Finding a Vehicle

2021-09-17 by Quinlan Pfifferadventurenomadismvehicle

Things are changing, I need a different vehicle. I have a couple months to do this and quite a bit of time, now, so I can afford to be a little more discerning than the excited puppy I usually am.

Why?

I’ve got a Subaru Forester currently, and it’s great, but I can’t sit and work in it in cold climates. I have to have the back-hatch open to really do anything. This works great when it’s pretty mild outside, and I can get away with hooking up a tarp and hiding behind it when it’s rainy, but having a place that I can sit up straight and heat would be ideal. I don’t want to wear fingerless gloves or anything like that. I mean, I will if I have to.

I want to ski, ice climb and fat bike this winter, and probably do some frigid boating, too. Being able to have a good spot to come back to thats more or less warm sounds like a good idea. I can’t have all my stuff frozen all the time.

Priorities

• 4x4/AWD
• Enough clearance/capability to get around on messed up forest roads, climbing trails, mud or snow.
• Rally lighting so I can see wtf I’m doing in a blizzard
• At least 20 MPG
• Small enough to fit in a normal parking space (No extended wheelbase or anything like that) and daily drive if I need to
• A place I can sit up straight and work from
• A place to sleep (doesn’t need to be much)
• Long enough to fit a kayak and/or a bike inside
• 2” Trailer Hitch ability
• Good roofrack potential

Nice to haves

• Airbags
• Reliability
• Semi-discrete: No pop-top campers.
• Ability to cook inside
• Enough power to get up steep stuff
• Rotors on all wheels, not just the front
• Ability to mount a pull-up bar.

Candidates

• Sprinter (lol)
• Dodge promaster
• That hilariously tiny NV minivan from Nissan
• Toyota Sienna (dat momlook)
  • You can get these in AWD and some can be lifted.
• Toyota Previa (smooth alien lozenge)
  • Hard to work on and usually beaten to death.
• An old ambulance
  • Big, slow, conspicuous
• A hotshot buggy or something
  • Hard to find
• Mitsubishi Delica
• Toyota Hiace 4x4
• Some kind of truck with a camper in the bed
• Random american van from the last 20 years
  • GMC Sierra/Astrovan
  • Some quigley-converted 4x4 Econoline.