Thinking of going to the dark side (diy RV)

[DrewsBrews]

Except for buying bunch of parts and a bit of welding, I have yet to really launch my build... I was going for a super light and easy to build "explorer box" to put a rooftop tent on. But life has changed so much in a short period of time... Lost job, totaled my TV, fixed/driving the spare TV, a few days away from starting a new job. I'm thinking of picking up a cheap medium size van, like a Chevy Astro, and making it into a mini RV, though sort of teardrop style bed-only inside and rear flip up or slide out galley. The bed would be a queen inner spring futon mattress (super comfy, like sleeping at home), that would flip up for sitting area, or could be removed, leaving the frame in place, so the van could still be used haul stuff. I was already planning on picking up a second vehicle for backup and utility since my current one is an 18yr old sedan. I'm seeing Astros on CL for sale down to $1500 with only about 100k mi on them, and I'm seeing some with over 250k miles on them too, which tells me they are built to last. I see they get up to 23mpg highway which isn't too much off from a compact car pulling a mid-large size tear.

This would be a major upgrade from a tent. I figure I could still build the little box trailer to haul the rest of my camp gear and build some rails on top to haul the canoe (instead of the $1500+ tent).

Someone tell me this is reasonable, or is the stress just finally getting to me?
I know this is a trailer forum first and foremost, but is there room for this type of build here?

[Socal Tom]

It makes sense to me. My first "RV" was a ford van with no side windows. I had been day dreaming about a similar setup. You can find a bunch of people doing similar things to sprinter vans on expedition portal. A full size van is basically a "slouchy" with an engine.
Tom

[Ned B]

Welcome aboard! The Astro is powered by the 'bulletproof' Chevy 4.3l engine, which is essentially the classic Chevy 350 v8 minus 2 cylinders. Long on durability, they made a ton of these body on frame trucks, so parts are readily available. You're most likely to find a later model which will be equipped with the AWD drivetrain, iirc the mileage was pretty stable, but figure on 15-17 mpg not 23. They were also sold as the GMC Safari.
I had a family van version, window van with seating for 7. Great truck, and other than care & feeding when it got older I really loved it.

They hung around a long time as utility vehicles... Plain Jane work vans chugging along on that 4.3. Those are good platforms for what you want. My personal favorites were the passenger vans with the Dutch door tail, upper half opened up like a hatch and the lower section split like regular doors. They were very popular as well.

Good luck with your project! Check out builds over on the expedition portal forums for layout, materials, sound deadening etc...

One build over on
http://www.astrosafari.com/viewtopic.php?f=127&t=94530
Looked promising.

[lrrowe]

This van conversation would have made a great hunting overnighter.

[Optimistic Paranoid]

You might want to spend some time over on the Cheap RV Living site:

http://www.cheaprvliving.com/forums/index.php

They are heavily into converting vans for living in, many of the people there live and travel fulltime in vans.

The forum owner, Bob Wells (akrvbob)has even written a book on it:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1479215899/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1479215899&linkCode=as2&tag=cheaprvliving-20

and has done a number of Youtube videos on the subject as well. He hosts the Rubber Tramp Rendevous every year in Arizona.

[Treeview]

I owned an Astro and a Safari AWD. The Safari had creature comforts!

If you do go this route be sure to check out the auto door locks and window mechanisms...if they're electric. Both were weakly engineered but not hard to fix. Check all of the heater/AC controls too. Some of the switches are known to have a short life.

Don't hold out for AWD but it is a nice bonus if you can get it for the same price.

With a queen mattress there is precious little extra length in the van. That means creatively hanging cabinets high and only low floor cabinets.

Tom

[DrewsBrews]

The full window passenger version seems to be rated 3mpg lower highway. Weight difference from cargo to passenger van (2wd on both) is only 300lbs so I'm not sure why so much of a drop sinceweight plays less of a factor on the highway. I know real world can be vary quite a bit anyway, especially when modifying the vehicle.

The vision in my head: Basically I just need a comfy space to sleep, and still have some capability for utility when not "on holiday". The idea of starting out with prebuilt hard sides that can be readily insulated and shore powered A/C easily installed is already a huge bonus. The bed/frame would indeed pretty much take up the whole area and could be a flat deck for hauling stuff when the mattress is removed. It would be raised up just over the wheel wells providing some storage underneath. The frame could fold towards the rear (like a double hinged futon loveseat). The space that will always be covered by the frame when folded or flat would be dedicated a more permanent storage space, while the space covered only when the bed is flat would be the temporary gear storage (chairs, awning, clothing, ect). So far I had thought against overhead cabinets so the space can be open for double duty as a cargo hauler. Though I'm not totally against some cubbies at the roof edge for small miscellaneous items. Galley space I'm thinking could be a simple flip out table once the rear doors are open, allowing access to the space under the bed where I'd store the stove, ect. I wouldn't necessarily see myself using the galley every outing anyway so it's not something I'd want to invest too much time into. Fancy stuff like sinks aren't my cup of tea anyway.

