I am considering purchasing a van conversion for full time living. It would be myself and my little poodle. With housing prices so high, I thought this would be a good solution. Also, I seem to move to another location every few years because I get bored with the mundane everyday routine of one place.
I am retired, though I retired early in my life (58 years old), but feel, if the stars are on my side, I have a few good years left to travel around and not be tied down.
I am considering a Rialto or a RoadTek, but would love some recommendations from the pros. I understand that most of these vehicles get approximately 15-17 miles to a gallon, which I feel is still not bad for the high gas prices we are starting to see.
Would like opinions on buying a used van versus a new one with regard to maintenance issues. I know there will always be something that may need to be repair or replaced, and I wonder if this is a problem with the Class Bs.
I can't comment on full-timing in a B-van, but as relates to used-vs-new, we bought a used '99 Ford van and converted it ourselves. We've owned it from 123K miles until now (195K miles) and have had very little trouble with the chassis in the 5 years we've owned it.
BTW, it is a E350 van with the 5.4L engine, and we average 15 mpg.
There are discussion groups for people who live in vans. Two Yahoo groups that I know are Vandwellers and Mobileliving. You might want to check them out.
As far as used v new , I'm not much help here////my budget is such that when i buy anything it's very used.
The map shows the states my wife and I have driven (or camped) in together.
I don't think there is a more expensive per square foot camper than a B. And maybe 90% of the general public would find fulltiming in 70 sq ft to be difficult.
You could tow a trailer at 10 mpg and triple your living quarters. That would roughly cost an added $2000/yr for 15,000 miles. Good time to buy a used full size pickup truck. Total fixed costs for used truck and trailer probably comparable to a commercial B conversion.
Obviously you can control miles driven. I think a long wheelbase B makes sense for lots of miles and if you plan to spend regular time sleeping in quasi-urban settings. You do need the tolerance for very close quarters.
We spend a month or two at a time in our homebrew. Pretty happy with our design decision to not include an indoor shower or excessive cabinetry. That leaves extra room for the 10x14 screened side porch, a rear "shower" porch and sometimes a 10x9 cabin wall tent, too. Expanding outwards works for us. The used & DIY part was about a third the price of a new commercial conversion. I think most B plans are for light touring and not ideal for long stays.
Dan
02 Freightliner Sprinter 2500 long tall home brew conversion
I can only speculate on what it would be like to full-time in a B. That said, I'd think you'd want to as large a space as you could get. From what I've seen, Realta's or Roadtrek 210's are fairly roomy as compared to a RoadTrek 190 (which I own) or 170. I'd be interested in hearing more about your choices and how they are working out in the future.
Best o luck,
Rich
Rich
If I'm going to work the rest of my life, I'd better start to retire on the weekends.
- '98 190 Roadtrek Popular -
I would do a lot (a really huge lot) of research before I made the jump to buying for full-time. For three years I spent 3-4 months a year living in mine - mostly in one RV park in AZ for the winter. It is important to pick the floor plan that fits your needs. And in such a small space, you need to be very organized. I chose mine because as a female traveling alone - and living in it for long periods, I wanted a side sofa - which I could make into a permanently made up bed... and a roomy bath. The Great West was the only manufacturer offering it.
I'd do a search on the Rialta (which is a C actually) here on the board as it has a very spotty reputation. It was one of the first that I looked at, but I didn't like the bathroom at all. I would head out to any local dealers and look closely at all the options available from Pleasureway, Roadtrek, Great West, and LTV... not to mention the idea of having one built to your specifications from Sportsmobile. They all have websites too.
Decide whether you want it based on the Ford or the Chevy or a Sprinter. Test drives? Rent one and try it for a couple weeks. (most rentals seem to be C's) A C will give you more space, but lower mpg. Which is more important to you... mpg or space when you are parked?
There are people full-timing in many different sizes of vehicles, so it is certainly possible. If you plan to stay in one area for a year or two, a smaller C may be a better idea because of the space. I learned in 3 winters that a B was too small for me to "live" in. But, they are great for traveling.
One thing not asked yet is how you picture using this purchase... boondocking or staying in CG's? Mostly longer-term in one area, or driving long distance frequently?
Most CG's are gonna get costy unless you get longer-term rates, but staying in one place for a month or more argues for a trailer, or a larger A or C RV and a small toad car or a scooter for local touring. Freebie stays (Walmarts, truck stops, true boondocking, etc) are fine if you're going to be moving often, but the small tank sizes of a B may be a problem.
Driving every day, the fuel economy & parkability of a B is likely to overcome the drawbacks.
Do a _lot_ of research. Read all the forums here. Visit a few dealers, but with a firm pledge not to buy yet. Visit some campgrounds, and talk to owners of various types of RV's. Make copious notes. Don't give in to the 'shiny-new-neat-gottahavits' anytime soon.
Jim, " 'Paper or plastic?' 'Do you mean the bags, or how I'm going to pay?' "
'06 Tiger CX 'C Minus' on a Silverado 2500HD 4x4, 8.1 & Allison ('Loafer's Glory'); '07 Forester 2.5 ( the 'HANDBSKT'); '95 Toyota SR5 V-6 4x4 pickup, ARB locker, Bilsteins, Warn hubs & M8000, etc;
'94 968, M030 swaybars ('DOPPLER')
I would stay away from the Rialta, hard to get serviced, older ones had drive train problems, and were way under powered. The Rialta is a Class C, not a Class B.
Knowing what I know now after first buying an Airstream trailer and then abandoning that idea for a B, I am glad I did not jump into the RV idea with any desire to full-time. Even with the Bs I doubt I would choose the same plan I have now for full-timing even though I like what we have right now for traveling for the two of us and occasionally taking along passengers during non-traveling use.
I also don't think I would want to full-time in a B with a partner. They are just too small to live in IMHO. We travel and when stopped spend most all our time outdoors including cooking. We still have our 40 year tent camping mindset and so far most all our travel has been in warm weather. Two and half weeks has been our maximum trip.
I traveled once alone in our B and found it a completely different experience. I think I could full-time in a B alone but if I had to pick a plan I would want an upfront table, passenger seat that would swivel and act as a lounger and a back end setup that I could leave as a bed. I would also want a work table area for a computer. I could do with more space amenities and less storage since it would be for one. One nice thing about a B as oppposed to a C is the ability to go just about anywhere similar to people using them as primary vehicles. I would think boondocking opportunities would be greatly expanded. For example last weekend we went to La Crosse, WI and parked out front on the street at our son's house and slept in the B. There would have been no way we could have done that with an 8 foot wide C on his street.
Davydd
2005 Pleasure-Way Plateau Sprinter B Camper Van
Davydd is the Welsh spelling for David with an English twist using a v instead of an f. See Our Pleasure-Way and my pork tenderloin sandwiches
Visited states in an RV
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