Ford ElDorado 460 1986 model vs. 1984 Toyota Sunrader

The mini-van’s a good idea. I used to take my two kids on two week long trips camping around the west. I removed the two rear seats and built a 1’ high 4’X6’ carpeted platform. The area underneath the platform was accessible by removing any and all of the three – 2’X4’ pieces of plywood top decking. I stored all our gear under the platform. It was very comfortable and the mini-van got around 25mpg and was easy to drive. Have the windows tinted dark for privacy. Also a mini-van would be very stealthy.

Steve

Have you ever heard of this group: Clicky.

I get 25mpg in my van.

The van cost $3500 (100k miles, great shape) and I spent another $2k on tires, house battery setup, transmission cooler, new brakes, etc.

For the raised bed I got an old table on craigslist and cut it to fit. I also got the fridge, generator, and other bits and pieces on craigslist.

I agree that an older RV is going to be a total money pit.

Honestly I would recommend NOT buying a Class A if your budget is $4k and you are worried about gas. A class A is not for everyone and not for every application. With your budget you are going to end up buying someone else's problems and the cost of maintenance is going to kill you.

Consider these options:

Option 1: Buy a tent trailer and tow it with your car/van/truck. It will give you clean, dry camping at a low cost. There are plenty of inexpensive options for you.

Option 2: Consider buying a conversion van. It will have a TV, a bed and a refrigerator in it. The cost to buy is within your range. The gas mileage is better. They fit everywhere.

Also as a last option you could consider a class B motorhome. Smaller, cheaper and better on gas.

Katie Marie wrote:
Suggestions/advice much appreciated. Thank you!

If you want reliability and good mpg on your budget, get a used minivan. A Toyota Sienna or Chevy Astro van.

Remove the back seats, add a small bed frame and foam mattress. Slide a porta pottie under the bed. Get a Yetti cooler, add some plastic storage containers and you'll have a pretty good camper.

The minivan will be easy to drive, easy to park, will be stealthy when needed, and have plenty of room inside for sleeping, eating, and using your computer.

You can find many examples of people doing this with minivans if you search the web for 'minivan camper'.

See sites like http://travelingtroy.com/rig, http://travelingtroy.com/2015/astro-cargo-van-to-camper-conversion-demo and http://www.scottiewanders.com/2012/08/minivan-camper-conversion-before.html

Bill

Fuel costs are going to be the least of your worries concerning a 30 year old coach. A small light weight towable might be a better choice. Just finding someone who knows how to repair an engine that old is going to be a challenge.

If a class A or C is your plan up your spending budget to twice what you are willing to spend on the initial purchase. Save the additional money for initial repairs such as tires, batteries, brakes and such. You probably won't need that much but anything left over can be banked for future expenses.

Learn how to inspect a coach or hire someone who does. Concerning an older coach initial construction quality has some effect but owner maintenance is a major concern. Anything that has been sitting unused for the past couple of years could have hidden problems from roof leaks to frozen brakes. Don't buy sight unseen no matter how good the deal sounds.

Your plan is certainly doable but starting out with a reliable and safe to operate coach is going to have huge long term effects. Good luck.

When it comes time to park the RV longer term, I parked my 1997 30' Bounder on a ranch. I looked on Craigslist for a RV for rent on a ranch. I put in Horse in the 'for rent' section, and found several locations, and one was able to let me park and live in my RV on the ranch. Again the key is to keep it looking like a 'recreation' vehicle, not a stored vehicle, or covered with a tarp.

If it looks like the motorhome can be driven tomorrow on a vacation, that is all they will think it is used for. If it has a clothes line attached to it, then the code enforcement people will start asking the homeowner questions. . . You will have to move it. . .

Fred.

Hi,

The advantage of a full size class C is that you can dry camp, and avoid a lot of camping fees. If you install a single 140 watt solar panel, you can be energy independant, and drive a few days, camp for a week or so on BLM land for free.

