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Old 06-24-2018, 09:21 PM   #1
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Is Interest in Your Van Increasing?

I had an odd weekend in that I had two people come up to my house that wanted to talk about my van. It's odd since I live in an area that's pretty out of the way so we don't get a lot of traffic outside of residents.

One was a kid who just bought a transit van and wanted to discuss build options. The other was a younger guy who had a friend who was interested in buying a van. When asked what I would consider in order to sell mine my answer ended that part of the conversation. Nice guy and we had a good talk. Both were going to use their vans to live in full time.

Is everyone else getting more attention when out with their vans? I would rather not stand out but it's hard not to in these things. I don't mind talking to people about it but do worry that increased interest in "vanlife" will lead to more issues with theft. There was an article on the Outside website about "vanlife" and the increased popularity causing issues:

https://www.outsideonline.com/231562...uining-camping

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Old 06-24-2018, 09:49 PM   #2
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Interest really started when rent hit $2000 a month and minimum home prices hit $300,000 around here. This bubble has to pop soon.
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Old 06-24-2018, 10:01 PM   #3
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Yup, more people are noticing, commenting and asking me questions. Then taking pictures. I'm not rude, so I apease them.
Not quite at nauseam, so I came across a hotel door hanger that says "Do Not Disturb" and have it hanging on the rear view mirror lol
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Old 06-24-2018, 10:12 PM   #4
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I agree. I've had people ask me about my van, inquire about the costs and if I would sell.

What baffles me the most is the amount people are willing to spend. Don't get me wrong, I love my van and what I do with it, but...
A couple just a few blocks away bought a new Ford Transit with an ECOBoost, then had CCV put a pop top on it. Now they are finishing the interior themselves. Which is many thousands of dollars more cost effective than having a shop do it, and more fun. Yet I cant imagine what they have invested in it so far, and there's no lift or tires put on it.

I remember when vans were cool, a dirtbag and surfer thing. Now it's expensive and trendy. But if anybody wants to pay me $3k+ to install two solar panels, I'll be more than happy to do it!
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Old 06-24-2018, 10:44 PM   #5
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#vanlife

It’s all the rage.
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Old 06-25-2018, 06:08 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rallypanam View Post
#vanlife

It’s all the rage.
'This too shall pass.'

Old Persian adage on the temporary nature of the human condition.
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Old 06-25-2018, 12:02 PM   #7
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I haven't noticed an increase in people who want to talk about the van, but a definite change in what they want to talk about. A few years ago the first question people would have was, "what is it". More recent years the first question is more often, "which van company is it made by" followed by a string of brand names we are all familiar with.

The one conversation I had recently was by a young couple that I think complimented me by saying," it's so cool how you converted one of those old Ford vans into a 4x4 Sprinter." mind you my van is an '05 and the couple might have been in High School in 2005, so, perspective I guess.

The other dynamic I notice is before the folks that would accost me with interest were generally older and now by far it's the 30ish year olds. my theory is before it was a retirement mind set and now it's a Isnta-Pinte-Snap-Face-Tube effect.

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Old 06-25-2018, 01:28 PM   #8
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I drove my stock van for a year and not a single look. The first day I drove my van to work with the lift kit, I got a note on the window asking if I wanted to sell it. That was a few years ago and now with the 4x4 conversion and some aluminess bits, I get compliments and questions about it every time I drive it.

4 years ago the van life thing was here but not at the level its at today.
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Old 06-25-2018, 03:37 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rallypanam View Post
#vanlife

It’s all the rage.
#vanlife ruining camping from Outside Magazine, a major user of the hashtag

Don
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Old 06-25-2018, 04:53 PM   #10
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Coming from a VW Vanagon we always got comments wherever we went. It sometimes surprises me when our mildly lifted Ford E350 gets comments at gas stations and campgrounds.

This past week we traveled along the Northern California Coast with our friends in the red van. We couldn't stop anywhere without multiple people commenting as they stared at the red van. People were taking pictures and one guy almost ran into my van while staring at Big Red. One lady approached us at dinner in a Crescent City Brewery, asking if we were the people with the red van outside? She had seen us the day earlier 60 miles away in Eureka parked at another Brewery and had to let us know how much she liked it. I'm like, "did ya notice the white van?" "No, sorry, but that red one...?"

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