RE: Where does the money go?
Go to the Sportsmobile DYO page and check out the prices for each component. We kept the total cost on our unit down to $70,000 by leaving out everything we didn't need and going with vinyl and Formica instead of wood and leather. And no electric sofa and no Corian cabinet top.
Price Sheet
While the pricing of the sportsmobile is excellent and more in line with what I'd expect (double the chassis cost), the exterior styling of the ford vans isn't really my bag. I really love the chevy 3500 styling with the wide bumper and the very conversion van-esque look. I think it would be easier to pull off true stealth in that. But I could be wrong, maybe a plainer van is even better.
I do think that the more "fully body paint" and fancy something is, the more tolerant people would be of it. Something tells me if I parked a 40 foot diesel pusher with a darker blending full body paint job in front of my house, people wouldn't be as concerned. Maybe I'm wrong.
Where does the money go?
So I look at a Chevy 3500HD Express van and it costs $30,000 or maybe even less. Maybe a little more. I look at a roadtrek based on said chassis and the price is north of $100K.
So I look at all the components. I look at much larger motorhomes that are half the price and consist of more materials, nearly similarly priced chassis and they have bigger tanks, more batteries, bigger tv, more furniture, bigger appliances, etc.
So where does the money go in a Roadtrek RV? Is it custom exterior styling? Is it specialized compact items?
Can you build a coach as good as a roadtrek for half the price like I feel you could?
RE: "Going stealth"
I have to agree with the HOA thing. Your hands are TIED when it comes to those. If more people walked away from the deal when they saw the covenants things would improve when sellers start screaming. I firmly believe that there should be neighborhoods for "us" (people that don't fit a certain preconceived notion of a lifestyle) and "them" (people who insist on everything being cookie cutter perfect). Since I diverged from the original topic, I'll say I really wish I had a class B and I can't for the life of me understand where the money goes in building a roadtrek. I look at buying a new chevy express 3500 and doing the conversion myself as loads cheaper. What am I missing? Where does the money go in a roadtrek? Is it all engineering and design $$?
RE: "Going stealth"
I'll also mention that the house was a dilapidated mess when we moved in and we've since put in new siding, windows, landscaping, and take much better care of the lawn.
But stupid neighbor's tunnelvision. You can't please these people.
RE: "Going stealth"
I recently had a problem with my neighbor. Bought a house in an old development with no HOA. I have a 32ft Winnebago Adventurer parked in my driveway. Some people from another neighborhood started pushing for an ordinance but word got out and a *huge* number of people flooded the town meeting and they tabled it.
The way I look at this type of thing is that people who own RV's, boats, trailers, etc are busy active people. They don't have time to dilly dally with local politics. This is the same thing as me, I have a very active life and I generally don't care unless you start bugging me. Anyway, he started doing passive aggressive things like mowing into my lawn, and parking so that I can't park in my normal spot. One day my wife came home and had to park in front of his house because of his passive aggressive parking. He came out screaming so she called the cops on him. That basically stopped it but we still feel like we live in a hostile neighborhood.
One other neighbor is friendly and will actually discuss the issue with me. He says he doesn't like it and I told him my POV is that the other neighbor had the opportunity to buy my property before I did and rent it out and set out those terms in the lease. He didn't that's his problem. Until he pays my mortgage he can stuff it.
Take solace in knowing that 50-75% of people not only don't care about your rv but woudl love to have one parked in their driveway themselves. The whole no boat/rv thing on an otherwise well maintained property is the most unamerican thing I've ever heard of in my life. period.
And I can understand HOA, but getting town ordinances makes my blood boil.
