car vs van vs rv

[offroad]

not sure why this has not been discussed.&nbsp;<br><br>car - maybe $2000 to $5000 used. get a tent for $200 more. good to go. &nbsp;cheap repairs. no stealth. could get told to move.&nbsp;<br><br>van - maybe same price. &nbsp;more expensive repairs. more set up, but more stealth for hideing while working.&nbsp;<br><br>rv- maybe $5000 to $10,000 for cheap one. expensive repairs. but you have everythng. &nbsp;no stealth. expensive to park.

 

[offroad]

van with trailer - maybe $10,000 to $15,000 but very very adaptable. can use either. little harder to be steathy as now you need to park the trailer somewhere, while using the van<br><br>thinking a van is best for a beginner. then eventually get a trailer-rv once you know where you will live.&nbsp;

 

[dragonflyinthesky]

I have become to tired over the years to tent camp, not that I wouldn't still do it.<br><br>Car or SUV+small travel trailer for me. I like to be able to unhook and sight see.<br><br> If I had to hold down a job though, &nbsp;a van would be the way to go. Nothing against the big RVs, just not for me at this point in my life.<br><br>Not on the same point but 3 years ago, if I new then what I know now.&nbsp;<img src="/images/boards/smilies/frown.gif" class="emoticon bbc_img"><br><br><br><br>

 

[cyndi]

<p>My Class C RV isn't any more expensive to fix than a van. So far all repairs have been done by a regular mechanic or scammy "friend".<br><br>I bought it for $4000.00 and it's a very solid rig, although it's 25 years old. I have put some money into it but was scammed on a few of the "repairs." I know quite a few people who paid less that 4 grand for their rigs and can do a majority of the repairs and maintenance themselves.<br><br>Stealth is possible and parking isn't necessarily expensive.</p>

 

[James AKA Lynx]

Well - <br>Money?<br>Part time vrs Full time?<br>Storage?<br>Must haves or have not's?<br><br>Personal questions you must ask. I suggest you try all three. Pro's and con's of each.<br><br>Cars/Suv's do not have the space but can go cheaper. a 4X4 can good deeper (some say, and get stuck deeper). May need a tent. Needs to be a good one for bad weather.<br><br>Van, Can pack a lot of stuff into, most cannot stand up or have a shower.&nbsp; Does get around in town easier and can boondock much easier for longer periods. easier to get around town than Class RV or Trailer.<br><br>RV - usually has a bathroom and standing headroom for most. Selfcontained, but you will still need to dump. more parts to go wrong and more space to fill up.<br><br>Your choice. Rent them and see. I choose a Van because of price and lifestyle.<br><br>James AKA Lynx

 

[cyndi]

They do make vans with headroom and showers. And I know plenty of people who have installed hi-tops and showers ... At the 2012 Winter&nbsp;RTR&nbsp; years ago there was a guy that had put a bath tub in his van!

 

[TxGypsy]

I think a lot of it depends on where you plan to be parked.&nbsp; When I first started out I had a Rav4 pulling my motorcycle on a trailer and I lived in a huge portable dome that rode on the trailer with my motorcycle.&nbsp; I couldn't have handled living in my car.&nbsp; It would have been too small and confining for me.&nbsp; I was doing work camping in remote areas, so setting up my big dome wasn't a problem.<br><br>Since then I lived in a travel trailer and won't ever consider doing that again unless it has a slide out.&nbsp; I refer to that tt as the little metal insanity box.&nbsp; I absolutely detested it!&nbsp; <br><br>Now I have a high top camper van and I LOVE it!&nbsp; Technically it has far less square feet than the travel trailer, but it seems like much more friendly/usable square feet.&nbsp; I had thought about going back to living in my portable dome, which I really like, but I needed to be able to tow a cargo trailer.&nbsp; I have some fairly expensive medical equipment that I need a secure place to transport and store.&nbsp; It also allows me to bring my motorcycle and 4 wheeler with me as well which is a big bonus.&nbsp; The camper van has a big enough motor to pull the cargo trailer up mountains and that was an important consideration for me.<br><br>Rav4 plus 4x8 utility trailer and big dome: somewhere around $20,000<br><br>Travel trailer plus truck:&nbsp; again, somewhere around $20,000<br><br>Camper Van: $5,000....New cargo trailer:&nbsp; $4,000<br><br>So the camper van and cargo trailer are my cheapest set up so far.&nbsp; Another consideration is that I'll be able to get close to what I have in the camper van and cargo trailer when I sell them as both hold their value well.&nbsp; That was not the case with the car or the travel trailer.

