Hi, I am a single mom, with two daughters, we are from Georgia, which explains the screen name. We are tent campers. We camp, because we can not afford a hotel. On our most recent camping trip, we ran out of room in our car. (It was only a three day trip.) We are planning a longer trip in January, so I think we will need a bigger vehicle (more food and charcoal, plus for three days we did not take any camp chairs and we will be wanting them on the longer trip, plus the cabin style tent instead of the dome tent, etc.). So was thinking we need a van for our camping trips, I could put a port a potty in it, so I wouldn’t have to stop every two hours for potty breaks, have plenty of room for our gear and in most full size vans the rear seat will lay flat for a bed (incase we arrive at our campsite late). Which led me to search the internet and I discovered the class b. Now, I see how much can fit in the van, and it leads me to a dilemma.
Do I buy an older class b and modify it to fit my needs (we are use to tent camping, not so sure we need all the plumbing, space I am sure could be used for storage)? Or buy a diesel van with a high top and do a conversion myself? You all have more experience than I do, will I eventually become spoiled to the class b and wish I had the plumbing (something I could not do on my own)? I feel confident I could take out seats, install cabinets, wiring, batteries, but I have always been afraid of plumbing. Possibly because my dad was an engineer and I helped him with finishing the basement, working on the car, repairing/ refinishing furniture; however, he never worked on plumbing, so I was never exposed to it. I suppose I could learn though.
I know I can not afford a class b with a diesel, I also know that diesel engines get better mileage and last longer, so that is a consideration in doing my own conversion. Other factors, a class b would be too small when we reach our destination, we would still take our tent(s) with us. How many tents? We don’t take every tent on every vacation. There is the backpacking tent (all mesh, except the rain fly), the heavy army style canvas tent with collapsible wood burning heater, the lighter weight nylon cabin tent, and we are considering a sub zero tent (backpacking in cold weather, possibly with snow falling). Yes, I am somewhat eccentric and turning my daughters toward the same bent, probably why my ex is just that. Of course having a larger vehicle means we could bring more “stuff” with us, inflatable kayaks, parasails (when the kids get a little older), backpacks, etc. We love to hike, and hope to start doing some multi day hikes soon, hopefully next year! I have the tent (we use it on our short weekends) and I, at least, am looking forward to using it for its true purpose.
So, I don’t want to know what you would do, if you were you. What would you do if you were me? All input will be gratefully accepted.
Do I buy an older class b and modify it to fit my needs (we are use to tent camping, not so sure we need all the plumbing, space I am sure could be used for storage)? Or buy a diesel van with a high top and do a conversion myself? You all have more experience than I do, will I eventually become spoiled to the class b and wish I had the plumbing (something I could not do on my own)? I feel confident I could take out seats, install cabinets, wiring, batteries, but I have always been afraid of plumbing. Possibly because my dad was an engineer and I helped him with finishing the basement, working on the car, repairing/ refinishing furniture; however, he never worked on plumbing, so I was never exposed to it. I suppose I could learn though.
I know I can not afford a class b with a diesel, I also know that diesel engines get better mileage and last longer, so that is a consideration in doing my own conversion. Other factors, a class b would be too small when we reach our destination, we would still take our tent(s) with us. How many tents? We don’t take every tent on every vacation. There is the backpacking tent (all mesh, except the rain fly), the heavy army style canvas tent with collapsible wood burning heater, the lighter weight nylon cabin tent, and we are considering a sub zero tent (backpacking in cold weather, possibly with snow falling). Yes, I am somewhat eccentric and turning my daughters toward the same bent, probably why my ex is just that. Of course having a larger vehicle means we could bring more “stuff” with us, inflatable kayaks, parasails (when the kids get a little older), backpacks, etc. We love to hike, and hope to start doing some multi day hikes soon, hopefully next year! I have the tent (we use it on our short weekends) and I, at least, am looking forward to using it for its true purpose.
So, I don’t want to know what you would do, if you were you. What would you do if you were me? All input will be gratefully accepted.