I was thinking about renting an RV when I visit India for the next (and last) time. I think that is the only reason to get one; because I don’t trust that there will always be a nice clean bathroom while there. Other than that I hate the things. Park them in front of the neighbor’s house, annoy them to death, people don’t know how to drive them, and this is the first time I really thought about the cost. Good god.
Alcohol rules vary from state to state in state parks, and from site to site in national parks. Consumption is allowed in plenty of state parks and most federal parks.
Well, we have a used 21 ft cab-over we got for $6K.
We use it to take long weekends in the summer at close by state parks and campgrounds. Gas is a little pricey, but not as bad as a year or two ago. It takes about $100 to fill it up. But we get 3-4 weekends out of that. So for about $100 for the weekend we can take a bunch of short holidays ever year.
We live in a rural area so we also boondock for events we want to attend. My daughter works in local theater and so we also use it to attend shows, etc. Its very nice to have some place to be while she finishes up, sometimes we even find a parking lot for the night and sleep before driving home.
All-in-all its been a great purchase for us.
I agree I would be hard pressed to justify buying a new decked-out 40 footer.
But then I think most people who go that route have the money to blow on extravagances like that. What I never understood was people buying cabins, camps, vacation homes. Who wants to go to the same place for vacation every year. And those cost a lot more than a motor home. I guess they at least have the possibility of appreciating though.
It doesn’t even have to be a federal or state park. In a lot of tourist towns in the north, they have to shut down the town in the winter. The businesses there are open for the season, with the owners living in warmer temps during the winter (one family considered Minnesota “warmer.”) So my folks hooked their RV off to the side of the main street and enjoyed their grape juice whenever they wanted.
You can store stuff you don’t need around in them when you’re not out on the road, your in-laws for example.
This neighborhood is a 1979 cheap but decent size tract development.
In the great 2007-2010 Junk Mortgage Bust, most of the houses changed hands as the junk mortgages ‘reset’ and the borrower learned that they really couldn’t make the payments on the $300K note.
At the end of the cul-de-sac, there was a huge (35-40’) Class A with the expensive cover over the RV and even the wheels.
The RV disappeared, then the ‘For Sale’ sign went up.
I wonder how much of the RV boom of late was financed by those junk mortgages?
When I moved, I used two different ‘U Store It’ places - both had lots and lots of boats and RV’s - at $100/month.
One of them had to have been a drug lab or something - because it was a 1970’s van with crapped-out tires, paint, glass…
It wasn’t worth the $1200 somebody was paying to store it per year.
Me I would not buy a new one. But I hope to buy a used one 3 to 8 years old. That way I would not take such a big hit when I sell it.
If you travel a lot lets say 2 or more weeks on vacation. With out the motor home eating is a problem. I do not want to eat out every meal. With a motor home that is not a problem. When I get to a destination I plug in, hook up the water and sewage and I am done. No unpacking to get at my closes or other supplies. When I want to move on no re loading the car just disconnect everything and go. If I stop along the way for lunch, open the frig get food out. no ice chest in the back that I have to unbury to get at. Or looking for a restraint that I will like. I can easily watch what I eat, less junk or fattening foods.
Plus I can go where there are few hotels. Earlier we went to a 3 day music festable and stayed in a nearby hotel. Small room only place to sit toilet or bed. Small town small hotel. Those with motor homes stayed on the grounds, many had their RV just off the main stage. When the got up in the morning they were there, we had to drive back the 3 miles. And if they wanted to take a break in the middle of the day they could go inside.
I agree with on expense I do not see traveling with a motor home as a cost savings adventure, that unless you have a large family.
Hmm. I hadn’t considered that one. I’ve seen people in RVs tailgating at football games, for example. I suppose that puts you within easy walking distance from the stadium rather than taking a taxi from the hotel. But also I think there would be a sense of fun being surrounded by other fans.
Okay, that’s a big one I overlooked. I don’t smoke, so it didn’t occur to me. But I know that many hotels are completely non-smoking now.