Yes you will get 8 MPG. How many miles do you plan on driving it? 8,000 miles over 2 years is only 1,000 gallons of gas in 24 months, or 50 gallons a month? Surely you can afford that!. Your insurance will be a little more expensive that that cost over 2 years.

If you are not careful, you could be spending $45 a night for a full hookup site with a shower in the bathroom! Or take along your own bathroom, and only worry about filling the fresh water tank once every 5-8 nights, take a shower daily in the RV, and stop at a full hookup RV campground once every week or so, and dump the tanks, fill the fresh water, and top off the batteries while doing laundry at the same place.

1986 unit. It might have roofing problems. You might need to coat the roof with new EPDM, that might be a $400 project.

You might need new batteries, probably need tires (unless the date code is less than 4 years old, you will need to replace them when they become 7+ years old). Who knows what else might break on a older RV. But you can live in a full size class C, while you can not dry camp comfortably in a smaller trailer, without a bathroom or larger fresh water tank.

It will also save money to have that 6 cubic foot refrigerator/freezer, you can cook at home more often, and not just hot dogs and things over the fire. You can bake cornbread, make a stew, any meal that you might make in a apartment, you can also make in a RV. . .

There is a whole community out there full time in RV's. Thousands of retired folks, hundreds of kids wanting to see the United States, some bringing up children in a RV while visiting the National Parks and home schooling their kids.

SunElec.com sells a 140 watt solar panel for about $229 that has a frame, and 12 volt nominal output. You would install this on the roof, so it makes power all the time. While driving the alternator will not need to put out so much power, saving gas too! You will also need a PWM controller, and some #10 grey romex from Home Depot too. Run the wires down the refrigerator vent to the controller, then to the battery. It will generate enough power to run the pump, some lights, and the refrigerator while you are camped by some lake for a week, waiting for your next adventure.

Escapees.com is a club started by the Perterson's while he was out working as a electrician, full time in a pickup towing a travel trailer, while putting their kids through home school, back in the 60's and 70's. Their kids turned out great, smart, and owners of a huge RV club!

FreeCampgrounds.com offers some free places to camp in every state. I listed some of my favorite BLM camping areas, and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon!

Good luck writing your book. You might find a lot of interesting stories to write about at Slab City or Ajo AZ. IF you show up at Slab City around Thanksgiving, go to the club there, and introduce yourself. You will find a large group that spends winters there, some even stay during the hot (117F) summers too!

Ajo is a 'low cost' place for retireees to stay while waiting on their SS checks to show up. They can camp there for pennies a month!

Quartzsite is another popular place to show up to after January 1. Actually there is a crowd there from November to around March, when it becomes to hot to stay dry camping.

September to when the snow starts to fly in October it is great to know about the free camping in the National Forest north of the North rim of the Grand Canyon. You could spend months exploring there by bicycle, but gas is really expensive there. You can camp in the meadows for free, 2 weeks at a time. If you do not 'look' like you moved in, the Rangers might think you just showed up yesterday, and they will not bother you. But if you show up, get out a BBQ, and start storing all kinds of stuff under blue tarps, they will ask you to 'move on' sooner than later.

The key is to look like you just got there. You can spend nights near a library, or school, or church in a small town. Judge the town by the bars on the windows. Never wanted to spend a night in a town where the locals think they need bars on the windows. . ..


Good luck,

Fred.

there is a eldorado in rv trader for $1350.00. you might use this for fodder to get the guy to lower his price

That 460 wont get 10 mpg. Probably 8. I had a 460 Econoline work truck wouldnt get 8.

You might consider a used tear drop behind a four cyl car.

A Dodge Xplorer van conversion can be found occasionally for $4-$5K. It would have a toilet, shower etc.


Or just do a van conversion with a sofa bed, throw in a porta pot. Get the small V-8 and you should squeak 12-14 mpg out of it.