Kia Soul ... it can be done

RetiredNomad · Sep 21, 2015

... ok, so I downsized from the E 350 to the "Soul Motel", its been awhile now.
I find its better stealth at wally worlds, front wheel drive & aggressive tires
get me in & out of BLM sites easily and 30mpg is enough for me.
yeah, I fulltime, but I'm retired.
I'm 6'1" 185 & have plenty of sleeping room and Pax [the dog] is 10lbs. so
she takes up little space.
Passenger seat reversed, 105ah battery under glove compartment,19" TV,
sold my solar stuff & dometic fridge, so far haven't missed them.

cyndi · Sep 21, 2015

that's a nice, clean set up. Pax certainlyseems to approve!

TMG51 · Sep 21, 2015

I was confused for a split second. Pax is also the name of a popular vaporizer used for things greener than tobacco.

So why the decision to downsize and abandon solar etc?

akrvbob · Sep 21, 2015

Wow, that really looks good!

What kind of car is it? Oops, says right in the title, it's a Kia Soul. That looks like a really nice set up.

Did you take out the front seat?

I've actually considered making radical changes in my life and towing an economy car with my 1 ton van. I'd live in the van in the winter in the desert, then put it in storage in the summer and travel in the econo car. But I love remote areas and I'm afraid of giving up the ground clearnace.

Has ground clearance been an issue for you?
Bob

sephson · Sep 21, 2015

Last year I did a conversion of my Kia Soul. Whereas yours is more of a full timer setup, mine is still a commuter vehicle that I can convert into a road tripper in about five minutes. I've found that it's a very versatile little car. It's not the best at anything it does, but it does a lot of things.

Here's the thread for my conversion:
https://vanlivingforum.com/Thread-My-Future-Road-Tripper

Oh, and to answer bob's question about ground clearance, it's 6.5 inches and does surprisingly well over some pretty rough terrain.

RetiredNomad · Sep 22, 2015

TMG51 said:
I was confused for a split second. Pax is also the name of a popular vaporizer used for things greener than tobacco.

So why the decision to downsize and abandon solar etc?

... yes, I know that vaporizer , I prefer an old fashioned water pie, in this case Pax is Latin for peace.
I downsized as a challenge to myself -- the older I get the less I need ...

RetiredNomad · Sep 22, 2015

akrvbob said:
Wow, that really looks good!

What kind of car is it? Oops, says right in the title, it's a Kia Soul. That looks like a really nice set up.

Did you take out the front seat?

I've actually considered making radical changes in my life and towing an economy car with my 1 ton van. I'd live in the van in the winter in the desert, then put it in storage in the summer and travel in the econo car. But I love remote areas and I'm afraid of giving up the ground clearnace.

Has ground clearance been an issue for you?
Bob

... thanks Bob, I reversed the passenger seat, it only bolts down in two places but its been enough. I've gotten into some pretty remote areas, however tires [snows in my case] are very important, that and not being totally stupid. Front wheel drive has impressed me and some of the trucks I see out in the boonies. Like you, I'm thinking of making changes in transportation -- another 4x4 -- Tacoma this time, so I can really get lost ... safe travels

RetiredNomad · Sep 22, 2015

sephson said:
Last year I did a conversion of my Kia Soul. Whereas yours is more of a full timer setup, mine is still a commuter vehicle that I can convert into a road tripper in about five minutes. I've found that it's a very versatile little car. It's not the best at anything it does, but it does a lot of things.

Here's the thread for my conversion:
https://vanlivingforum.com/Thread-My-Future-Road-Tripper

Oh, and to answer bob's question about ground clearance, it's 6.5 inches and does surprisingly well over some pretty rough terrain.

... nice job, well done. You're right , it does provide great versatility ... oh, and my car came with a spare/jack -- why not yours?

akrvbob · Sep 22, 2015

Actually, I'm also considering a Tacoma or 4Runner instead. Of course they can go anywhere, but I'm just not sure I'd get as good a gas mileage as I'd want. I want at least 22 on the highway and more is better.

Your 30 is what intrigued me about the Soul.
Bob

sephson · Sep 22, 2015

akrvbob said:
Your 30 is what intrigued me about the Soul.

I'm not sure about RetiredNomad's, but mine is a 2012 model with a 2 liter engine. On my daily commute I average 26 to 27 miles to the gallon when I'm not running the air conditioning, 24 to 25 when I am. Out on the highway I average 30 miles to the gallon at 70 miles per hour.

