For the past few months I’ve been converting a 2014 Ford Transit Connect into a campervan. I installed solar panels, batteries, built a bed, and more. Now it was time for a test run. I had intended to take more time with the build, but I had an important work-related trip coming up that required the van to be in at least livable condition.
I didn’t want that first big trip, where I’d be working and living out of the van for a week, to be the first time I stayed inside. Sure could have just slept in it while parked in my driveway, but what fun is that? One of the main reasons I built the van was to explore more National Parks, so I figured this would be a great opportunity to test the van and check out a new park.
So I headed north, from sunny Los Angeles, to Pinnacles, a small National Park about 2 hours south of San Francisco.
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Driving north, first over the Grapevine, then flat out through the farmland of central California, I was pleasantly surprised at how much of an effortless highway cruiser the Transit Connect is. Built as a cargo and trade van, I’d enjoyed the low-end torque of the 2.5L inline-4 while driving around during the build process. On the highway, though, it was impressively quiet, comfortable, and when necessary, able to pass slow-moving trucks.
It was also an absolute brick. Rated at 30 mpg, I averaged 25. Certainly better than a full-size van, but a far cry from my previous road trip machine, a 40 mpg Mazda Miata. I wish I had done a highway trip before I installed solar, batteries, and the bed, as I don’t know if the lower mpg is aerodynamic drag related or weight related. I didn’t add that much weight, certainly less than 2 passengers would weigh, and I can’t imagine that amount would drop the mpg that much. This deserves greater investigation, but for the added comfort and of course the bed, desk, and everything else, the additional fuel cost is worth it.
Pinnacles is one of the newest, smallest, and least visited parks. First declared a National Park in 2013, it’s roughly 27,000 acres square miles of the California Coast Ranges. It only gets about 275,023 per year. For comparison, Yosemite is just a few hours away and it gets 3.7 million per year.
The park gets its name from the rock spires of ancient volcanoes. It’s also one of the homes of the legendary California Condor. These massive and majestic animals have wingspans nearly 10 feet wide. They’re also on the Critically Endangered species list, but that is after successful breeding and reintroduction efforts in California, Utah, and
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