We added a high-clearance front winch bumper kit with skid plate and a rear off-road bumper kit with a swing-away tire carrier from Delta, B.C.’s Coastal Offroad. These are purchased as kits and weld- ed together and installed. The front bumper hous- es a WARN ZEON 8-S winch for vehicle recovery duty should we (or someone else) get stuck, two Lightforce Venom 150-mm LED driving lights, and twin ROK 40 flood lights for extra low-light illumination. The Coastal rear bumper/tire carrier houses a full-size spare tire and a jerry can holder. Under the vehicle resides a Long Range America (by Long Range Automotive) 125-litre replacement fuel tank that gives us about 800 km of range—a vast improvement over the factory tank. The welding, wiring, fabricating, and installing was done by Wanderlust Overland in Oregon City, OR who did a brilliant job. Next, we took the Travel Tractor on a trip to Front Runner Outfitters in Agoura Hills, CA. This South African-based manufacturer offers a host of racks ideal for overland travel, including the Slimline II rack which adorns our van’s roof. It’s a great place to stow our Maxtrax traction boards and DMOS shovel, how- ever, we’ve carried lots of other gear up there. When camping we’ll place our Off-Grid Trek 300-watt solar blanket there to keep our electrical things powered up in the backcountry. We upgraded the van’s suspension with adjustable Rancho RS9000XL shocks at all four corners, a set
of Dobinsons heavy-duty torsion bars up front, and heavy-duty custom-wound rear coils springs from Vancouver Island’s Coombs Country Autos in the back. This gave us about 1.5-inches (38 mm) of extra clear- ance and helped compensate for the modification’s extra weight. The last mod was for comfort and convenience, and that’s the Egoé Nestbox Supertramp interior camping setup. You can read more about that in the sidebar. Exploring Oregon and Beyond While our Delica has been a cross-country camper and adventurer, we regularly love to explore our state of Oregon. One recent trip took us to central Oregon along the John Day River. We started with a visit to the scen- ic Painted Hills and John Day Fossil Beds. The hills come alive with a stunning array of colors courtesy of different minerals. The areas surrounding this geo- graphic feature are equally beautiful, too with abun- dant canyons, cliffs, creeks, and rivers. With miles of dirt roads and scenic vistas aplenty, central Oregon is ripe for exploration and adventure. With scads of BLM (Bureau of Land Management) open camping available, you can find a place to pitch a tent, or in our case, park our van, even during the busy summer months. There are primo spots right along the John Day River but be sure to pack insect repellant as the flies and mosquitoes can be abundant. Summers can be hot in that part of the state, but it’s worth a little heat for the spectacular sunsets against the towering hills and winding rivers. There is abun- dant fishing, birdwatching, hiking, and rafting as well. We chose to relax, wade in the river, enjoy the views, and simply take it all in. The Mitsubishi Delica is our adventuremobile of choice thanks to its capability, comfort, compact size, and diesel engine. No, parts aren’t available every- where, but it’s not too bad if you know where to look. Regardless, we love our Delica Space Gear, and it con- tinues to take us on memory-making adventures across Canada and the U.S. Mi
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