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Every so often (lately its been two or three times a year) I get a real urge to just travel and be nomadic, and I wish I had an affordable, comfortable way to do it.
I've thought about this before and looked around at what kind of vehicles are out there, and I actually went and looked at a few older Toyota Dolphin pickup/RV's. The Dolphin was made in the late 1980's using a small Toyota pickup front-end, and the back was custom, but still had enough room to be very functional. These Dolphin RV's are cheap, but they're super old. I saw some in good condition, and the units can be renovated. But, what I majorly dislike about the Toyota Dolphin is that because it's on a 1980's architecture, it has no airbags, ABS, or the other safety features that a newer car/truck would have. I also don't like that it has a very small engine and therefore low horsepower.
Anyway, apparently no manufacturer since then, has come out with an RV based on a light truck body. If they made something like the Dolphin and had it on an F-150 pickup body, that would be almost ideal in my book.
So I was thinking (and because of cost and logistics its probably not possible to do this anytime soon even if I was to fall in love with the idea) that maybe a reasonable alternative to the Dolphin would just be to take a large van and have a handy person help me build some custom additions to the interior.
So start with a Ford Econoline AWD...
- Load my full-size futon in the back, it's probably big enough that it doesn't have to be anchored. Haven't checked the measurements but it's probably a pretty close fit (or I could find one that is.)
- Store clothes, towels, soft goods, sports gear under the futon.
- Buy a "microfridge" (like the college dorm ones) and somehow anchor it to the wall behind the driver's seat. Not sure how to anchor it safety so that it doesn't move.
- Have someone install a power inverter for AC electric, and add a heavy-duty extra battery under the hood.
- Buy/build some kind of lockable cabinet and anchor it across from the microfridge, use that to store my laptop, personal care items, and anything else.
- The big challenge would be heat and A/C for the nighttime. Would a truck battery be able to power a heater overnight? Is propane safe? I wonder if someone makes a ceiling/roof mounted heat/air conditioning unit that could be installed. Maybe similar to RV heat A/C units? Might have to operate from a 120V AC outlet at a campground (instead of from the vehicle's power supply.) Would be nice to have a skylight for ventilation too.
- For internet use a cell phone provider's 3G or 4G card.
- Buy a camp stove and just take it outside anytime I want to cook something (other than microwaving which I'll have inside the van.) As it is now, I eat out more than half the time, so I'm not too reliant on cooking. I also found some "portable electric stove tops" that are just burners you plug into an AC outlet. The reviews on them are pretty good, so that would probably work just fine.
- Rely on the campground's bathroom and shower facilities.
- Since I don't have a full-size TV now (other than my computer that I use for Netflix), I wouldn't miss that.
So help me dream here... how ridiculous is my idea, or is it actually reasonable/possible? I think what I'm stuck on is how I would have heat and A/C, how I would anchor the fridge into the wall/floor, and if I would have enough storage.
As I thought about this, I realized I'm a pretty simple person. I don't have much stuff, although I would probably need to store my books and file cabinet at a relative's house. If I have a place to sit, a place to use my laptop, a big roomy bed to sleep in, and a comfortable temperature, I'm very happy and satisfied. (I'm a bear when I'm too hot or too cold, though.)
I also read that this kind of thing is much, much more popular in NZ and Australia, and that small camper vans are readily available. Not here though
Thanks for entertaining my idea and helping me make it better!
Just noticed the E-series is on its way out... the Ford Transit is replacing it, but not sure if it will have a passenger version (i.e. with windows.) The Nissan NV looks promising too but is also windowless.
Judging from the photos, I think either of these these vans would definitely hold a full-size futon mattress in the back. Also, again judging from pictures, this time from the Ford brochure, there obviously is some way to attach cabinets/shelves to the frame, because they had tons of photos of various storage systems that you can have installed.
I wonder if there's any minivans that would be big enough.
You can find cheap camping trailers that do all that for only a couple thousand dollars. Easier in a camp to leave the trailer behind for any short trips.
Anything is possible if you want it to be and can give up what you don't need.
I know two young women (early 20's) who lived out of an Astro Van with their dog for a while, in campgrounds and forests. They took out the middle seats, used the back seat as one bed (the rear seats are often already a futon) and the other used the front seats. They had a tv, hung their clothes on a pole in the back behind the seat. They had a couple plastic bins and the plastic pull out cupboard. The small refrigerators are light weight but if you keep it inside, you'd have to vent it or it would throw off too much heat.
Also you can get a pop-out kind of shelter or awning for shade. I'd give up the microwave because they take too much power and I'd go with fans instead of running an airconditioner all the time unless you just brought one and only hooked it up at a campground.
You can also get a small tent, they have some that you press a button and they just pop out so they can be set up in just minutes. You use them for extra room even if you prefer to sleep in the vehicle.
My brother has a jeep with an air mattress in the back, he calls his jeep his RV. He just has his stuff in plastic bins which he can put outside and a small campstove and tent for extended camping trips. A nephew was using a Ford Probe for his RV, sleeping in it with the back window left up for fresh air at night. It actually looked pretty comfortable. You can always have a tent to put up and use even if you don't feel like sleeping in it, they can be for storage, changing rooms, sitting rooms.
It sounds very do-able. I've considered it myself, but we'll probably wind up replacing our '87 Westfalia with a later model. By the time you do the conversion properly, you'll likely have spent as much as it would cost to buy a camper van. The advantage to DIY is that you'll be able to start camping right away, and it'll be set up exactly as you, yourself, want it.
No matter how heavy your futon is, it will potentially become a projectile in a roll-over accident. You'll want to anchor it.
For heating, an *installed* propane heater (which exhausts to the outside) is safe. A portable propane heater is not. For A/C, I've heard of some folks who get a small room-size A/C unit and park in the driver's window.
