Hi Everyone !

[MsBearRiver]

Hi !  

I am starting out in my second stage of life and working out plans to be a nomad (mostly) I have been researching a fair bit about camping full time, etc. Currently, it will be just me and my dog, I will be visiting my aging parents in Northern VA and my college-age kids in MN and WI, as well as hoping to try some snowbird routes in the Winter, and spending some time in the Summer taking over fixing some much-neglected 70-year-old family log cabins built by my great grandfather that are in remote MN (remote as in no road to the cabin property).  I work remotely (with wifi) full time.  The first hurdle is finding the right vehicle - I currently have an SUV - (Sienna) I considered converting to a campervan, but it has almost 300,000 miles on it and is really on its last legs, so any vehicle suggestion under $10K for total setup to boondock that would not be a lemon would be appreciated. Plans are to strike out from the cabin in October this year (2021) either right before or right after ice in.
Thanks for reading.

 

[kklowell]

Welcome. I hope you find the right vehicle for you.

 

[Mod1234]

Welcome to the CRVL forums! 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.

 

[bullfrog]

Look for a pre 1992 Suburban or Chevy/GMC truck and build a topper.

 

[crofter]

Welcome to the forum.
-crofter

 

[nature lover]

MsBearRiver - Welcome to the forum, it sounds like you have some excitement in your life coming up. I’m not very mechanical but I can give the only advice I have For buying a vehicle. have someone who is A reliable mechanic look it over and give you an idea of what the true condition is. if a seller isn’t willing to let you do that runaway. Again welcome to the forum.

 

[jacqueg]

I currently have an SUV - (Sienna) I considered converting to a campervan, but it has almost 300,000 miles on it and is really on its last legs, so any vehicle suggestion under $10K for total setup to boondock that would not be a lemon would be appreciated. 

I bought my 20-yo econoline cargo van for $4700 and have about another $1500 in it for my no-build build and my refrigerator/generator/solar panels.

Of course I bought my van before the current spike in demand for travelling vehicles.

As with any older vehicle, get the advice of a mechanic.

 

[maki2]

Buy your vehicle somewhere south of the rust belt zone where they salt roads in winter. If you are going to be up north in snow country in a rural area a high clearance 4 wheeldrive truck with tires, chains, self rescue stuff. If you are parked along a road and a snow plow piles up the edge you will need to dig your way out to reach the road.

 

[MsBearRiver]

Thank you all for the ideas - I will look into the Suburban / GMC and a good mechanic check is indeed important - I know a mechanic, but not someone who checks out RVs - is there a reliable source for RV inspections too?

thanks again for the warm welcome!