RV's are just that Recreation Vehicles

[corky52]

I'm about two-thirds done with the conversion of my Trans-Van from an RV to a Mobile Living Space, and looking at the changes.  RV's are designed to be lived out of, not in.  RV's are designed for maximized sleeping places, not for true living spaces.  About half or more of the RV hardware is best removed and sold, it is high operation and energy use costs with lackluster durability.

I got rid of the RV AC, RV heater/furnace, the RV water heater, and totally rebuilt the interior for better space use and far more storage.  The RV couch and chairs were not comfortable, trying to be to many things while doing none well. I re=installed the reefer with twice the insulation around it, it was a toss-up on replacing it with a compressor unit, may still change it out.

I did keep the captains chairs upfront, the addition of a footstool makes them fairly comfortable and using them adds to the living space available for other things.  I'm now rebuilding the cooking areas and adding more storage .

I guess my main point is that anything designed for Recreation isn't all that great as a living space.  There are some great RV shells out there that get passed over because the interior isn't in great shape, give them a second look with the idea of gutting and rebuilding them.


Corky

 

[One Awesome Inch]

Totally agree. I went to an RV show a couple months ago and was very unimpressed by the cheap quality of many of these brand new RVs worth thousands of dollars. If they are built cheaply on the inside it makes me really wonder about the quality of the drivetrain, and other mechanical aspects. Then I see youtubers like Nomadic Fanatic and Chris Travels who it seems cannot go a week or so without some problem with their RV. Its one of multiple reasons I went for a standard cargo van with the intention of building the interior myself.

 

[corky52]

OAI,
Some of the drive trains are actually pretty good, mine is an Econline E350, with a 460, plenty of power and fairly strong, shell is all honey comb fiberglass, good insulation, really strong and easy to maintain.  The problem was the interior design was for something other than what I wanted to do and built poorly with cheap parts.  The thing is that many people have low mileage smaller RV's that go very cheap and could with little work become great Mobile Living Spaces.

Corky

 

[cyndi]

Where are the pictures?

 

[corky52]

Cyndi,

I live in the van and it's a mess right now, plus I'm a function builder, not a craftsman, much of what I do looks pretty raw compared to what I see posted here by others.  My footstool is an example of my style, a milk crate with a closeout seat pad from Big Lots on it.  Not pretty but extremely functional!

I'll get the mess under control and take some pictures to post one of these days, just don't expect much, a prospectors cabin on wheels.


Corky

 

[highdesertranger]

I couldn't agree more. new rv's cost tens of thousands of dollars or some cases 100,000's. not thousands and they are basically junk. but then most cars and trucks they sell today are junk. not trying to offend anyone out there and there are some good ones out there but they are few and far between. this is why I will build my own. tuff, efficient, able to go where I want to go and stay in one piece. highdesertranger

 

[mockturtle]

I, for one, am very happy with my combination home & car.

 

[highdesertranger]

mockturtle yours is one of the good ones in my book. my friend has a tiger, very capable vehicle. but you must admit they are few and far between. I almost mentioned you and your turtle in my post, I should have. highdesertranger

 

[corky52]

MT,
Tigers are nice rigs, built far better. with more though in them than 99% of the RV's. but still RV's.


Corky

 

[sushidog]

I, for one, am very happy with my combination home & car.

Yeah, you've got a sweet one, but even a small, high quality rig like yours is six figures new. You can get good quality units, but they won't be cheap - not tens of thousands, but hundreds of thousands of dollars. But don't make the mistake of thinking just because they are expensive they are of high quality. Most high end rigs use the same brands of RV appliances found in relatively inexpensive campers like my little Aliner.

Chip

 

[Bdog1]

Was reading somewhere that RVs warrantees are void if there lived in full time

 

[flailer]

Thanks for starting this thread !!!    :exclamation:

I am such a social outcast because I see stuff like your stating here, and then when I say it out loud people look at me with crossed-eyes.  

The rig I have now I got used, and came with such a HUGE, overwhelming, burdensome "Pride-of-Ownership" that I thought I must be crazy to see the numerous weak points. (and that's me: seeing the rig as an uninformed newbie.)

I must say outside influence as stopped me from making the mods I want.     

Thank goodness for: This site, Handy Bob's stuff, HighDesertRanger's input, and now this thread !!! 

 

[LeeRevell]

Was reading somewhere that RVs warrantees are void if there lived in full time

Why would they need to know.....?  :huh:
As far as they need t know you are vacationing when it breaks down.

 

[LeeRevell]

A LOT of people live full time in their RV/TT units, and are perfectly happy. You are painting the units with far too wide a brush.
RVs are like mobile homes, there are differing levels of quality. In my home, most major appliances have failed in the thirteen and a half years I have lived here. No reason to sell it and get another, especially as it's paid for and I have no mortgage...... I just replace the faulty appliances, do the required repairs and carry on with life. Same with folks in their RVs.

 

[ttpadilla]

Why would they need to know.....?  :huh:
As far as they need t know you are vacationing when it breaks down.

Haha! I keep accidentally telling my salesman that I plan to live in mine, which of course, he keeps telling me not to say, because they will NOT finance an RV for a permanant dwelling. Sometimes (too many times) my exuberant honesty gets the best of me.

 

[SoulRaven]

Haha!  I keep accidentally telling my salesman that I plan to live in mine, which of course, he keeps telling me not to say, because they will NOT finance an RV for a permanant dwelling.  Sometimes (too many times) my exuberant honesty gets the best of me.

In the world of credit, fulltimers are a poor risk, because they can be hard to find.

 

[corky52]

A LOT of people live full time in their RV/TT units, and are perfectly happy.  You are painting the units with far too wide a brush.
RVs are like mobile homes, there are differing levels of quality.  In my home, most major appliances have failed in the thirteen and a half years I have lived here.  No reason to sell it and get another, especially as it's paid for and I have no mortgage......  I just replace the faulty appliances, do the required repairs and carry on with life.  Same with folks in their RVs.

Lee,
Much of it has to do with how you want to live, and I chose to make my spaces fit my life style and not to fit my life style to the spaces!  I sold my large house fit for a family and don't buy into the idea that I should live in an RV designed for a family to live out of for a few weeks a year.

Mobile Living Spaces are a different set of wants/needs than an RV, and nobody at this time is servicing that need, so we have to do for ourselves or accept a lesser life.

I started this thread to give people pause for thought, not to knock RVs for their designed purpose, just to point out that their purpose and our needs are very different.


Corky

 

[LeeRevell]

That is still a limiting statement, which does NOT fit many who DO live in their RVs, just as you say you do. Some modify to suit their specific needs, some do not. I personally would modify mine to fit me, as NO RV I have seen yet is t my particular needs and likes. Beds too short, too many of them, too large fridge/stove/etc. To small a wetbath/shower. I would likely have to rip the innards out and totally rebuild it to fit what I would need, especially for full timing. But many are perfectly happy with their "RoadRunner 2000" as it stands. Myself, I want more mobility than a big RV would offer anyways. But to denigrate them all gives us van guys a bad name. As a wise feller once said, "Can't we all just get along?"

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

I'm going to second the comment about poor build construction on motor homes.

A comment I saw over in one of the skoolie forums summed it up nicely:

"When a bus is in an accident, it looks like a bus was in an accident. When a motor home is in an accident, it looks like a tornado hit a trailer park."

Regards
John

 

[anewbiewannabe]

ROFLMBO