Hey All -
A pretty broad question, I know. And I have done plenty of searching here and on many other forums/sites. But I am hoping someone can provide a little insight into how adding a penthouse changed their van camping experiences.
A little backstory: The wife and I bought the van back in 2014. It's a 2002 E350 Quigley 4x4 RB Cargo V10. We have since put the Agile RIP kit on it. We built a home made platform and have been using bins to store stuff over and under and around the van ever since. We are looking to get a bit more organized with our gear storage and hauling capabilities. It has an aux. battery system which we plan to upgrade and add a refrigerator and heater system. That's probably it, as we still want it to be a simple, low maintenance build. Our typically crew is 2-4 people and 2-3 dogs, with all the gear. Most trips involve bikes, kayaks and climbing. No kids. Guests sleep either in their own tents or trailers, and it will remain that way. The ultimate goal is better organization and safer passenger transport.
We have been getting more serious about the addition of the SMB penthouse pop top. But we are having a hard time stomaching the cost and identifying the true need. It will cost as much as the van did. So i guess I am looking to hear from anyone who has lived with a factory roofed van for a period and then made the jump to the pop-top. What did you miss most? Do you regret the investment? Are their other options you would look at to accomplish a similar end goal? We don't stealth camp very often. And in that case we can just pull the seats and sleep on the floor. We don't think we are interested in a fixed roof top. The van height already limits how we get into places like the San Rafael Swell and on lines we can take on the trails. It's not used as a rock crawler, but it likes to get away...
Thoughts? And just because here's a photo. Thanks!
A pretty broad question, I know. And I have done plenty of searching here and on many other forums/sites. But I am hoping someone can provide a little insight into how adding a penthouse changed their van camping experiences.
A little backstory: The wife and I bought the van back in 2014. It's a 2002 E350 Quigley 4x4 RB Cargo V10. We have since put the Agile RIP kit on it. We built a home made platform and have been using bins to store stuff over and under and around the van ever since. We are looking to get a bit more organized with our gear storage and hauling capabilities. It has an aux. battery system which we plan to upgrade and add a refrigerator and heater system. That's probably it, as we still want it to be a simple, low maintenance build. Our typically crew is 2-4 people and 2-3 dogs, with all the gear. Most trips involve bikes, kayaks and climbing. No kids. Guests sleep either in their own tents or trailers, and it will remain that way. The ultimate goal is better organization and safer passenger transport.
We have been getting more serious about the addition of the SMB penthouse pop top. But we are having a hard time stomaching the cost and identifying the true need. It will cost as much as the van did. So i guess I am looking to hear from anyone who has lived with a factory roofed van for a period and then made the jump to the pop-top. What did you miss most? Do you regret the investment? Are their other options you would look at to accomplish a similar end goal? We don't stealth camp very often. And in that case we can just pull the seats and sleep on the floor. We don't think we are interested in a fixed roof top. The van height already limits how we get into places like the San Rafael Swell and on lines we can take on the trails. It's not used as a rock crawler, but it likes to get away...
Thoughts? And just because here's a photo. Thanks!
