The moment I pull my 1969 Econoline out of storage, my heart races a little faster. My smile gets a little brighter, and thoughts of road trips to see friends fill my days. It is Vanning season!
Almost 100% of my summertime travels are to go to a van show. Van shows happen all over the world. I have yet to be at a van show off the continent, but it is on my list! Whether I take my Roadtrek or my ’69 Econoline, I know I will have a great time. Not only for the oh so pretty vans, but the awesome people who drive them.
Where My Love of Vanning Started
My friend Kim introduced me to vanning through a van club she had an affiliation with. I have always been a lover of old and custom vehicles. This took it to the next level. Vans of all ages and sizes filled the show field. Panel vans from the 60s, muralled vans with custom interiors, and radically altered vans where the creator had a vision of their own.
That was 39 years ago. Vanning and van shows opened me to a world I never knew existed. Wonderful people with beautiful vans in amazing places. I have been travelling through North America, exploring and enjoying all that has come with it ever since that first day. I knew I had found my people and my first custom vehicle.
My Custom Vans through the Years.
I have only owned 3 vans since I started this vanning journey. As I walked through the vans, thinking about which style, make, and model I enjoyed the most. Which one will I choose to start my custom journey? It was a hard choice.
I have always been a Ford girl. I was taught to drive in a 1973 Ford pick-up. It was a standard transmission with three on the tree shifting. I was 13 years old. My Dad would tape wood blocks to the pedals and put a pillow behind my back, and off we go onto the backroads. With the armstrong steering, I soon learned to turn the wheel, the truck had to be moving. Lol.
My first van was a 1974 Ford E-100. A shorty with a slider side door and a six-cylinder engine. The transmission… a three on the tree standard with armstrong steering. It needed a paint job and some interior work to make it pretty, but I fell in love.
A few years later, and some money saved, I got her painted a beautiful blue with a pearl clear coat. When the sun shone on her, she would wave purple as you moved around it. Shading would give such a deep blue that it would seem black. I loved it.
A Border Guard’s Observation
I had just gotten it painted and out of the shop, only a week before a van show in Beaverdam, Wisconsin. It was dark as my ex-husband and I rolled into the US Customs. He asked where we were going, and I responded to a custom van show in Beaverdam. He replied, “to show your pretty purple van?” Ummm, it’s blue I replied. I had just paid a lot of money for blue. Lol.
He asked me to step out of the van and look. Under the yellow lights of the booth, my van was a beautiful deep purple. I just about cried with delight. He laughed, said haha I was right and told us to have a great trip.
My beautiful blue van lasted almost 26 years. I was so sad to see her go. She had taken me many miles on many adventures. It was time for another.
I had to get another mid-year Ford.
The Black Fill-in
I call my second van a fill-in. It was a flat black 1973 Econoline. Same transmission and no chrome anywhere. The inside had a leopard print carpet and black interior. Get this… it also had red interior lights. All it needed was a stripper pole, which was kindly given to me at Vanfest. Lol. The guy I bought it from said it had won many shows. Not the shows I go to. Lol. It ran well but was soooo ugly. I knew I would be on the hunt for another.
My Dream Van Arrived
Remember those friends I was talking about. One day, I received a phone call from my friend Annie. She had seen an original 1969 Econoline on Kijiji (Canadian version of Craigslist). When I read the ad, it said original paint, original engine, with an interior built by the original owners in 1969. Oh, my stars! It was off to the bank after making arrangements to see the van. I knew I had to have her. I brought cash in hand. Hahaha!
That was in 2011, and I still have her and plan to have her for another 20 years at least. Although with the armstrong steering and standard transmission, it gets a little longer every year before my muscles stop hurting with every turn.
Vanning and Travel
Vanning and travelling go hand in hand. Every year, the Van Nationals are held in a different state. That means at least once a year, I go somewhere I’ve never been. Sometimes, they are held in the same fairgrounds, but never 2 years in a row.
With van shows being held all over Canada and the US, there are a myriad of places to go. You can pretty well go to most states and most provinces and go to a van show. Even if you are not expecting it, a van show might pop up.
Away for work, hit a van show
I had to travel to Victory when I was working. Some of my BC vanner friends told me of a van show that happened there during the time I was there. I only had a rental car, but I knew I had to go even if it was just for the day.
What a wonderful time meeting new friends. Seeing beautiful vans and chatting with people who would become lifelong friends. Like my friends Bob and Nancy, whom I recently went strolling with on the Las Vegas strip last year.
Although I have never been to a West Coast US van show, the closest I came was Las Vegas council meeting. I have travelled the Midwest, the South, and the East Coast of the US and Canada, just going to van shows.
In 2024, I did 3 van shows in 3 weeks. Greenfield, Massachusetts for the Nationals, Dusk till Dawn van show in Prince Edward Island, and then Vanamania hosted by C’OLD School van club in West Quinty, Ontario. What a road trip that was. A stop in Salem, I always stop in Salem when near, and a beautiful tour up through Maine made it the perfect road trip. All done in my ’69 Econoline. What an adventure.
Vanning has taken many beautiful places across these great countries. This year, a trip to Minnesota is planned for the Nationals and certainly a few trips to the Midwest. It is not just the vans I crave. It is the people.
My first van show of the year will be Vanfest. Held in Aylmer, Ontario, it is a mix of custom vans and custom pickups. I am so proud to be a part of this show, now in its 28th year. It is Canada’s largest collection of custom vans and pickups in Canada. Meeting the pickup guys and gals and seeing their awesome toys is an absolute wonderful addition to my vanning lifestyle.
If you are in the area, be sure to by on Saturday for the show. June 7th is the show date. You will be glad you did.
It really is all about the People
The vans are beautiful. Their creators are what make vanning a lifestyle. In the 39 years I have been doing this, I have met thousands of people from all over the world. Some come and go, some we have lost, but many started back then, as my friends are still my friends. Some I met in Facebook groups and sought out when at a show. Like Kerstin from Germany, whom I finally got to hug in Ohio.
My friend Andy, who came all the way from England to come to Vanfest. It was so very nice to hug him in person.
Some I only see once a year, and only if I drive days to get there. The hugs are sooo worth it, and the journey to get here and back has become a huge bonus in all of it.
New Friends in Texas
How many people can say that they know people all over the world, and if trouble happens, no matter how far away you are, there is someone to help. Even if you do not know them yet, you can meet up and get to know them.
As I did in Texas when I met a group of vanners at a bar while travelling through. How did that happen? My friend Howard from Illinois knew the vanners from Texas and also knew I was coming through. One message and I got an invite to come and play. It was a very fun time, and I can not wait to see them again. Hopefully, this year, we will meet in Minnesota. Fingers crossed!
The moments and memories will stay in my heart forever. The friends and connections that I have made that mean so much to all of us make vanning not just a hobby but a lifestyle.
Thanks for coming along on my Chipmunk Adventure. See you down the road.
Chipmunk
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