If you were given a choice between a 1980s van with 200000 miles and a 1980s class c

Van Living Forum

Help Support Van Living Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Snikwahjm

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 3, 2017
Messages
80
Reaction score
0
[font=-apple-system, HelveticaNeue][font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]For now I take care of 91 and 92 year old parents in bad health. My husband and I are planning to leave here when the last box is in the cemetery and leave those who shirked to clean up the mess under the watchful eye of those who know what unfair means (would be to their advantage...) We will travel until the mess is cleaned up and it is extensive. We want see as much of this country as we can before we are unable to travel or until money runs out, etc. besides we like the life style from what we have tested so far. We stealth camp now in our area of the country some times for a week end respite. We practice how we plan to live on the road in the 1987 Chevy van for a very extended time. We have a museum pass that can go to many places. We have national parks pass. So we could leave pretty quickly, see a lot but not equipped to boondock very long. [/font][/font]

[font=-apple-system, HelveticaNeue][font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]A friend has offered to give us a 1983 class c RV - our plan has been to see the USA in our van. We like the van with its raised top. Mechanically, our van has been well maintained (babied) and has been running strong. The body is awful, pealing paint considerable rust... lots of road miles... [/font][font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]The class c RV would be a bit roomier plus have a kitchen & bath - we don't know how much of it is any good. We do know the bathroom floor is 'spongy'. We haven't had a chance to look it over yet. We figured to use the old van until it was pronounced dead then buy a much newer stealth van and trick it out with solar and a refrigerator, etc. One old van that rolls vs one old class c that has been sitting. Hhhmmmm. One that gets better mileage vs one that has more room. Both Chevy - both older. We aren't into camp grounds and people partying all night with bright lights and loud music or some one's TV set loud... sssoooooo there would be no advantage to having plug in electric. It could have solar put on the roof. The van has an uneven vinyl top so we never considered solar for it. We don't know if the refrigerator works, etc. We could have a mechanic we trust to go over the RV and put it in road worthy condition. The roof and floors would need to be inspected and for sure, floor repaired. It might need to be totally gutted for all I know. We may have a lot of time and we may not. My husband has not done any kind of work on an RV but he has done a lot of handyman work over the years of owning a handyman business. He thinks he should be able to repair the floor. He did watch some videos on repairing RV floors and roofs. For now we will accept the RV but we aren't letting go of the van. In the long run we don't need the expense and burden of both vehicles and will have to choose one. I believe we have enough money put aside to fix up the RV. It would deplete money saved toward a newer van though. So it occurred to me to replace the toilet with composting, replace the refrigerator with on that runs off solar in the event that existing is dead, replace the water heater for instant, etc. Pros and cons I haven't thought of are welcome as are tips, suggestions and ideas. [/font][/font]
 
What occurs to me regarding your question is something that I have recently wondered about for myself: get an older Class C that has a good engine, and strip out all of the factory crap, down to the floor and walls. Then treat it like a regular (but larger) cargo van: insulate and add what I want, such as bed, simple kitchen, storage, simple toilet/bath. I'm thinking that this might lighten the weight, give a bit more room, and it would be tailored to what *I* want, rather than factory crap that is guaranteed to fail.

BUT... I've never heard of anyone doing this. It sounds possible, but I've been wrong before in my suppositions.

Any thoughts would be welcomed by me, and maybe also by the OP.
 
motor homes are not created equal

a leaky,rotten tin shed on wheels is parts

an american clipper full fiberglass that had a leak in the bathroom is restorable
 
TrainChaser said:
What occurs to me regarding your question is something that I have recently wondered about for myself:  get an older Class C that has a good engine, and strip out all of the factory crap, down to the floor and walls.  Then treat it like a regular (but larger) cargo van:  insulate and add what I want, such as bed, simple kitchen, storage, simple toilet/bath.  I'm thinking that this might lighten the weight, give a bit more room, and it would be tailored to what *I* want, rather than factory crap that is guaranteed to fail.

