We Drove 800 Miles for THIS? Boondocking in California

VAN LIFE VLOG: Ep: 40 // We are off to find cooler temps! We leave 110 degrees and find 70 degrees . We start out in Huntington Beach, California and after some more van breakage we head up to North Fork California to camp and visit Hillary's family.
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Timestamps:
0:00 Where are we going?
1:22 more breaking things in the van
2:22 We named out van!
3:59 We have a water leak!!!
5:24 Heading to North Fork, California
5:44 We found the PERFECT campsite!
8:17 Catching (NO) fish
12:03 Off the find Manzanita Lake
12:45 We found a hot tub!
15:02 About DAM time
17:30 Kayaking Manzanita Lake
WHO ARE WE?
We are Bob and Hillary, from Chandler, AZ. While we love living in Arizona we are not going to lie...the summers are brutal! So since both our boys are now in college we decided it was time to buy a #van and travel! We originally thought we would build one out. But after the past 2 years we realized that prices went up and things were hard to find. So much is on back order. So we did the next best thing! We bought one completely finished and ready to go!
What is our WHY? Why do we want to share it with you? The biggest reason is we have had some hard times and lost very dear people in our life which has caused us to want to make the most out of every moment we are given! Our goal is to inspire everyone to chase their dreams no matter their age and season of life, to help people see the behind the scenes of a couple doing that very thing! And if we can help you achieve your very own home on wheels that's icing on the cake! #vanlife #travelvlog #vanlifecouple #vanvlog

[@jim-uu2db]

Love that name. So much positive enthusiasm. Always with a smile. Bob you amaze me.

[@Vancaskeys]

Thank you!

[@tinaklingseis1012]

Omg, I love this video Hillary!!! I love campsite, and seeing your family together 🥰

[@Vancaskeys]

Thanks Tina!

[@stevenstark5650]

What a nice trip with your lovely and fun-loving family. Thanks for taking us along!

[@hideawayhomesllc5103]

Maybe the van should be named "Lemony Snicket" - and the series of unfortunate events!

[@Vancaskeys]

Yes!! Love this idea!!!

[@vicki9929]

It’s called “Glamping” and that’s what we do too! 😉

[@Vancaskeys]

😂 yes!

[@bizpo1286]

You made the most of it! Looks like some great memories!

[@Vancaskeys]

Thank! It was!

[@AlfredandLinda]

I have to say i admire your positive attitude even if everything is falling apart in the fan 🏕️

[@Vancaskeys]

Thank you! We love our van and just want to see it all fixed!

[@bigrobsvan]

Bummer about the leaky water issue, but glad to see you all made the best of it. What a fun trip and reunion!

[@Vancaskeys]

Yes! Big bummer but we did get it fixed! It was a great trip!

[@dwoodygura]

Great video. Loved that your son had on his knit cap in the summer heat. So typical.

[@Vancaskeys]

LOL! Always doesn’t matter if it’s 100° he will be wearing it 😂

[@cj9667]

A family reunion in Cali…how awesome and fun is that? Have a great time! Beautiful country indeed! How long are you there for? Catching no fish is fun as well! That potato salad looked marvelous…almost got myself a helping on the close up! Sorry about the van…alternator is too new to be doing that. Does the battery light icon on the dash go on and off while you are driving? Check the belt..tension. Easy peasy socket wrench fix. The water issue might be a loose screw tension clip! Heads up chin out…making memories with the family is priceless. Safe travels!

[@marsham3331]

What a fun family! ❤️ Beautiful country! The Van? I admire your patience with it all. Big learning process. Love the video! Great editing, love the music.

[@Vancaskeys]

Thanks Marsha!!! You are so sweet! ❤️

[@timwoody3835]

The most interesting lake in the sierras is Hume Lake It is the first multiple arch concrete dam ever built. At one time it was used to provide water for a lumber mill and a flume to transport cut lumber down the mountain. It has a national forest campground, a Christian camp at one end of the lake, and several houses spread around the lake opposite the campground.

[@allankawakami]

That place looks awesome! Keep the videos coming, I enjoy watching your journey!

[@Vancaskeys]

Thanks Allan! We appreciate you!

[@leilei4210]

I always enjoy watching your adventures!!

[@Vancaskeys]

Thank you! This means a lot to us!

[@Hsia_Travels]

Oh no, the QA control is terrible. Hope you resolved the issue.. How long did they take to replace the Sliding door window? For me, Ford sent a broken window from shipping (took 2 weeks), so my baby will be in the shop for another 2 weeks. 😭 Where is this Boondock location, Manzanita Lake, Lassen National Park? We took a trip to Marion Mountain Campgrounds last week and at 6500 ft above sea level, the weather is a bit cooler but very dry (I think California mountains are dry overall, hence the wild fires). And.. about the kids -non stop complaining about No internet? Bugs? lol... (I'm close to Carlsbad area, San Diego) can't wait to see your video then!

