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Old 09-12-2019, 07:41 PM   #1
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R.I.P. MegaVan - Stolen Before it's Time

I've dreamed of having a sportsmobile for about 10 years now but don't make a lot so it's always been a ways out of my budget.

My journey started about 5 years ago when I decided to get rid of most of my stuff and pack the rest up into a beat up old cargo that I found on craigslist and use it to escape from Kentucky to the beach in southern California.
I cried the first time my feet touched the sand in Huntington Beach. I knew I was home.
I'd worked as a tech support guy in a cubicle and also had my own failed software business in the past and I knew I didn't want to be stuck inside staring at a screen the rest of my life.
Once here I got a job as a valet at a hospitable and worked there long enough to save up enough money to buy a 2013 e-250 that I could be proud of and work on fixing up to make as close as I could to being like a sportsmobile.
I don't make much but with the money I saved living in my van I was slowly able to fix it up over the years.

I built out the inside with a bed and storage and put new rims and tires on the outside. My van was getting very respectable.

I loved my van and was proud of what I'd built. People would compliment me all the time.


You could find me at the beach almost every day going body surfing or taking a nap in the back.
Life was really starting to get good.


I planned on keeping this van the rest of my life.


For my birthday I decided to go explore Sequoia National Park and see the giant trees. I love going on adventures and my van was the perfect companion.


So I hike around all day on my birthday and while driving back I decide to treat myself for my birthday and get a hotel.

Book a room at the Hilton, check in around 9pm.

Sleep in a real bed for the first time about a year.

Wake up around 9 to check out and when I walk in the parking lot there's nothing there. No Van.
It's just gone. As if it never existed.

My van and everything I own gone.


All I had left was a pair of board shorts, a t-shirt, flip-flops, tooth brush and my drivers license and debit card.

Everything else I own in the whole world had been stolen.

Called police, they didn't much care.

Rode a bus back to Huntington Beach and waited till the next day till I could get a rental car.
Bought some new pants, shoes, socks, underwear, blanket, and am now sleeping in the back of the rental car.


Needless to say I'm devastated.

I'm glad I had full coverage on it so at least I'll be able get some money back to put towards something. I still owed $8,000 on it so it won't be much.

All my personal belongings like my birth certificate, passport, high school diploma, etc.. were all stolen so I'm trying to get ahead of the upcoming identity theft.

This has been the 2nd worst week of my life.


Anyway, R.I.P. to MegaVan the greatest van to ever roam the earth, sure enough.

If I'm ever able to get back on my feet and get another van I'm going to get a lowjack system and use the club on the steering wheel. I should have done that on this one. Lesson learned.

Here's a pic I took in Quartsite AZ earlier this year at the Rubber Tramp Rendezvous.







R.I.P. in peace old friend.

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Old 09-12-2019, 07:49 PM   #2
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What an awful thing! I am sorry for your loss and hopefully someone will see it and you will get it back.

Good luck landing in your feet!
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Old 09-12-2019, 08:02 PM   #3
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Wow, that sucks.

If you're comfortable with it, consider posting the license plate info, and any unique characteristics. You never know.


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Old 09-12-2019, 08:22 PM   #4
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In the last month, two vans we know of have been stolen and recovered due to the word getting out on Facebook, several forums, Craigslist etc. If you can post up photos showing any unique identifying features, or ways folks may recognize it, where it was taken from and when, it's possible someone may see it. Amazingly it's happened twice in the last month. Get the info and photos out as many places as you can, (including here so we can spread it) make it shareable, and keep posting. It's amazing how quickly the info will spread, best of luck.
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Old 09-13-2019, 08:54 AM   #5
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Damn... that really sucks.

Definitely makes me think about a better alarm system on mine when the time comes to start traveling.
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Old 09-13-2019, 09:48 AM   #6
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Such a bummer! Sorry, man.
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Old 09-13-2019, 10:21 AM   #7
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Sorry for you loss, jbro.

Hope karma does you a one-up in the near future
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Old 09-13-2019, 10:33 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by arctictraveller View Post
In the last month, two vans we know of have been stolen and recovered due to the word getting out on Facebook, several forums, Craigslist etc. If you can post up photos showing any unique identifying features, or ways folks may recognize it, where it was taken from and when, it's possible someone may see it. Amazingly it's happened twice in the last month. Get the info and photos out as many places as you can, (including here so we can spread it) make it shareable, and keep posting. It's amazing how quickly the info will spread, best of luck.



I'm highly recommending you do what AT is suggesting, to get images and identifying features to as many different groups as possible. In addition to the two vans mentioned I've seen several other RV's, toy-haulers, and construction equipment that have been recovered this summer because they got info out wide. Some of those were spotted/recovered by members of a group that wasn't even related to the vehicle type.
Your photo is captioned that you were at the Rubber Tramp Rendezvous. That's the Cheap RV living forum and community. I'd be sure to get the word out to them, including Bob Wells, the founder. They are a lot of full time eyes out in the world to see a van others might miss.



Best of luck
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Old 09-13-2019, 11:18 AM   #9
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KTG has posted it on Facecrap...oops sorry, Facebook SMB...So sorry your baby was stolen....probably the beginning of a GREAT NEW part of your life! It will get better, hang on, don't loose faith that it will all work out! We are all pulling for YOU!
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Old 09-14-2019, 04:51 AM   #10
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There's a special place in Hell for people who'd pull such BS.

Hope you recover this lost-too-soon dream van; really, REALLY hate to hear of things like this.
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