Stealth conversion camper

[Prem]

SirJoey wrote:

I'd pay someone to do a job like that on my little 8 footer! My personal preference is to have it as feature-packed & comfortable as possible, no matter how tight the remaining space, but that's just me.

That's easy for a Chihuahua to say.

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[artwebb]

EdCasey,

Yup. Some RV buyers love their RoadTreks. The mystique is considerable. The sardine can effect is also.

I started with van conversion RVs. Now, less is more. EIght RVs later, I am with what I have. (And it seems that most others on this forum are also--beyond just the joy/satisfaction of DIY.)

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Love to hear your thoughts on conversion vans/ RV's compared to trailer camping

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Art,

How are things in Texas? My daughter is planning to move to Austin in the fall. Let me know. Thanks in advance.

Now, your request: "Love to hear your thoughts on conversion vans/ RV's compared to trailer camping."

Sure. No problem.

1) When the motor/transmission/driveline is attached to the living quarters there can be major issues. What do you do if you're living in it when the engine/transmission/driveline blows up/out? Do you camp at the mechanic's garage inside your RV? I have. Twice. Once for 6 weeks WITH THE WIFE AND THREE LITTLE KIDS (waiting for a new engine block, parts and the machine shop). Once for a week in 100 degree plus weather in the druggie ghetto of West Sacramento with a blown valve and cylinder head. NOT pretty.

2) A single-axle trailer only has six moving parts: Inner and outer bearings on each wheel and the two tires and wheels. Might take, at most, half a day to fix. If the tow vehicle blows, you go rent a small U-Haul to tow it home or to the campground!

3) There's huge mental and financial savings in Keeping It Super Simple (K.I.S.S. philosophy). More beer. Less thinking. More hammock time. Less messing with the dump station.

4) You can build a cargo trailer conversion RV for yourself exactly to your liking in a month or four, depending on the components you want in it. RVs come with all kinds of house/high tech amenities that just clutter up one's camping lifestyle and complicate one's worries and anticipations. ("I wonder if the black water tank needs dumping!" or "Did that relay go out again on the forced air furnace or did I forget to set it for 64 degrees?" or "They had better honor that 1-year warranty on the whatchamajigger!")

5) And this is a biggie: It's far more rewarding to spend money on adventures/experiences than to spend it on THINGS. See: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=121908647&ft=2&f=510221

$9k - $390k on a van conversion or motorhome, park it in a storage facility 50 weeks a year and go to the lake for two weekends in August? Or $5k on a Plain Jane trailer, 3,000 miles+ per year, go to Quartzsite, Tucson, Bisbee, Yuma or down Baja in the winter and to the lake all summer long? Core issues. And we quit caring even one iota what The Jones think about our possessions/lifestyle/lack of conformity to their misery.

Good?

Answers about Texas for me?

Best,

Prem

[synaps3]

$9k - $390k on a van conversion or motorhome, park it in a storage facility 50 weeks a year and go to the lake for two weekends in August? Or $5k on a Plain Jane trailer, 3,000 miles+ per year, go to Quartzsite, Tucson, Bisbee, Yuma or down Baja in the winter and to the lake all summer long? Core issues. And we quit caring even one iota what The Jones think about our possessions/lifestyle/lack of conformity to their misery.

I love this mentality. I think it's why we're all here.

[Prem]

Dave,

Bet you wouldn't mind escaping winter about now, eh?

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