Although our Gulfstream Sunsport RV isn't all that big compared to some (27'-8" according to the specs), and we have been using it as our daily driver for the past 14 months, it has been nothing but a royal pain, not only with operating expenses, but just the overall hassle of having to drive around in a 13,000 pound vehicle that sits too low to the ground! Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if we weren't overcrowded with excess possessions yet to be disposed of, but that is our current situation. We don't need more RV... we need less useless junk!
The remaining stuff (that we haven't yet disposed of... but will) that we have as a result of emptying one of our two rented storage units, is stored in the front seat area, along both sides of the bed, and doubled up in the living room area. Every time we have to move the RV it requires shuffling all the stuff from up front to put on the rear bed, and securing everything else so it can't move while going down the road (or in sudden stops). The extra weight on the bed (under it and beside it) only adds to the low profile of the back of the RV, which already sets too low to the ground (probably due to tired suspension). Dealing with the bed situation, closets, sliding mattresses, cleaning and other things just adds to the frustration!
Even though we try to make as few trips out from our parking spot as necessary, the current situation deters us getting out for pleasure drives to see the country that we intended to see when we started this adventure! The fuel and maintenance costs are too great, and it's just too much hassle to park this thing in some of the touristy areas!
Our overall size has already prevented us from getting into places that we would normally like to go, such as a friend's and/or relative's tight driveway in an exclusive subdivision/condo where RVs aren't even supposed to park! We didn't even get to see Santa Fe when we were there, because we could see it was too hard to navigate with this RV. And if it's in hilly areas, its even worse!
We can deal with shopping centers and Walmart parking lots... as long as we park dead center of four angled parking spaces... or across them! But the biggest problem also comes with dragging the receiver hitch every time we encounter a dip that is too deep at the edge of the streets!
In some cases, it wasn't even a driveway! We encountered one small Texas town (I think it was Breckenridge), plus Gunnison, Colorado, with streets that had such deep drainage dips at every intersection that we had to slow down to a crawl... and even that didn't help! We still scraped bottom on many of them! It's no wonder that people in those parts of the country choose to drive high-profile vehicles with 4WD!
We also saw many forest camping areas that we "could" have used, but getting off the road and into them was impossible! That could even cost us money, because if we don't find other free places to park, we might have to pay campground fees!
We already knew a long time ago that we needed something small and economical as a daily driver, but we started out with what we could afford (the conversion van in which we left our real estate), and have gradually evolved ever since.
On June 1st, we made an appointment with a dealership not far away. They were the only ones that I found on the web whose web site and online application forms actually worked as they should, and they got back to me within a couple of hours. I told them what I was looking for, and they came up with a solution. We drove over there the next day.
Our sales person had the vehicle all prepped for us and sitting in the first row when we arrived. All we had to do was finalize the paperwork, take a test drive, and we left with the vehicle that same day! That's how I like to do business!
For those who were paying attention, I hinted at this in the previous blog post. Others may have already seen it when I announced it on Facebook.
The answer to our needs...
Our newest "baby"... is loaded to the hilt! And it has enough mileage left on the warranty to keep us safe for awhile (unless it times out first). In the interest of privacy and security, I have removed the photos that I had previously placed here.
The worst thing is that our snow-white German Spitz, Angel, sheds worse than any dog we have ever seen, and that white fur stands out like a sore thumb on this dark carpet! But so be it! I'm not going to rip the carpet out of a luxury van just for that reason! We'll just protect with mats where we can and vacuum more often!
The entertainment unit has a built-in back-up camera (will be good for seeing to hook up to a trailer, among other good uses) and DVD/CD entertainment system. DVD's play through the drop-down TV in the upper console. Audio CDs can go through the speaker system, or to three sets of wireless (Bluetooth) earphones, also stored in the upper console.
All doors are opened and closed electrically, as are all windows. Nice!
A powerhouse surprise!
When we started looking for a vehicle, we originally were thinking of something similar to the old familiar 3.8 liter V6 engine like we had in our old T&C. When the salesman told us this was a little smaller, I was little disappointed... until I researched the stats!
This newer engine is a double overhead cam, 24 valve engine, with MORE torque and horsepower than our old 4.7 liter V8 Dakota! Wow! And after punching it down out on the highway and having it glue me to the seat, I am sold! This will DEFINITELY pull the trailer! Not only that, but estimated fuel economy is better.
Our old T&C was rated at 22 mpg highway. This newer vehicle is rated at 27 mpg! And on our larger Dakota, we were lucky to get 17 mpg highway mileage. With the trailer, it dropped down to 12! Ouch! Even if this one drops proportionately, it's still better than the Dakota would have done, plus we have a LOT more cubic feet of space!
And as for stopping, this vehicle has four-wheel disc brakes that will slide all four wheels easily in an emergency. Between those and the electric brakes on the trailer (for the rare times we plan to pull a trailer), it will handle just fine.
The benefits...and our future goal...
With this vehicle, our goal is to set it up with whatever we need for shorter trips away from our RV, while the RV becomes our "mobile home base". We still like the idea of a "movable" home base, but don't want to drive it for daily errands and sightseeing.
