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Tag: vanlife

Europe Bound: We’ve Entered Superlative Adventure Club’s Baltic Sea Circle Rally

April 29, 2024 / Mercedes Lilienthal / 4 Comments

We’re going global! Andy and I are competing in the 2024 Baltic Sea Circle Rally, the northernmost rally in the world. It spans nine countries, 16 days, and 7,500 kilometers! And, we’re doing it in an all-electric Volkswagen ID. Buzz van.️

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Upgrading the Mitsubishi Delica Space Gear’s Rear Hatch Supports

May 31, 2022 / Andy Lilienthal / 2 Comments
New Mitsubishi Delica Space Gear lift struts

Here’s a shocker: The original rear hatch supports/struts on our 1994 Mitsubishi Delica Space Gear were shot, and the hatch wouldn’t go all the way up when we’d open it. Fortunately upgrading the Delica Space Gear hatch supports / struts is easy. I’d previously looked for replacement units, but there weren’t any available, or at…

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Vanlife Northwest’s Time Traveler’s 4×4 Van Run

January 15, 2019 / Andy Lilienthal / Leave a comment
Delica and Hiace vans in the snow

Last Sunday was a time warp back to the early 1990s. OK, it also may have been the early 1990s in Japan, but it was a time warp nonetheless. Several JDM vans (and one sweet ’70s Chevy van) headed for the hills of Washington for the Time Traveler’s 4×4 Van Run. The meet, organized by…

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What We’ve Learned After a Year With Our Delica, the Space Tractor

August 16, 2018 / Andy Lilienthal / 1 Comment
Delica Before and After

Amazingly, it’s been a bit more than year with our Delica. It’s amazing the places we’ve gone and the things we’ve seen with the Space Tractor in just over 365 days. It’s been quite the journey, and it’s just begun. We’ve also learned a lot.

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The Space Tractor Off Road

July 18, 2018 / Andy Lilienthal / 1 Comment
Mitsubishi Delica Off Road

We took the Space Tractor (our 1989 Mitsubishi Delica) to the 2018 BC Overland Rally near Hemlock Valley, BC last week. After a fantastic four days, we concluded with an entry into the BC Overland Rally Trophy Challenge. The Delica did better than expected. Have a look at the video.

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Recommended Route: Racetrack Valley, Lippincott Pass, Saline Valley Roads

January 23, 2018 / Mercedes Lilienthal / 1 Comment
A must-see spot in Death Valley: Zabriskie Point.

Do you love the scenic and remote splendors the US has to offer? Do fashion your time around roads or regions that captivate you? Surfaces that keep you interested or curves that delight you? Or, do you challenge yourself by navigating new terrain in the middle of nowhere? If you answered yes to any of…

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A Walkaround of Our Mitsubishi Delica Star Wagon

January 12, 2018 / Andy Lilienthal / Leave a comment
Alabama Hills Delica Video

The Mitsubishi Delica is still quite a rarity in the United States. Every time we stop somewhere we get a ton of questions about the van. Those inquiries range from fuel economy and tire size, to interior space and our sleeping setup. 

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7 Things to Know About Owning a Mitsubishi Delica

January 3, 2018 / Andy Lilienthal / 29 Comments

After five months of owning a Mitsubishi Delica, we’re still loving our van, aka the Space Tractor. We’re also learning a lot and have noticed some distinctly Delica things. So if you’re thinking of buying a right-hand drive turbo-diesel-powered 4WD Japanese van that looks a bit like a cross between a 1980s sci-fi farm implement…

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The Space Tractor (1989 Mitsubishi Delica) In Action

December 5, 2017 / Andy Lilienthal / 1 Comment
Yokohama Geolandar A/T G015 in sand

Each year several friends of ours from Zukiworld put on an event called the Fall Classic. This overland / off-road / camping event has a host of vehicles (mainly Suzuki 4x4s, obviously) that head out to explore central Oregon’s high desert country. While we don’t have a Suzuki these days, we got the OK to…

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Latest Updates to Our Mitsubishi Delica, aka, the Space Tractor

September 5, 2017 / Andy Lilienthal / 3 Comments
1989 Mitsubishi Delica - Space Tractor

We’ve done our first major update to our 1989 Mitsubishi Delica Star Wagon, aka the “Space Tractor,” and it was a much-needed upgrade.

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  • Part 4: Days 13–16 of the 2024 Baltic Sea Circle Rally with a Volkswagen ID. Buzz EV
  • Owning A JDM Vehicle Is Not Like Owning A New Vehicle
  • Part 3: Days 9–12 of the 2024 Baltic Sea Circle Rally with a Volkswagen ID. Buzz EV

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