Europe 3 months, USA 3 months...repeat

[Ziggy]

Hello everyone...
I'm hoping to gain knowledge and learn a thing or two here.
Here's my situation. I live half the yr in Europe and half in the USA. I'm considering using a car/van for a sleeping place. I have access to warm showers and a restroom, a place to eat and repair food and a permanent address for mail and doing laundry, but need a place to sleep. In the past I've slept in the back of a older Honda CRV a couple nights a week and I'm a extreme minimalist and need very little to get by. Now I need a stealthy non-camping looking car/van with good mileage and a comfortable bed.
It's just me...so it would be nice to find a vehicle that I could take all the seats out, when not in use and stretch my legs. (That was a little hard in the CRV)
Looking at the web, the perfect fit would be a VW Vanagon (sp?)type van...although it kinda says "I'm sleeping here" in a way, and I don't really need a kitchen....but a little table and comfortable sitting area along with good gas mileage would be welcomed, but it seems they are not made any longer (?) and the old ones are expensive due to their popularity and reliability. I really like my last few Hondas...and the Element with the seats removed looked like a possible option. Gas mileage and space are my main concern. It would be parked in storage half the yr while I was gone.
I've just found this forum and have lots of reading to do...I'm sure the question "what's the perfect car/van that fits in a regular car space, is great on gas, doesn't look like a "camper" and is not too pricey" has been asked a thousand times with a thousand different answers, but if you feel passionate about your experience in my situation drop me a note.
I'm looking forward to this adventure and would love to hear from all of you.
I'm not going to the states for a couple months and do have time to mull this over. I've looked into weekly/ monthly motels (yuck), house sitting and pet sitting (still a possibility but can be unreliable) and renting a room (still a possibility too) but I need a car in the states and I might as will get a comfortable one to sleep in.
Thanks for taking your time to read this... And I'm looking forward to meeting all of you.
Ziggy

 

[VanDwellerMod]

Welcome to the CRVL forums! To help you learn the ins and outs of these forums, this "Tips & Tricks" post lists some helpful information to get you started. We look forward to hearing more from you.

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

Any of the domestic minivans would do what you want to do.  It's hard to be more specific without some idea of your budget, how often/far you plan to drive it, weather - how hot, cold, humid will it be when you plan to sleep in it, and so on.

Regards
John

 

[akrvbob]

I agree, a minivan seems ideal, especially one with the stow-n-go seating so they fold down flat for sleeping or up for carrying passengers. Normally you would pull them all to bulid in a little home, but it sounds like you have all that taken care of except for a bed.

But, you will have time off too, what do you want to do with it? Do you want an adventure, maybe get a 4x4 SUV. Do you want to travel, you can sleep pretty well in a Prius and get 45 MPG. Plus you can leave the engine on to run both the heater and air conditioner. That might be very important in extreme weather.

Think outside the box. It shouldn't just be work, you should plan for some fun too.
Bob

 

[ttpadilla]

Minivan was my first thought, too. When I traveled for Archaeology, I used our minivan, took out the seats, had plenty of leg room, and headroom (obviously, i couldn't stand up, but I could get dressed without any trouble), and room for gear. The used ones don't appear to cost much, either.

 

[LeeRevell]

Dodge Caravan/Grand Caravan - Generation Three or Four, with the Stow&Go seat option. Middle and rear seats stow under the floor for camping/sleeping, and you can carry a few friends along with seats up. Caravan has 6' cargo area, Grand Caravan has 8' cargo area. 18-25MPG .