We call our 1982 Volkswagen Vanagon a "volksvegan" because it is a diesel that my boyfriend modified to run on waste vegetable oil (WVO). This trip has been in the back of our minds since we began looking for a diesel VW over a year ago. Once we finally found one of the rare diesel Vanagons (and my boyfriend drove it from Atlanta, where he bought it, up to Idaho), we immediately began researching and installing a kit from Greasecar that would allow us to run it on veggie oil we collected from local restaurants.

It has been quite a process getting her roadworthy, but after installing a new turbo engine, a second tank and system for the grease, and replacing parts on our old bus bit by bit (including installing the all-important hemp/organic cotton pop-top canvas), we are finally ready to hit the road for the ultimate test of this experimental sustainable fuel.

Now, I'm no scientist, and I'm certainly no mechanic, but here's my understanding of how WVO works… WVO is more sustainable than diesel or gas because it is making use of a waste product that would otherwise be thrown away. Also, it is a closed-loop system, like biodiesel, because it is made from plants that help reduce CO2 while creating oxygen. This way, the emissions from burning the WVO (which are much less than normal diesel or gas) are offset by the plants that created the oil.

Any diesel can easily be converted to a WVO car with a little know-how and a conversion kit (bought or homemade). There are several companies that offer conversion kits, and as I mentioned, we got ours from Greasecar. The conversion consists of a second tank for the WVO, an in-line filter as well as a pre-filtering system, and valves that control whether the car is running on diesel or WVO. Just don't ask me how to install it — my boyfriend did all the grunt work! The car must be started on diesel (we use biodiesel in our diesel tank whenever we can get it), and run for just long enough to warm up the WVO until it reaches the same viscosity as diesel. Coolant lines help heat the WVO, and in the summer especially, it usually only takes a bit before we can flip a switch on our dash and start running on WVO.

We have noticed that running on WVO gets us about the same mileage as diesel (for our bus, this is around 30 miles per gallon) and the engine actually runs a bit quieter since the WVO acts as a lubricant. And yes, it does smell like french fries!

After converting our car and learning about WVO, we began planning for the ultimate road trip. We had been wanting to leave Idaho for quite some time, but we weren't sure where we'd like to end up. So we decided to visit the places we were interested in moving to (and do a lot of camping and backpacking along the way) on one big volksvegan adventure. Once the decision was made, we quit our jobs, sold or stored almost all our belongings, and hit the road.

Our first stop was just 300 miles away in Boise, Idaho, where we both grew up (and where my parents were kind enough to offer some storage space and watch my cat for the summer). We quickly ran into a few kinks when our volksvegan overheated because of a coolant hose leak. Once in Boise, we scrambled to fix the leak before heading to Portland for my cousin's wedding. It was a long trip there, because we found out that the coolant reservoir was also leaking! So in Portland, more parts had to be tracked down, and soon the coolant system was fixed. We headed back to Boise (for another wedding!) and stopped in the Mt. Hood Wilderness to camp. Once back in Boise, we took the bus in to a shop because she wasn't starting up very well, and after dealing with a grumpy mechanic who didn't understand the WVO system or want to work on the bus because of it, we finally got some new glow plugs installed and had everything checked out so that it would start up reliably.

We played the waiting game in Boise for a bit, but while we were there, we did find some WVO thanks to a web site called FillUp4Free. Using our mobile pump and filtration system, we're filtering the WVO and now we're really ready to hit the road! Our next stop will be Yellowstone National Park, where we'll meet a friend before heading up through Montana and Glacier National Park to Canada. We'll also be checking out Oregon and Northern California (where we should have no problems finding WVO), although there is no concrete plan. We'll go wherever the WVO takes us!

Unfortunately, since we'll be on the road with an unpredictable schedule, I must take a hiatus from my weekly art & design column here on Green Options. We did start a web site for our trip though, so feel free to follow our journey at volksvegan.org. I'll update it whenever I can, and may even post now and then on Green Options to share what I'll be learning about sustainable travel and green living on the road. Until the volksvegan adventure leaves us settled in somewhere new, happy trails!