Re: The Cheap and Clever RV Contest

Bob Giddings <bobg@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

okay, GB. Under that camper shell I had a full sized bed on a
platform, several jugs of water, a cooler, and a Coleman stove. I
even had a container to piss in. Total cost maybe 100 bucks.

What do you have that I didn't have? Fancy paint. Is that not
so?

Well, you asked:

Dometic refrigerator (3-way)
Two-burner gas cooktop
Water heater (LP gas, with Hott Rod)
Outside shower
Flush toilet
25-gallon fresh water tank
8-gallon grey tank
8-gallon black tank
King-size bed (slightly shorter, but not much)
360-degree swiveling passenger seat
Fantastic vent (fully automatic, including rain sensor)
30-amp electrical service
Onan 2.8 kw genset w/remote start and automatic transfer switch
11,500 btu roof air with heat strip
LP gas furnace
Separate AGM house battery
45-amp fully automatic charger/converter for house battery
Two hanging clothes racks (bars)
Numerous built-in storage drawers and cabinets
Large opening side windows with screens and blinds
Four sets of double interior lights
Additional reading lights and cab dome spots
TV/VCR (12v/110v) with auxiliary DVD player (12v/110v)
Curtains or blinds on all windows
Dash stereo with speakers in front door panels and rear cabinets
Raised fiberglass roof -- up to about 6' headroom
12' long crank-out awning

(And since we're comparing this with a camper shell, we can move easily
from the driver's area to the RV area and back without going outside.)

This list is what comes to mind. I'm sure there's more. And almost this
entire list is of features it came with. I've added a whole bunch more.

You don't overnight a lot in your van. I suggest there is an
obvious reason for that.

True, we don't "a lot." Probably more than the average non-full-time RV
owner, though. We use our van at least once a week, year round, for at
least a day trip and frequently overnight.

But the reason we don't overnight in it "a lot" is not a matter of
convenience, but rather that we don't take many long trips (or haven't
in the past couple of years). When we're away overnight, we're usually
visiting friends or family a few hours away. Sometimes we sleep in the
van, sometimes not -- depends on where we are. But we have hookups
available almost everywhere we spend the night, so we more often than
not use the van as our bedroom.

We've taken a number of longer trips in it in the past (we've driven it
over 150,000 miles so far), and have spent many nights in it while on
the road -- in campgrounds, at truck stops, in rest areas, and in other
miscellaneous places (police department parking lots, etc.). Of course
we wouldn't full-time in a Class B, but that's not what we bought it
for. We aren't full-timers. A Class B suits our RV needs perfectly.

What you are doing is car camping. Is that RVing?

Well, if a Class B is an RV -- and I believe it is -- I guess I'm RVing.
Owning, maintaining, driving, and sleeping overnight in an RV seems like
RVing to me. If not, maybe I've been fooling myself during the nine
years we've had it, and I hereby apologize for having misled you or
anyone else <g>.

Some of the
fancier Bs you can stand up in. I guess that is something of an
improvement.

Mine's not "fancy" at all (although it's well-equipped). But I can stand
almost straight up in it, in the area directly in front of the sink (I'm
6'4"). My wife can stand up everywhere. But I don't really need to stand
up in it. When I'm inside the van, I'm almost always either (1) driving
or (2) sitting in the turned-around passenger seat reading or using my
computer or whatever. If I want to stand up, I can go outside.

If we'd wanted a Class A or C, we'd have bought one. We had a large
amount of cash on hand from selling an investment property and were
prepared to spend a hundred grand or more of it on whatever RV we
decided we wanted.

After a long time of research and looking, we chose an immaculate,
barely used Class B because it fit our needs, and we added the remainder
to our investment account -- both of which have proved to be good
decisions.

GB in NC
.

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