GRAND HAVEN, Mich. -- Call it a cosmic connection: A man developed a bond with his trusted van while traveling across the country in it. That is, until the Volkswagen Joe Henderson called Moontower caught on fire earlier this month in West Michigan, leaving him without a ride and without a home.
There was a lot of history in that van. Its previous owner took it on tour with the Grateful Dead. Henderson didn't just use Moontower to get from point A to point B like many do. The two of them experienced life together.
"It was my friend, it was my best friend," Henderson said.
When Henderson first saw Moontower, it was a rundown rusted wreck in someone's backyard in Denver. He spent all his time and money restoring and modifying it.
"Ate a lot of Ramen noodles for a year to get this thing going," he said.
Henderson says he put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into bringing Moontower back to life, and even equipped the van with a refrigerator and solar panels. He says his friend came up with the van's name from the movie Dazed and Confused.
He toured across the country in the van, making each stop a new home and new life experience.
"All the experiences I went through, just really changed my life and made me find out who I was," Henderson said.
The adventure ran into trouble Aug. 3 going to Grand Haven. Moontower's engine was running hot, and when Joe pulled over it exploded in flames.
Henderson lost everything in the van fire, but his friends are helping him get back on his feet. Thursday night they held a 'Jammin for Joe' concert fundraiser.
Henderson says he knows life won't be the same without his four-wheeled best friend, but he knows he has to move on and continue on the road of life. This weekend, he's going to look at another Volkswagen van.
He says it's another fixer-upper and he already has a name for it: Phoenix Moon.
Henderson started a GoFundMe page to help with restorations with the new van
