Dharma Van sold - Hello Blue Boy !

[Dharma Van]

I don't know what came over me but we decided to sell our DharmaVan - We listed it on Ebay and it went very quickly. It did have some nice modification such as solar power, LED lighting and Diesel Heater with thermostat. The winning bid came from Germany so I was immediately concerned but the funds showed up 24 hrs in our back account and the buyer was very engaged and the whole thing went smooth.

Right as the Dharma Van was put on a truck for shipping, we felt an unbelievable sense of remorse! Once our friends found out that "Bread" (because it looked like a loaf of bread) was gone, they were all very sad. We had many trips to the beach on Bread with the dogs and all. See vid

Fast forward 6 months and I had sold my vintage Norton motorcycle after 1.5 years of great ownership but too many hours tinkering and not enough hours riding. The funds from this sale were either going to go to a classic mini project or a second austin sprite project. As I usually troll craigslist with my usual searches, I came across an add for a blue "Riviera, like Westfalia-needs to go add". After 1.5 hrs of research on what a Riviera is and the price, I was excited. I left work early and took a  look at this van and immediately made an offer. The owner was not driving it much and only used it for rock climbing trips which were becoming infrequent.

Van specs: 1977, Riviera - full couch/bed - not 3/4 length like the Westi - 1.7 liter FI with smog certificate on hand.

First thing, put bamboo floors !

- All done in one afternoon

The I was lucky to find a kitchen set which fits right in, sing, 12 colt/110 volt fridge which works great, storage and a brand new 2 burner stainless steel stove ! straight from CL.

I have since added a diesel heater which sits under the tall cabinet door (not pictured) on a thermostat which is a super nice thing to do. Gas cylinder and auxiliary battery with charger on a 300 W panel up top. The harder thing so far is figuring out how to assist the lifting of the roof (springs are worn out and no clear replacement plus a solar panel weight to consider). I found an Australian company that makes airbag type lifters which require very little space (linear actuators require quiet a bit of space for installation) These are going on this week.

We haven't done a trip but this weekend might be a test run in the Blue Boy in Livermore !

Cheers,

[Dharma Van]