About us
A few years ago my girlfriend and I moved from Germany to the awesome city Vancouver, BC on the west coast of Canada. Mainly for work, the lifestyle and the amazing nature.
Growing up as an outdoor fanatic it was clear we want a car where we can go off the beaten track on weekends and for long road trips on vacation. While in Germany there is quite a selection of suitable vehicles, there are not so many choices in Canada (at least in our opinion). Of course you have the Volkswagen Westfalias here as well, but after reading all the little headaches you get with the older (more affordable) models we soon turned away. Also, living in a sustainable matter as good as possible I refused to look at any 6.5l gasoline sucking over-sized trucks/RVs, which a very popular on this continent.
One day we saw our first Mitsubishi Delica van (officially called Delica Star Wagon or Mitsubishi l300) going around town. We were hook right away. The steering wheel on the wrong (sorry “right” :) side, short and compact, 4wheel drive, 2.5 Diesel engine and lots of interior space. That’s it! What a perfect car. After a little bit of research we found a couple dealers in Vancouver and the very helpful Delica Club Canada. A few weeks later we were proud owners of “Dino”.
About DINO
Bought in 2008, our first Delica from 1993 was called “Dino”. Due his age, engraving in the steering wheel and his unique appearance (with the bike rack in the front he almost looks like this guy) we thought it is the perfect name. After using the van for a while we kind of converted the interior to a camper but still were able to carry up to 5 people. It is a great car for extended weekend road trips and even longer trips like we did in 2009 up to the Arctic Ocean. He took us to remote places were I never thought about a camper van could go. After 33.000km the car is still in fantastic shape and I wouldn’t hesitate to do another big road trip. However we are planing something way bigger in the future which needs a totally different approach of how we build the interior and modify the outside.
About DINOEVO
…and found a even better l300 :) We already knew from our experience what it needs to be done differently to the car to make it a perfect long distance overland camper for two people. Without any compromises in multi-usability (city, people carrier, off-road). Purely for travelling in rougher environment with all kinds of features you like to have on an extended trip. We thought about to modify “Dino” again, but in the end we decided against. It’s still a fantastic car for it’s purpose.
With a list of “must-haves” we started our research again, but in the end decided to go with another l300. Mark at Brave Auto International in Japan brought our attention a Delica with all the features* we were hoping to get. After the paperwork was done and a few weeks of shipping, I picked it up at a warehouse in Vancouver.
We still think “Dino” is an appropriate name for a car from 1994 with an bulky shape but obviously it will be an “Evolution” of our first Delica.
*5spd, high-roof, white, limited slip differential, no crystal lights, lifted, low-milage, winter-package, ladder, roof-rack
A photo how we bought him from Japan:
Recent Comments