Your insights on a few different options for first vehicle

[jdamone]

Good afternoon! Long time listener, first time caller. My wife and I are in the process of deciding which direction we want to go with what I will call an adventure vehicle. We will be using it for mountain biking (ideally can store bikes inside), backcountry skiing, fly fishing, etc. We are optimistic that within the next year we will both be able to work remotely the majority of the time allowing us to hit the road for longer stretches. That does mean it needs to have a few more amenities than we would other wise need.

Features that we need:
-Ability to hold up on dirt/ forest roads (not likely to do extreme off road excursions)
-True 4 season capabilities
-Indoor shower (wet or dry bath)
-Air conditioning (Need to leave the dogs in the truck while we are mountain biking)
-Ideally a way to store bikes inside the vehicle or a hitch mount that I could have a storage box built to hold them (open to ideas)
-Area for both of us to work at our computers
-No propane

I was hoping this group might be able to shed some light on the companies and routes that we have considered. I realize that there is some variety here but we are still early in narrowing things down and comparing what the available options are.

Tiger Adventure Vehicles
-Have had great experience chatting with them and creating an estimate
-Cannot find many used/recent reviews on build quality and such though
-Thoughts on pass through and risk of cracking?

Overlander (https://www.unboundfreedom.com/)
-This seems to check all of the boxes and hits the price range
-Cannot find any information on them though

Storyteller Overlander
-As working from the road for long stretches has become more realistic the van idea has been decreased but not ruled out
-Seems to have almost all the features we need (just a little tight on storage for extended trips)

Overland Explorer
-Sounds like there is a lot of opportunity for customization

Blissmobile box on new heavy duty chassis with single wheel conversion.

Thank you in advance for your thoughts!

 

[MTVR]

What about Oshkosh?

 

[gdaut]

You don't mention your budget, and whether you are looking to buy new or used. But a few thoughts.

You do not mention Nimbl, EarthRoamer, EarthCrusier, or GXV. All of these make great campers.

Getting a unit that will allow you to put bikes inside is a challenge. You can do it with a van (like Storyteller, or myriad others) with the bikes under the bed, but that takes up a lot of the room. You can do it with a large GXV - type unit with a garage, but these are big trucks with big price tags. You maybe can do it on the campers built on an 350/450/550 chassis (like a Tiger) by putting the bikes in the back seat area (removing the seat) but getting two bikes in there is a bit of a puzzle. I know; I have a Ram 3500. We travel a lot with out bikes and just keep them on a rear rack. This is not ideal from a security or weather protection prospective, but we decided the cost (in dollars and vehicle size) of getting a rig where the bikes can go inside was prohibitive. 99% of cyclists travel with their bikes on a rack, and they do fine. You can get soft shell covers, and good locks, and even a hard plastic case (although that looks unwieldy), if you are really worried about it.

 

[MTVR]

We plan to store four bikes in the garage under our loft bed- two motorcycles, and two bicycles...

 

[jdamone]

What about Oshkosh?

I am not familiar with that company. Do you have a link by any chance?

 

[MTVR]

I am not familiar with that company. Do you have a link by any chance?

Medium Tactical Vehicle Replacement - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[jdamone]

You don't mention your budget, and whether you are looking to buy new or used. But a few thoughts.

You do not mention Nimbl, EarthRoamer, EarthCrusier, or GXV. All of these make great campers.

Getting a unit that will allow you to put bikes inside is a challenge. You can do it with a van (like Storyteller, or myriad others) with the bikes under the bed, but that takes up a lot of the room. You can do it with a large GXV - type unit with a garage, but these are big trucks with big price tags. You maybe can do it on the campers built on an 350/450/550 chassis (like a Tiger) by putting the bikes in the back seat area (removing the seat) but getting two bikes in there is a bit of a puzzle. I know; I have a Ram 3500. We travel a lot with out bikes and just keep them on a rear rack. This is not ideal from a security or weather protection prospective, but we decided the cost (in dollars and vehicle size) of getting a rig where the bikes can go inside was prohibitive. 99% of cyclists travel with their bikes on a rack, and they do fine. You can get soft shell covers, and good locks, and even a hard plastic case (although that looks unwieldy), if you are really worried about it.

