Ten weeks to liftoff

[Bandelay1965]

Yo from Philly!
Longtime parttime vagabond here, about to become fulltime vandweller. I’m a single guy, 48, no kids, no worries, and will be traveling with my cat. Started thinking about it a couple years ago after leaving a 16-yr publishing career and getting set up in freelance, and now ready to pull the trigger. I’ve unloaded most of my stuff and am putting the house up for sale by next weekend. It should sell pretty fast and we should be on the road by end of August. Zipadeedoo!

For a little background, I hitchhike-camped and car-camped for months at a time every year from ages 21-30. But never modified a rig in any way because it never occurred to me to do it, being young and only caring about having adventure. Well I’m older now and preety sure I can mix comfort with adventure. So...I’m looking to buy a van, or suv-plus-trailer, or truck-camper (?) to build into a comfortable permanent self-contained dwelling for me and my cat.

Top priorities are: #1 remote access as high up the rocky rutty branchy trails as I can get. #2 the most possible living space. #3 at least 13 mpg+.

I’ve read Bob’s post on rig options for wilderness access, plus other posts on the topic here and on other sites, and narrowed it down to the types mentioned above. I’m leaning toward extended passenger van with extra high top and airbags for lift if needed, but thought it would be good to ask specifically here:

If you had $15k-$20k to spend (total buy and build), and those priorities, what set-up would you go for?

My future plan for summer 2015 or 2016 is to buy a few acres in the mountains either near Missoula (where I've got some family) or in southern Oregon (where I was spawned!) and build an off-grid cabin as a permanent base, but then to continue vandwelling at least half the year.

Thanks in advance for any replies, and thanks too for all the great info here. I’ll post pics when I get my ride and will ask some questions while I build it. Looking forward to joining the fray and to meeting some of you out there under the blue!

 

[dragonflyinthesky]

Welcome Bandelay.

 

[akrvbob]

Height, width and ground clearance are actually your biggest problem in going deep in the Forests. Little used road roads grow over and close in long before they become impassable. 4X4 is a great help, but not as important as size and ground clearance. Her'es my recomendations:

1) A good used Sportmsmobile 4x4 van. It'll be tough in your price range but doable.

2) Chevy made an AWD Express van for a few years in the early 2000s. Ideal!! But hard to find! Get the 5.3 liter and you'll get 16-20 mpg! I had a friend who searched for months until he found one and flew into Saint Louis and picked it up. He gets up to 20 MPG and loves it! Awesome rig

3) A good used 2x4 van with a lift, mud tires and locker in the rear. Easily doable on your budget and a newer one can get 16-20 mpg and run forever. Take you just about anywhere you reasonable want to go.

4) AWD Astro/Safari minivan with a lift and mud tires. Great rig!!!!

5) 4x4 Dodge Cummins with very small camper like the Capri. 16-24 mpg, and can take the camper off. Bigger campers are very comfortable, but the height and width really limits them. Cummins engine will run forever and carry any amount of weight and laugh at it!!!!!! "You call this weight, let me show you!!" (you have to saw that with a Schwarzennager accent!) Honestly, one of the best engines ever made.

6) Jeep towing a very light camper. Doable but the engine will be working hard. A full size 4x4 SUV with a very small and light trailer about the same except you'll have the power. Poor MPG unless you get a Suburban or Expedition with diesel. That's a very viable option!
Bob

 

[Bandelay1965]

Hi Dragonfly. Hey Bob, that's great info, thanks. I wanted to go truck but didn't think any could get that kinda mpg. I'll "look out" (in Arnold's voice) for the Dodge Cummins. And the Chevy Express AWD, which is news to me. Would love to live in a Sportsmobile but haven't seen one in range yet.

 

[akrvbob]

The Cummins in an empty truck should be over 20 mpg consistently. With a light, small camper, shouldn't drop that much, 15 mpg or better.
Bob

 

[Patrick46]

yeah, I was kinda thinking the 4x4/pick-up/camper combo mysself. And with a Cummins Turbo????
OOOOOOOooooooooo!!!!!!


welcome to the forum Bandelay!!

Patrick from the Southern Oregon Coast!! (C'mon back home!!!)

 

[fablefox]

At that price I can only suggest used truck and used pop top.

