Any advice for the perfect camper van ?

[karimik]

I would like to live out of a camper for 6mo/year while driving across the US and Canada into Alaska. I had originally planned on buying a VW Westy and learning how to work on it but have since decided it is way too unreliable. I love the size and interior of the '77 Westy with poptop so looking for something similar. I also love the look of them but that has to be sacrificed for reliability.

I will be traveling alone and don't need a lot of sleeping room. I'm pretty set on a van, don't want a truck/shell combo.

I am not a mechanic.
Safety is a factor. Alarm system would be nice.
Good gas mileage.
RELIABLE. Newer.
Smallish.
Under $10k

Thanks for any advice!

[spencyg]

Your trip sounds like it could be easily done in a 2WD Astro sized van. If you are at all handy with basic woodworking, you could easily outfit one for life on the road for the time period you have in question. To spend under $10k you'll have to buy something that then needs "conversion" for your requirements, especially if you want something new-ish (i.e. mechanically reliable).

Spence

[UHAULER]

T.Low has a nice awd astrovan. They always pop up on craigslist for decent prices.

http://expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=23847

[laylow]

Astro for sure I'd say.

[karimik]

unfortunately no woodworking skills but spency if you want to build it for me i'll build your website for you:)

i need the whole thing ready to go, with poptop. what sort of pricing should i be expecting? thanks for the help. driving and traveling is my thing, but mechanics are not. and too bad they don't make anything with as much character as the late 70's Westys anymore. those guys are photogenic.

[spencyg]

The pop top is going to be a problem for you....a very difficult order to fill. It would be a fully custom job, and fully custom = $$. Any reason you couldn't just pick up some 80's Winnebago Class C or something along those lines? Or maybe you need a Toyota Tundra with a slide-in camper in the bed? With your budget and requirements the van is probably out.

Spence

P.S. Checked out your website...you do some beautiful work.

[fisher205]

Provan/Tiger made a nice conversion for the Astro. Also look for a two wheel drive van conversion from Sportsmobile or RoadTek. Used two wheel drive models are priced from reasonable to cheap right now. If you can find a diesel version it will get better mileage than the Volswagen. You shouldn't need anything more for your proposed trip. I just completed the trip http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=34534 and never needed 4 wheel drive. Good luck and I liked your website. - Brad

[1leglance]

there are a bunch of used sportsmobiles out there especially if you don't need 4wd.
do a national craigs search, look here and sportsmobileforum.com

[Jnich77]

Its not a pop-top, but how about a Toyota previa? Its RWD, reliable as hell, and gets good gas mileage.

[karimik]

thanks for the compliments on my blog! i hope to travel forever.

a camper that i can stand in is very important to me as this will be my home for a year. i also do not want to have to go outside to get into it. so, extended roof or poptop is ideal. 4x4 would be nice. full kitchen would be great. short size is nice.

is this way too many miles to be a deal?

http://boulder.craigslist.org/cto/1488126357.html

hey! thanks for the help. i really do appreciate it.

[elysium]

Wow, that's a pretty loaded van. I recall that some of the ford V10 tritons had the sparkplug issue (aluminum head had too few threads to hold in the plugs). Not sure how prevalent that issue was. Google "ford spark plug blow out". I did not have any issues during the brief time that I owned a 1998 ford with the V10.

Otherwise, that looks like a nice van. Yeah, mileage is a little high, but worth checking out if you are local.


thanks for the compliments on my blog! i hope to travel forever.

a camper that i can stand in is very important to me as this will be my home for a year. i also do not want to have to go outside to get into it. so, extended roof or poptop is ideal. 4x4 would be nice. full kitchen would be great. short size is nice.

is this way too many miles to be a deal?

http://boulder.craigslist.org/cto/1488126357.html

hey! thanks for the help. i really do appreciate it.

[naterry]

My Dad had a similar request and budget last year so I did one of those Subaru swapped westy conversions for his birthday. It took 8 days and came in well under 10k. The trick would be finding a mechanic you trust to do it affordable or finding a decently priced example. The thing will break 100mph and gets 20mpg. Not bad for an old VW van..

http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n239/naterry/VWSUB1.jpg

http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n239/naterry/VWSUB2.jpg

http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n239/naterry/PowersteeringPumpVW038.jpg

http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n239/naterry/Spring09006.jpg

[elysium]

Just for comparison, there's an older 1990 provan GT for $10.5k.

http://denver.craigslist.org/rvs/1479468356.html

The listing does not have a photo (not a good sign), but I think the GT was the pop top. Here's a generic image I found on the web (not sure what year).

http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff86/Gene_in_NE/Provan%20Tiger%20GT/010104010201010303200806121ff1a64a7.jpg

I'd probably take the 2001 ford van you listed over the GT (this was just for comparison purposes).

