Life happens fast.
After we finished last years trip, I just felt the Equinox didn't have the power, or the gusto to get us long distances. As we planned for this year's trip I thought we were going to have to drive her again. Back in February, I took to a friend's idea of 'just by a conversion van and use it as a trip vehicle'. Oh the room! But UGH, the mpg. The 'fever' started one day as I decided to type 'van' in the local craigslist ads. I found a 1999 Dodge Conversion van, with leather and only 104,000 miles for the price of $2100. I thought, we could get this thing checked by a reputable mechanic that I know and get it rolling--ya know, just use it for trips. The downside was it would be another vehicle sitting in our yard for the other 11 months out of the year. After thinking a while about what we needed and wanted, we decided against it. No conversion van was going to happen for us. We tried everything we could do to make it work, or sound good, but my common sense kicked in and we decided against. It also didn't hurt that the van we were looking at sold in about two days. However, it was enough to get us thinking about a different trip vehicle altogether.
Once Jen started thinking about it, my interest piqued even more, and I decided to try and figure other options. In May I started following the mr money mustache blog about how to save and reduce debt, which, further motivated me to get rid of the Equinox (which I was never a huge fan of anyway).
On May 28, 2016, I noticed her as I was cruising the local van section of craigslist--not to buy, just for something to do--yeah, right. Ivanka, in all her glory. A 2006 Toyota Sienna CE with 104,000 miles, for $6300. The craziness in me got me motivated to send an e-mail. Sight unseen I made contact with the owner. Next thing I knew I was test driving her with wifey and kiddo at the base of the three mile bridge. I thought about Frontier Motors being a reputable company. I thought about how I hated the Equinox, and read reviews about leaking oil through gaskets. I didn't want the Equinox anymore. I wanted. a. MINIVAN????
I read the reviews on the Sienna. A bullet proof vehicle if taken care of. Well this was definitely a minivan mother kinda vehicle. a mother of two young ones, I couldn't help but notice a little green marker on some of the cloth seats, bits of animal crackers strewn about, etc. I didn't care though. All I was interested in was mechanics, working AC, decent stereo and a couple of cup holders.
The cupholders definitely passed the test. Ivanka comes equipped with 18 of them! Check. The AC blew COLD. Check. The engine--checked the oil cap, noticed the updated oil change date a few weeks away, not a problem with any of that. She purred like a kitten. The ONLY problem I found with her (and a big one with Toyotas) is that the timing belt had never been changed. I've read that this needs to be done every 90k miles, so there was my bartering chip. Negotiating on paint condition, and the cost of a new timing belt being put on for close to $1000, I was able to snag Ivanka for $5000 pending the deal from Frontier.
Needless to say, I made an extra payment on the Equinox and paid an extra $200 so Frontier would buy my vehicle from me. Our debt in the course of minutes went from owing 11K on a vehicle we didn't like to a roomy better MPG minivan at a cost of less than half that. Definitely a meant-to-be. Did I mention she has surf racks too! Win us.
Day 1, Friday July 1, 2016
We were packed early. Still had room leftover after packing and didn't need a rooftop carrier. I really love Ivanka Tatiana.
After our goodbyes to dog and family, we headed out to drive 18-20 straight hours to get to PA. When we drive 'straight through' we try to plan to hit big cities on the route during late night hours. We drove through Atlanta at midnight (luckily before the crowds dispersed from a Braves game after a fireworks show that could be seen from the interstate) and hit Charlotte at 3am. I would have never thought I'd have had trouble sleeping in a roomy spacious minivan. We folded the back seats to the floor, placed the cargo in the rear area, and removed the middle seat in case a driver needed to 'spread out'. Great plan. Reality was that at 2am when I needed sleep, I laid in the set area. The set area that was originally floor was now littered with multiple bags, cameras, and suitcases. I tried to lay on them anyway. Duh. No. I also noticed when you lay on the floor of a minivan, you notice real quickly that the van might be a little out of alignment at 75mph. Guess it could have been the 20 oz of coffee I drank at 9pm. Oh well, there will be a bed at our destination, that I'll be happy to use after 18h in a car.
The ride up was pretty easy. I never expected to get average 25mpg in a loaded down minivan with a set of bikes on the back. Now I'll always want to have a minivan:) That worked out pretty well. Jen took the real late shift as I tried to sleep. It was somewhat of a long night for us as I couldnt sleep when I NEEDED to. Jen was as trooper and drove all night until daybreak. I started to awaken a little bit after about an hour or two of light sleep--i might even call it 'rest my eyes time', but took back over to get her some relief. As I get older, these 'drive all night' ideas seem great at first, but don't seem so great on the road. I'm still a little run down from it but nothing that can't be managed over the next two weeks. Guess we'll have to live on sleep deprivation:)
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