Was reading through the July 2009 4 Wheel & Off-road mag...

[Cobra]

97 did he really chase you down?

[T.Low]

Jack, he loved you're van. And I know your just kidding. Its just like you said, though, he wanted pics in a camping setting. The pic they chose of mine does't really show the lift as much as it shows the over all expedition"ness" of the van, and thats what they were looking for.

If it wasn't for your van being such an eye catcher, we wouldn't have been invited to be in the mag in the first place. Well done.

[97CargoCrawler]

No, but really.....mine was on the cover right?

Next page maybe?

I'm CERTAIN there will be a full spread in next months mag then. Right?

I've got a big RED BUTTON and I 'aint afraid to press it!

[peter]

Congrats, Tom! Awesome

[robertg]

good stuff!

[mdmead]

Picked up the magazine at Borders today. ($6.48 with tax! Yikes! And the subscription card inside offers a year for $10 or two years for $14 with a free hat! But I digress...)

But my point is... After reading all the profiles on 'expedition vehicles', the only logical choice is the Astro/Safari. All of the others are expensive... some crazy expensive! The second cheapest listed was a VW Syncro, and while it 'might' wheel better in stock form... and I'm not conceding that... it has serious flaws with drivetrain strength and is waaaaay underpowered. Compared with the known 'issues' of our vans, an Astro/Safari build is far cheaper. It will be interesting to see if ASV gains traffic and/or we start seeing more off-road Astro/Safari vans on the road.

[T.Low]

Of course, I agree Matt.

In the parking lot of the hardware store today, the best looking Syncro I've ever seen pulled up behind me as I parked my van. He said it was a great looking 4x4 van and I told him I luved his new wheels and BFG ATs, as I'd seen his van around town a lot. He's a mechanic at Roger Jobs Volkswagon. When I asked him if he gets it out into the mountains he admitted no, because he only had 95 hp to begin with, and it was a tired motor needing to be replaced with a v6. The first guy in a VW to even acknowlegde me other than to give me the "Stink eye".

Then I stopped by the VW dealer to check the price of a used '01 VW Eurovan Westy pop top sitting out front. 75k miles, 8 yrs old, for $33,000. 2wheel drive. I think the vanagons look cool, but the Eurovans are just plain sad looking...yuck.

Matt, yours is gonna be bad ass when it drives outta that barn one day. (I know, this is a big ole softball for Petey, and he's gonna hit it outta the park, isn't he!)

[cd0156]

Wow!! How did I miss that?!?! They mention the site too!!

[T.Low]

I finally picked up a copy. Some nice rigs in there. While van researching a couple years ago i found the GoWesty site; not sure the mag got their prices correct ($75k-$125k). Seems to me they were too spendy for me at $40k ish, but whatever.

Jen chuckled at reading the article's byline: by Fred Williams, Photography by Manufacturers and Tom Lowell.

After a year, its still the best van for my needs. Especially after getting out more with different vehicles, I realize more each trip that I made the right choice.

OK, actually I got three copies; One for show & tell, one to put away for whatever, and one to frame the page and hang on my brother in laws garage wall to show my appreciation for his time and effort in helping me.

[mdmead]

Jen chuckled at reading the article's byline: by Fred Williams, Photography by Manufacturers and Tom Lowell.

I caught that too. Hey, nothing wrong with a photo credit in a national mag!

...hang on my brother in laws garage wall to show my appreciation for his time and effort in helping me. :prayer

You are a stand-up guy Tom!

[astrozam]

Snagged my copy yesterday ( the last one on the shelf )

[tinytherhino]

I picked up a copy yesterday as well...also the last one... guess your van was a hit!

[T.Low]

Thanks , and I appreciate the props, but remember what I always say; I'm just the operator/owner. This is a Team ASV T.Low Franchise Van, complete with ASV technical support, and BIL Head Mechanic & Garage. Travelling the Western Overland, Kayak & Mountain Bike circuit since 2008.

[ihatemybike]

Picked up my copy today. Can't wait to get Grumpy lifted and playing too. Hope to have some nice action shots to try and get published.

[BLAZER]

I saw this article the other day whiel searching the mag raacks waiting forthe wife to get done with her book shopping. Make sure you all read the last sentence of hte article and get out there and email them.....amybe they will do an indepth build up of an astro and use some member pics also.