[gmcpimpin]

I would like to live out of a camper for 6mo/year while driving across the US and Canada into Alaska. I had originally planned on buying a VW Westy and learning how to work on it but have since decided it is way too unreliable. I love the size and interior of the '77 Westy with poptop so looking for something similar. I also love the look of them but that has to be sacrificed for reliability.

I will be traveling alone and don't need a lot of sleeping room. I'm pretty set on a van, don't want a truck/shell combo.

I am not a mechanic.
Safety is a factor. Alarm system would be nice.
Good gas mileage.
RELIABLE. Newer.
Smallish.
Under $10k

Thanks for any advice!
Cool idea for a trip, I'm planning something similar NY to Alaska.

On topic, one of your requirements was good gas mileage, and that V10 van is just not going to give that. Maybe give us an idea what you consider "good gas mileage"? An Astro with the 4.3 V6 is going to give you around 16 mpg, Possibly find one of the rare 4.3 5 speed combos, I hear they give slightly better MPG. Otherwise a diesel might be better for you. A well maintained chevy van with a late 80's 6.2 N/A would be well in budget and get around 20 mpg.

[rynosurf]

I'm thinking the V10 4x4 van that is 9' high wont get the best gas mileage! How about an AWD element with the an Ecamper. Tha pop up is expensive but you should be able to get a used element for a good deal.
http://www.ursaminorvehicles.com/camper.htm

Wow, nevermind I just found the price list for the Ecamper! Looks like it is going up in cost and it was a lot to begin with.

[rynosurf]

Does anyone know much about the Mazda MPV 4x4 vans?

[karimik]

naterry, that westy looks great. if it had a camper interior i would offer you money for it, even though i prefer the pre-80s.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=848744
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y109/krimad/samba.jpg

i love this one, i just don't trust that a vw won't strand me. i'll be in some desolate locations alone and i really don't want to get murdered or otherwise die.

i absolutely dislike the look of most of those sportsmobile interiors. don't like plush and gold cabinet knobs and ugh. no offense to anyone who does, it's just a personal preference. love the earthroamer interior or a very basic, clean setup. love everything about the earthroamer of course but wayyyy out of budget.

gmcpimpin i was ideally looking for around 20mpg, so i will look into a chevy with mods, thanks for pointing that out. good luck with your trip!

[skysix]

The thing will break 100mph and gets 20mpg. Not bad for an old VW van..[/IMG]

Not an old VW but the 2004 Fiat "Dethleffs GlobeBus low profile" (class B) rental I used on a holiday from McRent in Frankfurt - topped out at 96mph and routinely got better than 33mpg (turbo diesel with manual transmission) with autobahn speeds (60-70mph). Not at all bad for an unmodified bone stock RENTAL RV!

http://www.mcrent.eu/bilder/all/img_links.jpg

And VW currently holds the worlds record for a camper van/motorhome with a similar model at over 124mph (not the measly 106mph that GM got at the Bonneyville Salt Flats) (By the way it is up for sale in England at $91,200)

http://www.karmannmobil.com/images/news2.jpg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGMF9o4oNIo&feature
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLiQcb_T6nk&feature=related
http://www.karmannmobil.com/newslatest_may.htm
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300370658239

[CSG]

I think for your requirements, the problem is $10k. I'm sure you can find a conversion van but will it be reliable?

Here's a thought if you could give up the height requirement - get a used cargo van, cot, Engel fridge, porta-potty, some carpet pieces, etc. and live rugged. I think if you want a decent conversion van, you'd have to up your price. A van like mine could be close to perfect for you but I wouldn't sell mine (it's not for sale anyway) for less than $20k. It's a PleasureWay Traverse which is a Westy floorplan on a Ford Econoline van. You can see photos of the basic layout here but the problem would be finding one at your budget. Good luck with your adventure, my wife and I did something similar in a truck and camper in 1992 for six months. It was great!

http://pleasureway.com/models_ford_traverse.php

[naterry]

naterry, that westy looks great. if it had a camper interior i would offer you money for it, even though i prefer the pre-80s.