We have a vision for next year that might allow us to travel with this vehicle for a few months at a time while we leave the RV parked for a longer time. This way we could get out of the summer heat here and do the traveling we always wanted to, while keeping the fuel budget in control. We would likely leave here no later than the first of June, and go north or west to cooler and dryer locales until at least the end of September.
This vehicle is a near ideal camper vehicle... for being stock...
The wiring setup is ideal for a small camper. Not only are the lights all LED, but there are two separate circuits for the 12-volt receptacles (some hot all the time, and some that go off with the ignition). It even comes with a 150-watt inverter built in! The only problem is that it all comes off the vehicle's battery, and you can run the battery down if you use it too much while parked!
If we find we need additional power or battery life, we can easily set up a secondary dry cell, like the "yellow-top" Optima battery we had in our truck camper, or gel cell (AGM type) deep cycle battery and simply plug it into one of the 12-volt receptacles that goes off with the ignition. That feature serves as a battery isolator, same as any RV. Since it's not being used for starting current, and only charging, it only needs to be as large as your overcurrent protection (in this case, 13 amps). The 12-volt sockets in the vehice are good for 13 amps maximum, but that should be plenty to recharge a secondary battery. Still, I would provide additional overcurrent protection (automatically resetting circuit breaker) in that line, preferably a 10 amp breaker, so as to be less than the socket is fused.
We can use a larger inverter with that secondary battery, and any power used won't be coming out of the vehicle's engine battery. I have many more ideas in my ebook, so grab a copy of the old version before I get the new one published, because the newer one will have a price on it! The original one is in pdf format, so you don't need anything extra to download it and read it.
The proposed layout...
With the floor length behind the front seats, and the width, we have plenty of room for a bed wide enough for two, with a few extra feet of length to spare. I already know that we want a (left) side gaucho-style jack-knife sofa bed, which we will get in black leather to match the rest of the interior.
There will be enough room for some storage under the couch plus in other areas. We'll have a kitchen setup accessible from inside or outside. I hate to have to design something special and do any building, because that would go against my concept. I will make every attempt to find a ready-made solution with off-the-shelf hardware, cabinets or whatever works.
The thing about the way I plan to convert the vehicle for camping is to try to do it without tools, such that everything can be removed within 15 minutes or less and put right back to the way it was built originally. No screws, no holes, and nothing to be built with tools in order to make it into a camper! If the vehicle is traded, nothing is lost, and everything can be put right back into another similar vehicle!
Those of you who are "tool handicapped", lack a place to work, or the time to do any building will want to take notice. If we buy new, the couch will be the single-most expensive item going into it, but if you are limited on funds, there are many ways to make a couch, using plywood over storage crates, and mattress foam wrapped with a blanket or quilt.
In leiu of fancy cabinets, the kitchen area can be built up in any configuration with plastic crates or drawer units tied together with short bungees. As with any component or other items, they should be secured, so in case of an accident, they don't become missiles toward the back of your head!
We are fortunate to have many things from previous years of "rough" camping, before we started using campers. We have a portable sink with a pump on it, a single-burner Coleman butane camp stove, a two-burner Coleman propane camp stove, plus a brief-case-sized charcoal grill that we can add to the van. (Eventually, I want one of the Coleman propane stoves with a burner on one side and a grill on the other. Then we won't need the charcoal grill.) For short trips, we will likely only take the single burner butane stove and leave the rest with the RV. We also have a 40-quart Peltier Effect 12-volt cooler, plus several "6-pack" sized ice chests. Any of them are more than enough for shorter trips.
We'll also fill a couple of plastic quart bottles with water and freeze them, as auxiliary cooling for the powered cooler. With the secondary deep-cycle battery running the cooler when camped, and being on the go during most days, we should be able to go for at least a week without adding ice, and without depleting the secondary battery.
Since we have been RVing and camping for over 35 years, we have always maintained duplicate kitchen accessories of many kinds (one set at home and one in the RV), including an extra "stick" blender (Braun), a Stansport camp stove-top folding toaster, and even a Coleman oven, which can set over any camp stove, charcoal grill or open fire. We have extra utensils, silverware and dishes. Still, most of our daytime meals will be light and quick. We'll save the more labor-intensive meals for evenings when we have more time.
If we get rid of the Haulmark trailer, we won't "have" to buy an extra porta-potty. We have a nice Thetford "Curve" electric one. Of course, there are more light-weight options available, and ones that don't require having to dump a porta-potty into a sewer. I'm referring to light-weight options such as the Luggable Loo types (think cat litter, bags and dumpsters). We may go that route. When that electric porta-potty gets full, it weighs nearly 70 pounds! My back doesn't need to deal with that, and we don't need the extra weight in the back of the van, nor the hassles in figuring out places to dump it! Trash bins are a whole lot easier to find!
Our water supply can be jugs or we can use one of the 8-gallon Hydrollers with wheels like I bought for the trailer, or any size or shape in between. It's just a matter of what fits the best and where.
