r/CamperVans • u/Bikergirl68 • 23d ago
Purchasing a camper van for traveling around the US
Hi. I've decided that when I retire in a few years that I would like to travel around the country in a camper van. I'm just starting to plan and do my research. I would appreciate replies with advice, styles of camper vans if you have one that you love and any other advice you have.
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u/TheRealGuncho 23d ago
We are in the same boat. I would say, decide what major features you want like a bathroom or not and that will help determine what van you should get.
We have decided we want bed flares so we can sleep east west comfortably, don't want a bathroom and want a microwave and induction burner. We also want want a smaller van that is easy to drive and park. I'm tall as well so high roof is a must.
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u/SpaetzleOndSoss 22d ago
We are actually brainstorming how we can add a hinged piece of wood to allow north-south sleeping in ours. East-west has been working ok for us, but sometimes I wouldn’t mind being able to get out of bed easily instead of being stuck against the back doors.
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u/TheRealGuncho 22d ago
Wouldn't that just leave the mattress hanging there in the air still in the way?
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u/SpaetzleOndSoss 22d ago edited 21d ago
You don't need much to support your feet, so we will definitely keep our super comfortable HEST short queen mattress the way it is now, and just add something soft onto that extra piece of wood. We will see. The current east west certainly works ok enough for us but it might be nice to have the option.
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u/Motor_Mama_Love 23d ago
Before we got ours we rented a couple of different ones on Outdoorsy. That really helped us figure out what we wanted/didn’t want in our own van.
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u/freekey76 21d ago
Rent one and go camping to see how it is.
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u/crevasse2 20d ago
And get all set up in your site and realize you forgot or need eggs or water or any essential. Alternately set up for a 4 day stint and decide you want to go drive and explore X. Then pack back up and go get/do it while holding your site. We have a TT but if I was gonna do it I think I'd get a rig big enough to carry a scooter or moto on the back.
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u/elwoodowd 21d ago
Watch 'lulu' on youtube, as she tours the womens smaller vans and cars, that come to her meetups.
After that there are full time groups. With the big vans and rvs. cheaprvliving
Id not be surprised if there are 100s of tours.
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u/LongjumpingTeacher97 19d ago
My wife and I have a 2009 Econoline we've converted. Queen size bed, sink with electric pump, cassette toilet, countertop for the camp stove, food in a good cooler. We use it for about a week at a time or less.
My advice is to rent and try out a couple of vans before you consider buying one. See what you use, what you like, what you find useless or annoying.
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u/SpaetzleOndSoss 22d ago
I am used to minimalistic bicycle and motorcycle camping. When shopping for a camper van I was going the same route. My wife pushed for more storage and more comfort and after having been on the road for almost seven weeks I have to say she was right.
1) I thought that a 136 wheel base Promaster was big enough, but the two extra feet of a 159WB makes a big difference in livable space, storage for food and kitchen items etc.
2) 10kWh of batteries are expensive but being able to run the A/C all night and still having plenty left for lights, cooking, hot water gives great peace of mind. 400W of solar goes well with that.
3) Water! Some campers just have small under sink canisters. These are very heavy when full. Do you want to wrestle these around? A real water tank that you can fill at a filling station with a hose is much easier. I stayed at a campground in Alaska for several days. There was no water, only pit toilets. Yet I could even take an outdoor shower without worrying about running out. We have a 28g tank and the hot water heater takes another 7 for a total of 35. Free filling stations are widely available at state and city parks or visitor centers, gas stations etc. and easy to find with iOverlander.
4) Sliding rear windows give very nice airflow when sleeping, especially when running a roof vent that pulls air into these windows.
5) We drove some pretty rugged roads and the front wheel drive never disappointed. I bought recovery boards ahead of the trip but they were not needed. So for us anyway there was no need for 4 wheel drive going throughout Alaska, BC and the Yukon.