Stock Cars, a Van, and Seizing the Opportunity
Stock Cars, a Van, and Seizing the Opportunity Read More »
An Engineer’s First Vandoit Experience
As Vandoit’s Manufacturing manager, I usually spend my days immersed in the details of the Vandoit van upfit: designing panels, programming cuts on CNC machines, scheduling waterjet run time, or fine-tuning the 3D printers. On a recent weekend, however, I got a taste of what it’s like to work in the Vandoit Marketing department.
Because I’m immersed in each van’s details–literally down to the millimeter–I rarely get the chance to zoom out and simply experience our vans. I wanted to make sure that I really get to know our vans as a whole product, as the vehicle that our van owners depend on and enjoy to get them to off-the-beaten-path locations. I thought that putting myself in the shoes of our customers would make me a better engineer and designer, because I’ll experience how the details of what I’m designing really impact our van owners.
A great opportunity presented itself in May: I had planned a 3-day trip to attend dirt track races with my brother, Jason, at speedways in Dubuque, Davenport, and Maquoketa, Iowa. He drives a Late Model dirt racecar in the SLMR East Series, racing approximately 35 times a year. I help sponsor my brother’s racing team with my company, Rick Hahne Calls. He has more than 55 wins to his name over his 25 years of racing.
I talked with the Vandoit Marketing Team about the speedways and the number of race teams and spectators these races would attract, and they agreed it was a no-brainer: If people were there to see stock cars go fast, they’d be just as excited to see a big campervan, upfitted to the nines with everything you need for a weekend of race watching! It was decided: I’d get a Vandoit out to these crowds so they can see what a great product we make. We picked out a LIV model that happened to have a checkered pattern on the vinyl wrap–it’s like that van was made to go see some races!
If You Don’t Take the Opportunity, You Can’t Have the Experience
Friday morning, I was ready to hop in the van and start the drive from Kansas City to Iowa when I got a call from my brother: The Friday night race had been canceled due to rain. I immediately felt like the whole weekend was ruined before it even started. I moped around for a little while, wondering what I was going to do with a van and a lousy weekend ahead of me.
Suddenly, a completely different thought occurred to me: “If you don’t take the opportunity, you can’t have the experience.” And just like that, I changed my perspective and outlook. I had a whole weekend of possibilities ahead of me. This might be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I needed to take full advantage of my time with this van.
My foul mood had changed to excitement, and without any further hesitation, I kissed my wife goodbye, and she asked, “Where are you going?” As I jumped in the van, I replied with a smile, “I don’t know!”
Discovering the Beauty…and Learning Lessons Along the Way
Shortly after I pulled out of the driveway, my son called: He wanted to know if I had seen the Maquoketa River and other beautiful sights in that part of Iowa. After some quick online research, I made the decision to head to Maquoketa to take in the sights and do some exploring. Then I would meet up with my brother and the rest of the race team the next day. I purposely plotted a route that took me on smaller country highways so I could really take my time and enjoy the countryside along the way. I had already packed my fishing gear, so spending some time at a river sounded like a great option.
I knew I wanted to head East and then travel along the Mississippi River as I headed North. The day was perfect and the sky that morning was beautiful. I took the time to take my first picture as I looked out the windshield, lost in my thoughts of random exploring. After a few hours on the road, I made it to the mighty Mississippi, where I happened to come across Lock and Dam #20 on the river in Canton, Missouri. A stretch of the legs was in order, and of course, more pictures as I marveled at the engineering feat I was looking at. It was this moment that I knew I wanted to document this trip and share it with others. From here on out, I was searching for random places to take pictures with my travel partner for the weekend.
With a positive mindset and refreshed purpose, I took off again, wondering what I would find. Slowly, I meandered my way to Maquoketa and found a spot on the map where it looked like I could do some fishing, and it also had a campsite. It was perfect…until it wasn’t. The previous day’s rain had the rivers rushing at a pretty good rate, and the water was very muddy. The lack of fishing did not take away from the area’s natural beauty. I was just so happy to be there and not having any kind of schedule, it made it a non-issue: I would just set up camp and relax and enjoy the view. This is where I ran into a challenge that a lot of new van owners encounter: The campsite I chose was completely full. (It was Memorial Day weekend, after all!) I had to drive to two more before finding a few first-come-first-served spots. I had decided before the weekend even started to expect the unexpected, so I simply enjoyed the treasure hunt of finding a campsite and made a mental note to make reservations ahead of time in the future.
The next day, I had an entire Saturday to explore the area by myself before that evening’s race. The weather couldn’t have been more perfect, so I checked out some additional spots along the river for future plans of returning to fish. The night before, I had driven by Maquoketa Caves State Park, so I went back, parked the van, and hiked in. As I entered the first cave structure, I was in total awe of the natural beauty. One of the first major rock formations was a natural stone bridge surrounded by sheer rock walls that extended to the above forest canopy. Unfortunately, I am not able to eloquently describe it; fortunately, I had a camera. I continued to hike around the caves for about an hour. I would have hiked longer, but I made another newbie mistake: I forgot to carry water! I resolved to come back another time to take in all the beauty. This was definitely one of the unexpected highlights of the weekend.
