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Campers

Toshi

Harbinger of Doom
Oct 23, 2001
38,037
7,555
Why the insistance on electric power for a camper? Of all things a shitpile of batteries could be used for, a van that may see 5-10k miles/year really seems like a waste of resources.
Yeah, rationally you are 100% right

/DEF systems enter the chat
Thought of a better rationale this morning: for off grid battery systems. If the XX kWh of traction batteries could be also purposed as house batteries topped up by PV panels on the roof for off grid time...

all this will make more sense in a future era when batteries are much cheaper yet.
 

6thElement

Schrodinger's Immigrant
Jul 29, 2008
15,828
13,070
Your roof solar on a van would leave you parked for a couple of weeks in sunny weather to make a difference to driving range though.
 

Toshi

Harbinger of Doom
Oct 23, 2001
38,037
7,555
Your roof solar on a van would leave you parked for a couple of weeks in sunny weather to make a difference to driving range though.
That's very true, but with a few hundred watts of nominal panel power then it'd be enough to at least not drain the traction batteries for driving away from the campsite. And a big pack would support a similarly big inverter for transient high power loads.
 

jdcamb

Tool Time!
Feb 17, 2002
19,800
8,384
Nowhere Man!
I had a date with this cool girl. She is much younger than me. It was ok. During our date I told her about the Airstream. And how I stay there when I can. I stayed with her there in the bad weather. It went very well.
 

junkyard

You might feel a little prick.
Sep 1, 2015
2,601
2,303
San Diego
I had a date with this cool girl. She is much younger than me. It was ok. During our date I told her about the Airstream. And how I stay there when I can. I stayed with her there in the bad weather. It went very well.
did you play Yahtzee?
 

kidwoo

Artisanal Tweet Curator
You have other pics? 4x4?
Nah I figured I'd see him this year but avalanches have blocked the road between us. It's an old produce delivery truck that worked exclusively around mammoth, so yeah it's 4x4. He had to get the thing running and functional before he'd commit to the camper bit but by golly..... He rents the shop space and the owner said 'last guy left a truck, you want it? Get it running and it's yours" :rofl:

chemical toilet/shower in one corner with a wall of fold out boot driers, a dining table on an electric motor that collapses into a bed, plus a slide out cabover bed that's not extended in that pic, full hydronically heated floor with drains...basically the most badass dedicated winter camping rig I've ever seen.

He's spent the last 10-12 years building out custom douchemobiles for the #vanlife crowd so he knows what he's doing.

About my only gripe with that sled mount would be road salt.
 

stevew

resident influencer
Sep 21, 2001
40,496
9,528
completed project a friend of mine made with a free beat down delivery truck

I wish I'd taken interior pics when I saw it last October. It's insane what he built into this thing. All out of insulated panels he had to get from europe.



View attachment 191026

someone i follow on ig built something similar...converted to 4x4....built a box...not sure if the interior of the box is finished....
Screenshot_20230318_112727_Instagram.jpg
 

Montana rider

Turbo Monkey
Mar 14, 2005
1,741
2,164
Sort of want...

1679528929409.png



I can definitely see the merits of taking a older VW style bus but putting a newer reliable more powerful motor in it.

My buddy in Colorado with the tricked out Vuck also has a higher clearance 80s (?) Vanogan which had a reliable (for the year) Subaru legacy motor swap...

Since I'll be working in my camper van the added interior space of the ram ProMaster would still be a plus even if I'm solo 90% of the time.

I see that people are starting to default on their used car loans, and by now there should be a glut of former van lifers selling their gently used rigs

knock on wood
 
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maxyedor

<b>TOOL PRO</b>
Oct 20, 2005
5,496
3,140
In the bathroom, fighting a battle
So they took a regular e-Transit and made a #vanlife out of it? Cool, I guess?

108 mile range, better hop you have solid camp spots within 45 minutes of your house. Given the range limitations it would be nice if they at least attempted to save some weight on the interior, that's a ton of 3/4" birch plywood, shit's heavy as hell.