BOOOOOOOOOO
VAN ******
For what it’s worth my wife hated the idea of a van until I bought one and she changed her tune. It’s like driving around in a motel room.
Which van for budget build?
- Thread starter rcintx
- Start date
VAN ******
For what it’s worth my wife hated the idea of a van until I bought one and she changed her tune. It’s like driving around in a motel room.
Len.Barron
Observer
96-02 Dodge Ram based Roadtreks can be had on the cheap and are ready to camp...I wouldn't sink a bunch of money in one but it could be a good start..
Mat Mobile
Adventurer
I agree that a Class B motorhome is a good starting point (guilty as charged) and can be had pretty cheap.
But I would stay away from the Dodge Ram Van because there is 0 aftermarket part availability. Or at least make sure you are aware of that. Not necessarily now but at one point you will probably want more ground clearance and you're going to have a very hard time finding parts.
rcintx
Adventurer
Texas. Road trip? LOL.
Yes, I would prefer to sleep inside, but I have camping gear if necessary. I got to thinking last night, and this project may take a slight turn. Instead of the wife and kids, I may try to center this around my 7 year old son and myself for overnighters when the girls don't want to go. I have a nice high wall pop-up for when we all go. It would be much simpler to sleep two of us inside, and still have room for 2 bikes, kayak on top, and a couple of backpacks. He would LOVE it, and I wouldn't have to pop up/down the camper for a quick trip.
I'll check that build out, thanks! I'm an IT guy, so small scale POC's are right up my alley to learn what needs to be done in the final deliverable.
A high top would rock. I have read numerous #vanlife stories and being able to stand up seems to be a huge deal.
I haven't considered this option. Might work... I'll look into it. Thanks!
Well, if you only need to sleep two people, this is will be easy within your budget, even with AWD. You can fairly easily set it up to sleep two and still safely seat 5
If you want the AWD in that price range your talking Astro/Safari.
If 2WD is okay, you can get a larger full size van decent in that range. I don’t think it’s a good price point for any AWD full size vans or 4x4 vans
I would find a good used conversion van. They can be had for cheap and are ready to go. Sure some of the buildout is cheap but most have a nice fold down bed and window screens/curtains. If you want a ton of room in the back take out the second row captains chairs and move the back bench forward. Now you have seating for 5 a bed that can fold flat and tons of room in the back to haul stuff or sleep in cots/air mattress. Speaking from experience Old conversion vans are a blast. If you need more traction get a Detroit trutrac and motor on
transporterjr
IsLost
Keep us posted, BTW. Best of luck. Vans do make the best campers (IMHO), even though I certainly like trucks with campers, shells, tear drop trailers, roof top tents on wagons, etc., etc....
Another option is a mini-van. Take a look at Jucy Rentals. We rented one, and the rear kitchen is pretty cool. However, we did not use the sink, and generally used the stove on a picnic table, but the cutting board, LED light, pull-out fridge and storage, was nice. Ours had a roof top tent that my daughter typically slept in. There was storage deep into the floor in the removed middle fold-down seats.
We saw a privately owned similar set-up - rear kitchen (removable it looked like) and a roof-top tent.
For a budget build, perhaps remove the rear seat, and have a read bed/sofa. Middle seats can fold into the floor and the kids can sleep there. Roof top box to get crap out of the van. The rear seat well could hold gear and/or a water tank. They get mid 20's for gas mileage. Anyways, just a thought. The important part is to get on the road. We did a month long trip with only a tent and two sub 5-year olds, out of a Ford Escort wagon.
Another option is a mini-van. Take a look at Jucy Rentals. We rented one, and the rear kitchen is pretty cool. However, we did not use the sink, and generally used the stove on a picnic table, but the cutting board, LED light, pull-out fridge and storage, was nice. Ours had a roof top tent that my daughter typically slept in. There was storage deep into the floor in the removed middle fold-down seats.
We saw a privately owned similar set-up - rear kitchen (removable it looked like) and a roof-top tent.
For a budget build, perhaps remove the rear seat, and have a read bed/sofa. Middle seats can fold into the floor and the kids can sleep there. Roof top box to get crap out of the van. The rear seat well could hold gear and/or a water tank. They get mid 20's for gas mileage. Anyways, just a thought. The important part is to get on the road. We did a month long trip with only a tent and two sub 5-year olds, out of a Ford Escort wagon.
Len.Barron
Observer
No argument with that...At most I'd do a 2" body lift so that you can put a little nicer wheel/tire combo on there and call it good...save your pennies for a later build.
We looked forever for a Ford full size in your same price range as well. I wanted to get a ‘practice van’ cheap to see if my family really enjoyed it. We ended up finding a 2000 Dodge Ram van 3500 passenger with tinted windows at a neighboring church with only 25,000 miles on it! It was a great place to find a van because it had full records of maintenance and came with chains and all kinds of goods.
The down side as other people have stated is general part availability. It’s really hard to find anything simple for the van. One example is I had to build a front tow hitch receiver where for a Ford this can be purchased. Swivel seat adaptors have been a major headache, even racks were hard to find, etc. If you like to make your own things this may not be as much of an issue.
We pulled the seats in back, did an ikea mattress, bed platform with drawers, solar, awning, and fridge. I’ve tried to focus on improvements that can be passed along to another vehicle. We camp tons, my wife loves it. So much she won’t let me sell the van and get another one! I really want a hitop but don’t want to invest on this van.
The down side as other people have stated is general part availability. It’s really hard to find anything simple for the van. One example is I had to build a front tow hitch receiver where for a Ford this can be purchased. Swivel seat adaptors have been a major headache, even racks were hard to find, etc. If you like to make your own things this may not be as much of an issue.
We pulled the seats in back, did an ikea mattress, bed platform with drawers, solar, awning, and fridge. I’ve tried to focus on improvements that can be passed along to another vehicle. We camp tons, my wife loves it. So much she won’t let me sell the van and get another one! I really want a hitop but don’t want to invest on this van.
Len.Barron
Observer
I wonder how hard it would be to convert to chevy outers and use Weldtec spindles...both are double a-arm set ups, it may not be that tough..
southpier
Expedition Leader
oh, oh ... she wants something ..... proceed with caution!
another_mike
Adventurer
my .02
if you ever think you may even want a 4x4 van, even only slightly... id only look at Ford E350s.
youll regret buying something else, building it, only to wish you had a Ford E350 for the ease of 4x4 conversion and have to start over.
if you ever think you may even want a 4x4 van, even only slightly... id only look at Ford E350s.
youll regret buying something else, building it, only to wish you had a Ford E350 for the ease of 4x4 conversion and have to start over.
Len.Barron
Observer
I agree...I speak from experience on this. I think that if you are really looking long term you should focus on 1995-2003 Hightop E350s with the 7.3, extended 15 passenger length if you want the extra room...I love my 3500 express but it is a lot more work to get to solid axle 4x4..