Sam and I would like you to join us in the celebration of our new vehicle. A 1988 Mitsubishi Delica will be converted into our new home, office, and method of transport. Yes, this means that the PeaceLoveCar is finally retiring. What’s ahead for the PLV? We don’t know yet. But we do know that the new van will see many miles, meet many friends, and have lots of adventure!
Here are the answers to our most common asked questions and images from the build process! Click on the images to link to the full Facebook album.
Why a 1988 Delica?
Sam and I have been working on the development of our 1963 P10, a 4×4 hybrid diesel, and it seems like that project will take longer than we expected. In the meantime, we need a larger vehicle to stretch out and live in with all our adventure toys. We decided that a Delica was the perfect vehicle to sustain our living style until the @ev4x4 is finished.
There are several reasons for us to have chosen a Delica. First, it looks pretty cool! There you go, we accept it- one of the reasons we got this vehicle is because of its looks. After traveling in the PLC for years (5 years for me, 10 for Sam) we needed a way to slowly transition into normality. A right hand drive,1988 van seemed to be fitting!
Another less vain reason for our choosing the Delica is that we wanted a small footprint 4×4 diesel vehicle with good fuel economy. The Delica is currently giving us 22 mpg and we hope we can improve on that as we learn how to drive it and tweak the mechanics a little bit.
Also, while we wanted a larger space, we didn’t want to go too large. For us, being able to park anywhere is very important. The Delica is only 1 foot longer and 1 foot wider than the PeaceLoveCar and we are gaining about 34.5 sq ft of living space.
With the purchase of this vehicle we are also staying true to our goal of reusing as many materials as possible. Purchasing a used vehicle keeps us aligned with our goals to get the most out of the life of any car we own and to honor the materials already utilized in the making of vehicles. The Delica is as old as the PeaceLoveCar, but with less than 120,000 miles on it, so is still very young in spirit.
What is a Delica?
A Delica, short for delivery van, is a Mitsubushi van used abroad. They were never officially imported into the US. If you want one like us, you have to wait until the vehicle is more than 25 years old. Our’s came from Japan. We are still finding Japanese labels, receipts and clippings throughout the vehicle. We bought it from a Craiglist ad in VT. This is the second time we’ve bought a car on the internet. The first time it didn’t work very well. Let me rephrase that…… the first time it was a full adventure!
Why is the @ev4x4 taking so long?
Simply put, we live out of a car without an actual garage or location to develop our dream projects. This means that we are at the mercy of our friends’ schedules. Our friend and main mechanic, Zeke, is in the process of selling his house. Which means the @ev4x4 has been placed on hold until he sells his house and moves into a new one.
On top of that, Sam and I manage the company YogaSlackers. And while sometimes this looks like a big operation created by hundreds of people, it is really only the two of us and a handful of friends. This means that as much as we would love to focus on just our needs, we are often juggling our needs as a couple, the needs of our tiny home on wheels, the needs of our company, and the needs of our teachers. If you have ever seen us juggle… you know that we have not yet mastered that skill!
What are you planning to do in this vehicle?
We want to start by introducing the new Peace Love Van to our community. A 49 state tour seems fitting. At a top speed of 65 mph (50 mph if we want to maintain fuel efficiency) we plan to do this slowly with tons of opportunities to stop and play. Our hope continues to be to explore the beautiful places in the US.
Visiting all the US National Parks has been near the top of our to-do list for a few years. It is time for us to take on that task. Eventually, once the mechanics and living/working quarters have been tested, we want to put them to the final test by driving it to Punta Arenas, Chile. That trip should let us know what needs to be improved upon!
Are you driving the Delica as is?
of upgrades
Not at all. We need to convert the Delica so that fits all the needs of living a nomadic life in the 21st century. To that end we have a series of updates in mind. Some will happen right away, some will take us a few months to develop and to raise funds to make them happen.
This is a very cool project, can other people be involved?
Absolutely! We are hoping to work with more companies interested in serving the needs of the growing nomadic community of overlanders and weekend warriors. More importantly, we are learning a lot as we go. If anyone wants to share any build out tips and tricks we are all ears! Also, we want to keep reusing and repurposing materials. If you finished a remodeling job and have some scrap materials you think fit on this build, please send us a message and we might head your way!
YogaSlackers Sam Salwei and Raquel Hernández are lovers of movement. Limitations are a foreign concept to this teaching duo, as they spend their time traveling the world and fulfilling their dreams of being true modern-day nomads. Whether it’s driving coast-to-coast, or hopping on an airplane to travel overseas, the motivation is usually the same: bringing their passion for teaching slackline yoga and acroyoga to students all over the world.
