WANTED: 4x4 RV

[climberchick]

Hello! We are looking for a 4x4 RV to take down to Argentina with us. Our requirements:

1. 4x4 DIESEL
2. Shower/toilet or at least existing water setup and room to install
3. Refrigerator/stove
4. <25 ft.
5. <$30,000
6. Reliable

Older models are fine, homemade RVs are fine, RVs that need *some* work are fine. We're pretty handy and can do some work ourselves. No major mechanical defects, please.

Any ideas? We can pick one up pretty much anywhere in North America for the right rig. Thanks in advance!

 

[Ozrockrat]

Check out my rig. It was being built for exactly the trip you are talking about.

http://www.expeditionportal.com/for...8-4x4-Diesel-Ford-E350-Class-C-SRW-Phoenix-AZ

PM coming your way with contact details.

Thanks Oz

Hello! We are looking for a 4x4 RV to take down to Argentina with us. Our requirements:

1. 4x4 DIESEL
2. Shower/toilet or at least existing water setup and room to install
3. Refrigerator/stove
4. <25 ft.
5. <$30,000
6. Reliable

Older models are fine, homemade RVs are fine, RVs that need *some* work are fine. We're pretty handy and can do some work ourselves. No major mechanical defects, please.

Any ideas? We can pick one up pretty much anywhere in North America for the right rig. Thanks in advance!

 

[climberchick]

Check out my rig. It was being built for exactly the trip you are talking about.

http://www.expeditionportal.com/for...8-4x4-Diesel-Ford-E350-Class-C-SRW-Phoenix-AZ

PM coming your way with contact details.

Thanks Oz

Thanks for the reply! Very cool rig, but I think we'd have to make too many changes to it to stay within our budget. I sent you an email, as well. Maybe see you on the road!

 

[jage]

http://www.sportsmobileforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=11288

 

[climberchick]

http://www.sportsmobileforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=11288

Thanks for the link!

 

[climberchick]

We ended up buying a 1988 18' Toyota Sunrader, factory 4x4. Compromised on the diesel part, but we're pretty excited to get to work on our new RV. Will post in the coming months before our trip. Thanks all who sent PMs and links to rigs.

 

[steelheadbum]

Did you buy the one that was for sale in OR? You beat me by an hour I was going to flip it for some easy cash.

Wow for what he was asking it was a steal!! This was one hell of a score considering there was only 26 4x4 ever built period and only about a 3rd of them still roaming the US. Post some pics already!

Congrats and if you ever decide to sell PM me.
Buck
The Redneck Mexican
2002 E350 7.3 PSD 4x4 8inch lift pop top conversion....

 

[climberchick]

Yes, that is the one, and thanks - we're jazzed! We did some finagling to get first in line... you were behind us as were 3 others. We even talked him down, if you can believe that.

Look for pics soon on the forum! My uncle picked it up for me and we're going to retrieve it soon, and then we'll be making some customizations. We'll be taking her to South America next year, so she'll get a good workout.

 

[rader]

Welcome to the rader 4by clan!

Enjoy it, we have a lot of fun in ours...

 

[climberchick]

Enjoy it, we have a lot of fun in ours...

Thanks! We saw your rig a while back... you did a really nice job on it. I doubt ours will end up that awesome, but it will get us on down the road in comfort. We're excited to get it home in a couple weeks to start tinkering. If you have any tips, feel free to pass them along.

 

[climberchick]

Wow, sweet find. That's definitely an option to an Astro-based Tiger XL I'm interested in as well.

What motor does it have?

I hope you you will post many more photos here or on your blog as you customize.

Thanks! We also considered a couple Tigers, but while we were waffling between a Tiger and a van build, this lovely popped up on our radar.

It has a 22RE 5-speed 4cyl. And yes, we will post more photos once we get it home and start making it ours!

 

[Manitou]

With that motor:weight ratio.. Will it do 70mph?

 

[rader]

Yep, on the flats, not at altitude, 70 is no prob.
On a grade, no way.

 

[Flys Lo]

If you are doing South America, particularly if you are off-road, no need to go much faster than 55mph anyways.

 

[climberchick]

Just about every Toyota is a little low on power, we've found. So we assume the Sunrader will be no different. We'll just take our time going up hills. Ha. (A funny anecdote: in 2007 we spent 6 months on the road in North America, towing a 3000-lb 1967 trailer with our 4cyl 1981 Toyota truck. Yep. When we went up hills like over the Tetons, we had to put it in 4-low with our emergency flashers on, and crawl up the hill at 5mph in the shoulder. The 'rader can't be worse than that!)

A 4x4 Tiger would have been more powerful, but also at least twice the price. On a reasonable budget, it seems there is always a balancing act between power/spaciousness/fuel economy/price. We wanted something with enough room for two people and 2-3 medium-sized dogs, something that gets decent mpg, and something that wouldn't eat up our entire prep budget. And, if you're taking it to South America, it's also nice to have a truck you can easily find parts for. The Sunrader popped up early in our research as an option, but we knew the 4x4s don't surface very often so we were exploring different vehicles. We lucked out!

All in all, I think we got a good rig for our trip. It will need a little TLC, but that's half the fun.