MarinBlaine
Senior Member
Easter weekend always marks our anniversary of picking up the MooseMobile.
After much hunting we found it down near San Diego heading into the Easter Weekend 2018. It was a well-loved 2001 EB50, with a fixed hightop. A 5.4 engine, 2WD, and 129k miles on the clock but virtually all were highway miles. We made the big drive down the Saturday before Easter and did the deal that afternoon. We drove back home to Marin the next day.
We had really wanted a 4WD, like everyone, but before spending $100k on a van we figured $20k would be better to make sure we like the lifestyle.
To this day, other than our house, my wife and I marvel at the MooseMobile being by far the best investment we've ever made.
So now we've put nearly 30k miles over the six years, and runs like a top. 5.4 pulls strong and doesn't burn any oil. After about 15k miles I had the transmission flushed and with a new filter and that made it seem like new again. MPG ranges from 12-15, typically 14...and we just got over 16 on the way down to Carrizo Plain with a tail wind the whole way!
Now, as we all know, SMB ownership is like owning a boat, there's always something to do. The list of repairs is long, but most all have been routine maintenance...other than the intake manifold gasket replacement.
Upgrades have been many, bilstein shocks and two sets of front brakes (one rear) are among the best. Oh and the new house battery that this forum helped me source while on the road a couple of years ago.
The Michelin Defender LTX tires we got right away still have tons of tread left, too bad they don't make those in our size anymore.
We still dream about 4WD, and I've nearly pulled the plug on some low-mile examples of our same EB50...but ultimately we always realize our van is so dialed in and runs like a top...why change?? And we are always amazed at how deep our 2WD will take us...I'd say it gets us 95% of the places we want to go...though I'd probably venture to the snow and sand a bit more than we do.
The trips have been amazing, North Rim of Grand Canyon, Glacier, endless wandering around Nevada, Eastern Oregon, Redwood country every year, beach sunsets, Utah many times, Anza Borrego and Kofa in January....on and on and on. It was an amazing "shelter in place" travel rig for the pandemic.
My business plan includes "30 nights in the van" annually, we've been meeting that goal each year.
So on we go! Pic and vid below pretty much sum it all up, this was summer of 2022 above Colorado National Monument in Grand Junction... This was the afternoon after the aforementioned emergency house battery replacement. And that's the thing: if it were not for the battery emergency, we wouldn't have ventured up to Grand Junction from the San Juans, and then we wouldn't have had this amazing double rainbow moment. As we all know, it's the journey, not the destination...and you never know what you're gonna get.
Dropbox
Happy trails my friends, I do love this group!
After much hunting we found it down near San Diego heading into the Easter Weekend 2018. It was a well-loved 2001 EB50, with a fixed hightop. A 5.4 engine, 2WD, and 129k miles on the clock but virtually all were highway miles. We made the big drive down the Saturday before Easter and did the deal that afternoon. We drove back home to Marin the next day.
We had really wanted a 4WD, like everyone, but before spending $100k on a van we figured $20k would be better to make sure we like the lifestyle.
To this day, other than our house, my wife and I marvel at the MooseMobile being by far the best investment we've ever made.
So now we've put nearly 30k miles over the six years, and runs like a top. 5.4 pulls strong and doesn't burn any oil. After about 15k miles I had the transmission flushed and with a new filter and that made it seem like new again. MPG ranges from 12-15, typically 14...and we just got over 16 on the way down to Carrizo Plain with a tail wind the whole way!
Now, as we all know, SMB ownership is like owning a boat, there's always something to do. The list of repairs is long, but most all have been routine maintenance...other than the intake manifold gasket replacement.
Upgrades have been many, bilstein shocks and two sets of front brakes (one rear) are among the best. Oh and the new house battery that this forum helped me source while on the road a couple of years ago.
The Michelin Defender LTX tires we got right away still have tons of tread left, too bad they don't make those in our size anymore.
We still dream about 4WD, and I've nearly pulled the plug on some low-mile examples of our same EB50...but ultimately we always realize our van is so dialed in and runs like a top...why change?? And we are always amazed at how deep our 2WD will take us...I'd say it gets us 95% of the places we want to go...though I'd probably venture to the snow and sand a bit more than we do.
The trips have been amazing, North Rim of Grand Canyon, Glacier, endless wandering around Nevada, Eastern Oregon, Redwood country every year, beach sunsets, Utah many times, Anza Borrego and Kofa in January....on and on and on. It was an amazing "shelter in place" travel rig for the pandemic.
My business plan includes "30 nights in the van" annually, we've been meeting that goal each year.
So on we go! Pic and vid below pretty much sum it all up, this was summer of 2022 above Colorado National Monument in Grand Junction... This was the afternoon after the aforementioned emergency house battery replacement. And that's the thing: if it were not for the battery emergency, we wouldn't have ventured up to Grand Junction from the San Juans, and then we wouldn't have had this amazing double rainbow moment. As we all know, it's the journey, not the destination...and you never know what you're gonna get.
Dropbox
Happy trails my friends, I do love this group!
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