In this particular case, we planned it out very thoroughly. Most RVs are about making it cheap and looking nice, not efficiency. For instance, we did a dramatically better job of insulating this thing than any store-bought RV ever would. The Sprinter is black, but we used a paint I found that is ceramic based and reflects most UV energy. One good coat, and even on the hottest day, you can put your hand on the interior surface. After that, we used an insulation that is foam sandwiched between two layers of aluminized Mylar, followed by two inches of regular insulation. I also wrapped the fridge and the water heater.
All the lighting is LEDs. There are two huge 6 volt batteries, two large solar panels on the roof and a very nice solar power management system. The 12 volt refrigerator and the lighting will run forever off of the solar cells even in the Pacific Northwest.
All his computer, networking and TV equipment is 12 volt as well, so we’re not wasting any power converting to 120 volt and back. He has a large 120 volt supply, and “shore power”, but he only tends to use those to run the microwave/convection oven and the toaster oven. When “boondocking” he can live without toast.
The stove is diesel, a ceramic cooktop with external venting.
There is a 40 gallon water tank and an 11 gallon water heater. The engine coolant runs through the water heater coils as well as through an “Espar”, a tiny diesel heater. It’s main job is to heat the engine block to start the diesel engine in cold weather, but it also runs through a radiator and fan in the main compartment, so he can keep it nicely warm without ever running the engine.
We put in extra fuel tanks and a grey water tank. There is no “black water” tank, as the toilet waste goes into a unit the size of a carry-on piece of luggage and he can dump it into any toilet.
There is a 27" computer monitor that slides out of the wall and can rotate to face any direction. That is also his home entertainment system. There is a wifi repeater, Sat phone, Bluetooth keyboard, mice, printer and scanner.
This is the first I’ve heard of such an arrangement. It wouldn’t be for me, but it sounds like a pretty great way to economically check out North America. Plus, you’d have a million stories to tell. Thanks for sharing this.
The unit we built named “Orca”, one of the design goals was to be completely free of any dependence on RV parks or dealers. So there is no propane tank. That’s why the Westabo ceramic stove.
The Espar coolant heater (sounds like an oxymoron, but it isn’t) is a 12 volt unit with a tiny little fuel line. Truckers have them installed so they don’t have to have their engine idling to heat the cab. We actually have it hooked up to a thermostat with a timer so he can set it to start warming the cabin in the morning.
We have insulated this Sprinter so well that the vehicle’s air conditioner cools the whole cabin fine. But most of the time, he is parked in some place with nice weather. He’s not going any place where he’s not going to take one of the kayaks off the roof, or set his table and chairs up outside. He installed an awning outside the side sliding door.
We owned one which my wife used to drive around the country with the kids to research a book. It made sense for her because
- Kids could do their studying at the table on the way. No way could they spread out and write in the back seat of a car.
- Saved a ton on food. She could get groceries and seldom have to go to a restaurant. Much healthier than fast food.
- Maybe more important than the savings for hotels is not having to worry about hotels every night, which improved flexibility. She did the trip before roaming charges were eliminated and way before smartphones and tablets.
- She broke up the trip, but we could store the RV in our driveway.
- No packing/unpacking.
And we sold it when she was done. Since it was used to start with the depreciation was not too bad.
This won’t work for everyone. I assure you I have no desire to own or drive one.
By an amazing coincidence about a half hour ago I was watching Mike Rowe’s Sombody’s Gotta Do It. The episode included a short segment on Campbell and his airplane house.
I’d seen articles or websites on it before but this was the first time I’d seen much on Campbell himself. The guy’s nuttier than I thought. Gah what a horrible way to live. :eek:
After my sister’s house almost burned down in the Witch Creek Fire (hooray for the firefighters who saved it!) she and her hubby bought an RV as an escape pod. It’s enough to bundle up the cats and art treasures, and get the heck out, and then to live for a while until they find a new home.
gaffa, that project sounds so cool. I’d love to see pics if you have them.
