Any advice for the perfect camper van ?

[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

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]

Speed / mileage

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!

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.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%2520Nationwide%2520craigslist%2520search%3BL%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Fintl%2Fen%2Fimages%2Flogos%2Fcustom_search_logo_sm.gif%3BLH%3A30%3BLP%3A1%3BVLC%3A%23551a8b%3BDIV%3A%23cccccc%3B&adkw=AELymgXsOmYDb0vGP6UvRp5Efpt5jhhhV3tvsd8-MtvVm1hMJuakH4Bj96TGREpI7u9BMIAkpLa9WB5RtC929VmC-XKmY3laZUDFlczox0eDpiNbqIpBbPDbmo7dSJEPwKIvvReNkaHx&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.

 

[wayne thomas]

Exitinn

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!

 

[Deleted member 9101]

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.

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.

 

[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]

Exit Inn

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.

 

[Deleted member 9101]

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.

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.