My first two vans, a 1973 Ford E200 (bought in 1986) and a 1986 GMC (bought in 1988 when we decided we LIKED vans) were Turtle Top camper vans. We slept in them very rarely but they were wonderful bike-tour support vehicles with the tops popped, as a base camp.

The original Ford had a dual battery setup with an AC/DC fridge in it; the GMC had an icebox (still quite handy, maybe more so) but had a small propane heater that dumped out the left side of the van. The propane tank for the heater and the propane cooktop was under the left rocker panel, and was covered by a really crude steel box built by Turtle Top, probably. Lots of carwashes would tell me to go away... The system eventually started leaking, and I just let it go, but when the heater worked, our son was a baby, and it was great to just keep the van warm in super cold temps while at an outlet mall or something. Someone could stay in the van with the kid, everyone else could shop. Or in the infield at a NASCAR race they were way cool.

I've just got a passenger conversion 2002 E150 now; great compromise for what we do--traveling and base camp use. We are going to Columbus this weekend to watch my son race in a couple collegiate bike races both days, and use the van as base camp.

I'll keep watching; even though I may not build a full camper van, I'm always game to steal an idea or two.

George