RetiredNomad · Sep 23, 2015

sephson said:
I'm not sure about RetiredNomad's, but mine is a 2012 model with a 2 liter engine. On my daily commute I average 26 to 27 miles to the gallon when I'm not running the air conditioning, 24 to 25 when I am. Out on the highway I average 30 miles to the gallon at 70 miles per hour.

... I've got a '13 2.0 auto [never use the eco-mode] - 33 mpg @ 60 & 27 'roud town [yes I'm a senior citizen & drive like one , I guess] I'm run'n all snows that are a bit larger than stock tires [205/65/16] when I flog it in the manual shift mode, or as I call it spirited motoring, I can get 25 mpg - thats ok too - for a car you can sleep in ...

RetiredNomad · Sep 23, 2015

akrvbob said:
Actually, I'm also considering a Tacoma or 4Runner instead. Of course they can go anywhere, but I'm just not sure I'd get as good a gas mileage as I'd want. I want at least 22 on the highway and more is better.

Your 30 is what intrigued me about the Soul.
Bob

... was think'n a Tacoma with the 2.7 4cyl 5sp good mpg for the way I drive, it comes with the 4.10 rear for "grunt", and toss a FWC pop-up TC on it.

Today made the mistake of test driving a Nissan NV 2500 high roof, I can stand and there's still a couple inches of head clearance-- no 4x4 or stick and mpg not great but this would make a great build project -- sigh -- just don't think I'm up for another build ...

billybob200138 · Mar 19, 2016

Wow I am impressed. Feel like a king in My Astro now. The ingenuity is awesome. Kudos .. HoboJoe

joanndykes · Oct 21, 2018

RetiredNomad said:
... ok, so I downsized from the E 350 to the "Soul Motel", its been awhile now.
I find its better stealth at wally worlds, front wheel drive & aggressive tires
get me in & out of BLM sites easily and 30mpg is enough for me.
yeah, I fulltime, but I'm retired.
I'm 6'1" 185 & have plenty of sleeping room and Pax [the dog] is 10lbs. so
she takes up little space.
Passenger seat reversed, 105ah battery under glove compartment,19" TV,
sold my solar stuff & dometic fridge, so far haven't missed them.

Hi, I would like to ask you a question. How did you reverse the passenger seat? Is it a swivel? I started my Kia Soul 2016 conversion to a camper car yesterday. My little brother uninstalled my back seats for me yesterday. (free labor,LOL). I was surprised with all of the different levels and dips in the floor. Not sure how to level those out.

bullfrog · Oct 21, 2018

I bought a new 2013 4 cylinder 2.7 5 speed 4x4 base standard cab ( no longer available) Tacoma ( no cruse,no intermittant wipers, crank windows) with an ARB wedge topper with opening screened side windows. I built a 3/4" plywood platform that sat on top the wheel wells and used underneath for storage in which was probably 500 lbs of tools and recovery gear. Basically the whole back end was a bed for my wife and I. At 5'10" I ended up leaving the tail gate and topper open and extending the platform out another few inches by putting legs on the door for the underneath lockable storage. We then could throw a bug net over the opening and we could sleep comfortably. If by myself I could sleep diagonally with every thing closed up. With the extra weight my milage averaged 19 to 21 MPG at 80 MPH or higher. At 55 MPH 23 was easy on the interstate. Even loaded in the mountains seldom went below 18 MPG. Around town usually 20 MPG. This was with the cheap highway tires over 60,000 miles. Just a note if you are gonna tow a 1,000 lbs or more trailer the V6 automatic with all the bells and whisles will get better gas milage at around 18 MPG mine went do to 17 MPG while towing and down to 13 MPG in the mountains pulling maybe 3,000 lbs. The V6 never went below 15 MPG.

Magpie's Shiny Things · Apr 18, 2019

Could you share more details?

The screen window in the read doors are cool, where did you get it.

The shelf in the back is that the stock luggage cover?

Is the fan battery operated or running on the DC?

sephson · Apr 21, 2019

Magpie\ said:
Could you share more details?

About two-and-a-half years ago, RetiredNomad traded his Kia Soul for a Nissan NV 2500 and really hasn't posted much since.

https://vanlivingforum.com/showthread.php?tid=20845

I also road-trip in a Kia Soul, though I'm not a full timer.

Here's a ink to my build thread.

https://vanlivingforum.com/showthread.php?tid=9848

Kia girl also travels in a Kia Soul.

Here's a link to a thread about her vehicle.

https://vanlivingforum.com/showthread.php?tid=27753

Have Van Must Travel · Aug 4, 2019

I just bought a new 2019 KIA Soul. Looking for ideas from others to live full time out of it. Yours seems to work out well!

Kia Soul ... it can be done

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