Hi! Do I wanna build a SMB?

[Strelok]

Hello, new guy from San Francisco here.

I'm looking at building my first overland vehicle. I'm not new to the idea, I do a lot of adventure motorcycle riding.

Basically:
My GF and I live in the big city, daily drive motorcycles, don't own a car.
I want a Tacoma for moving dirt bikes/furniture/speakers/groceries/etc.
I want a Bronco for hooning in the desert.
I want a Land Cruiser for overlanding.
I have 1 street parking space.

I was thinking a Tacoma+Cap+rooftop tent+motorcycle trailer would be the best choice here, but dunno where I would keep a trailer, and my GF likes the idea of a van because it's less work while travelling we assume. You can sleep in a van in the middle of a city too, harder to do that in a truck bed.

I'm assuming vans are no fun to hoon around in, but more function when actually travelling. I'm also assuming a van build would end up costing more and being less capable than a Tacoma, but more comfy to travel in.

Would building something like an E350 4x4 be my best all around option?

[nemesisnight]

Everything has pros and cons obviously but seeing what you want out of a vehicle a E350 with an Agile Offroad Twin Traction Beam (mid to long travel) 4x4 conversion would be the best for most of your requirements. Super comfy and handles very well on or offroad ( I would say nearly as capable as many mildly built Tacomas offroad although heavier). Then you can do as much of a build inside as you want as far as holding the cycles inside or out back. A hardtop makes steath camping easier than a pop top but you can also have 2 beds and keep the poptop down for stealth camping if you aren't holding the bikes inside and have a full camper setup. I think most of us on here would say do the van as that's the direction we chose and it does a little of everything very well and can be custom tailored to your liking.

[BroncoHauler]

Just one question.

Hoon(ing)?

[ShuttlePilot]

Hooning - Hoon activities can include speeding, burnouts, doughnuts or screeching tyres. Those commonly identified as being involved in "hooning" or street racing are young and predominantly male drivers in the age range of 17 and 35 years.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoon

-Eric

[TomH]

You have one on street parking space in SF, therefore there is one key question that has to be asked that takes priority over everything else: To within a quarter inch accuracy, exactly how long and wide is that parking space?

[BroncoHauler]

Originally Posted by ShuttlePilot

... in the age range of 17 and 35 years.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoon

-Eric

And there was the disconnect. The word, not the activities.

[MountainBikeRoamer]

Originally Posted by ShuttlePilot

Hooning - Hoon activities can include speeding, burnouts, doughnuts or screeching tyres. Those commonly identified as being involved in "hooning" or street racing are young and predominantly male drivers in the age range of 17 and 35 years.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoon

-Eric

Originally Posted by BroncoHauler

And there was the disconnect. The word, not the activities.

Haha! Yeah Herb, kinda....although not **all** who "Hoon" are in the 17-to-35-year-old age bracket....there's some well-respected more "senior" members of the Hooning club too.

Case in point:
"DC Shoes" company co-owner Ken Block....who turns 50 in November....and who is the proprietor (and principal driver) for Hoonigan racing. His super-produced series of pro-level hooning (or "gymkhana," if you want to get into the competitive level terminology) videos are perhaps the closest modern equivalent we have (with motorsports) to the old 1960's Warren Miller ski movies --- each one hotly anticipated and guaranteed to somehow "raise the bar" vs the last one.

What Ken does with a rally-prepped Ford Fiesta would have made Colin McRae (RIP, great one!) blush.

Pretty sure this was already posted here on the forum recently, but this could probably easily bear watching a second time:

KEN BLOCK’S TERRAKHANA: THE ULTIMATE DIRT PLAYGROUND; SWING ARM CITY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33A0zZ5qb1Y

Edit: haha, Herb just *finally* caught your last comment's drift, no pun intended...yeah, the terminology changes over the years, but the core "referenced activity" is the same old "get the tires a bit loose and sideways" timeless goodness, isn't it. Apologies if it seemed I was understanding you to mean that that kind of 4-wheeled horseplay was the sole domain of the millennial-and-younger crowd.

[BroncoHauler]

No worries Mike.

As for Strelok, must be an OK dude (assumption on my part) if he considers a Bronco for Hooning.


Herb

[Strelok]

Originally Posted by TomH

You have one on street parking space in SF, therefore there is one key question that has to be asked that takes priority over everything else: To within a quarter inch accuracy, exactly how long and wide is that parking space?

It's not one designated space, it's my whole street, I just don't want to have multiple vehicles sitting out there I move once a week for street cleaning.

Originally Posted by BroncoHauler

No worries Mike.
As for Strelok, must be an OK dude (assumption on my part) if he considers a Bronco for Hooning.
Herb

I'm 24 so I fall into that bracket, but I just use the term to mean spirited driving.

[mikracer]

Check out this member's interior. Built to haul bikes and be super functional.

http://www.sportsmobileforum.com/for...rior-5601.html