This 1978 Dodge Trans Van is a former tailgate rig, which is a real thing I learned about upon seeing my brother-in-law outfit a short bus with blue and white decor so he and his friends had a suitable place to drink at Penn State football games. The “shorty” camper van conversion is an ideal setup for tailgating, as there’s room to grab a quick nap at halftime and plenty of other sitting/lounge spaces to discuss the coach’s decisions. The Trans Van also has a sink and a small kitchenette for all the comforts of home in a compact package. Find this former Boise State tailgate bus here on eBay with a Buy-It-Now of $3,900 and the option to submit a best offer.
The seller makes a point of mentioning that you’ll be hard-pressed to find another Trans Van, and that’s likely true; however, it bears mentioning that I actually have one for sale in North Georgia at my uncle’s property. It’s a seriously cool truck and reminds us that the current obsession over $100,000 fully-kitted Sprinter vans isn’t really a new thing; Dodge, GMC, and a healthy aftermarket were making compact motorhomes a thing way before the present day. GMC’s front-wheel-drive motorhome still exhibits some of the best packaging I’ve ever seen in this class of vehicle, and the Trans Van makes a compelling argument for second place.
The trouble with motorhomes of any configuration is that once they reach a certain age, they become very expensive to maintain. And when that happens, the first or second owners move it along for something newer while the third and fourth owners purchase it with dreams of the open road and campfires with the family. A noble pursuit, for sure, but despite their simple and easy-to-fix drivetrains, the rest of the systems on board all require a fairly steady amount of upkeep. And, much like a house, you have plumbing to tend to and make sure pipes don’t freeze. The seller doesn’t talk much about the interior and whether the stove and sink still works, but does highlight that it is rust-free and drives very well, with only a slight hesitation and flat spot noted when the van is cold.
The interior is in fair condition, and could certainly be improved by someone with a YouTube channel who wants to become an overnight hero of the van life movement. Now, I’ve spent some time around a tailgate bus and I can tell you that in most cases, the cosmetic condition is not a concern. This Trans Van doesn’t look too terrible inside, but I wouldn’t buy it expecting a rig in concourse condition. Of course, if it drives as well as the seller promises, you shouldn’t need to spend much time sorting out the mechanicals and can just focus on making the inside as glamorous as possible. Have you ever seen a Trans Van in person?
That’s a whole lotta shag carpeting. Love that the speedo is stuck on 95 mph.
It wasn’t stuck. He took the pic while motoring down the highway at 95 mph.
Needs more inside pics. Outside looks fine and hopefully couldn’t rust like our 76′ Dodge Van did. Ours was toast but this looks fiberglass?
Needs more inside pics. Outside looks fine and hopefully couldn’t rust like our 76′ Dodge Van did. Ours was toast but this looks fiberglass?
Just Google “Dodge trans-van interior” to see what they look like inside. Looks like a pretty good layout. I like it.
There is a link to a video of the interior in the ad.
Don’t go anywhere without a few spare ballast resistors in the glove box. Stuck on 95 mph, he never explained that so, if the speedo is broken does that mean the odometer is as well? $3900 would be a stretch but his ‘buy now’ is $5900. If I owned it, it’d be gutted and used to haul my swap meet stuff.
eBay pics looks purdy rotted under side,maybe more pics of windows and you won’t notice.
eBay pics looks purdy rotted under side,maybe more pics of windows and you won’t notice,pic 22.
The trip wore on and dad was sick of mom’s complaining, so he put the hammer down. Not being accustomed to anything over 55, that’s where it stuck,,,maybe, I love having fun with possible scenarios, in case you haven’t noticed. Not a bad unit, based on a Dodge straight truck, it will ride like one, single digit mpg, gpm, in a stiff head wind, and old motorhomes are just a nightmare with wiring, with owners adding gizmos with half-baked electrical knowledge, like old semis, electrical gremlins will drive you nuts. With motels creeping up to $200 bucks a day, motorhomes are a viable alternative, just not this one.
As usual, HoA, Bingo!
What I’m wondering was this a boy van who became a girl van or vice a versa. It’s hard to tell this days!
Already sold with this new van life craze going on in not surprised rehabbing the inside will be fairly easy because everything is there hope the buyer enjoys it
I seen a lot of mouse invasion especially around the stove burners. mice like to get into the walls of these if they set long and make a smelly mess. Looks like it had a good vacuuming out. but the urine smell in the walls will last. It also happens to travel trailers
It always cracks me up when I see 20-somethings showing the interior of their newly converter $30,000 Sprinter that they’re going to ‘travel the continent’ in while they make their living (not) making Instagram posts and flogging swag. So many times it sound like they think they just discovered van life.
Welcome to the TransVan. Before that was the shaggin’ wagon shorty vans of the 70s and before that the VW hippy vans of the 60’s. There ain’t nothin’ new under the sun, kids.
as far as the resistors go i had a 1982 5th ave my late girlfriend drove i mounted 3 on the fire wall and just showed her what to do to be on her way if it died on her moved the under the hood lamp in case it was dark that was be fore cell phones she had to change wires more than once when she did i just got rid of the bad one and put a new one in its place put two extras just in case the new one was junk
SOLD – Best Offer Accepted.