{"id":14908,"date":"2019-05-05T13:18:02","date_gmt":"2019-05-05T19:18:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.skyhinews.com\/?p=57820"},"modified":"2019-05-05T13:18:02","modified_gmt":"2019-05-05T19:18:02","slug":"steamboat-couple-takes-a-28000-mile-road-trip-to-patagonia-in-a-1987-vw-van-nicknamed-koru","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/local-news\/steamboat-couple-takes-a-28000-mile-road-trip-to-patagonia-in-a-1987-vw-van-nicknamed-koru\/","title":{"rendered":"Steamboat couple takes a 28,000-mile road trip to Patagonia in a 1987 VW van nicknamed Koru"},"content":{"rendered":"
Koru carves through a turn below Mexico\u2019s Popocatepetl volcano.<\/strong>
Photo courtesy Matt and Sarah Smith<\/em><\/strong>
Steamboat couple takes a 28,000-mile road trip to Patagonia in a 1987 VW van nicknamed Koru<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Talk about a doozie of a road trip. <\/p>\n

What else would you call a van voyage spanning 21 months, 28,000 miles and 16 countries (to the tip of South America, to be exact)?<\/p>\n

That\u2019s what locals Matt and Sarah Smith returned from last summer, taking their 1987 VW Syncro named Koru from Steamboat Springs to the tip of Patagonia.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was the adventure of a lifetime,\u201d said Matt, who chronicled the trip along with Sarah on their blog kruisinkoru.com<\/a>. \u201cWe gave up our jobs and most of our belongings, living minimally day to day in the van.\u201d<\/p>\n

Driving through Mexico, Cuba, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina and Chile, the point-it-south duo loaded Koru with surfboards, bikes, climbing equipment, camping gear and more, leaving Steamboat in August 2016 and returning in summer 2018.<\/p>\n

They first drove south, climbing 14ers near Salida, before touring Carlsbad National Park, visiting Austin, Texas, and entering Mexico. From there, they hit the Yucatan, stashing Koru in Cancun while taking a quick flight to Cuba. Back in Mexico, they crossed the Sierra Madre Mountains to Mexico\u2019s Pacific coast, stumbling into a Reggae festival in Puerto Escondido and surfing the famed Mexican Pipeline at Zicatela.<\/p>\n

They then surfed their way through Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama. To bypass the roadless, 90-mile Darien Gap, they took a five-day sailing trip through the San Blas Islands while shipping their beloved Koru to Cartagena, Colombia.<\/p>\n

Reunited with their trusty ride, they then climbed, surfed, backpacked and backfired their way through Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia. Finally, they wound their way through the Andes into Argentina, Chile and Patagonia. <\/p>\n

While safety was always a concern, their only trouble occurred in Guadalajara, when thieves broke into Koru and stole a duffel bag containing Matt\u2019s computer as well as a propane BBQ and other items. Afterward, they devised a security system, running a cable between the inside handles of all the van\u2019s doors. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe van was kind of like having a 6,000-pound baby along that you\u2019re always worried about,\u201d Matt said. \u201cYou\u2019re always wondering, \u2018Is he sick? He\u2019s a little noisy today. Is he going to be safe over there for a while?\u2019 It\u2019s hard maintaining a relaxed, care-free attitude unless you know your home is safe.\u201d<\/p>\n

And it wasn\u2019t all glassy surf sessions, epic sunsets and Coronas, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSixty shared square feet can be tight,\u201d he said, adding that messes can be created in milliseconds. \u201cLiving the \u2018van life\u2019 with a partner brings everything front and center whether you like it or not. There\u2019s nowhere to hideout.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dampness came with the cramped quarters.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s also no way to keep things dry or mold-free,\u201d Matt said, adding that while the van didn\u2019t have AC, it did have \u201cthe hardest working fan you\u2019ve ever met.\u201d<\/p>\n

The main takeaway from the journey, Sarah said, is the beauty of the planet\u2019s places and people.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverywhere we visited, the people were kind, helpful and friendly,\u201d she said. \u201cThe trip was about adventure and seeing new places, but we found so much more. We made new friends, laughed and shared with people of all cultures and walks of life.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for breakdowns, the only real one came at the trip\u2019s end as they were readying to ship Koru back to the states from Santiago, Chile.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe literally had the engine blow up five hours from port in Chile on our way home,\u201d Matt said. \u201cWe had it towed and then pushed it onto the container to ship it back to the U.S.\u201d<\/p>\n

When the van arrived in Oregon, Matt and the previous owner replaced the engine to ready it for its next life. They sold it to an Argentine couple, and Koru is heading south once again.<\/p>\n

Editor\u2019s note: Matt and Sarah are now happily back in Steamboat, where Matt works as an analyst at ACZ Labs and Sarah at Steamboat Central Reservations. <\/em><\/p>\n

Inside the ride<\/p>\n

The duo made the journey in a 1987 VW T3 Syncro, the AWD version of the Vanagon.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt had great clearance and a short wheelbase,\u201d said Matt, adding that the rear wheels had a diff-lock and they added some recovery gear \u201cto help on the back roads of Latin America.\u201d<\/p>\n

The heavy lifting on the build was done by previous owner Karl Mullendore, of Westy Ventures, who gave it a 1.9L mTDI \u2014 m for mechanical, meaning no computers \u2014 engine from a 1998 VW Jetta.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was reliable with all the clutter of a computerized engine removed,\u201d Matt said. \u201cAnd we added an instrument gauge cluster to help diagnose any problems.\u201d<\/p>\n

They painted it with monstaliner truck-bed liner to prevent rusting and had Dave Harrison of Vanagonlife<\/a> modify the window and add a custom center console.<\/p>\n

They also upgraded the wheels and added a Trailmaster HD suspension kit for off-road capability and had master mechanic Jonathan Rall, of Bend, Oregon, add a custom front bumper. Dual spares resided on the rear bumper.<\/p>\n

Inside were two sleeping options: upstairs with the top popped or downstairs on the folded out bench. For cooking came a small kitchenette with electric fridge\/freezer, sink, single propane stove and drawer space.<\/p>\n

A 15-gallon water tank pumped through a carbon filter and UV light to purify, while a D2 Espar heater pulled diesel directly from the fuel tank. The electronics were powered by two deep-cycle lifeline batteries with a power inverter. <\/p>\n

For toys, two bicycles stored on the rear bumper, surfboards rode up top, and a Thule box stored camping and climbing gear. Two Pelican boxes carried tools and spare parts with a steel box bolted underneath to house rarely used spare parts.<\/p>\n

Overall, they estimated the van to weigh more than 6,000 pounds. <\/p>\n

via:: Sky-Hi News<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Koru carves through a turn below Mexico\u2019s Popocatepetl volcano.Photo courtesy Matt and Sarah SmithSteamboat couple takes a 28,000-mile road trip to Patagonia in a 1987 VW van nicknamed Koru Talk about a doozie of a road trip.  What else would you call a van voyage spanning 21 months, 28,000 miles and 16 countries (to the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[56],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-14908","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-11 15:36:08","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KRKY Ski Country","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14908","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14908"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14908\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14908"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14908"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14908"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}