Boondocking in a van?

[mlts22]

For boondocking in general at most spots, is a 4x4 vehicle needed, such as a high clearance class "C" or a pickup/truck camper, or can one get by with a class "B" motorhome, most of which are 2WD?

[cbigham]

Dunno about the $$, but read his blog, sounds like he broke the bank. The sportsmobile has a 6.0L diesel he spent a lot of money mitigating it's shortcomings.

I would think an indoor shower install could be done very, very inexpensively and professionally like this:

Custom plumbing, drainage system = a pot and a Sham-Wow!

Perhaps someday. I have a large diesel funmover motorhome, we almost always boondock, we're riders. The van is something I bought cheap and so far, the experience is a success. For a shorter trip, couple of riders, it's great. Like to find isolated places to ride, hike from. A 4x4 would be nice, but for what I'm doing, not needed, yet. I'm basically part if a ride, camp crew, but I am pushing some of the guys to learn to camp off the bikes for a night or two. There are scenes so magnificent out there it would be great to wake up there.

Fwiw tje van foto is on the Echo Canyon trail at Death Valley. Not really a great camp site in there, he must have been passing thru to test his rig on the obstacle. Ridden it many times.

Good luck.

[pnichols]

Chuck,

That's exactly what I'm talking about. I would have loved taking a setup like that into places like that when I was younger. I wonder if that rig has some kind of shower arrangement inside?

I doubt ANY $$$$ expedition vehicle from any county could do it better. The big point is that a 4X4 camper van setup that way is not $$$$ ... only $$.

[cbigham]

Suppose it could be done this way, but not needed..

[wintersun]

There are several differences with a 2WD motorhome compared to a 4WD van or truck with camper or trailer. One is the ground clearance, especially the approach and departure angles when dealing with inclines. Second is the added traction. Third, and something that is seldom appreciated, is the ability to go much slower with a 4WD vehicle with its 2-speed range transfer case.

At slower speeds any hole or rock hit is not going to cause the damage at twice the speed as is needed with 2WD. Going up a dirt road with a grade a 4WD vehicle is needed to be sure you make it up the road and there are roads I would not travel down with 2WD as I could not be 100% sure of getting back out. Last thing I want is to have to walk 20 miles to a road and then hitch hike to the nearest town and then try to get a tow truck company to go up and retrieve my RV.

Dirt or gravel roads that are flat are not the problem but sections with 6% or steeper grades. Dual rear wheels and having the weight of a MH on the rear wheels helps a great deal but it still can make for a rough ride on backcountry roads. But you can avoid these sections without much difficulty as the quality of the road is marked on US Forest Service maps for the forests.

Width and length are other factors and the wider and longer the vehicle the more restrictive it will be on back country roads. I would go with the shortest RV I could find and take advantage of slide-outs to get more interior space.

The least restrictive are the 4WD vans or the 4WD trucks with a camper or towing a trailer. Lots of high clearance trailers that can be towed over rough country though the hard side type will take a beating. The pop-up type are much more durable for this type of use and will carry a lot more gear as well.

[pnichols]

"...I could throw a tent..."

Nope, those days went away long ago along with my backpacking in the High Sierras and tenting in the High Uintas Wilderness.

Now I want all the comforts of home kindof out in the middle of nowhere. That takes a small Class C or small Class B or camper van thoughtfully set up and carefully driven with a lot of GPS and map reading. No tow vehicles or motorcycles allowed - the comforts gotta be with us all the time so we can crash overnight no matter where we are - that's the challenge. A motorcycle or jeep is no "fun", that's too easy getting there but tuff staying there warm and cosy or cool and cosy.

Getting one's full comfort rig way out there is where the fun comes in.

All IMHO, of course.

[cbigham]

Yes, it could be done, but not at a price point I'd be interested in.

I suppose if I wanted to camp way out there I could throw a tent in the back of the jeep I usually tow behind my big motorhome, but that defeats the boondocking purpose of a van!

[pnichols]

The Sportsmobile folks certainly talk about their interiors and self-containment appliances at the various links on their web site ... granted the capacities are of course smaller than larger off-road vehicles ... but larger off-road vehicles can't go where rugged 4X4 Sportmobiles and jeeps go, either. Of coarse their superiority to a jeep is that when you get there, you can camp, sleep, and eat inside in self-containment comfort if you want.

I don't know what you mean by bubble top, but their pop-top configurations are what I would want for the lowest weight combined with inside standing height when camped and the lowest center of gravity while underway on rough terrain with the pop-top down.

Even though the Sportsmobile site's 4X4 links talk mostly about their offroad equipment and features, I assume that their 4X4 interiors and self-containment appliances or still available only with the 4X4 capabilities added within the underlying vehicle. Of course the Sportsmobile 4X4 camper van models are purpose-built by professionals and you have to pay accordingly - but far less dollars than the larger exotic expedition vehicles that can stay out longer but not make it into the boondocks any farther - or even less farther because of their much greater weight and/or taller height than the Sportsmobiles:

http://www.sportsmobile.com/design-info/

[cbigham]

Pnichols,
I'm aware there are 4x4 vans, seen sportmobiles but none self contained, and as affordable,the bubble top makes it top heavy ..I can get far enough out with my set up. I wouldn't need the 4x4 van, I wouldn't hazard it as an exploration tool , I have bikes for that.

[pnichols]

cbigham wrote:
Vans aren't set up for off road pounding..can't be good for the appliances, panels, tanks, etc.

Chuck,

Some vans are ... see my photo earlier in this thread of the 4X4 camper van with the bed opened out the back. Sportsmobile offers several van campers that can go anywhere a jeep can.

FWIW, from what I can see in your photos above ... we take our 24 foot Ford E450 Class C (carefully) into places about the same.

[cbigham]

BoonHauler wrote:
Awesome bike!! ... 🙂

Thanks, the xr600 series bikes I find to be a great balance between street, dirt, and weight, freeway legal...and Damn reliable too. This van/bike combo has seen a lot of beautiful places and some very tough terrain. I've also got an xr250r I bored out to a 280 I take if I KNOW the trails will be tough.





Happy van camping...boonies always!

[BoonHauler]

Awesome bike!! ... 🙂

[cbigham]

[cbigham]

Always boondocks from the van. No use for hook ups nor crowds... if it gets ugly up ahead I ride the bike and check it out. Snow chains and a locker will get you out of a lot if jams, but not getting in at all is better! Vans aren't set up for off road pounding..can't be good for the appliances, panels, tanks, etc.

[pnichols]

I'm not sure, Dan, but from looking at their website Sportsmobile does offer camping van configurations just about identical to that ... other than maybe not with the pop-out bed extended out the back unless requested via special built setup.

I get the impression from reading at their site that they may do a lot of custom configurations for buyers. Some of their photos show their vans getting into even some pretty wild jeep-type places, but with all the (albeit compact) comforts of home when you get there. Great out-in-the-middle-of-nowhere RV vehicles for the price, IMHO.

Note that for using a 4X4 camping van off-road, special isolation of the coach area from the chassis is not a design requirement like it is with an expedition vehicle. This is because the "coach" in a van camper is part of the main steel body one-piece structure that moves with the cab wherever and however it was designed to move relative to the main chassis members. That is one reason that a 4X4 van camper can kindof be thought of as a "poor man's expedition vehicle".