This isn't much, I know. I'm beginning to find I'm lazy when it comes to projects. I enjoy simple multiple-use solutions to get the most out of my effort. If a project gets too complicated I tend to be put off and cut corners or just find ways to simplify it and make do. So anymore I try to acknowledge that from the beginning.

[Fenlason]

Not that I have any authority here.. but yes there is room for your kind of build.
I first came here with an interest in Tear drops. I then decided I a cargo trailer conversion was more fitting for me at the time. I then started pricing RV stoves, refrigerators and such.. and While looking at cargo trailers.. they had an almost new tow behind camper.. that had cosmetic only, hail damage.. at a price far less expensive than I could build my conversion.

Since.. we have build a simpler conversion cargo trailer.

We have also camped in a variety of vans.

We are currently working on another van.

At one point this forum was VERY active.. much of it just social in nature. I have made some good friends here. It is a good place.. and I welcome you.

[Fenlason]

The full window passenger version seems to be rated 3mpg lower highway. Weight difference from cargo to passenger van (2wd on both) is only 300lbs so I'm not sure why so much of a drop sinceweight plays less of a factor on the highway. I know real world can be vary quite a bit anyway, especially when modifying the vehicle.

The vision in my head: Basically I just need a comfy space to sleep, and still have some capability for utility when not "on holiday". The idea of starting out with prebuilt hard sides that can be readily insulated and shore powered A/C easily installed is already a huge bonus. The bed/frame would indeed pretty much take up the whole area and could be a flat deck for hauling stuff when the mattress is removed. It would be raised up just over the wheel wells providing some storage underneath. The frame could fold towards the rear (like a double hinged futon loveseat). The space that will always be covered by the frame when folded or flat would be dedicated a more permanent storage space, while the space covered only when the bed is flat would be the temporary gear storage (chairs, awning, clothing, ect). So far I had thought against overhead cabinets so the space can be open for double duty as a cargo hauler. Though I'm not totally against some cubbies at the roof edge for small miscellaneous items. Galley space I'm thinking could be a simple flip out table once the rear doors are open, allowing access to the space under the bed where I'd store the stove, ect. I wouldn't necessarily see myself using the galley every outing anyway so it's not something I'd want to invest too much time into. Fancy stuff like sinks aren't my cup of tea anyway.

This isn't much, I know. I'm beginning to find I'm lazy when it comes to projects. I enjoy simple multiple-use solutions to get the most out of my effort. If a project gets too complicated I tend to be put off and cut corners or just find ways to simplify it and make do. So anymore I try to acknowledge that from the beginning.

A possible difference in gas milage between the passanger and cargo versions might be gearing changes. In recent vans I was looking at… differing sized cargo vans.. There were significant differences in mpg.. that I did not understand.. and they ended up with different rear end gearing that made most of the difference.

[DrewsBrews]

A possible difference in gas milage between the passanger and cargo versions might be gearing changes. In recent vans I was looking at… differing sized cargo vans.. There were significant differences in mpg.. that I did not understand.. and they ended up with different rear end gearing that made most of the difference.

Very true, I see they largely came with 3.73, 3.42, or 3.23.. Most common I'm hearing of is 3.73 and 3.23 in rwd. Maybe the Passenger version most often is found with 3.73 to keep it more peppy feeling with the additional onboard weight (also GVWR is 350lb higher than cargo). While the cargos might mostly have 3.23.. As, I'm sure with fleet vehicles, overall cost to run (fuel usage) is placed higher on the list than drivability. Total speculation of course. I can't seem to find much data to come to a real conclusion.

[Socal Tom]

I was going to suggest the same thing. People are heavy, window van usually come with a lot of seats. And you would need the lower gearing to pull the load. The gearratio could also be why the load rating was higher.
Tom

[Mukilteo]

Here is a blog of a on going VW van conversion.
http://www.tosimplify.net/
Here is his first van's blog.
http://tosimplifyold.blogspot.com/2009_06_01_archive.html

I went from a Little Guy Silver Shadow to this

It's fully self contained.
I needed something I could stand up in. Bad Knee and hip.
And at my age the bathroom really comes in handy.
The Silver Shadow was poorly made and leaked in several spots and started rotting fast so it got stripped to the frame and this was slapped together real fast as a support wagon.