Delica Canada | Mitsubishi Van Club

Here's my story:
Myself (Mark, AKA Grungle), my girlfriend (Lucy) and another friend (Hannah) arrived in Vancouver in December 2007 from Australia. Being the type of person that I am, Karim at Silk Road Autos had been holding a '92 Exceed for us for about 2 months before we got there.

1992 Delica Exceed
Auto
Crystal-lite roof
105,500km
Dual Batteries
DARK tinted windows
$10,300 or so.

So we set off early in December towards the Rocky Mountains of Alberta looking for a good place to settle for a while. Do some snowboarding, see the mountains in winter, all that stuff. We got to the other side before settling in Canmore (about 30 minutes from Banff), and thats where we've been for the last 6 months. Hannah and I have been working as dog-sled guides (while there was still snow around) and Lucy got a job in a toy store! PERFECT!

But now the story really begins. After a few trips to Calgary and $1000 or so later, we're ready for our "big trip". The aim - to see as much of Canada and the USA in 6 months as is humanly possible. Of course we'll be taking the Delica everywhere. We're planning on camping and hostelling as much as possible, so we're set up with a big tent, a stove and all the other camping essentials. Just need to find an Inverter for the car to run the laptops and we're set.

So this is just an introduction to what I hope will be a very long, very informative story about our trip. From Canmore, we'll go back West to Vancouver Island for a few weeks, then we start driving East until we get to the water. And even then, if there's a ferry, the Delica will be on it.

To give you a basic idea of our "planned" route - we want to be in Vancouver by July 15th, then back through Calgary around mid-August. After that we're looking at Halifax by around September, then into the US by the start of October. New York, Miami, San Diego and back up to Vancouver by December (when our Visas run out and a very well-used Delica will be up for sale).

So if anyone has any helpful hints, things to see, places to stay, things to eat (or not eat) or you just want to say hi, we'd love to hear from you. I'm sure there will be some problems along the way, but as far as the Delica is concerned, between the 3 of us and this awesome community we'll be able to work something out.

Sounds like a blast of a trip. Keep us posted, I am sure we will all help as we can. Good luck.

Josh

Sounds like a great journey.

We'll be heading down & up the westcoast from Vancouver back and forth down through WA, OR and northern CA throughout the summer.

Would be cool to hook up with another Deli down there.

They are an endangered species in the US.

Jesse

Things to eat... while travelling through Quebec make sure to have a big "poutine". Montreal is a great city well worth the detour but Quebec city is even nicer, way nicer.

Loads of place to visit and things to eat, as you go along we'll be suggesting local attractions where you'll be driving by.

Good luck!
David

Ahhhh, poutine!

Thanks for keeping us in the loop - love to live vicariously through those that can make a trip like this happen.
You can't go wrong with staying on the coast heading south. The I-5 is terminally boring - and the deli will like the speeds of the 101 all that much better, and of course the amazing scenery. When you get near Leggett, California - change over to the #1. There too many cool spots along the West Coast to go into too much detail...
Napa Valley's a great spot too - do a good wine tour there if you can.

Other than that - some of my West and Mid West favorites are (mainly national parks - they are awesome...)
Carson City
Joshua Tree
Sequoia(including General Sherman)
Zion
Arches
Monument Valley
Bryce Canyon
Grand Canyon
Sedona
Tombstone Arizona if you like cheezy western towns..it was fun, but a little off the beaten track...might work if you plan to go into the Baja which would be cool too....and I think Mitsubishi parts might even be easier to find in Mexico than USA....but don't quote me on that.

LA sucks as far as I'm concerned......lots of good reasons to head inland before going that far south on the coast...then you can see General Sherman - then maybe Joshua Tree before heading to Tombstone and then Baja!!!!! If you have a good GPS - there is some amazing scenic roads in California way way off the beaten track but still able to get you where you ultimately want to be....avoid the Interstates!!!!

Bottom line is you're going to have fun and see some great stuff no matter what route you take..........good luck!

Oh yeah...and I'm pumped about your trip because I just came back from a 4 state tour an an Ultraglide...12 days riding, 9 buddies, memories to last a lifetime...

Photos show here;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNHyrdMX2Ww

Video here;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSkrBYNeqBM

This one starts out with some of those windy off the track California roads..thank god for handlebar mounted GPS!!!!
All the best and keep us posted!

If you get as far as Nova Scotia, see the Annapolis Valley (very pretty), Cape Breton Island (very rugged), Louisbourg (the beginning of the end for New French on this continent). Then if you're already that far, you might as well see P.E.I. (go across the Confederation Bridge), and hop the ferry over to Newfoundland (never been there myself, but reportedly a nice place).

I like your 'snow' pictures in Kamloops and Canmore - couple of my favourite places.