Cheers! Dad is still very much in the honeymoon phase with the van. He'll call me laughing from rest stops with stories of passing suburbans going up hills in 3rd gear. It's a great combo, and they're out there. Try this nationwide craigslist searcher:

http://www.google.com/custom?hl=en&client=pub-0799606475875391&cof=FORID%3A13%3BAH%3Aleft%3BCX%3AAtpservices%2520 Nationwide%2520craigslist%2520search%3BL%3Ahttp%3A %2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Fintl%2Fen%2Fimages%2Flogos% 2Fcustom_search_logo_sm.gif%3BLH%3A30%3BLP%3A1%3BV LC%3A%23551a8b%3BDIV%3A%23cccccc%3B&adkw=AELymgXsOmYDb0vGP6UvRp5Efpt5jhhhV3tvsd8-MtvVm1hMJuakH4Bj96TGREpI7u9BMIAkpLa9WB5RtC929VmC-XKmY3laZUDFlczox0eDpiNbqIpBbPDbmo7dSJEPwKIvvReNkaH x&boostcse=0&q=westy+subaru+conversion&btnG=Search&cx=007695268203510500512%3Amkr2kecxruc

[sdwindansea]

If you wanted something smaller, I always thought these were really cool: http://www.ursaminorvehicles.com/camper.htm. This a converted Honda Element with a poptop. There is actually one I see driving around my neighborhood, looks great. I believe the Element is also available with 4wd or AWD. It would definitely be more minimalist than a camper van though.

http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/5913/hondaelementpoptop.jpg

[wayne thomas]

Look on yahoogroups , Vandwellers . They have a group of people interested in the van lifestyle . Both outfitting and road travel . Maybe you could get some other ideas . We are all interested in travel adventures .

[karimik]

half the fun of these adventures is trying to do them as inexpensively as possible but this one is looking like i estimated too low so i'm going to go to 20k for the rig. regular or small body, pop top or elevated roof, moderate mileage (half life or better) and good looking. 4x4 a plus but not required.

sdwindansea, that is very cool! i like the idea of the element but not the look of it. i'm more into vintage.

this forum is great fun. thanks everybody!

[Jnich77]

If you wanted something smaller, I always thought these were really cool: http://www.ursaminorvehicles.com/camper.htm. This a converted Honda Element with a poptop. There is actually one I see driving around my neighborhood, looks great. I believe the Element is also available with 4wd or AWD. It would definitely be more minimalist than a camper van though.

http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/5913/hondaelementpoptop.jpg

If you could get the same thing in Jetta TDI wagon it would be the bomb

[elysium]

half the fun of these adventures is trying to do them as inexpensively as possible but this one is looking like i estimated too low so i'm going to go to 20k for the rig. regular or small body, pop top or elevated roof, moderate mileage (half life or better) and good looking. 4x4 a plus but not required.

sdwindansea, that is very cool! i like the idea of the element but not the look of it. i'm more into vintage.

this forum is great fun. thanks everybody!

GTRV can do a poptop on a toyota sienna (which you can get with an awd option). I believe it was $6-7k for the top (roughly the same price as a sportsmobile poptop). Now that your budget is 20k, it might work. Won't have the vintage look, but reliablity of a toyota is probably a plus.

http://www.californiavan.com/gtrvsamples/Images/1.jpg

[robert]

For 20K you could buy a really nice VW and have it gone through thoroughly if that's what you really want. Up until I ran mine hot* last summer I wouldn't have had any second thoughts about driving it to Alaska- from South Carolina at that. They have great character and everywhere you go folks will have some sort of my experience to relate to you. They are slow though and finding parts or someone to work on them can be a pain. The Vanagons and especially the Eurovans are faster but also a pain to get anyone to work on them.

I've been seriously considering moving up to a full sized van for the extra power (towing and faster speed), the AC and just more room in general.


* a wire had come loose off of my gauge cluster and I wasn't paying attention to my speed on a 100* day. It's losing some power now and I need to drop the engine and go over it.

[wayne thomas]

First to Robert , the one who didn't blow his brains out . Each to his own .
But to the poster check out Cheaprvliving , and Vwvanfulltimers . They will help you with some insight also . It's an Adventure !

[robert]

First to Robert , the one who didn't blow his brains out . Each to his own .
But to the poster check out Cheaprvliving , and Vwvanfulltimers . They will help you with some insight also . It's an Adventure !

Eh? :smilies27 Did I miss something here? My brains, what little there are of them, are still securely lodged in my skull. I like my VW very much thank you; this is my third bus (second camper) and one of six VWs I've owned including a Beetle, a Thing and a Type 3 (wish I still had the Thing). I just need something that will pull a trailer with a motorcycle on it and it's getting harder to find women who think traveling with no AC is "quaint" and builds character.

