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the Fet
climber
Tu-Tok-A-Nu-La
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Feb 11, 2016 - 06:35pm PT
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Good buy matlinb. I was looking for AWD express (same as GMC savanna) vans for a while before I bought my truck. They are very hard to find in California. Only a local dealer had them and wanted $18K for ones with 75-85K miles. They are rated better than 75% of vehicles for long term reliability.
Full size ford and chevy trucks are some of the longest lasting vehicles in America. (along with most Toyotas and 4 cylinder Hondas).
Value wise I think the Chevy/GMC is going to beat the Mercedes because Sprinters are much more expensive to buy and maintain. And forget about how much you'd pay for a Sprinter AWD in the US right now.
Modern unibody vans are going to handle/ride better and get better mpg, but if you need to tow you won't beat the old body on frame American trucks.
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seano
Mountain climber
none
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Feb 11, 2016 - 08:00pm PT
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Minivans are spacious, cheap, reasonably fuel-efficient, and readily available. If you don't need 4WD, high clearance, or plumbing, a built-up minivan is probably the way to go. However you build it up, make sure you have enough headroom to sit up in your sleeping area in back. Rather than the standard sleeping platform, you should try to build full-height storage on one side and leave more room on the other.
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Banquo
climber
Amerricka
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Feb 14, 2016 - 03:18pm PT
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Think small. There was a guy selling a Ford Transit Connect conversion on the SF Craigslist not long ago who claimed to have lived in it for a couple years. They are small but a determined person could live in one. Get the older model with the high top. There are companies selling conversion kits for them that you can easily find with google.
http://performancejeepchrysler.com/transit-connect-camper-van-motorhome
The old Chevy Astro/GMC Safari was built on the S-10 truck chassis and might be better than the Connect for bumpy roads. These are pretty old so buy a clunker and pay somebody to put a rebuilt motor & transmission in it.
I've never actually lived in a van but I have spent months traveling and camping in one. (68 Dodge A100 - a mid sized van.) Anybody can pee in a bottle and if you can poop in a portaledge, you can poop in a small van.
Plenty of public places to go; supermarkets, coffee shops, fast food joints, etc. If you are reasonably clean and neat, you can walk into pretty much any hotel or office building and use the facilities.
Spent 3 weeks in December touring New Zealand in a self-contained RV. Dumping the poop tank is such a disagreeable job that between my wife and I, only on poop was taken on board the whole time.
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ms55401
Trad climber
minneapolis, mn
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Feb 14, 2016 - 03:38pm PT
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possible to sleep (decently) in the back of a Forester for a 5'10" person?
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Happiegrrrl2
Trad climber
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Feb 14, 2016 - 04:01pm PT
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^ I wouldn't be able to sleep decently in a Forester and I'm 5'4" but I suppose everyone is different. Just the idea of having to play musical merchandise in order to lay down every night....blech.
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tradmanclimbs
Ice climber
Pomfert VT
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Feb 14, 2016 - 06:11pm PT
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again Curtains and privacy glass is key for security/ peace of mind. with the privacy glass you can't even see the curtains unless you look through the windshield so no reason to suspect that someone is sleeping in there.
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