Thanks for all the ideas guys, they're all going on "the list". We plan on getting across to PEI and Newfoundland - we've been told its worth seeing and we want to get ALL the way across...just to say we've done it.

Haven't looked into a GPS yet, but it might be a worthwhile investment.

Only 25 days to go...!

Good luck in your travels! I am planning a similar 6 month or so, round-north-america excursion in my camper Deli this fall/winter, so keep us all posted as much as you can and maybe we'll cross paths.

If you end up detouring to Edmonton at any point send me a message, you're welcome to camp in my yard or hide out in my basement.

David

WOW! Sounds like a first rate adventure! Good luck, have a blast, and don't forget to send us dispatches along the way!

Hey Fellow Aussie!

Sounds like an awesome trip, make sure we meet up for a beer when you guys are in Vancouver.

I spent 3 summers in Maine, and its an awesome place to visit in the summer. My picks in that area would be

Portland, ME, as its just a really nice town with a good dockside atmosphere.

Freeport, ME - by the time you get to this area, you'll probably need to stock up on cheap clothes etc, and this is the outlet store area of ME, plus it has the Legendary LL Bean, which is worth a trip in itself!

Mt Washington, which I think is in Vermont actually, as its a really good hike to the top (done it twice!), or you can drive to the top. My favourite is to hike to the top and hitch down, or get someone to drive up while you walk it.

Oh, and a bit further afield, but check out the Ben & Jerry's factory in upstate VT... mmmmm...

Thats what sticks in my mind - I'm sure theres a bunch of others, as well as all the usual terrorist attractions. I'm jealous as well! If you have a blog, or even use this thread, make sure you keep us posted :)

Jared

Have you done the inverter yet? We can give you advice, send pm.

We have a thousand watt inverter, mounted behind driver seat, just above the floor, flush against the engine wall. Microwave installed above, sits on the ledge behind the driver seat. Get a low power microwave, ie 700 watts, then just start the engine for the few minutes you actually use the microwave, so you don't drain the battery. Microwave makes cooking so VERY much quicker, cleaner (no pots to scrub, no cooking smells, no camp stoves to set up), and can be done everywhere (in parking lots, road side), and no carrying messy fuel around. We use Xantrex inverters on all our stuff.

But MUST put a 300 amp fuse inline, so you don't catch fire, blow up battery, etc.. Bluesea.com marine supply for 300 amp fuse.

Before using the 12 volt outlet "cigarette lighter" for heavy power, PLEASE rewire with heavier wiring able to stand several minutes of use (as opposed to the short time a lighter is normally on), add fuse. We use marine supply grade for the 12 volt outlets.

We have a small cigarette lighter plug in 75 watt inverter for charging portable electronics.
12 volt kettle, Walmart, ensure lid fits tight so heat while driving and not spill. Installed another 12 volt outlet just inside rolling door for portable cooler, and cuz it's right near battery so less power drain over distance, and can reach to power stuff in back of van.

I try not to have anything plugged in while engine not running, so don't drain battery.

The battery is a single 27 series, stronger than 2 of the 24 series.

If worried, watch for sales on portable jump starter (600 amps) with an air compressor for tires just in case. They often have a 12 volt outlet, and an ac outlet, so can power camp stuff from that.

Cheers, Christine.

Ever since reading of TardisDeli's microwave I've wanted one; but only have a good 750 watt inverter hardwired in for now.

For longer road trips a 12 v lunch box oven is awesome; use prepared meals, or prep your stew, soup, roast, KD on route, plug it in for the desired time and arrive to a ready meal. Like the microwave, its nice after a long day on the road to unwind and just eat with little preparing. When we first used one we prep'ed almost a week of lunches and dinners before hand. Cheap little gizmos.

Hey,

Your trip sounds great.

If you are interested, we would like to profile your delica roadtrip on our website, www.roadtrippin.com

Let us know,

Thanks

Greg

And we're off!

We've been in Jasper the last few days, staying just outside of town (with about 600 other people in the "whistlers" campground). The delica has been great, it's loaded TO THE ROOF and we haven't had any problems at all. A lot of people have been asking about it and we've been getting some funny looks, but its been great.

We've had 3 nights of rain (out of 4 so far) but the tent seems to be holding up pretty well and the van isn't leaking.

So we've got 1 more night here, then 1 night in Wells Grey (sp?) national park, then we're in Vancouver for a week or so before heading to the Island.

The cheap inverter (can tire) is working well, the cheap GPS (ebay) is working really well, and apart from a bear walking past our tent at 10pm a couple of nights ago we haven't had a care in the world. For some reason there's something quite relaxing about the prospect of being homeless and unemployed for 6 months...

I'll put up some photos when we get to Vancouver.