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Chockstone Forum - For Sale

Buy and Sell Used Climbing Gear Please do not post retail SPAM.

Author

What shall I do with Bernard?


Superstu

26/10/2011
9:17:17 AM

Bernard is a 2006 Ford E150 and has a luxury queen sized futon and loads of storage space for all that climbing gear. He's been our home for the last four months and is super comfy to live in. Currently in Las Vegas at the moment but will be heading home to Los Angeles next month.

Should I ...

(a) sell him before I return to Oz and find a job
(b) keep him so I come back and climb here again soon
(c) go part-ownership with some other climbing bums ?

I have an offer of somewhere to store him over here without cost indefinitely...

Bernard likes Wyoming...

patto

26/10/2011
9:55:52 AM

I had the same dilemma when it came to sell my Astro Van that I toured around the US in. I bought it for $2500 and ended up selling it for $2000 so I was happy enough.

But I didn't have an offer to store it free indefinitely!

PDRM

26/10/2011
11:49:56 AM

It looks just a little bit:

"Roses are red
Violets are blue
I've got a gun
Get in the van"


ajfclark

26/10/2011
11:57:30 AM

tariadamar

26/10/2011
11:59:42 AM

hard choice but i would have to say keep it or go part owner with other bums.

spicelab

26/10/2011
3:18:12 PM

PM'd you.

minerva

26/10/2011
5:22:52 PM

Hi Superstu,

Bernard looks pretty ace. We're planning a long trip to US somewhere in the later half of next year and while we may not be able to help out with Bernard, just wanted to ask whether it was hard to find something like him when you got there - we have found it surprisingly difficult to find things like him online to get an idea of price? Did you guys do the "conversion"?

Cheers

Olbert

26/10/2011
6:10:51 PM

I find any of the following options useful in these situations:
1. Shave his belly with a rusty razor
2. Put him in the long boat till he's sober
3. Put him in the scuppers with a hawse pipe on him
4. Put him in bed with the captain's daughter


wallwombat

26/10/2011
7:50:45 PM

Bernard is the hottest van-looking thing I have seen in ages.

I'm so jealous.

And I miss Warren.


Superstu

7/11/2011
2:51:29 PM

On 26/10/2011 minerva wrote:

>Be just wanted to ask whether it was hard to find something like
>him when you got there - we have found it surprisingly difficult to find
>things like him online to get an idea of price? Did you guys do the "conversion"?

Try autotrader.com or craigslist. The biggest pain with buying like that is you waste so much time getting to and checking out numerous vans. There is a lot of rubbish on the market and you want to avoid costly repairs and be able to pass the emissions test when you come to sell.

Use the kelly blue book website to see what year and mileage you can get for your money. The ford econoline vans make great camper conversions. The chevy astros are smaller but also popular.

I bought mine from a dealer. It was an ex lease one owner job and totally clean. Spent one day in the Home Depot carpark in Squamish doing the conversion. (They cut plywood to size, the hardest part was figuring out the dimensions in imperial.) I had a look at a few other vans before getting to work . I can draw up a plan of bernard if you like, the design is simple but works well.

Ive decided to sell bernard before returning home. Ill tell you how hard it was to sell him soon :)

Duncan

8/11/2011
7:30:07 AM

On 26/10/2011 minerva wrote:
>Bernard looks pretty ace. We're planning a long trip to US somewhere in
>the later half of next year and while we may not be able to help out with
>Bernard, just wanted to ask whether it was hard to find something like
>him when you got there - we have found it surprisingly difficult to find
>things like him online to get an idea of price? Did you guys do the "conversion

My tip - be aware that if you buy a car in Canada, you can't sell it in the US unless you're a US citizen. I learnt this after buying Betty Ford the Explorer in Vancouver, meaning I will be doing a long dull drive up to Montreal in lat February to offload her.

dmnz

8/11/2011
2:39:51 PM

keep Bernard til next time you go back!

minerva

10/11/2011
4:46:30 PM

superstu, thanks for the info. will check out those sites. duncan, i think i had heard that already, I've done the drive to montreal from the US, it is boring, but Montreal is ace, and there are some pretty cool ice climbing places near Montreal at that time of year if that takes your fancy.

Duncan

11/11/2011
7:42:50 AM

Yeah, I think I'll have switched to tourist mode by that stage, but thanks for the info. Good luck!

citationx

11/11/2011
9:43:06 AM

On 11/11/2011 Duncan wrote:
>Yeah, I think I'll have switched to tourist mode by that stage, but thanks
>for the info. Good luck!

Duncan doesn't do ice. or snow.
God knows why given he's in Canada and the states during winter!!!


trog

10/07/2012
3:52:01 PM

Hey Stu

Did you buy bernard around Van or Squam? If so can you remember if any dealers were particularly good?
Just starting to look now... so any help navigating the crud would be great

Olbert

10/07/2012
4:22:09 PM

On 10/07/2012 trog wrote:
>Hey Stu
>
>Did you buy bernard around Van or Squam? If so can you remember if any
>dealers were particularly good?
>Just starting to look now... so any help navigating the crud would be
>great

Why not Bernard?


Superstu

10/07/2012
4:54:18 PM

Yeah I'm not heading over there this year (yet another fuched up shoulder story), so Bernard can be borrowed so long he's taken care of nicely and folks chip in for his upkeep. He's Californicating right now though... bit of a drive to squish.


trog

10/07/2012
5:28:36 PM

I just assumed bernard was long gone, otherwise it could be good... except the Cali location is a bit of a problem: we're not allowed to find an excuse for a proper road trip just yet, we haven't even clocked up three months work yet after 18 months off...


Superstu

10/07/2012
5:38:46 PM

Yeah bernie is now a climber groupie van, at the end of the trip I did the maths... then said 'screw the maths-- i wanna come back yet again, the climbing here is sooooo so good!'

There are 23 messages in this topic.