Van buyers outlook

[achristiana]

Hi, all--I was glad to find this awesome site. I'm still about three years away from buying a van and outfitting it for camping. I'm handy so I'll be doing the build on my own, stage by stage, and using the van for longer and longer trips in the meantime. My main question is about the outlook for vans in the next few years.
My sense is that the pandemic has greatly increased demand for suitable rigs, especially here in the PNW where I live (based in Portland, OR). So I'm hoping that quite a few will come back on the market once life goes back to semi-normal and some folks give up on their van life plan. 
Thoughts?
FWIW, I'm leaning toward a mid-roof Ford Transit 250 with the longer wheelbase. Planning to go south in the winter and north in the summer so traction isn't a main issue, though it would be nice to get to tricky trailheads.
Thanks!

 

[RvDreams]

Welcome achristiana 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.

 

[user 37446]

I would not bet on that presumption of more vans becoming available very soon. Your area is also known for higher than average prices so be willing to "fly and drive".

 

[achristiana]

Thanks!

 

[WayOutWest]

I found that the availability of vans changed quickly once the plandemic hit. The big companies that typically sell a lot of surplus vans (Enterprise, Hertz) were now doing much less business, so they didn't have nearly as many vans to sell. And they were BIG suppliers of used vans!!! I managed to get a van in July 2020 but only by jumping right on the opportunity. I would expect van availability to pick up when these rental companies get back to business as normal, which I hope to be within a year. I don't think it's the number of vanlifers impacting the availability quite as much as business shutdown issues. There were already a lot of vanlifers prior to business shutdowns.

Anyway, I have a Ford Transit 350 long (148 inch) wheelbase, and IMO it's perfect for one person, for road trips like you describe. That's how I use it. My trips tend to be 4 to 10 days in length. I did the van conversion myself, and it's a relatively simple conversion in the sense of not involving solar panels, no built in heating, no built in fan, no refrigerator, no built in shower, no insulation, and a simple DIY composting toilet built from a 5 gallon bucket plus parts. Just single size bed, sink, good quality 40 quart ORCA cooler, composting toilet, plug in LED lights, lots of cabinet space. Powered by portable lithium solar battery, a Goal Zero battery. Cabinets do not project far into the space because I did not use insulation, so that gives me 4 inches of interior wall space to use in the cabinets.