Vanning

[Colby]

I have been looking at various RV's/travel trailers, for awhile now, and figured it wouldnt hurt posting on here. I have never driven anything larger than a conversion van, nor towed anything b4, so I was thinking a class B would be the best bet for my situation. The only problem with that is, they tend to be kind of pricey. I have also been looking into converting my own van, into an RV. How difficult would this be?

[Alex Burr - hester_nec]

Just a thought - how about converting an old school bus into an RV.

 

Hudsonly,

Alex Burr

Memphis, TN

[Colby]

Just a thought - how about converting an old school bus into an RV.

 

Hudsonly,

Alex Burr

Memphis, TN

 

Hmmm, hadnt thought about that. With the kind of traveling I'm thinking about doing, that might be better anyway. How wide are school busses, generally speaking? I'm trying to get a rough idea of what I can do inside. Can anyone say "Partridge Family?"

[Alex Burr - hester_nec]

Hmmm, hadnt thought about that. With the kind of traveling I'm thinking about doing, that might be better anyway. How wide are school busses, generally speaking? I'm trying to get a rough idea of what I can do inside. Can anyone say "Partridge Family?"

 

Here's a site on someones conversion:

 

http://www.vonslatt.com/bus-main.shtml

 

or if that scares you to death, try your local school board - they may have a bus or two they're thinking of flogging off into the sunset.

A school bus is anywhere between 9.5 and 11 ft tall. Generally 8 ft wide. The length varies between 12ft and 40 ft, depending on what type of bus it is. The "regulation" is 40 ft, and that is a 72 passenger bus!

 

Amazing what Google turns up!!!

 

Hudsonly,

Alex B

[Keep the Show on the Road!]

I bought a nice, clean eight year old Class B with 25,000 and all things working a few years ago for $10,000. I loved it, but my wife considered it to be way too small. It is great for one person, or two who don't need lots of room. Mine was fully self contained, but you had to do contortions to shower.

 

The huge advantage is that you can park it anywhere and take it almost anywhere because it is small. I took it on rutted dirt roads in the mountains with no problem other than watching for overhanging trees. The down side was I got only about 9 to 10 mpg because it had a huge engine, more than it needed.

 

If I have a point, it is that a nice rig can be had used for a reasonable price, and if space is not the big issue, you will enjoy it. I would still own it today but that big engine was my undoing. I drove it like a boy racer, passing every car on the way over the mountains, until I cracked the manifold from the heat. Gees, someone should have told me it wasn't a sedan.

 

It cost too much to fix and Sheila wouldn't go with me, so I sold it to a fellow who didn't mind that it sounded like a tractor. But every time I pass one on the road, I check with Sheila to see if she has changed her view. No luck yet!

[roadmaven]

I've never been a fan of Class Bs, but that opinion of them might have more to do with what they're asking for new ones for what you get. However, I can easily understand that B fans are B fans because they don't necessarily want something the size of a Class C, even if they can get that kind of room for the same price. But as KTSOTR mentioned, it does have it's advantages.

 

Up until two years ago, I had never towed anything either. We always "someday" wanted to buy a teardrop trailer. We found a teardrop on steroids that was produced for a few years:

 

It was about 15' long and was a breeze to tow. The first time I towed anything was the day we picked it up, some 3 hours away in northern Indiana. On the drive home, I didn't even know it was back there after awhile. We've since moved "up" to a 16 footer that offered us more room and a shower/potty combo:

 

There are plenty of smaller travel trailers of this size that you wouldn't have a problem towing, especially if your van is full size. I'd be more than happy to give you a few suggestions if you decide to go that direction.

[Guest GraceInTransit]

Here's something to consider, taking the small teardrop camper, adding 4 wheels, motor and enough room for 2 people to sit comfortability.. What would you end up with?..

 

 

We think of it as a micro expedition vehicle, but her nick name is "Toaster" Small, nimble and easily maneuverable in and through traffic.. and right now, we're getting great gas millage filling it up $20.00 every 2 weeks.

Edited March 1, 2016 by LostInTransit