Can't Afford A Whole Truck...So We Got Half Of One

 Last spring, we did some landscaping...not as much as some, more than others. We had to bring in rocks to use as ground cover where do not want plants to go as well as top soil to use as ground cover where we want plants to grow.

Oh, how we envied our neighbors who own trucks.

Which feels like everyone.

We live in a rural town. People--many people up here--make a living in agriculture. They live off the land and because of their hard work, they allow others to literally live as well. When you're a farmer or rancher, you own a truck--not something you'd like, but something you need. And as we put in our yard, we saw truck after truck go up and down the street.

If you own a truck or have purchased a truck lately, you know they don't come cheap. Even a beat-up, piece of...stuff will set you back. We've just gone through a ton of car issues and to say our "Auto Maintenance Fund" jar is empty is accurate. When I put in a new transmission in Donk, the Subaru, we installed a tow hitch. Where a lot of trucks exist, there's also a lot of trailers. I see them anywhere. Part of getting the hitch was for a trailer. Now, we just had to find a cheap one to make a de facto truck.

And I found the perfect trailer.

Just down the road, half buried in the snow, I saw a little blue truck bed. I parked the car and walked over to get the phone number on the For Sale sign. The sign also listed the price...

$190.

Now, that's in our budget.

After I got Donk back with the new hitch, I called a nice gentleman named Larry. I asked about the trailer. Then, we arrived at the point in the conversation when I asked how much he wanted.

"Well, some say I ought to charge $400, but I'll let it go for $125."

Even better!

Last week I picked it up and now instead of sitting next to Larry's house, it's next to mine. It's too cold right now, but when things warm up, we hope to hook up the trailer (lovingly named either Rust Bucket or just Rusty...) and do all those things that need doing.

Ever since we moved, I've joked that we're the only truckless residents in the town. I know it's not true, but it feels that way sometimes. Now, we're halfway there.

So, What's A 1970 VW Camper Van Worth...?

Remember when those old VW camper vans traveled the same roads as normal cars, vans, trucks and motorcycles? Those were the days. I saw one for sale today and I had to stop and snap a few pictures. Every year they're becoming more rare.

 

The thing was from Oregon (or, at least, it had Oregon plates...) and authentic Grateful Dead stickers--those were a nice touch. 

 Even though the outside was trashed, the seats inside were in surprisingly good shape. Maybe no one dared get close to the thing based on how it looked on the outside. The side door didn't open. The passenger side door wouldn't close. There were several dead bees in the window wells and all the wiring that could and should be found out of sight hung freely under the dash--some wires touched the floor.

 But even with all its problems and its seriously dangerous lack of safety features (in a front-end crash, the driver's legs are officially considered crumple zones...), with all the rust and non-closing/non-opening doors, I still looked at, and allowed my mind to imagine actually buying it, fixing it up, and driving it down the road on the way to some little campground with the family all inside excited to spend the night away from home.

 

So, what's the worth of a 1970 VW camper van worth? A lot more than you'd think.