What to Know About baT Success Story: Marshmallow in the Desert
BaT member Pdigwig took his family on a camping trip on the way home from picking up the EuroVan Winnebago Camper that he won from ovdays in an August 2025 BaT auction, and he wrote in to tell us about it:
After winning the auction on August 4, I contacted the owner, Richard, and asked if he could store the EuroVan Camper until I could fly from Detroit to Tucson to pick it up. He kindly agreed and moved the van to a storage area, where he kept it until October, when I finally had time off. It had been sitting for two months when my wife, our oldest daughter, and I flew into Phoenix to begin our journey home in Marshmallow, the EuroVan Winnebago Camper. We landed, rented a car, and drove down to the storage area near Tucson.
Knowing the potential weak points of the EVC, I had shipped out a small arsenal of supplies: tools, duct tape, wire, two-part epoxy, and other essentials. The package was waiting in an Amazon drop box nearby. I also packed an OBD-II scanner in my luggage to monitor the van on the drive back.
These vans are notorious for high transmission temperatures and failures, so I wanted to be prepared. Richard had addressed the transmission with an external cooler, but we were both curious to see what the OBD reader would show. After a quick “how-to” lesson from Richard on the camper’s equipment, we pointed Marshmallow back toward Phoenix. There, we picked up camping gear—lawn chairs, frying pans, and the like—and stopped at the grocery store for food and water. With that, we were ready for the 2,800-mile trip home.
Of course, being in a camper so close to the Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef, Monument Valley, and the Rockies, we couldn’t just drive past. We planned to visit the sites. While most people take weeks for such a trip, we only had six days.
Heading north from Phoenix toward the Grand Canyon, we were on a two-lane desert highway when three trucks passed us by in quick succession. The buffeting wind caught the front parcel tray on the van’s roof and ripped it off its mounting points. It sounded like a flat tire, so I pulled over only to discover the broken top. Out came the duct tape that I had packed, and we patched it up right there on the shoulder. That repair held for the entire trip. Not bad for a 27-year-old van with an ABS plastic top that spent its life in the harsh climates of southern Colorado and Arizona. Later that night, I used the two-part epoxy and a plastic food tray to craft reinforcements for the luggage rack.
Despite the looming government shutdown, we camped at the Grand Canyon that night. We raised the pop-top, cooked dinner, made coffee, and enjoyed our first night in the van. The previous owners had clearly done a great job maintaining and upgrading it. Everything worked flawlessly: sink, stove, and refrigerator.
Over the next few days, we camped at Kodachrome Basin near Bryce Canyon and at Goosenecks by Monument Valley. By accident, we even drove the terrifying “Moki Dugway” road. We then enjoyed spectacular views in Colorado, crossed the Continental Divide at Wolf Creek Pass (10,857 feet!) without issue, stopped in Kansas City to visit family, and finally returned to Michigan.
The longest day behind the wheel was about 11 hours, but aside from that first duct-tape incident, the van never missed a beat.
It looks like you all had a blast! Thanks for writing in, Pdigwig.
If you have a Success Story about a car you’ve bought or sold on BaT, please send a few lines and pictures (or a video) to community.content@bringatrailer.com, and we’ll send you a $50 credit to the BaT Gear Store when your story posts to the site.
We love to hear from satisfied BaT buyers and sellers, and a Success Story feature is a great addition to any car’s history when you’re ready to sell.