In my old ideas I was planning to buy Lance + Ford. But now that I have more information, I'm looking at Tiger Vehicles and EarthRoamer more. It feel like truck camper and class b combined.

but yeah, ground clearance and height clearance + stability, truck and pop top is the best combination.

 

[Bandelay1965]

Hey Patrick and Fable! Well I was leaning toward van, but y'all plus Bob got me seriously reconsiderin' the idea of a 4x4 Cummins diesel pickup with pop-up truck camper. Found a few listed nearby; appreciate any thoughts, like what's mpg difference between 6' bed vs. 8' bed (w/ longer camper), and do partial-fabric-sided truck pop-up campers hold up in sub-zero temps, and which makers of camper to seek or avoid.

Fable: checked out Tiger and EarthRoamer websites -- very awesome but very expensive!

Patrick: Will def spend some QT in southern OR this Sept/Oct after hanging with my bro in Mizoo and rolling through Condon (dad was in AF stationed there in the 60s). Fell in love with southern OR hitchhiking in the 90s then again while van camping in summer '12. Both times just passing thru, but this time I'll dig in!!

TRUCKS
http://lancaster.craigslist.org/cto/4483327379.html
http://cnj.craigslist.org/cto/4526859717.html

CAMPERS
http://www.rvtrader.com/listing/2004-Palomino-Bronco-1500-112402403
http://newjersey.craigslist.org/rvs/4527130489.html

This one probably has too much height:
http://www.campingworld.com/rvsales/truck-camper/2002/lance-lance/347945/

 

[akrvbob]

I'll be the odd-man-out and discourage you from a pop-top camper. They're fine for trips but not for living in. They're a hassle and cold, and the fabric is going to wear out/mold.

I'd want a Capri camper or some minimal small slide-in shell.Lance makes some good light campers. Shoot for less than 1500 pounds and nothing more than 8 feet.
Bob

 

[Bandelay1965]

Good points. Some pop-up makers' websites suggest they're 4-season, but I had my doubts. Didn't consider mold growing on the fabric, but the possibility makes sense and is enough to scare me off; I lived in a moldy house once and it damn near killed me.

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

I would think that if you mixed a little Clorox bleach in a pail of water and sponged the cloth part down once a month or so, you'd never have to worry about mold or mildew.

But, yeah, their big problem is that they're cold in winter, and that would be a deal breaker for me.

Regards
John

 

[blkjak]

welcome....blkjak

 

[akrvbob]

I had a friend who retired and bought a nice Northstar pop-up camper to live in. After the first winter he sold it and bought a nice hard-wall camper. He hated the pop-up!

They are great for taking trips, not as a live-in.
Bob

 

[Bandelay1965]

Know anyone who has or had a 1979-ish Alaskan pop-up truck camper? I saw an ad this weekend for a '79 - looks fine and the owner says it's tip-top. It's also the 10-ft model and weighs 1800 lbs, so I'd take a hit on mpg, but with the right truck still might hit low teens.

Hey Blkjak!

 

[SoulRaven]

There’s no place like home.

My suggestion is much like my current living arrangements.

A large travel trailer in the Pocono’s at the highest elevation you can find for eight months a year and a full size eight foot box pickup with an oversized camper top to over winter with in Florida.

 

[akrvbob]

Since they are hard-shell that eliminates some of the problems. Still a hassle to put up and down if you move much.
Bob

 

[Patrick46]

This has got me wondering...

how often do you think you'll be traveling, which brings the fact that this is how much you'll hafta raise and lower the top on a pop-up. Once in a blue moon, is OK...but several times a week???

thinking about it more, makes me lean more towards a hard-sider now, as you're only gaining about a foot to 18" of roof clearance. Especially if you don't stow anything on the roof.

 

[Bandelay1965]

Probably move once a week on average. I don't mind the break down and set up. How can I when I think back to family camping ordeals in the seventies where my dad would have to set up those huge canvas multi-room tents with fifty poles and ropes and spikes and whatnot, and usually in the dark and in the rain! It's gotta be easier than that, right??!!

Loo: I thought about upstate PA and may do it later...and your set-up sounds sweet...but for now I gotta go West. Plus I got family in MT so that's home too.