My husband and I have talked a little about selling everything once he retires from the military, buying a used 5th wheel (so we would could detach it and drive the truck around at our destinations), packing up the dogs, and exploring the country to see where we might want to settle. After he retires, we could move* anywhere we want. * This is just such an odd concept it’s hard to get my head around it. 
For us the main draw instead of hotels would be ease of travel with the mutts, not having to eat out, and just generally having all our shit with us like we want it.
I dunno if we will really do it, but the idea has some appeal.
I used to sell them, and I’ve owned three of them. This is what I told potential buyers: if you’re concerned about the cost or the gas mileage, you can’t afford it, and you won’t be happy owning it. You don’t save money on lodging, and you have all of the expenses mentioned above.
I have one because I don’t enjoy tent camping, and I like to go places where there aren’t any convenient hotels. Chaco Canyon, anybody? Dalton Highway? When it’s pouring down rain, I like to sit in the RV and watch a movie. I like to get up in the morning and make breakfast without having to fart around making a fire or wrestling with a Coleman stove. I live in an earthquake prone area, so it’s my alternate living quarters where I keep emergency supplies; it has a generator and a 30 gallon water tank that I keep filled at all times.
Advantages? It all depends on your frame of reference.
Quick! Go post the above anecdote in the nearby Baader-Meinhof moments thread!
What struck you as so horrible about living like that? The surroundings are beautiful. He’s got electricity and apparently the other important amenities. Yeah, the interior looks terribly cluttered (very reminiscent of a picture I saw of the interior of one of the Duck Dynasty trailers, I think), but that’s just him. What prevents one from fixing the place up to be at least as nice as any trailer of similar square-footage?
I don’t have a lot of the pictures of the later parts of the build, but here are some from earlier:
Wiring up the solar panels.
Same location as above with the base for the bathroom sink.
The toilet being modified to fit in the space, sitting on bed frame from back doors.
The whole electrical panel, apart from the 12 volt fuses, is on one removable panel:
In the front view, the pair of grey and black things are the CTek solar controls. The big silver and yellow thing is the 12 volt to 110 volt device. Honestly, if we were to rebuild it from scratch, we’d leave it out, run everything 12 volt and run the 2 110 volt-only things exclusively on shore power. The black and yellow thing is a device to protect the RVs system from bad shore power. The silver and black thing on the right is the battery charger. The two big grey connectors are to the big batteries. The smaller one is to the solar panel.
View from above of the electrical compartment. The white pipe is the drain from the kitchen sinks and from the shower. The big black thing at the bottom right is the fridge, which is huge for an RV. He’s left it alone for two weeks, and there will still be ice in the tray in the freezer.
Another view of the electrical compartment, fridge and the 12 volt fuse box.
The owner is a short guy. I’m 6’ and could not sleep on that bed, sideways to the van, but it works for him.
Here’s a picture of the outside of the RV with the side door open.
There are kitchen cabinets above. There are doors accessible from the outside for chairs and table for al fresco dining. The big kitchen faucet can be turned all the way around and has a sprayer hose, so after a long day of biking or ocean kayaking, you can actually rinse off before getting into the RV. Both the driver and passenger seats revolve, and there is a table that mounts between them.
Rear view, with bikes dismounted. The kayak racks are on top, but with solar panels mounted between.
It’s a shame that I don’t have any pictures of the completed kitchen or of the home entertainment system but we had a falling out. I put a LOT of work into this thing in trade-out for some custom bags, and I got the worse part of the deal. But I’m still very proud of the work.
To get back to the original topic, this gets gas mileage as good as any MB 2500 Sprinter van carrying a few hundred pounds of cargo, which is not bad at all. It’s cozy as hell, but is like living in a “tiny house”. Again, all you need to live is a water source from a hose and low-sulfur diesel fuel. Shore power is only needed for baking.