Hi all. Alaska dreamer

[Karichar1027]

I live in NC.  Started camping in a tent then graduated to pop ups, hybrid, travel trailer, park model, full time until...
Being a person who loves friends I was taking a cake to friends and fell off my steps.  Cake was just fine but I didn’t fare well.  Broken shoulder and lots of other issues just to detailed.  Sold park model and bought house.
So depressed I can’t camp because I am disabled and can’t use my right arm.  Getting up from a chair is hard.  I cant imagine getting off a tent floor.  
I am limited in $$ and can’t afford a Class C to travel in. I thought about a van which I can add a bed to.  My husband refuses to pull and I can’t blame him.  
Hmm maybe a van with bed and an easy set up kitchen.  
I have looked at caravans in UK which have a pull out slide which pulls out a slide from the back of the van which would be great for a bed area.
Has anyone designed such a slide for a van?  Or am I ?
I dream about cross country trip to Alaska.  Travel about fours to a place of interest then leave in a day or two.  No longer than a 4 drive per day.

 

[JeanInaBox]

Hi ... sorry to hear about your injury.
Where in NC? I’m in SC. I plan on converting a van and I’m also a big time tent camper.

 

[Karichar1027]

Western NC near the GA state line and your location?

 

[rvwandering]

Welcome to the CRVL forums Karichar1027! A van can be made into a traveling home very easily with the addition of a cot and a few pieces of used furniture or plastic drawer units. Start simple and see how you like it. Take short trips and work up to your Alaska trip!

To help you learn the ins and outs of these forums, this "Tips, Tricks and Rules" post lists some helpful information to get you started.

Most of our rules boil down to two simple over-riding principles: 1) What you post should provide good information (like your introductory post), and 2) Any response to someone else's post should make them feel glad they are part of this forum community.

We look forward to hearing more from you.

 

[JeanInaBox]

About 45 minutes from NC border... North east.

 

[maki2]

The more features you put into creating a camper van the more it weighs. The more it weighs the higher your gas cost will be. The further north you go the higher the gas cost will be, they don't have a lot of refineries, they ship it south in pipelines to get refined and then it gets shipped back north again.

If you are on a tight budget just decide to keep it simple. Keeping it simple and basic is an Alaska tradition. Keeping it simple means less things to fail such as slide out motors and tracks. You will be hundreds of miles away from places to get parts or shops to work on your vehicle.

Most important feature for the trip is mosquito proofing any windows that open. Sometimes you will get out of the car and you will need to jump right back in because they are so thick you can't help but inhaling them.

Your mantra could be "reliability versus luxury features" which boils down to "need versus want"

I lived and camped in Alaska for 7 years.

 

[maki2]

the answer is yes you can get camper vans with slideouts. That does not mean they are inexpensive though.

Here is a link to one of them from Winnebago


There are some Sprinter Vans in the UK with a rear slide out.

but remember when there is a slideout feature and it is retracted inside then the interior is very cramped up and hard to move around in.

One of the beds that raises up to the ceiling and lowers for use makes a lot more sense in a high top Sprinter van than a slide out.

 

[nature lover]

Thank is a beautiful class B. Money talks - I walk.

 

[txmnjim]

welcome to the forum Karichar! since you are limited by income, you may want to consider
a more economical vehicle? since we plan on just vanning a month or two in the winter, we
are looking at a Honda Odyssey or Toyota Sienna that we can get relatively good mileage and
have a good roof rack to help in transporting necessities. we plan on tenting where possible and
having the van as a back up. me and a buddy took two attempts to finally get to Alaska in the mid-
80's, after running out of money in Canada the first one. it was a wonderful time and we made it
north of Arctic circle and down to Homer. i don't recall the mosquitoes being too bad, at least not
any worse than in the restrooms at Mustang Island State Park in Port Aransas, Tx. good luck on your
adventures and hope to be having our own adventures in a few years...
jim