 

[offroad]

Txgypsy - is that a converted camper van where you put a ton of time into?&nbsp; , or a designed camper van that might be older but it has everything in it already?&nbsp;

 

[TxGypsy]

It is a factory made camper van.&nbsp; <br> <br><br>It has all the bells and whistles.&nbsp; Notice the awning.&nbsp; It's in great shape and looks almost new.&nbsp; A friend of mine looked at the van today and said she couldn't believe how nice it was.&nbsp; It's a 1995.&nbsp; I did a lot of shopping to find one this nice for $5,000.

 

[offroad]

txgypsy - you are my new hero.&nbsp; if you can do it so can I&nbsp;&nbsp; goal is to do exactly the same.&nbsp; please share your shopping strategy?

 

[TxGypsy]

I spent many hours on craigslist.&nbsp; Something that I've noticed over the years is that folks that live in towns don't seem to want to drive way out into the country.&nbsp; Any good deals that occur in big cities are snapped up before I could possibly get there.&nbsp; So, I look for good deals out in the country.&nbsp; This van actually sat on craigslist for 2 weeks before I could get someone to take me to go look at it.&nbsp; It was pretty remote and required an overnight stay at a motel for me.&nbsp; It was listed at $5,900.&nbsp; When I contacted them I did my bargaining before I ever left my house.&nbsp; I pointed out how far I had to drive(and I knew it had been listed for quite a while in several different places) and they readily agreed to my price and agreed to not sell it out from under me.&nbsp; Patience and a bit of 'country folk visiting' on the phone paid off big time.&nbsp; Sometimes being efficient and all business is not the way to go.&nbsp; <br><br>Of course, sometimes you just get lucky <img src="/images/boards/smilies/biggrin.gif" class="emoticon bbc_img">

 

[exitinn]

I bought a 350 Dodge window van , 15 passenger in '87 . And put a top like yours on it and a awning . Bed in the back etc. . Loved it , thought I needed something bigger . Got a '85 Winnabago 22' class a , it has all the bells an whistles , shower ,gen , refer , stove . But just to get out I miss the van , and it's better gas mileage .

 

[TxGypsy]

I'm really amazed at how good the gas mileage is.&nbsp; I'm getting 13-15 mpg depending on if I'm facing into the west Texas wind or getting hit at an angle. No telling what it would get somewhere else.&nbsp; I do expect the mpg to drop when I'm pulling the trailer.&nbsp; However, once I get into a cooler area I won't need to use the A/C on full blast and that should offset some the loss of mpg due to the trailer.

 

[highdesertranger]

nice looking rig.&nbsp; highdesertranger

 

[Terry]

I bought my curent van for me and Cathy to travel and do the flea market thing before Cathy got too weak to do anything.&nbsp; I had the intention of using it with a cargo trailer, like Gypsy, but life changed all that When Cathy gotsick enough to be put under hospice care. Mean while, I finaly got to see a doctor enough to get some documentation, all in one place, to get my disability going. Now that I'll have a small income, I'll either get an RV or another house/mobile home out west somewhere. I'm leaning towards the RV as that may help getting rid of the house by accepting one as trade in on the house. Housing market sucks in Pensacolaand this ain'tthe nicest place in the neighborhood. Anyway, the RV will allow me to change where Ilive without going through the hassel of buying/selling property. I do have a habit of getting itchy feet after being in one place for too long. <br>&nbsp;I spent too many years doing self employment without pqying into SS after Michael, our oldest son, and Cathy started developing symptoms of their disorder. I needed to be in one place without traveling for work and I also needed to be able to show up for work or not, depending on how things were going with Cathy and Michael. Anyway, the point is, I get SSI disability instead of SS disability so I am means tested and too much of anything will cause my income to change/drop. This makes th RV all the better suited for me.&nbsp; I just need to make sure I get one that I can keep up with as long as I'm able to climb in and out of it. Then I'll get assited housing somewhere they have an elevator. I'll probaqbly be in a wheel chair most of the time by then.&nbsp; I'm just looking at making lemon aide from the lemons as long as I can.