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ebaierl

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My wife and I bought a Class A 1988 Tiffin Allegro to live in full time and travel with our three cats. We moved in on July 31st, tooled around home for a month, and left on our journey on Saturday. I drive 100%. We were going to go 50 or so miles a day, boondock, then move on. But this beast is 33 feet long. I'm dreading it, I want something much smaller. 

So I'm trying to convince my wife that we get the largest van we can possibly find and convert it into a camper. We could easily sell our RV, its in great shape, but I don't know if we'd get our money out of it. I'm not expecting a profit, but we didn't pay much, and other than tires, haven't put much into it really.

So I guess my question is: Is this doable with two adults and three cats? I'm a bit worried about space, but we spend most of our time outdoors anyway. I am also a photographer, and I want to be able to stop at places and take some photos and move on. In a van, that would be easy, in a 33 foot RV, its a pain in the butt.

I don't think we'd need much of anything inside, but a bed, a microwave and a fridge would be about it. And some way to wash our hands, whether a water tank or just a lot of sanitizer.
 
Welcome aboard !

Selling it and getting what you want may be two different things.
Hard tellin' not knowin' what you have into it so maybe it will be easy!

Your smaller options are many , big van , small bus , small class C like a Toyota Sunrader , or a class B like a Pleasure Way etc.
I think all of these would be doable with 2 people with cats.
 
Welcome to the forum!

For 2 adults, particularly with pets, I really recommend something in a Class C - as small a length as you can get.

Then don't be afraid to remove or repurpose some of the areas. Even the shortest of the Cs come with a dining area meant for 4 when there is just the two of you. As long as there isn't water tanks of other needed parts in the seats you can cut it back to a 2 seater and have extra space. The overhead bunk area that you'll never use as bunk space can be turned in to much needed storage space.

My parents travelled for up to 3 months at a time in a full size van (equal to a Class B) but they had rules....lots and lots of rules.Dad got up in the morning, left the van while Mom made the bed and got coffee on. If one needed to use the bathroom, well the other one had to be right there or leave the van entirely. At meal time, Dad had to get in the drivers' seat (on a swivel base), then the table was put in place, then Mom sat down in the passenger seat (also on a swivel). Dad was effectively imprisoned there until she finished her meal... :rolleyes: 

It's either that or a tow vehicle and a travel trailer that you can park somewhere and go exploring with just the tow vehicle.

Planning on living outside is all well and good but y'all want enough space so that when it rains for 4 days straight, no one comes to harm.... :D
 
"a bed, a microwave and a fridge" You need to have a long conversation with your wife about the bathroom facilities.
How strong are her needs for privacy and modesty? It's what kept us from van dwelling, my wife's comfort level wouldn't allow for less than a flush type toilet. Most van dwellers use bucket & bags or a small porta-potty.
 
rvpopeye said:
Welcome aboard !

Selling it and getting what you want may be two different things.
Hard tellin' not knowin' what you have into it so maybe it will be easy!

Your smaller options are many , big van , small bus , small class C like a Toyota Sunrader ,  or a class B like a Pleasure Way etc.
I think all of these would be doable with 2 people with cats.


We've put about $7k in it, including purchase price. I know we probably wouldn't get that, but we might get 4 or 5k, which would be fine. I was talking to my brother earlier, and he just bought a van that could be converted to live in for a whole $200. He put work into it obviously, but that's still dirt cheap. If I could buy that off him, it would be awesome, but I'm not planning on that. Instead I'm going to have him be on the lookout for a similar van that I can help him fix up and remodel. He's in FL too, so most of the vans there don't have any rust on them like they do here in the Midwest.

I'm not sure how much bathroom my wife needs actually. We just use the toilet now, and only for liquids since we can't flush anything down with no running water at the moment. We've been living for a month now with no running water, so if we had to do it in a van, I think it would work. I wouldn't mind a table that we could set up between the two front seats either, we usually eat outside or in the front seats anyway since we have too much crap from not downsizing enough. If I could assist her in getting rid of even more stuff and customizing a van to fit our needs, I'd love it.
 
Hope you get your "perfect rig" !
Very few get it right the first time so you're in good company...

Maybe someone in the tribe is looking to upsize and you can swap?

You can post an ad in "Trading Post" forum section.
 
ebaierl said:
I'm not sure how much bathroom my wife needs actually...

This would be a great time to have a few more semi-serious discussions...
wheels
 
Yeah, we'll have to discuss things. We stop for the bathroom breaks most of the time anyway, but it is convenient to have it in house when we are at a campground and don't want to walk to the bathhouse in the middle of the night.
 
After having a few hours to cool down, I'm feeling better about it all. I bought this RV because I loved it, it was available, and it was in great condition. Now my choice is to either scrap it for something out of frustration, or make the most of it and pimp it the hell out. I want to get an engine tuneup, so hopefully I can do that in Florida when we get there. I want to add solar, I want it to ride better, and I want to be more comfortable in it. I think I'm just feeling anxious today from driving so long, but that won't be the norm.
 
ebaierl said:
After having a few hours to cool down, I'm feeling better about it all. I bought this RV because I loved it, it was available, and it was in great condition. Now my choice is to either scrap it for something out of frustration, or make the most of it and pimp it the hell out. I want to get an engine tuneup, so hopefully I can do that in Florida when we get there. I want to add solar, I want it to ride better, and I want to be more comfortable in it. I think I'm just feeling anxious today from driving so long, but that won't be the norm.

Think you're on a good track. Give yourself some more time in it, a few months anyway, and continue to plan the day to limit road time. Might be good to keep to bigger roads & camps for a while?
 

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