[@Vancaskeys]

The door is still not completely fixed...still working on it...update video coming soon. Sorry you have to wait 2 more weeks😭 The location was about 2 miles up the road from Manzanita Lake. How fun that you are close to the Carlsbad area! We love it there!

[@Hsia_Travels]

@@Vancaskeys 1 mile, 5 miles from the beaches, problem with San Diego is that there are no place to boondock your camper unless you want to pay $75-$300 for the camp grounds and takes about 1 year to reserve or take a chance and get a knock in the neighborhood (best to travel 5-8 miles away from beaches to "park overnight")

[@esthers5772]

Beautiful family memories. Thanks for taking us along. Re Mr. Lemon, I have a different van but my understanding is that you are not supposed to run the coach ac when not plugged in or running generator.

[@Vancaskeys]

Aww thanks Esther! Thanks for the heads up! We are such newbies lol

[@npwalker6780]

I think Bob said he has a lithium system? Depending on how massive it is, he may be able to run the ac on the road. Bob, your boys are troopers! Cheers.

[@Vancaskeys]

@@npwalker6780 yes, it’s a lithium system! They are!

[@travelingjaneatte9220]

Hi we have a new jayco LI swift and had a similar issue, climb up to the panals and see if you have a switch might be hard to find it needs to be ‘on’ they ship them in the off position It’s a learning challenge with these, we have no propane no generator in ours….. good luck

[@Vancaskeys]

Awesome1 Thanks for this advice. We will try it.

[@lizdc1]

Last year my Winnebago Solis PX was draining Bywater tank in like a day. The water was coming under the van. What it turned out to be was the filter basket on the water pump was a quarter turn loose. The vibrations just shook it out of place. Not sure where your water pump and filter basket but it is a place to check. It can easily cause a leak. One myold little guy max teardrop the same filter basket cracked. I carry a spare water pump filter basket. They are like $10 on Amazon. Hope you figure it out.

[@Vancaskeys]

Oh my gosh...this is what happened to us. Once we checked it and tightened it it worked great! Thanks for the awesome idea. We will have to get that too!

[@lynnknight3652]

Beautiful family, they look like a lot of fun.

[@Vancaskeys]

Thank you!

[@darrisfriend6847]

You guys are so positive even after all the problems with the Thor RV. Would you buy another Thor product in the future?

[@Vancaskeys]

Haha! We try. Yes I think we would. We love our Van. Having the issues has taught us so much about the quality of RVs and that it’s a problem with lots of manufacturers. But truthfully our next van we will build it out on our own 😂

[@martykong3592]

:) Great share, video, and FAMILY!!!! Sorry for more Van / Camper issues :( Makes me wonder if it's not Mr. Lemon, but others may be having same issues with lack of quality / control as they push these units out... ALL THE BEST and Cheers!

[@Vancaskeys]

Thank you!

[@Annettedinardo]

Looks fun! I’m curious about the water leak. Where was it coming from? Seems Thor just put together those vans willy nilly. I’m thankful our 18T has only had very minor issues. Nothing is going to stop you guys from your cool adventures tho 😎 We are in Ventura if you pass by wave at me 🙌Happy trails!!! 🥰

[@Vancaskeys]

Sorry for no water leak update...once we were able to take our bed out and look at the water tank we noticed the nozzle wasn't completely on so we tightened it and it is great now. (sorry if this doesn't make total sense, this is Hillary trying to explain it lol) We loved our 18t! Happy travels to you!

[@miss.kimpossible]

Hey you were in my neck of the woods! Suuuuper hot here. Hope you missed it! ❤️

[@Vancaskeys]

We did miss the hot weather! Just barely. The week before it was in the 90s and week after lol...it was in the 70s when we were there.

[@miss.kimpossible]

@@Vancaskeys Ohhhhh yayyyyyyy!!!!

[@cj9667]

Heads up..Wildfire in Mariposa County

[@Vancaskeys]

Oh wow! Thanks!

[@marshallallied]

Mr. Le' Mon. 😁

[@Vancaskeys]

Haha! Yep!

[@marshallallied]

I gotta say your experience with the Tellaro/Sequence is really making me apprehensive about the build quality of Thor. I want a Tellaro/Sequence too. But I'm scared that it might fall apart like yours is doing. I've been considering a used Hymer Aktiv which is where Thor got the idea for the Tellaro/Sequence. Difference being Hymer is German.

[@Vancaskeys]

@@marshallallied Totally get that! Stay tuned...we do get the van fixed soon!

[@rvboondocker2559]

Don’t you have a warranty?

[@Vancaskeys]

Yes, we do. It's not the easiest thing to use sadly.

[@glendaandbill1562]

It’s just like an Rv you always have issues in the beginning

[@Vancaskeys]

Thanks. We had never owned an RV before this and when people tell us this it helps us feel a little better :)

[@giffard3082]

𝐩яⓞ𝓂𝓞Ş𝐦 😞