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Thu Mar 17, 2011 8:12 pm

My wife and I run a mountain bike event promotions company called Sub-9 Productions (http://www.sub-9.com). You can click on the link to get an idea of the kinds of events that we do.

We use our two Vanagons as part of our business (my accountant thinks I'm nuts). They play a functional role (camping, hauling, shelter, providing ride support), and they also play a marketing role (cool, fun, quirky, different).

I've always looked around The Samba and on the net to see if other people are using Vanagons for business purposes. The most similar business use to ours that I have seen is Coyote Shuttle in Moab (http://coyoteshuttle.com). They use the vans for function and marketing as well, and they are a cycling-related business.

Our most recent event was held last weekend. It is called the Sub-9 Death March (http://www.sub9deathmarch.com/). It's a self-supported ride, but we use our passenger van to roam the course as a kind of random mobile support vehicle. We give out important things like water and power food, but we also give out other staples like Tecate and Funyuns. Needless to say, our events are a bit unconventional, but really fun.
Here are some pics:

Here's our Westy set up for event registration at our Fall event, The Brown County Breakdown, which attracts over 600 mountain bikers from all over the Midwest and further flung locales.

We also run one of the largest and longest-running women's mountain bike clinics in the US, and one of the only "Super D" mountain bike gravity races in the Midwest.

I'd like to extend an invite to any Vanagon owners on The Samba to join us at any of our events. Vanagons are a purposeful and unique part of all of our events, so it would be great to see more of them there. If any of you decide to join us, drop me a PM, and I'll make sure that you get VIP treatment, free entry into the event and free camping. For certain events like the Death March where I need Vanagon-based mobile support I am willing to pay for gas and cash to make it worth your time. If you're into camping, bikes, the great outdoors and talking to cool people about your van, then you might just like to join in on the fun.

I'd like to close this post by saying that it really wouldn't have been possible to do this without The Samba and the wonderful people that reside here. You have helped us out in countless ways over the last few years. A heartfelt thanks. It's really cool to make our living while utilizing these vehicles as an important part of our business.

Cheers,
Jonathan and Tania Juillerat

Thu Mar 17, 2011 8:19 pm

bicyclers are a strange breed, and fit in fairly well in the Type-II VW crowd...

congrats and wishing successful returns on your efforts.

Dan

Thu Mar 17, 2011 8:23 pm

danfromsyr wrote: bicyclers are a strange breed, and fit in fairly well in the Type-II VW crowd...

congrats and wishing successful returns on your efforts.

Dan

You know, there is some similar quirkiness to both crowds (which I very much enjoy). However, thank goodness the VW van crowd isn't into tight, ugly lycra.

Thanks for the kind wishes.

Thu Mar 17, 2011 8:51 pm

Nice pics. Here in the NW, it is typical to see several Westies and Eurovans at MTB and 'Cross races. Not as race/ride support vehicles, but folks have figured out that a westy can be a great place to hang out in, change in and out of bike clothing and generally escape the weather (especially during 'cross season).

The closest I will get to Indianapolis will be Louisville in January 2013 - probably as a spectator.

Thu Mar 17, 2011 10:20 pm

I used to be a factory sales rep and I used my Syncro as my work van. My territory was BC and Alberta so it got around. I hauled all my samples in it and used it for my accommodations as well. Co-workers and customers thought that I was nuts, especially when they found out that sometimes I would skip the campgrounds and 4x4 somewhere to a lake, which I used as a bathtub even though it was about 16 degree Celsius water(don't worry I used biodegradable soap).

Thu Mar 17, 2011 11:09 pm

I use mine for work in construction. People look at me a little funny until I explain that it hauls 2000# of tools and materials while still averaging 17mpg. My chevy 1/2 ton only gets 11mpg when it hauls my trailer. This van is my DD weekender, I have a tin top I bought at an insurance auction that will hopefully become my full time work van by summer. The van is wide enough to haul full sheets of plywood or sheetrock laying flat plus all tools I need.

Hans

Fri Mar 18, 2011 6:17 am

hdenter wrote: I use mine for work in construction. People look at me a little funny until I explain that it hauls 2000# of tools and materials while still averaging 17mpg. My chevy 1/2 ton only gets 11mpg when it hauls my trailer. This van is my DD weekender, I have a tin top I bought at an insurance auction that will hopefully become my full time work van by summer. The van is wide enough to haul full sheets of plywood or sheetrock laying flat plus all tools I need.

Hans

x2 for 10 years as a custom home builder.
Loved it!
This experience propelled me into Subaru swaps and beefing up the vans.
Look at me now.
www.insyncro.com

dylan

Fri Mar 18, 2011 6:39 am

I'm interested in getting a basic hardtop for my next work rig (general contractor). There are a couple vans I see at the lumberyard, and a doka.

I've also seen around here a decent looking one, blue, SA grill, ladders on top, with a chimney sweep logo on the side!

Our camper, however, is not going to become the work rig!

Fri Mar 18, 2011 7:08 am

1987 westy 2.1 manual. I use my van in my real estate business as a daily driver. I also use it in my clock and radio business. I go to several car shows a year. Use my van as a backdrop at the shows and also stay in it during the shows. It is amazing how much attention the van gets at a carshow. The van holds all of my equipment and supplies and I save money by not having to go to a motel at night. I install quartz movements in old car clocks and convert old car radios to AM/FM 180 watt 4 speaker systems. It is nice to pack up Saturday night, sleep in the top bunk, get up Sunday morning, drop the top and start driving home.

Fri Mar 18, 2011 7:34 am

You guyz have me seriously wanting to escape my cubicle for a life of freedom and uncertainty.

Fri Mar 18, 2011 8:16 am

My wife and I run a software development and technical writing consulting company http://marionette.ca. This summer we are taking the van on the road for three months while we work.

We will be working 5 or more hours a day and then travelling the rest of the time, weekends will be for recreation.

We are going down the West Coast to San Francisco for a conference, the van will go to GoWesty for a 2.3l engine during the conference. Then we head across the states to Newfoundland, Canada to visit some friends and then back home.

We have lived in the van for long stretches at a time before (6 months during a year long sabbatical in 2007) so we know we can do it. And we took a test trip to Bali for a family wedding where we worked and played to see how it would go, and it went very well.

So the van will be our mobile office :-)

Gregor

Fri Mar 18, 2011 1:22 pm

Anyone use their vannie as a rolling billboard? I saw one for sale (in GA I think) that had one of those wraps on it for a business.

I was curious if anyone ever offered to wrap their van for money like letting some business pay you to drive around with their "billboard" on your unique and eye-grabbing vehicle.

I had an idea to offer this up to a specific outdoor activity center in exchange for free access...but I have to get a van first :)

Fri Mar 18, 2011 1:28 pm

Funny you bring that up...I was kicking around a wrap on my Ford van to have one side a split window bus, the other side a bay window bus and the front & rear a VANAGON wrap!

Fri Mar 18, 2011 1:47 pm

I use my Syncro Doka for work every day. I am a Plasterer and it is perfect for the job, especially when the whole of London comes to a stand still in less than 1" of snow in the winter and I just rock up eating a bacon sandwich in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other all casual like wondering what all the fuss is about. I even find time to scratch my nuts while ringing my customers door bells when they expect me not to turn up because of the "harsh conditions" No chance I have bacon sandwiches and coffee to buy, and someone has to pay for it :wink:

jed

Fri Mar 18, 2011 1:54 pm

mmmm bacon

Fri Mar 18, 2011 2:21 pm

Perales wrote: mmmm bacon

Dont, I am starving.. Its 9.25pm here and about Bacon sandwich time :lol:

jed