1989 Okanagan. Can't find value. Are parts hard 2 find?

[Jack Grit]

Hi all! It's been a while fellow cheaprvliving community peops!

There have been a lot of changes since I posted quite a while back. I will post what I have learned since that time.

In the meantime do any of you know these rigs? I can't find much online about them. They appear to be from British Columbia.

If all in this ad is correct, what do you think? Quality? Maintain value? Ability to obtain parts? Etc.

I am paying a fair fee to live on private property, in a nice area of the Bay Area now. There is electricity, WI-fi, and water. I still live in the Astro.
The landowner is allowing me 20, maybe 21 feet for a better living situation. It has to be a vehicle that can be moved. She does not want a trailer on her property. I'll probably obtain a modest motorcycle to get around much of the time, without having to move the rig too often.

It's time for a new lease on life!!!


http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/rvs/5317440548.html

 

[Almost There]

The least of the worries is about finding parts - it's an '89 Ford extended body van so mechanical parts are easy to find.

Any of the RV systems that need work are common RV parts.

Price wise it seems high to me - it's 26 years old so any of the RV parts that haven't been replaced already are way past life expectancy. Mechanically the same thing goes.

The ad says they've spent $10 G on it recently. I'd want to go over all the bills and see what it is that they've done and then figure that everything not done is going to need doing!

I'd suspect that it's priced not based on market value but because the seller thinks that they can recoup everything they've put in to it plus make a bit of profit....it's not like a house remodel where you increase the value by redoing the kitchen...

Here's a link to Okanagan - it appears that they no longer do van conversions though

http://www.okanaganrv.com/index.html

 

[SoulRaven]

Parts are no problem, and it isn't that rare either. The price seems to be really high to me though.

Check out this link for better priced ones:

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/search/...&nearbyArea=12&nearbyArea=97&query=camper+van

 

[wagoneer]

someone kick me in the head but does the rear end seem a bit saggy IMHO that is a lot of stuff to pack into a E250. You will find you do not need 80% of the outdated interior, But prove me wrong please

 

[bcbullet]

Mrs.Bullet and I looked at a few of those "UFO Vans" (her words) and a couple of them had sagging issues in the middle of the top. Of course this allowed water to pool around the vent and make its way inside. 

That being said, they were all very cool and if we could have found a good one we would have considered buying instead of building our own.

 

[ZoNiE]

Seems to have all the comforts of home. Interesting "Coozy" over the potty. Probably doesn't like to see a toilet in the RV mirror!
Also, the Owner "staged" it for the photos. That's a nice touch, meaning that they probably cared, and the last photo with all the receipts probably shows the $10K of work. Price is high, but the rig is probably solid.

That "ultimate suite" truck camper on the company website... The three slideouts. Magic! lots of nice things already installed. Probably $$$$.

 

[Jack Grit]

Parts are no problem, and it isn't that rare either.  The price seems to be really high to me though.

Check out this link for better priced ones:

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/search/...&nearbyArea=12&nearbyArea=97&query=camper+van

Thanks for the link. The pickin's are slim these days. With the economy the way it is, the prices have been driven up. I might have to resort to eBay.
Other than Craigslist does anyone know of good ways of finding livable rigs under 21'? It has to be drivable. I think a class B van is best suited for me needs as I need maximum space. As someone posted the slide-in rv/trucks lose a lot of space due to the wheel wells. Any comments and suggestions are most welcome!

Thanks to all who have commented.

 

[LowTech]

I just think for that price I could get a newer E350 shuttle/metro bus and do a decent build out (with stove/sink parts out of some leaking trailer the owner wants gone) and it would give me more open space, a slower spending of money, and a more stable platform.

I also dislike that floor plan. Stove has no counter near it, a lot of space taken up by the bathroom (hell I could put a whole bedroom in that much space ) . . .

Enough w/ the commercial builders rant . . .

 

[Jack Grit]

I just think for that price I could get a newer E350 shuttle/metro bus and do a decent build out (with stove/sink parts out of some leaking trailer the owner wants gone) and it would give me more open space, a slower spending of money, and a more stable platform.

I also dislike that floor plan. Stove has no counter near it, a lot of space taken up by the bathroom (hell I could put a whole bedroom in that much space ) . . .

Enough w/ the commercial builders rant . . .  

That would be my inclination as well. I don't think the "landlady" would be happy with that though. I'll do some research, send her a link and see what she says. Has anyone that you know of ever put a portable shower (propane with $30.00 wall mart "stall") in one of these, a box truck or the like? I could possibly do that while I'm building a more functional shower. I would have to juggle living in it while building but I'm a minimalist and I may be able to pull that off.

 

[LowTech]

Shower can be as simple as a tub to stand in, a hula-hoop as the curtain rig, and a shower curtain. Add a DC water pump, holding tank (5gal water jug), and a sprayer, . . . you just got fancy. Next upgrade would be a water heater.
Mostly goes away when you're not using it (majority of the time), and gives you time to design in what you want.

