Thanks for the ideas. I think the sprinter has moved into the lead again, even the regular body. If too cramped by the width, those flares mentioned above would work out perfectly. Also it seems the current Fiat vans are being brought over by dodge in 2013 and the ducato is 6" wider than the sprinter so I may consider that. (I've owned 9 Fiats in my life but nothing newer than 1978!)
Expedition Leader
Just FYI:Originally Posted by ihatemybike
Both of his trucks - the original Falcon, and the Chinook he has now - are Class B.
The Chinook Concourse resembles a Class C, but that doohickey over the cab is just a cabinet and not a bunk.
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Current: 76 E-250, bubble-top, self-contained|couple of old Yamaha enduros
Previous wheelers: 41 Willys|78 FJ40|78 Bronco|84 Bronco|74 Ramcharger|78 Ramcharger|79 D150 PowerWagon|77 D100|79 D400 dually, converted to 4WD, utility bed, 10' Lance|75 Westy|69 Scout, RHD|bunch of others|bunch of bikes|couple of boats|couple of motorhomes|blah blah|so what|not my idea|just doin' what I'm told|wank wank|this space for rent|candy is dandy|but liquor is quicker
Explorer
The Ducato's are great for their interior space, nice to drive too, and reasonable MPG, though over here, we have what you may consider small engine sizes.
I'd thought of a small 'slide out' section that would accommodate a 'footbox' area of the bed, extended only for sleeping, and have since seen it done on small travel vans.
The Flare Space idea is neat, I've never seen anything (commercially available) like that before.
One thing I have seen recently that I really like is a bed that drops down from the ceiling. That way you can leave it messy and just raise it up to gain your rear space access.
This might help with building a sleeping setup in a Sprinter that didn't need to be side to side.
Personally with your specs I would be all over either a Sprinter or a cheap box van (the money saved on the box van goes a long ways on the fuel budget).
cigar smoking, wilderness first responding, ham talking night nurse who is overland certified and a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.....
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Hadley, Tardis, and Me
I like the Sprinter box van idea. I wonder if you could find one on a short wheel base.
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Expedition Leader
Adventurer
IMO the key for "stealth camping" is to simply blend in with your surroundings. An NPR box van, a Sprinter Van or a "Snap On" van would blend in almost anywhere. Why worry about stealth when you have security through obscurity?
Park in a shopping center, a school or church, a motel parking lot or a truck stop or a rest area and call it good. If you are concerned about being bothered make up some magnetic signs with a service company or a bakery or some kind of charity or foundation name on it. Unless you are acting the fool, no one will likely bother you.
Observer
Another option is to buy a used 14 passenger shuttle bus based on a van cutaway chassis. Here's an example (PDF file). You'd have to convert the interior, but you'd have a shell with windows, plenty of height, and good interior width. Some have luggage space in the back, or a doors for a wheel-chair lift, which could be used as a garage.
Adventurer
If its just you then sleep diagonally on an unwidened Sprinter rear bed?
La Strada in Germany meld their own rear body onto most of a Sprinter vans walls, maintaining strength but giving more rear bed width at a cost,
http://www.lastrada-mobile.de/?languageid=2
New Sprinters are rear or four wheel drive and Ducatos are front. And pretty much the same width at wheelarch height. The Sprinter may taper in at the top a bit more though. The Fiat bonnet is shorter so gives more rear space for any given van length (so a UK van converter told me anyway, about a foot different). Another german converter adds a few inches width where the bed is, which coincides with a window blank on the van side, can't find that one at the moment though. You can also buy a Sprinter thats a huge 7.4m long.
http://www.desiragroup.com/upload/fi...ucato_tech.pdf
http://www2.mercedes-benz.co.uk/cont...ical-data.html
U1700 camper called Moglet
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School bus?
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