If you’ve been paying attention, the official phenomenon of ‘van life’ has been with us for just about 10 years. Each passing year, it has grown stronger having (possibly?) peaked with the recent acclaimed Hollywood film Nomadland. The thing is, the idea of living in a van went from the promise of a simple, streamlined life into this weird hashtag amalgam of remote work, an unabashed rejection of debt enslavement, an addiction to taking selfies and making TikTok videos, and a hyper-idealized marketing platform called Instagram. The #vanlife lifestyle was born, worthy of an article in none other than The New Yorker. Some of us older folks used to know this entire scene as camping, which brings us to the retro beauty here thanks to a tip from our friend, T.J., who spotted a time capsule 1982 GMC Vandura 35 Travelcraft with the “rare” submarine top on craigslist in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
In the ad, the seller’s pictures are a nod to the possibility of creating your own social media empire and all that it promises. All you’ll need is thousands of followers and the revenue generating potential of a YouTube channel and yes, you too can become a star — or in more modern parlance, an ‘influencer.’ Think of the sponsorship opportunities from say, Bissell, given the amazing shag carpet and tufted velour seating that — to be fair — actually looks to be in very decent shape. Personally, I love the time machine vibe of the inside of this camper and the description confirms it is “all original.” Nice!
Under the hood is less original with a newly rebuilt 350 V8. The seller says the original engine was swapped by the previous owner for a crate 396 but he switched it back to the stock 350 as the 396 was never properly fitted and the work was subpar. His end goal: “original, SAFE, and functional.” Obviously the seller has enjoyed his own run-in with a marketing degree, though it’s hard to argue with the sentiment. Who one wants to drive around in a crappy camper, lest you be mistaken for recreating your very own Breaking Bad? Probably not a great idea.
I suppose the trend and eventual commodification of van life was not wholly unexpected. After all, voyeurism is a thing and if you’re going to give people access to your entire life on the road, there has to be some price to pay, right? Also, at $21,000, our subject Vandura could very well be the star. The seller suggests the van has looks to kill: “they don’t call him The Peanut Butter Panty Dropper for no reason,” he says. Ummm, maybe if you buy this, you might want reconsider that as part of your marketing. Happy trails!
Van life has hit Australia as well with one in ten families owning a caravan or motor home. The grey nomads criss cross the country. Our local little town in Queensland has 40-50 staying overnight in free camping areas, at pubs or just on the sides of highways.
This is the coolest one I’ve seen and would take it over any new comparable one. Every mechanical part is readily available and easy to fix. Want it…
“Think of the sponsorship opportunities from say, Bissell…” LOL, great super clever.
upper deck (roof windows) need pic or explanation.
Good source of bulk water for ur indoor showers?
Stephen’s title for the thing? even if true, deserves
the ‘no comment’ injunction~
Go to the craigslist pictures #10-12 show the Submarine Windows well from the inside. Nice headroom where it is needed. I like how the AC unit blends into it on the outside. The design is classic. I like it!
Awesome looking Vandura. This would make an awesome camper/party van. The only upgrade I’d give it would be a 6.5 litre Turbo Diesel engine. What good is a motorhome without a diesel engine? If only more pics were posted on Craigslist. When it comes to advertising a car, there’s no such thing as too many pics.
I like the sub top. Although it kind of takes from the trans van low profile. I had an 80 dodge trans van, 440 727. It was a great van to drive, but I couldn’t stand up in the thing. Nobody could, ceiling so low.
I agree. I like a van that has a ceiling high enough that one can walk upright around the van.
Really neat looking rig , but all those window seals!
Having owned an ‘85 Roadtrek with the 3 windows in the canopy , I see an awful lot of maintenance there.
No matter how good those seals are , they do shrink with time and eventually leak.
I’d check them out carefully. Hopefully they have all been professionally replaced.
Ps. The last series of Roadtrek, before they went under, had their trademark three windows painted on. Solved the problem but so tacky.
Deepfake?
“Submarine top”? It looks space shuttle inspired to me. Just needs some stubby angular wings near the rear of the “submarine” to complete the look.
I love this thing I would rock it !
Add it to my camper van rental fleet. Hmmm how much to ship to Maui ??? Haha
Are you the guy that rents out Volkswagen vans on Maui?
I’m one of the guys here that rents a Westfalia Vanagon I also rent a Mitsubishi Delica 4wd camper van. I also rent a Harley too!
David
I also like its length. For me, anything under 20′ in length would be too small!, but anything above 30′ in length, that’s too long! There has to be a middle ground. I’m also not a fan of motorhomes that look like cinder blocks on wheels, there’s no shape to them. There has to be some shape to them. Engine, that depends. I can live with gasoline, maybe gas/electric hybrid, but I’d prefer diesel, maybe even diesel/electric hybrid if possible. :)
I’d prefer this any day over the usual Class A motorhomes that you see on the road. I don’t know what the exact length is, from bumper to bumper.
I have been an rv’er for 30 years and i am 6 feet tall
I have tried these and with a bad back ; it’s not the best
A class C gives you full height and you don’t have to take a shower bending down or on your knees !
We now have a fifthwheel that gets pulled by a 150
And a 2000gmc C at 24 feet for our little outings as it fits anywhere !
My folks had one of these. Same color etc. without the “sub-top”. Fell in love with it as I drove up and first saw it. Quirky in all the right places. Awesome opportunity for a teenage “shaggin’ wagon”. (My thoughts at the time). Austin Powers would have shaved his chest for one of these…