I'm just now doing a inside shower in my newest build, will be the first time I've had one. Shower pan under the floor, curtain rail on the ceiling, right in my entrance way, curtain tucked up on one side of the doorway, water coming from the kitchen set-up. It will be nothing when I'm not using it, then open the floor, grab the sprayer from the kitchen (right there), pull the curtain around and take a shower.

 

[Jack Grit]

Shower can be as simple as a tub to stand in, a hula-hoop as the curtain rig, and a shower curtain. Add a DC water pump, holding tank (5gal water jug), and a sprayer, . . . you just got fancy. Next upgrade would be a water heater.
Mostly goes away when you're not using it (majority of the time), and gives you time to design in what you want.

I'm just now doing a inside shower in my newest build, will be the first time I've had one. Shower pan under the floor, curtain rail on the ceiling, right in my entrance way, curtain tucked up on one side of the doorway, water coming from the kitchen set-up. It will be nothing when I'm not using it, then open the floor, grab the sprayer from the kitchen (right there), pull the curtain around and take a shower.

"(5gal water jug), and a sprayer, . . . you just got fancy." ROTFL!  We seem to think in similar ways. Your plan (or something similar) sounds great for my way of thinking.
 

With your new build, what would you use to stand in? I'm not able to picture it ... wait..."open the floor". I see. Brilliant idea! I'm not able to completely envision the set up but I think I get the gist of it.
 
"...and gives you time to design in what you want." Exactly!

 

[SoulRaven]

You know a lot of Class C's can be found in the 18'-21' range too, and usually quite a bit cheaper than a Class B.

 

[Wanderer]

I agree with the others, that's high priced (Unless they replaced everything) but a quick look ($3500-$9000) showed a LOT of class C and others below $7K....

Like this one

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/rvd/5314694824.html

 

[Jack Grit]

I agree with the others, that's high priced (Unless they replaced everything)  but a quick look ($3500-$9000) showed a LOT of class C and others below $7K....

Like this one

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/rvd/5314694824.html

I called on that Toyota and the seller was refreshingly candid. Basically it is a mess. "Plenty of people have come and looked but they walk away". 

I did a search for class C's 21' and under and couldn't find any. Is there a particular way of searching Craigslist for Class C's 21' and under? There is a spot where one can pick a size but nothing came up.

 

[BigT]

Hideous on the outside, but pretty cozy looking on the inside.  The interior kind of reminds me of a sailboat.  
Price seems way too high imho.

 

[Jack Grit]

"I just think for that price I could get a newer E350 shuttle/metro bus and do a decent build out....."

I've searched the entire Bay Area for one at a decent price. They appear to be a lot less expensive in some other states. I'm kind of a thrifty guy. Do you know of an e-book or link...whatever, to an "insiders guide" to getting these at a good prices? I've been doing eBay for years but never a vehicle. Any ideas would be appreciated.

J Grit

 

[idn88]

Class B's are quite sought after in a lot of places as they can be parked in a normal parking spot, so they hold their price. Also not a lot are built. If you like it, and its well cared for you surely could do worse.

However you might consider a truck camper in your situation - there more readily available, if the truck needs to go to the shop your not homeless, and you can swap either / or out in the future if needed.

www.rvtrader.com might yield something, and has more search options than craigslist.

 

[Jack Grit]

Class B's are quite sought after in a lot of places as they can be parked in a normal parking spot, so they hold their price.  Also not a lot are built. If you like it, and its well cared for you surely could do worse.

However you might consider a truck camper in your situation - there more readily available, if the truck needs to go to the shop your not homeless, and you can swap either / or out in the future if needed.

www.rvtrader.com  might yield something, and has more search options than craigslist.

I think a truck camper may be a good option.  I have a questions: There is a limited amount of space where I likely will be primarily parked. I am not "allowed" to have 2 vehicles. Do any of you have experience with loading and unloading a camper on the back of a truck? My plan (if viable) is to have the camper as stationary as possible while using the truck as my primary mode of transportation. Would loading and unloading be too labor intensive and time consuming to do almost daily? Would it be possible to put the camper on cinder blocks (or the like) and sort of back up the truck far enough so as to keep in the allotted 22 or so feet? Is it easy enough to back the bed of a truck all the way back? Has anyone done anything similar? Are there solutions to this situation that others have used?

J Grit

 

[Rugster]

What are the search terms you are using? I find that searching for 'camper van' hits on a lot of older class B's and C's, usually lower priced than comparable searches for 'Class B' or 'Class C'

 

[Jack Grit]

What are the search terms you are using? I find that searching for 'camper van' hits on a lot of older class B's and C's, usually lower priced than comparable searches for 'Class B' or 'Class C'

I was wondering about that. I mostly use "class C van". I'll try 'camper van' more often. As for a camper truck, I imagine just that is the best terminology.

Thanks