelson area. We made it up Pulpit Rock and the flagpole a few times with Mike and Franzi, Gwillim Lake in the Valhallas and Keyhole in the Kokanee Glacier before setting off. We were also able to do some last minute organization of the van including Franzi making us some awesome curtains, putting bug screens on and tinting the windows, and franzi making us a great van table.

Click on one of the photos to enlarge.