Nacho the van has come a long way from being an 11-passenger van used to carry collegiate athletes to games all over the Pacific Northwest. At the same time, there’s still a LONG way to go. Since I bought the van from the university where I teach, many students know its backstory as they see it sitting in the school parking lot. Some joke, saying, “Yeah … it still looks a little sketchy.”
So, what is the latest on the Nacho conversion process?
After the van was stolen last November, the timeline scrambled quite a bit. Most notably, many months went by before Nacho was even repaired enough to drive, and then all sorts of collateral issues surfaced that we didn’t initially see. First, the tow truck driver accidentally bent the drive shaft. It was an easy fix once we knew what was happening with the whole van shaking once you went over 50mph on the road.
Then we had issue after issue trying to replace the broken-out passenger window from when the thieves broke in. They bent up the window frame, which meant you couldn’t simply slide a new piece of glass in.
After searching for a replacement door and not having any success, I finally had my mechanic bend and contort the frame to get the glass back in. Success!!! That issue was resolved.
In between this, I replaced all four tires and installed a new roof rack and a roof basket. Then, I could mount the spare tire on the roof basket. Oh, and I had to replace the retractable awning that was stolen from the van.
Lastly, we’ve been battling electrical issues where Nacho would short out or die on super hot days. The new ignition module should fix it. Hopefully …
It’s been nearly a year of one step forward and two steps backward. I missed many fun opportunities to serve coffee using Nacho this past year. However, I’m playing the long game. This has only reinforced my resolve to continue building out Nacho and fully converting to a coffee catering and camping van.
I have a list on my Notes app called “Nacho Upgrades.” The goal? Check at least one off per month. Some are BIG upgrades like new paint or wrap. Some are small, like buying a lit-up coffee sign to hang in the window when serving coffee. It is exciting and encouraging to see progress each month.
The story of Nacho the Van continues …
