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Campers

junkyard

You might feel a little prick.
Sep 1, 2015
2,601
2,303
San Diego
Assuming it can do 65...
I had mine over 100 and cruised at 80 in the fast lane on the 5 coming home from burning man. Course that 454 was spinning 4K and I have an overdrive and got the tallest rearend(that was a bitch to change) and 22.5 wheels. Now it’s seen better days. Always wanted to get a dump truck Chassis and use the bus frame to extend it. If that thing could talk.
E922F86C-0707-489E-9AA9-B1693505B09F.jpeg
 

Montana rider

Turbo Monkey
Mar 14, 2005
1,741
2,164
Electrical is now complete. View attachment 149913
Not sure what kind of mattress you plan on using but I had problems with moisture / mold when I built a loft bed with a fouton mattress set up like that (i.e no ventilation...) years back.

I drilled a bunch of 4" polka dot breathing holes into my plywood which seemed solve the problem but YMMV...

Jelly nonetheless, I need to ramp up my search for 3+ yr old used (possibly diesel) Ram Promaster...

But I'm kinda hoping Westys prediction re: "post-Covid" surplus of cargo van hitting the resale market and deals but tired of camping on the ground protected from the hungry bears by the thin canvas wall tent...
 

6thElement

Schrodinger's Immigrant
Jul 29, 2008
15,829
13,071
Not sure what kind of mattress you plan on using but I had problems with moisture / mold when I built a loft bed with a fouton mattress set up like that (i.e no ventilation...) years back.

I drilled a bunch of 4" polka dot breathing holes into my plywood which seemed solve the problem but YMMV...

Jelly nonetheless, I need to ramp up my search for 3+ yr old used (possibly diesel) Ram Promaster...

But I'm kinda hoping Westys prediction re: "post-Covid" surplus of cargo van hitting the resale market and deals but tired of camping on the ground protected from the hungry bears by the thin canvas wall tent...
You can also stick a layer of Hypervent underneath your mattress, we have it in our truck camper.

 

Adventurous

Starshine Bro
Mar 19, 2014
10,262
8,772
Crawlorado
You can also stick a layer of Hypervent underneath your mattress, we have it in our truck camper.

We ended up with Hypervent too, after learning the hard way. The mattress got real nasty, real fast once humidity was introduced.
 

SylentK

Turbo Monkey
Feb 25, 2004
2,287
854
coloRADo
IMG_20200816_123506_635.jpg


We rented this bad boy a few weeks ago. Our plans of going someplace with mountain bike trails and lots of trees quickly turned due to forest fires. So we found this place which turned out to be really awesome. Love the giant RV we rented it. Was about as much as a two bedroom condo in Vail. But the wife and kid loved it. Turned out to be a great experience.

There's no way the wife would go for a sprinter conversion at this point. Plus they aren't that cheap. I'm thinking a hundred grand for a sprinter conversion and one of these big class C's are just as expensive not sure what to do... keep renting?
 
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OGRipper

back alley ripper
Feb 3, 2004
10,647
1,116
NORCAL is the hizzle
SylentK, that depends on roughly a million factors, priorities, etc... Those big RV's are super luxe but not everyone has the space or wants to drive something that ginormous. Plus, all those extra amenities means more stuff that can fail/need maintenance. A van makes more sense for me at this point but YMMV.
 

SylentK

Turbo Monkey
Feb 25, 2004
2,287
854
coloRADo
SylentK, that depends on roughly a million factors, priorities, etc... Those big RV's are super luxe but not everyone has the space or wants to drive something that ginormous. Plus, all those extra amenities means more stuff that can fail/need maintenance. A van makes more sense for me at this point but YMMV.
Yeah, I don't know how people do it with kid(s) in a Sprinter van. And a high maint wife who needs a toilet....I would totally enjoy driving the sprinter on I-70 more than a giant RV, that's for sure.

I'll tell you this though, being able to just turn the keys over to the rental dude and not having to worry about cleaning, dumping black/grey water or even having to drive it to the RV place was super nice. Not cheap, but super nice.

I notice not a whole lot of love for the truck bed camper option. Why not? Seems to be the best of both worlds. Not too big like a trailer, easier to drive off road, and you can still use the truck for shuttling. Seems to be bigger than a Sprinter, too. Thoughts?
 

6thElement

Schrodinger's Immigrant
Jul 29, 2008
15,829
13,071
Yeah, I don't know how people do it with kid(s) in a Sprinter van. And a high maint wife who needs a toilet....I would totally enjoy driving the sprinter on I-70 more than a giant RV, that's for sure.

I'll tell you this though, being able to just turn the keys over to the rental dude and not having to worry about cleaning, dumping black/grey water or even having to drive it to the RV place was super nice. Not cheap, but super nice.

