Ski RV's, who's sleeping in parking lots?

[DanoT]

Is there a place/places where people mostly watch for these kinda rigs these days where it's easy to get a national picture? I'm a year or two out from purchase but want to just learn market more for used ski/camp rigs. Most likely van platform but open to others. Probably like...a 40-60k budget. If there are truck platforms than can take a hard side slide in and get similar MPG to a van....interested in those as well.

While we dig our Sienna, my new gig may allow/encourage being in the mtns 3-4 days a week for most of winter season. Buying is probably a bigger commitment than we're ready to make (not to mention the ethical dilemma of contributing to the mess of the housing situation in mtn towns.) But more head room, insulation, furnance, more space would be nice.

I have a '91 3/4ton Dodge 4x4 with a winter capable popup truck camper, powered by a 5.9L Cummins diesel 12 valve known for its power and fuel economy. My set up with 2 pr of skis, me and all my winter gear and supplies weighs 8800 lbs and gets around 15mpg. Biggest problem is most are rusting away around the indestructible Cummins diesel, just like mine is.

[Tryingtostaywarm]

I have a '91 3/4ton Dodge 4x4 with a winter capable popup truck camper, powered by a 5.9L Cummins diesel 12 valve known for its power and fuel economy. My set up with 2 pr of skis, me and all my winter gear and supplies weighs 8800 lbs and gets around 15mpg. Biggest problem is most are rusting away around the indestructible Cummins diesel, just like mine is.

I just got rid of a 2004 Dodge 2500 common rail that I was getting 15mpg with a hardside camper. I am now in a Tundra, doing the same stuff getting 8-10mpg, but, operating costs are wayyyyyy cheaper.

[Tortuga99]

I just got rid of a 2004 Dodge 2500 common rail that I was getting 15mpg with a hardside camper. I am now in a Tundra, doing the same stuff getting 8-10mpg, but, operating costs are wayyyyyy cheaper.

eventual goal with my tundra. nice.

[goldenboy]

How much is insurance on these $100K+ vans? If you hit a deer and the insurance adjuster says it's a loss, do they actually write a check for $130K, or for $40K if that's all the van is worth?

[doebedoe]

I would imagine you carry insurance beyond your typical car insurance. Must be some type of insurance for RVs?

[goldenboy]

I would imagine you carry insurance beyond your typical car insurance. Must be some type of insurance for RVs?

For sure. Seems a lot easier to come up with a value for a factory RV than a super custom sprinter though.

[frorider]

A professionally converted van with a purchase receipt is like any ‘factory RV’ from insurance company perspective.

When you say ‘custom sprinter’ are you referring to a DIY?

[frorider]

Btw if you buy a cargo van and then have it converted or convert it yourself, it’s worth getting it reclassified by DMV as an RV. I think in most states this requires an inspection to confirm there’s a sink, toilet etc. In CA this significantly lowered the annual registration fees, and depending on your insurance company can significantly lower your insurance.

[El Chupacabra]

Hagerty and I expect other insurers will cover custom builds, but it could get pricey for stated value type policies.

From what I remember, states that do registration differently for RVs usually require a permanent toilet. And then if it's an RV, you can finance for longer terms - like getting a 10 year mortgage to live #vanlife.

[markb]

I would imagine you carry insurance beyond your typical car insurance. Must be some type of insurance for RVs?

State Farm in Oregon lowered our annual insurance on a 2020 Ford Transit crew van after we sent pictures of the interior build, reclassified as an RV. Nothing through DMV on our end. We did have to say how much we spent on improvements, and there's no sink, toilet, stove. Just walls, insulation, bed platform, storage, solar/battery/lights/outlets. They did let the rack, lift, and bigger tires get included and supposedly all replaced with an accident. Nice having removable bed platform for ski season, getting the kids dressed inside.

It does make sense that people will drive their full build less in total, and less aggressively. I'm sure the data prove it.

And I will say in terms of the costs, working with a new transit can be pretty low total cost. $45-50k awd, lift/bigger tires/rack with ladder couple more $k, and then simple but functional interior builds with everything you really need from someone like: http://actionvan.life/ for $10-20k.

[CHAIR_97]

Penny rounds eh lol

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[liv2ski]

On top of that blue F150 was a nice looking rig for what, about $180k

[Huskier]

How much is insurance on these $100K+ vans? If you hit a deer and the insurance adjuster says it's a loss, do they actually write a check for $130K, or for $40K if that's all the van is worth?

I will say it was a surprising pain in the ass wrt insuring an unconverted van for DIY builds. Progressive and Geico wouldn't even touch it without stock rear windows, and rates from other carriers were a little out there. Ultimately went with Metlife through our broker

[simple]

For sure. Seems a lot easier to come up with a value for a factory RV than a super custom sprinter though.

We did agreed upon value RV with State Farm. Few insurance companies will do that anymore. Payment is less than what the van would cost alone but not much.