BUT... I've never heard of anyone doing this.  It sounds possible, but I've been wrong before in my suppositions.

ummm
https://vanlivingforum.com/Thread-The-Beast-renovation-thread

https://vanlivingforum.com/Thread-The-Fat-Van-rides-again
 
Yes it has occurred to me to strip it out, rebuilt the parts that aren't any good and put in what would work for two people. It is not fiber glass that I know of. It only has 43,000 miles and we know it runs. It is called 'winter by mallard' It has occurred to me if we put in what we want that stuff could be moved to a van later if desired. I should post some of the crazy CL ads I saw when I searched class c RVs.

Is there a category for stupid CL ads?
 
I'd rather mod the van because you know how it has been maintained.
You also already put some thought into how you'd do it in the van.
For the price of redoing the RV you could do A LOT in the van too.
 
I'd rather have to room provided gas wasnt an issue

it probably has a canopy, fridge may work 50/50 and runs on propane if it does, more to heat it. It probably has a working AC, has a bunch of water storage built in. A van is tight for one, let alone two. It has an oven. It can hold way more solar. way less setup and tear down....jump in the shower whenever dump your gray water in a walmart parking lot.
 
Snikwahjm said:
I should post some of the crazy CL ads I saw when I searched class c RVs.

Crazy in what way? Lack of info or pics? I have seen quite a few C projects that someone started but gave up on and were selling them cheap. TT's also.
 
To take the van very far it could use new head gaskets sometime and the loose door latch post needs to be repaired.
 
Ah yes, those types of ads. I love the "ran when parked" phrase you see so often.
 
I like the buy it quick before someone steals any more parts...
 
I am super jealous of Cammalu's class C and I ain't gonna lie... if I were given a class C, I would ditch the van! I might have to work a little longer to get things in working order, but the room and storage and bathroom and shower and oven and... well, yes, just yes LOL
 
I would have to see the class c to decide "keep or move on." Is it friend or frenemy! hahaha

Challenge with the 83 class c is the carb...sensitive to variables in elevations. Air-fuel mixture issues...
 
new rebuilt qjet is $300 on amazon. But the van is too.
 
If you are truly gonna go off the grid all the stuff will be needed either way, as you said separating toilet, solar, 12 volt freezer and etc. If you can fit in a van traveling will be less stressful finding parking and going places. A cargo trailer or TT can be purchased for when you want to stay put for longer periods. Class C's are bigger but heavy and harder to fix and get featured getting stuck in videos but if you need space that is something personal you have to make up your mind about.
 
In the immortal words of campmore, a member here; Go small, go far.
 Plus that C class mh sounds like it may be a project. 
You decide the rest.
 
I got lucky with my 1988 Chevy Astro Van. I got LenaBelle a little over a year ago and she had been meticulously maintained by the previous owner. The previous owner turned out to be someone I knew after I answered the Craigslist ad. Since LenaBelle had been owned by his father, Mark had all the maintenance records for everything that had been done to LenaBelle. Mark acquired LenaBelle after his father died and Mark just kept on maintaining LenaBelle which was very fortuitous for me.  :D I have not had to do anything major since I have owned LenaBelle, either. However, I know things can happen which is why I have a little nest egg established for anything that may happen down the road. I keep LenaBelle taken care of so she takes care of me.  :D

To answer your question, I think that I would rather stay with a van that I already know about versus a Class C I don't know much about. However, to each his/her own. Since I'm single, my van meets my needs and I'm happy with that.

VanGrrl57  :)
 
I think the thing about Class C's is that they are basically a cheap wooden box put on a cutaway chassis. They might be great for weekend campers but maybe not so much for a full timer. If it was a B you were looking at then you have a pretty solid vehicle to start with because it is a full van.

If you were planning to drive it til it dies and then get what you want and do it the way you want that might be a great way to go. Or maybe look at some Class B's (even though people are asking the world for them right now). I would be hesitant to go from a van you know inside and out and have taken care of and go into a van that you might not know what the future problems are going to be.
 
Top