I notice not a whole lot of love for the truck bed camper option. Why not? Seems to be the best of both worlds. Not too big like a trailer, easier to drive off road, and you can still use the truck for shuttling. Seems to be bigger than a Sprinter, too. Thoughts?
It's what we ended up with as wife didn't want to deal with us trying to convert a van ourselves, and "newish" van conversions are super expensive. We've definitely taken our 4WD truck into some camping spots you'd struggle in a 2WD van.
My one regret is secure bike storage. With bike storage underneath a van bed we could have four bikes with us, whereas with the truck camper bikes are outside. We can put two bikes into the back of the camper to go hiking etc if we take wheels off, but no way are we fitting four bikes in there.
 

eric strt6

Resident Curmudgeon
Sep 8, 2001
23,190
13,452
directly above the center of the earth
Yeah, I don't know how people do it with kid(s) in a Sprinter van. And a high maint wife who needs a toilet....I would totally enjoy driving the sprinter on I-70 more than a giant RV, that's for sure.

I'll tell you this though, being able to just turn the keys over to the rental dude and not having to worry about cleaning, dumping black/grey water or even having to drive it to the RV place was super nice. Not cheap, but super nice.

I notice not a whole lot of love for the truck bed camper option. Why not? Seems to be the best of both worlds. Not too big like a trailer, easier to drive off road, and you can still use the truck for shuttling. Seems to be bigger than a Sprinter, too. Thoughts?
Couple of reasons people don't go the truck be camper route. New they aren't cheap. secondly you have to be a minimalist or tow a trailer for most folks. Mostly they find out that unless you go the pop up route or seriously small hardside you really need a Dually to carry the weight ( or a heavily modded 350/3500 SRW) of most truck campers with a slide out wall. My non slide hard wall weighs 4600 pounds with full gear.
DSCF1654_Fotor_zps5hdsrgdj.jpg
 

eric strt6

Resident Curmudgeon
Sep 8, 2001
23,190
13,452
directly above the center of the earth
It's what we ended up with as wife didn't want to deal with us trying to convert a van ourselves, and "newish" van conversions are super expensive. We've definitely taken our 4WD truck into some camping spots you'd struggle in a 2WD van.
My one regret is secure bike storage. With bike storage underneath a van bed we could have four bikes with us, whereas with the truck camper bikes are outside. We can put two bikes into the back of the camper to go hiking etc if we take wheels off, but no way are we fitting four bikes in there.
I saw a rad inside the TC 4 bike storage idea. Drop the dinette, toss all the cushions on the bed. He had a plank on each side with two fork mounts on each ad two rear wheel mounts. planks has a tied down attachment to the seat cushion area. the bikes alternated directions and all four fit...i'll look up the photo later after work.
 

OGRipper

back alley ripper
Feb 3, 2004
10,647
1,116
NORCAL is the hizzle
Yeah, I don't know how people do it with kid(s) in a Sprinter van. And a high maint wife who needs a toilet....I would totally enjoy driving the sprinter on I-70 more than a giant RV, that's for sure.

I'll tell you this though, being able to just turn the keys over to the rental dude and not having to worry about cleaning, dumping black/grey water or even having to drive it to the RV place was super nice. Not cheap, but super nice.

I notice not a whole lot of love for the truck bed camper option. Why not? Seems to be the best of both worlds. Not too big like a trailer, easier to drive off road, and you can still use the truck for shuttling. Seems to be bigger than a Sprinter, too. Thoughts?
I think Eric's got it covered on the bed campers. Definitely a good option if you do a lot of off-road stuff', but the bigger and heavier, the more you limit your options for serious wheelin'. There are exceptions and outliers but most of the really capable off-road rigs I see like are definitely smaller inside than most Sprinters. And yeah, the nice ones are not cheap.

As for renting a big rig, definitely a lot to be said for it, especially if you have the cheddar for full pimp service, with drop-off, pick-up, etc. But there's also a to be said about having your own rig, ready to go any time, and I'm not even talking about COVID. I use my van pretty much every weekend and a couple times during the week. But we're two adults and a dog or two who like to travel light...
 

6thElement

Schrodinger's Immigrant
Jul 29, 2008
15,829
13,071
I do shred some gnar on it.

As ours is a pop-up I don't know if there's enough clearance height wise - I think there is. The 780mm bars versus the Hello Kitty in the photos might be problematic though.
 

jimmydean

The Official Meat of Ridemonkey
Sep 10, 2001
40,945
13,138
Portland, OR
This thread was much more interesting when JD was deciding whether or not to put a hot tub in his ice cream truck.
I actually have a pretty good plan for the recirculating shower. But I also kinda like the larger bathroom since the shower isn't in there now. :rofl:

The death of my Silverado put a small wrench in my plans. But my 1:10 scale Frita chassis is almost done.
 

OGRipper

back alley ripper
Feb 3, 2004
10,647
1,116
NORCAL is the hizzle
Looks pretty sketchy to me but that doesn't stop a lot of people.

Love the rotary phone as an amenity. Pretty sure, however, that a land line is not one of the usual RV hookups. :p
 

jdcamb

Tool Time!
Feb 17, 2002
19,800
8,384
Nowhere Man!
I actually have a pretty good plan for the recirculating shower. But I also kinda like the larger bathroom since the shower isn't in there now. :rofl:

The death of my Silverado put a small wrench in my plans. But my 1:10 scale Frita chassis is almost done.
Can Frita pull a trailer with a Hotub and a pizza oven? That @valve bouncer has some good ideas. Surely you should listen to him.