What would you get for $5000?

[CatCaretaker]

If you were going to come into an amount of cash, around $5000, and you wanted to set yourself up with a wheeled home of your own, what would you choose? Truck camper? Trailer? Tiny home on wheels? Or a classic white van? What's your opinion on the best value for the $$$ at that level?

This would be for some suburban stealth plus probably a lot of camping in nearby mountains and or beach.

 

[Almost There]

In that budget range there's really  not a lot of choice.

Yes, you can get a truck camper for that price but you'll have to already have the pick up truck, same with a trailer. Tiny Home is out of the question I think.

The only thing I know of in that price range is a cargo/passenger van.

 

[tx2sturgis]

Suburban stealth?

In a truck camper or trailer?

Not sure you can hide those in plain sight.

But a van?

Sure can.

 

[CautionToTheWind]

$5k the total budget for buying and a lot of time to find one; decent mileage cargo/conversion van or mini van. Low priced trailers can be found although somewhat a fixer upper.

 

[user 423]

With at least $2k set aside for an emergency repair fund, really the only choice would be a van. With a $3000 van, you will more than likely need that fund unless you can do the majority of your own repairs.

 

[MrNoodly]

This would be for some suburban stealth plus probably a lot of camping in nearby mountains and or beach.

The ultimate in suburban stealth is a minivan. You can pick up good ones for less than $5k. Not that great for dirt mountain roads, though.

However, if the 'burbs in question are populated buy people who own a lot of recreational gear, then your options for vehicles that blend are greater.

But you're going to want something large enough for two people to live in comfortably. A standard van is barely enough room. Meanwhile, something like a truck camper or truck and trailer means buying a truck and a camper/trailer, and poof, your budget is blown.

 

[jonsun]

Do you have to work for money? How much is your gas budget?

If you're tight for gas but dont need to work a Pop-up and used minivan or SUV.

If you have to work for income an older class C.

 

[CatCaretaker]

In that budget range there's really  not a lot of choice.

Yes, you can get a truck camper for that price but you'll have to already have the pick up truck, same with a trailer. Tiny Home is out of the question I think.

I have a truck, a '99 Ford F150. A truck camper or trailer would have to be pretty lightweight.

 

[CatCaretaker]

Do you have to work for money? How much is your gas budget?

If you're tight for gas but dont need to work a Pop-up and used minivan or SUV.

If you have to work for income an older class C.

Yes, I'll be working. I am not far from rural areas where I work tho, so if I did end up with a truck camper or trailer, I wouldn't necessarily have to stealth it in the suburbs.

 

[skyl4rk]

Dodge Grand Caravan

 

[jonsun]

Yes, I'll be working. I am not far from rural areas where I work tho, so if I did end up with a truck camper or trailer, I wouldn't necessarily have to stealth it in the suburbs.

older class C all the way, or TT whatever. you'll want the shower and the room will be nice. The F150 will pull quite a good size unit. But IDK about leaving a TT parked somewhere while you work.

as for price umm generally when gas is high small TT's and stuff are more expensive than big ones. Waiting until fall you'll generally find better deals. Right now the prices are pretty high.

 

[bullfrog]

A single person has a lot more options than a couple or family, but even a single person with $5,000 would have to continue to work to build an emergency fund. Lots of people here do it with almost nothing starting out but need lots of help to become self sufficient and a lot of it depends on how much you can do on your own. Keeping your truck and building a camper or camper trailer is something Bob and Lew have done and by continuing to work and living simply with help from the people here and on the net you can do really well. If you continue to learn and grow your skills you can do great things but if you feel it is too big a step, one person in a mini van isn't that hard and more stealthy as a temporary solution. All of us struggle with not having as much room as we would like and still being able to still travel and park where we want. An older trailer will require more fixing and a small cargo trailer building out. Either work but as you said weight can become an issue. Lots of choices it just depends on you and what you feel you can do.

 

[Ken in Anaheim]

I'd think a used cargo trailer would give you the most options.....................(?)

 

[DLTooley]

If you are comfortable with your truck, keep that. My set up is in Ranger under a canopy. That was enough for me, with a storage unit - but I was NOT doing suburban stealth.

Trailers have issues you won't find in a cargo van. I don't know weight limits for your vehicle, but that info should be available and a test drive at some point would be wise for a number of reasons. A bare cargo trailer should be in vicinity of 1k (I'm guessing). I'm an advocate of starting out simple and building a system based on use and need, but there are lots of ways to do it. A used cargo box for your pickup body is probably also doable.

 

[user 37446]

I have a truck, a '99 Ford F150. A truck camper or trailer would have to be pretty lightweight.