Throughout the day, the entire weekend, strangers would stop me and ask about the van. I happily opened it up each time so they could take a look inside. When I got to the Maquoketa Speedway that afternoon, the staffer who was grading the racetrack immediately stopped what he was doing, hopped on his four-wheeler, and drove over to where I had parked. He asked to look inside the van, and after a van tour and some questions, he gave me full access to the racetrack, which made a great background for a few van photos.
Race Night!
With Jason and the Hahne Racing team showing up in a couple of hours, I decided I would take a short nap and rest up for the night of racing ahead of me. The accommodations of the van made for a very comfortable rest, and I awoke energized for the night. Once the team arrived, I was able to pull up next to them in the pits, and we got to work unloading the car and doing all the pre-race cleaning and maintenance. The first order of events was hot laps, which is when the drivers get to go onto the track at speed, check the track and car conditions, and make adjustments to get ready for timed qualifying, followed by heat races. Qualifying and heat races set your position for the feature race, and on this night, we were lucky enough to qualify and race well enough in the heat race; we did not need to go to a B-main. We finished the night with a top 10 finish, and with this crowd, any time you can break the top 10, we call it good. After the races, we socialized in the pits with the other racers and teams until it was time for bed. Being able to walk back to the van and sleep instead of driving through the night was a very nice change and made me appreciate the van that much more.
In the morning, I enjoyed the sunrise from behind the van’s Bug Wall and made coffee for the entire race crew before we all made our way to Dubuque for the next race. My 10-year-old niece asked to go with me on an errand to the auto parts store once we got there–not because she wanted to spend time with her cool Uncle Rick, necessarily, but because she thought the van was so cool.
A Joy-Filled Victory
The crowning moment of the weekend came that night at the Dubuque Fairgrounds Speedway. The racetrack sits comfortably nestled into the bluffs along the Mississippi River; it’s a picturesque site in itself. Jason qualified 7th fastest overall out of 30 Late models, which had him starting in the 7th position in his heat race, where he finished 5th. With the help of some very difficult math points accumulated through qualifying and passing points, he started on the pole (1st position) for the feature race. As the race started, it was a drag race to the first corner: the nerves and anticipation of starting in the pole position started an emotional rollercoaster. Just because you start in the first position, it does not mean you will end there, and actually, the odds are against you. But as the race progressed, I remained optimistic and held my breath.
The first 15 laps were caution-free, and Jason led every one of those laps, then the first caution came out. Again, the nerves creep in, as sitting in the catbird seat is not always the best spot. Another restart brought on a series of challenges from some very skilled drivers. With 10 laps to go, I started thinking we could really do this. I started looking for a path to victory lane where we would celebrate…But I forced myself to keep those thoughts suppressed so I did not jinx it. But tonight it didn’t matter–we had the car to beat, and at the end of 30 laps I watched my brother take the checkered flag! Overcome with joy, I ran to the flagstand, waiting to cross the track and celebrate with the team. After the win, the whole team was overjoyed–everyone exchanged hugs and laughs as we celebrated Jason’s win, hoisted the trophy, and took pictures. It was an epic end to a great adventure, and one I won’t forget soon!
The Drive Home & Reflections on Vanlife
After the Dubuque race, it was time to part ways. My brother and team drove back home that night; I drove a couple of hours while I was still coming down from the excitement. When I was ready to wind down for the night, I parked at a conservation area. I felt a little nervous about camping by myself for the first time in a remote location, but my nervousness soon fell away as I set up the bed and fell asleep.
As I woke up the next morning and drank my coffee in the van, looking out the slider door at the beauty, I reflected on what a great experience the van camping weekend had been. I realized I had a sense of relaxation and peace I haven’t experienced in a while. There had been so much freedom to take a break from the usual busyness and take my time enjoying the journey and its destinations. I made one more stop on my way home: the famous bridges of Madison County. But the van caught some people’s eye more than the bridges did; I gave a few more van tours while enjoying the area.
My takeaways from my maiden van voyage? A van is way more fun than a tent–and way more comfortable. It was really nice to have amenities with me, particularly power for my CPAP machine, so I could sleep safely and comfortably. I was able to bring almost all of my food in the Dometic cooler and prepare it in or just outside the van. The van’s layout was comfortable and efficient–I was able to find everything I needed when I needed it. Turning the fan on at night to circulate air was perfect for sleeping, and I used the Espar heater to take the chill off during the cold early morning hours.
Even though I had spent the weekend away, I couldn’t turn off my engineer’s brain: I thought of several product design improvements I’m looking forward to doing some R&D on! Until then, I will be dreaming of my next adventure and where it will take me.
I’m so grateful I was able to experience what our van owners get to experience. It gave me a rejuvenated sense of pride in the work all of us here at Vandoit are doing. We build people’s dreams and turn them into reality. So if you ever had the thought of buying or renting a van to go travel and experience parts of the country while living the van life, don’t hesitate–just Vandoit!