[jpcm]

I will say it was a surprising pain in the ass wrt insuring an unconverted van for DIY builds. Progressive and Geico wouldn't even touch it without stock rear windows, and rates from other carriers were a little out there. Ultimately went with Metlife through our broker

This was a pain in the ass for me as well, compounded by the fact that I own the van through my small business. I ended up writing a commercial policy through progressive for the cost of the van plus 25k in permanently attached equipment. More or less (probably a little less) covers my higher end DIY conversion.

I also think, that unless it was a complete total loss (theft or fire) I’d be able to salvage some of the more expensive components. Like LI batteries and electronics

[frorider]

Hagerty and I expect other insurers will cover custom builds, but it could get pricey for stated value type policies.

From what I remember, states that do registration differently for RVs usually require a permanent toilet.

No, not in my experience. A cartridge toilet with a tie down strap is fine for DMV. After all, a lot of smaller RVs from factory these days just have a cartridge toilet stashed away somewhere that gets pulled out. However they wanted to see a real sink that emptied into a gray water tank.

A cargo van is a high GVWR vehicle ‘typically’ used for commercial purposes, so in many states this triggers a higher registration cost. I think mine went from $500 to $250 when I got the DMV to classify it as an RV.

My insurance thru USAA isn’t expensive but it won’t pay out more than about $85k in my case.

https://ourkaravan.com/register-comm...as-camper-van/ has a Comments section discussing both the DMV reg and the Insurance topics.

[byates1]

so my promaster(2016,136 wb, 2500) will be for sale when my transit comes in next yr. prob between feb and june or who knows. it'll have 225/230 k on it. i've taken great care of it and its a super solid rig. prob book value or whatever. 8k or something, i'll have to look into it when it comes time. just planting the seed!

[myles long]

We did a stated value policy through Safeco. The van title was converted to a class b rv. I had to use the build sheets and pricing to back up the value but it wasn't a problem when working with an agent familiar.

I did have a claim after getting rear ended by a DUI driver. Safeco has a separate division for estimating, adjusting, etc...it wasn't any issue. They even covered overnight freight from Germany for parts to get my van back under the rental car term limit.

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[jhyatt]

At first glance I thought that was a fireplace!

[byates1]

^yeah when i replaced the table setup there was damage scratches on the wall, hence the faux gold bullshit. it works.

[frorider]

POW stickers woulda worked too

[snowaddict91]

so my promaster(2016,136 wb, 2500) will be for sale when my transit comes in next yr. prob between feb and june or who knows. it'll have 225/230 k on it. i've taken great care of it and its a super solid rig. prob book value or whatever. 8k or something, i'll have to look into it when it comes time. just planting the seed!

Hit me up when the time comes, been casually thinking about #vanlife for a little while now.

[greasyslope]

Electrical system question:

I will soon be picking up a new to me truck camper. The original owners only camped at places with shore power, so the only onboard electrical power currently is the wiring harness from the truck starter battery. I plan to install a solar/house battery system for my needs. I will need to remotely charge an ebike battery (likely 360Wh), so I am planning on being able to incorporate a Jackery 1000 as a removable part of the equation. How big of a permanent house battery should I plan to install to provide the power for the camper basics, such as firing the furnace, lights, (not sure if the old 3way fridge needs power to run off propane?), and maybe a little more?
I know they’re very sensitive to cold, but this will likely not be a skiing camper, so I was thinking of splurging for lithium, which also means great per usability of the battery capacity. Does it seem reasonable to think I can get away with a 50Ah? The Jackery has a 46.4Ah lithium battery built in.
Probably somewhere between 150-200W worth of solar panels should work well I think.

Feel free to poke holes in my thoughts-I’m definitely learning a lot about this stuff.
Thanks

[climberevan]

I'd think you'd need at least 100Ah to be happy without charging the moped. For doing that you'll need quite a bit more.

For reference we've done a lot of winter boondocking with 210Ah of lead acid and 120W of solar and the batts would last 2-3 days even if it was sunny. I've since installed a 390w panel so I'm expecting it to be able to keep up. We run very little stuff, with the stereo and diesel heater being the main draws. In summer we hardly touch the battery capacity, even with the GF using her laptop all day.

If you're trying to run an old propane furnace you'll need either a gigantic battery or a generator. Those things use a lot of power. A new Chinese diesel heater will work better and use way less electricity and fuel. The fridge will need a tiny bit of 12v for the light and control when it's running on propane.

I can't imagine a lithium battery would be worth the insane cost unless that's not a factor or the weight savings is a deal breaker. For the cost of one 100Ah lithium battery I bet you could get an AGM battery, 250W solar panel, and charge controller. Of course you have less usable discharge capacity with lead acid batteries vs lithium, but you can overcome that with MOAR batteries.

[Foggy_Goggles]

It is too bad that the small awd van with a bit of clearance isn't a thing. I basically just want a heated box FS road capable with moderate MPG. #truckbedlife is great 3 season living but a sleep inside 4 season road tripper would be rad. I like this kinda thing but it would be a pavement princess. https://www.dlm-distribution.com/cam....php?vanID=189