Better than a single heavy-duty battery is a two-battery set-up, so that if you accidentally run down your "house" battery you'll still have your "vehicle" battery to drive on. Many people have two-battery systems in camper vans. Also look into solar panels for recharging your battery while you're stationary, in camp.
After a while, you'll probably get more adventurous and want to stay in primitive areas where you won't have showers/toilets available. Then you can look into things like porta-potties and various portable camp-shower possibilities.
There are Interneet groups for people with camper vans. If you keep an eye on them, you'll get some more ideas for converting a van.
If you're set on living in a van (verse trailer or actual RV), the high-top, European-style vans that are coming to market are all great. The Nissan NV, the full-sized Ford Transit (yes, they will offer it with windows), the Dodge/Mercedes Sprinter Van. They're all more aerodynamic and more fuel efficient than the outgoing E-series, with a quieter and more comfortable ride, and more interior space. If you have the money to buy new, I would look into the Sprinter vans. There's several companies that already make Sprinter-based RVs, and they're great vans. Though, the new Ford Transit is the only van (to my knowledge) that offers FWD, RWD, and AWD options.
Every so often (lately its been two or three times a year) I get a real urge to just travel and be nomadic, and I wish I had an affordable, comfortable way to do it....
... If they made something like the Dolphin and had it on an F-150 pickup body, that would be almost ideal in my book....
You're in luck. There's a very simple way to turn that F150 into a camper when you want it "two or three times a year" and to turn it back into a standard pickup the rest of the year. It's called a pickup camper, and they're very popular, especially in the western US.
I would, however, recommend an F250 or F350 to give yourself some options on the size of the camper. I have an F250 4x4 diesel, and it gets 17-18 gph like clockwork -- stop and go around town or on the highway at 75 mph. If I slow my speed to a constant 50 mph or so, it will get well over 20 gph. (I've only done that once, but I did get 24 mpg that time.)
We've been 5th wheel camper users for the past 12 years, but before this we've had pickup campers. The last one I bought was 13-14 years old when I got it. It cost me $1200. It was 9.5 feet (plus over-the-cab full bed), didn't have AC and didn't have holding tanks, but it had a good propane furnace, stove with oven, and 3-way refrigerator (AC, DC, propane). It had a bathroom with sink and porta-potty but no water heater or shower. I installed a water heater and made the bathroom "wet" with shower stall. As I live in Wyoming and we normally do our camping in the mountains, we didn't need AC, but it's not difficult to install a roof unit, and I'm thinking they cost around $600.
It came with "jacks" mounted on each corner, so removal and loading was a fairly easy 10-15 minute one-person job. Since I always had another car, I normally left the camper on the pickup from early spring until late fall unless I needed to haul something.
Oh, and after using the above mentioned camper for 7-8 years on a couple different 3/4-ton trucks (1-ton would have been better), I sold it for $1500. The increased value reflected the water heater and shower I installed plus a new refrigerator ($700) that was less than a year old.
This was a fairly large and heavy camper. They do make light-weight pop-ups that would work fine on a 1/2-ton pickup.
In my opinion they're more versatile and comfortable than most camper vans. You can trade just the camper for a different one and keep your truck, or you can keep the camper and trade for a new truck. If you need the truck for hauling something else, it's easy to off-load the camper and load it again later. If your pickup is gas-powered, it will burn more fuel than would a van while the camper is loaded, but remove the camper and you'll be in the same range.
Most homemade camper vans end up being a mess. Ventilation is absolutely necessary, not just a "skylight" but side windows also, and they must all be screened to keep out critters that bite. Heat would have to be propane, and air conditioning would have to be AC (or run from a portable generator of 2400 watts or larger).
An automotive battery will run a few lights or radio for a few hours, a water pump, etc., but they don't have enough reserve to do any heating to speak of. Don't use your vehicle battery as a "house battery" or you'll find yourself stalled at your campsite with a dead battery. The house battery can be charged by your vehicle generator with the right set-up.
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A couple of things immediately come to mind.
The first is that you need to be a little careful about camping in a van. I've had a park ranger wake me up in the middle of the night once scolding me for doing exactly that even though it was built out as a camper. "No sleeping in the car!" he said. And I've also gone to private campgrounds (back when I stayed at private campgrounds) where they will take one look at your rig and say uhhh.... we're all sold out.
One time a lady said "we got space but you're not camping here in that thing"
So there's that and the whole issue of feeling low class if the campground is packed full of expensive motorhomes and you're in a home brew. Believe me, I've been there, done that.
If you want a pickup, you might instead consider a camper OR what I use now for boondocking offroad which is a rooftop tent. I have a ladder rack and the rooftop tent goes on top. Do a google search for rooftop tents. They're really cool. I love mine.
If you want a fridge, there are some high quality 12 volt fridges out there. Do a search for ARB fridges. They are far better made than anything you'll find inside of an RV. And when your camping trip is over, you can easily pull it out and revert the vehicle back to a daily driver.
There's RVing and then there's camping. You'll have to decide which of the two you're more interested in.
The first is that you need to be a little careful about camping in a van. I've had a park ranger wake me up in the middle of the night once scolding me for doing exactly that even though it was built out as a camper. "No sleeping in the car!" he said....
He'd likely have chased you off if it was a camper too. National parks, to my knowledge, don't allow camping except in designated campgrounds. Years ago my late wife and I had pulled off the road in Yellowstone to do some photography, but when we returned to our rented motorhome, the battery wouldn't start it. I popped the hood open and we spent the next several hours napping and playing cards before a ranger finally stopped. "You can't camp here," he said.
I explained that we had a campsite but no battery to start the engine. He said he didn't have time at the moment but would stop later to give us a battery boost, which he did a couple hours later.
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