[Jnich77]

GTRV can do a poptop on a toyota sienna (which you can get with an awd option). I believe it was $6-7k for the top (roughly the same price as a sportsmobile poptop). Now that your budget is 20k, it might work. Won't have the vintage look, but reliablity of a toyota is probably a plus.

http://www.californiavan.com/gtrvsamples/Images/1.jpg

Hands down, that would be my pick

[karimik]

agreed! i love love love that toyota sienna. thank you! doubt i would have ever found it on my own.

[wayne thomas]

Robert , Your tag line . How did Hunter die ?
That's what I was referring to . Sorry for the confusion .

[skysix]

http://hphotos-snc3.fbcdn.net/hs063.snc3/13068_1284246021858_1101353000_30911208_6823160_n. jpg

Found a Sprinter conversion in 4 wheel drive, stove and fridge are propane (but Wallas diesel/ceramic top and Danfoss compressor fridge can be ordered). Water heat is diesel (Espar) hydronic with forced air cabin heat from same source. The way the sink slides into the wall in the bathroom is kinda neat. BiXenon HID headlights, 110W of solar panels, a 235AHr battery and LED interior lighting. With 26 gallons of insulated/winterised fresh water storage (17 grey) and a 5 gallon cassette toilet and you have a well equipped rig for 2-9 day trips.

http://www.cs-reisemobile.de/main.htm

Link is under the MB Sprinter header: "Independent" model. What isn't mentioned is the price - but a 2wd used 2003 version (customized with a large-dog kennel built-in under the bed and no fridge or stove) in Sweden is up for sale at $38k with 74k miles.

http://www.blocket.se/alvsborg/Mercedes_Benz_313_CDI_CS_RONDO_23372788.htm?ca=11&w=3

German brochure is at:

http://www.cs-reisemobile.de/pdf/alt/rondo.pdf

I wonder if you could buy a vehicle here and ship it over to be converted to 4x4/manual transmission then fitted out - likely outrageously expensive. Or buy one here and have it converted to 4x4 by http://www.salemkroger.com/sprinter.html before sending to Germany - but you'd still be stuck with the automatic. You might be able to order a US spec model in 4x4 from the factory (likely restricted to auto unless MB decides to offer the manual here to get better gas mileage numbers...) and have it dropshipped at the converters. Best would be to convince MB and CSR to build for the North American market!

I have no stake in or connection with the company other than I wish I could afford one!

[skysix]

After re-reading the OP's requirements - the above is likely not an option. Perhaps one of the moderators could move it to a more appropriate thread or start a new one?

[haven]

The Texas franchise of the Sportsmobile brand has two used vehicles
that seem to fit the OP's requirements.

http://www.sportsmobile.com/z-PO_texas.html

1. Price $10,900, 1996 Dodge RB - 3500, Miles 119,200, Engine 5.9 V-8, Seats 6 Sleeps 4, Cabinets Brown Interior Blue, Penthouse Pop Top Interior Height 6'10", Loop Pile Carpet, Day/Night Shades, 3CF Refrigerator, Microwave, Starcool A/C, 2.8 kw Onan Generator, 9" TV/VCR with Converter Box, TV Antenna, Radio Switch, Aluminum Running Boards, Hitch. Garaged, very good condition.

2. Price $10,900 1998 Ford, Miles 147,600, Engine 5.4 V-8, Seats 7 Sleeps 2, Cabinets Brown Interior Green, Contempo hard top Interior Height 5' 10", Loop Pile Carpet, Day/Nite Shades, 2 cf Refrigerator, Microwave, Starcool A/C, Inverter, Radio Switch, Aluminum Running Boards, Class III Hitch.

[Grim Reaper]

I just about bought a 82 Westy as a DD and I just couldn't get my head wrapped around the reliability issues and I have had plenty of Air cooled experience. I ended up with a $1400 Toyota Previa. Runs great after I did a few repairs (transmission mounts, SADS, SHocks and Stuts). They are available with AWD but no lifts and very limited in tire size. PAINFULLY reliable with many going way over 300k.

Willing to travel? Ad is still up so I assume it is still available.

Ford Areostar pop top camper. Looks interesting.
http://atlanta.craigslist.org/atl/cto/1472887268.html

[karimik]

skysix that is hot. i wish i could find one in NA. haven, thanks i have been keeping my eye on that site and the price is right but i hate the plush interiors. it looks like my grandpa's motor home, and i love my grandpa but we have different tastes. : )

grim reaper, i'm willing to travel! i have looked at that cl ad a few times now, wonder why i haven't emailed seller yet. i guess i'm about to. ta