A today CL ad had this:
[font='Bitstream Vera Serif', 'Times New Roman', serif] [size=large][font='Bitstream Vera Serif', 'Times New Roman', serif]_______1996 Elkhorn cab over ________ - $4000 (Signal butte&and university)[/font][/font][/size]

[font='Bitstream Vera Serif', 'Times New Roman', serif][size=large][font='Bitstream Vera Serif', 'Times New Roman', serif]But the pics show the data plate where it weighs 2,050 pounds dry. 8 footer without a bath. That's too much weight for an older F150 to safely carry. People routinely violate their payload numbers by using overload springs or air bags but it's not smart for constant usage.[/font][/font][/size]

 

[user 37446]

Attention bargain hunters, go to the Phoenix Craigslist RV listing with a dollar limit of $5K, click on surrounding areas tab, and you'll find over a dozen newer, clean travel trailers, class C's etc for only $2,000!  What a bargain!  Funny, there's just a single picture though, and no information other than age and year...  But it's on the internet so must be true! 


I'd like to have the time to tweak these scammers' noses but don't even want to bother. I thought there was a way to notify CL of fraud, but don't see a button... Oh, upon further searching, here it is. I'll start using the "prohibited" button now...

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[Grizzly708]

A today CL ad had this:
[font='Bitstream Vera Serif', 'Times New Roman', serif] [size=large][font='Bitstream Vera Serif', 'Times New Roman', serif]_______1996 Elkhorn cab over ________ - $4000 (Signal butte&and university)[/font][/font][/size]

[font='Bitstream Vera Serif', 'Times New Roman', serif][size=large][font='Bitstream Vera Serif', 'Times New Roman', serif]But the pics show the data plate where it weighs 2,050 pounds dry. 8 footer without a bath. That's too much weight for an older F150 to safely carry. People routinely violate their payload numbers by using overload springs or air bags but it's not smart for constant usage.[/font][/font][/size]

The one thing people don't consider when doing springs or airbags is their wheel bearings.  My late father in law and 2 brothers in law (from Michigan ) did overload springs and a truck camper to go to wyoming Elk hunting.  Burned up wheel bearings once there and were 35 miles from anything . It was before cell phones existed.....long walk.

 

[jonsun]

Attention bargain hunters, go to the Phoenix Craigslist RV listing with a dollar limit of $5K, click on surrounding areas tab, and you'll find over a dozen newer, clean travel trailers, class C's etc for only $2,000!  What a bargain!  Funny, there's just a single picture though, and no information other than age and year...  But it's on the internet so must be true! 


I'd like to have the time to tweak these scammers' noses but don't even want to bother. I thought there was a way to notify CL of fraud, but don't see a button... Oh, upon further searching, here it is. I'll start using the "prohibited" button now...

Flags and Community Moderation

craigslist users self-publish tens of millions of free postings each month, subject  to the CL terms of use (TOU).

CL users flag postings they find to be in violation via the "prohibited" link at the top of each posting.

Free classified ads sufficiently flagged are subject to automated removal.

Postings may also be flagged for removal by CL staff or CL automated systems.

Millions of ads are removed by flagging monthly, nearly all of which violate the CL terms of use.

Of course no moderation system is perfect, and a small percentage of ads removed are compliant.

Flagged postings that comply with the TOU may be reposted, reworded as necessary.

For help from CL users regarding flagging, visit flag help forum, and follow the instructions there.

Funny or memorable postings may be nominated for "best of craigslist" via the "best-of" link.

I bought my last two campers off craigslist one listed for $600, the other for $3000. both of them exactly as described. I sold the first one on craigslist.  IJS...the word bargain hunters seems like you don't think there are tons of clean, nice, real RV's for under $5k on CL. Excuse me if Im wrong here.

 

[ArmorAbby]

For $5,000 that's a little more than what I started with.
I got so annoyed with Craigslist and other outlets trying to find a van... I even had a psycho who wouldn't stop texting me and even called a few times after I contacted him for a van.....
Prices ranging as low as $800 upwards to the few grand that I had....
I ended up getting a van making payments with a dealership I found on Craigslist... I still work full time and stay local on work days for now. So I'm not terribly concerned about payments... and I haven't decided yet if I'm happy with making payments having a van I'm more confident in... or if I should have gotten a cheaper van and saved for a break down fund.
But the very first week I had it the water pump broke. Since it came with a two-year warranty they immediately fixed it and I was pretty relieved about that. I also got lucky cause it's a 1998 that was very well kept and only had 60k miles...
So my two cents... be patient.. shop around... and hopefully then when you make your decision, you'll be confident in your choice and that's how you'll know you're making the right decision.

 

[Cheli]

Sorry but I read that real quick and thought it said what would you DO for $5k, and I'm thinking at this point a lot. hahahaha

There's a lot of great advice here and it's helpful to know because I'm finally moving out of my apartment to save for the next couple of months and will be on a tight budget for a vehicle as well.