Budget is currently $200-$250,000 otherwise Earthroamer and GXV would be high on the list. Nimbl has been lower on the list just because there does not seem to be much info on it yet. If have a good resource on it though I am certainly open to learning more!

 

[jdamone]

Medium Tactical Vehicle Replacement - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Got it- thank you. I have looked into medium duty vehicles but decided they are bit heavier and larger than we need... although they can come out pretty sweet and make me think twice!

 

[gdaut]

Nimbl is not a new camper; sort of. Nimbl is the rebrand and re-launch of XP Campers. There were 50+ XP V1 campers built (I have one of the older ones) . The original company ran into financial trouble and shut down; new management restarted the company under the Nimbl name. They have the original designer on board as well as some of the original employees. They have made some upgrades to the design, and I believe are currently building the first of the new version. They are worth looking at; unique design. I believe some owners have put a large aluminum storage box on the rear that may hold bikes; probably with the wheels off.

 

[DiploStrat]

I will be happy to chat about Tigers - I had one of the earliest Malayans, their only true four season camper. Tiger now has an new owner and I suspect that, if a Bengal will meet your needs, that build quality is as good as every. Never heard of a Tiger, of any model, cracking. One old Tiger has passed 55 countries, so if you can avoid temps below, say, 10F, they are great.

Not gonna put bicycles inside however.

I am prejudiced, but I would recommend that you chat with Nimbl, especially about fitting a proper bicycle rack to the rear of the flatbed. Unlike Tigers, which are now available only in the Bengal model, Nimbl is designed, from the ground up, and proven in, cold weather.

Scholars differ, but having played with 110v and 12v air conditioners, for your intended use you are looking at carrying a small genset. Mount a small gasoline tank on the bike rack.

 

[jdamone]

I will be happy to chat about Tigers - I had one of the earliest Malayans, their only true four season camper. Tiger now has an new owner and I suspect that, if a Bengal will meet your needs, that build quality is as good as every. Never heard of a Tiger, of any model, cracking. One old Tiger has passed 55 countries, so if you can avoid temps below, say, 10F, they are great.

Not gonna put bicycles inside however.

I am prejudiced, but I would recommend that you chat with Nimbl, especially about fitting a proper bicycle rack to the rear of the flatbed. Unlike Tigers, which are now available only in the Bengal model, Nimbl is designed, from the ground up, and proven in, cold weather.

Scholars differ, but having played with 110v and 12v air conditioners, for your intended use you are looking at carrying a small genset. Mount a small gasoline tank on the bike rack.

Thats great to hear on the Tigers! That one is certainly the leader at the moment for us. When I chatted with them we discussed the cold and they offer an additional winter package. Interesting to hear on the AC - that is good to know. I am going to talk with Nimbl this week and learn more. Thanks!

 

[jdamone]

Nimbl is not a new camper; sort of. Nimbl is the rebrand and re-launch of XP Campers. There were 50+ XP V1 campers built (I have one of the older ones) . The original company ran into financial trouble and shut down; new management restarted the company under the Nimbl name. They have the original designer on board as well as some of the original employees. They have made some upgrades to the design, and I believe are currently building the first of the new version. They are worth looking at; unique design. I believe some owners have put a large aluminum storage box on the rear that may hold bikes; probably with the wheels off.

They reached out based on this so I am going to chat with them here shortly. Thanks for the recommendation!

 

[gregmchugh]

Budget is currently $200-$250,000 otherwise Earthroamer and GXV would be high on the list. Nimbl has been lower on the list just because there does not seem to be much info on it yet. If have a good resource on it though I am certainly open to learning more!

A used EarthCruiser would be in that price range.

 

[gdaut]

Also re air conditioners: We also travel with a dog, and often need to leave the dog in the camper while we ride (or, in the winter, ski). I initially worried about the dog getting too hot, but we have not found that to be an issue. Most of these campers are white, and they are well insulated. The obvious advantage of that insulation is in the winter, but it also helps keep the camper cool in the summer. Judicious opening of windows on the shady side, pulling the shades on the sunny side, and running the roof fans keeps the camper quite cool. Note that we have not done all day rides in really hot weather, so I d not know how hot the camper would get in those conditions, but in weather that I would ride in, the camper stays cool.

 

[grantfurness]

Overlander is AMLRV in Yakima, WA. They’ve been building Adventurer and Eagle Cap campers for a long time. They make good quality campers.