The microwave and refrigerator that's in the trailer now will likely stay there when we sell the trailer, along with the entire solar setup that is on it. We won't need that much power or refrigeration for part-time traveling. As much as we love a microwave, it's more than we need to have with us, and would take too much battery power to run it. If we need anything frozen, we'll buy it that way and use it up the same day... including ice cream!
We may want to buy a smaller Mr. Heater Buddy heater, as the "Big Buddy" is overkill for a smaller space. I envision using this vehicle mostly during the spring and fall, maybe even up to Halloween in some of the northern states, so we can enjoy the fall colors. Mornings can be quite chilly by then, if we happen to be over-nighting away from the RV. But with the sun out, this vehicle (as with most vehicles will likely take the chill off by itself after the sun comes up! We may not even need a heater!
We won't worry about air conditioning. I don't really envision using this vehicle when the weather gets too hot or humid that we would need it. We'll probably be out sightseeing during the day, and can use the van's dash air. It should be cooled down at night enough to not need any air conditioning. That's why we watch the weather predictions 15 days out. If we don't like where we are, we'll change locations and/or elevations!
For storage, we will still want some extra things with us, though, like some comfortable reclining chairs for lounging, maybe our portable folding picnic table or other outside table and "straight" chairs for table use, and other things (maybe my guitar, if I can still play it), but we have to have space inside to "live" for awhile. We can't have it cluttered up!
I plan to have this vehicle outfitted with a 2-inch receiver hitch, 3500# rating. We may put off getting that until later next summer as the plans are now. If we have to rent a trailer on the way back south next fall, I can get it installed then. I also want to be able to pull our Haulmark trailer, if for no other reason than to take it somewhere to have the electric brakes repaired so I can sell it. But right now, we have no plans to go anywhere with it, so it will stay parked with the RV for now. I doubt we will use it anymore to live in for traveling.
The biggest problem with any vehicle...
The biggest problem with any vehicle camper plans has always been the windows, how to screen them and and how to cover them for privacy. Many have come up with the idea of cutting panels, either of cardboard or Reflectix, just slightly larger than the window profile, and then tuck the edges into the space between the glass and the plastic trim (usually about 1/4 inch). The panels are usually stiff enough to hold themselves in place, and no damage is done to the van... except for esthetics! They're ugly!
Not only that, but if you need screens for ventilation, you can't open your windows! Some will say that you can fit screens loosely on the outside with magnets and the windows can still open! True, but also very "tacky" and just plain ugly! If you want to stealth camp in a Walmart overnight, the last thing you need is outside screens and window coverings that scream to viewers that someone is living in there!
Some will also say that the dark tint on the windows is enough for privacy! Those who say that either camp so far out in the boonies that no one sees them anyway, or they have never looked into a van with the inside lights on at night! Just like a one-way mirror glass, if you put enough light behind it, you can see through it! We are NOT going to live in a "fish bowl"!
At least with using Velcro, there's a chance of being able to peel it off and remove the adhesive when we get rid of the vehicle. Otherwise, we can still peel the track off, and it will only be Velcro that will remain on the window trim, and shouldn't be a big deterrent for a future buyer.
In the front of the vehicle, I eventually want two options. (1) To be able to close off the entire cab area at the windshield, on the inside, or (2) to close off the entire vehicle at the windshield. For the latter, I think a standard window treatment custom fit for this vehicle is the answer, and maybe on the side windows, too.
The former option is to be able to close off the cab area behind the seats. This won't be as noticeable from the outside when parking in a parking lot or along a street. I had already designed a removable system for doing this, but haven't tried it yet. It would require "building" something, which I am trying to avoid.
In summary...
So that's our new vehicle, and what we intend to do with it. Others (even couples) are traveling comfortably in similar vehicles, and there's no reason not too. I constantly find new YouTube videos of people using similar vehicles for campers, and some of them even travel in them full-time! Yes, it will be a little more crowded when there's more than one person (plus a dog), but can be easily done. After all, you are only going to be riding in it (which you would do anyway) or sleeping in it, for which there is plenty of room. Other than that, most of your time is going to be spent outside or other places. If stuck inside because of rain, you have plenty of comfortable seating, and power for electronics!
Please realize that I wouldn't suggest traveling full-time in a vehicle such as this as an option for everyone. I know several single people that do, but few couples. You have to be a real minimalist with few possessions, or figure on a long-term storage option for excess stuff. A smaller vehicle works great, though, as a support vehicle for a larger RV, or for a part-time traveling vehicle, which is what ours will be.
There is one more option, if you need more sleeping space. If you need separate sleeping quarters, then one of you could use a small trailer, and still sleep comfortably and without disturbances from your partner! That is... if you don't mind the reduction in fuel mileage and maneuverability to pull it.
All I can say is that if your goal is to get out there and see America without spending all your money on fuel... then do it with something that is easier to get into places with, and costs less to operate than one of the larger RVs. You don't have to drag your whole house with you everywhere you go! If you want to remain mobile, then drive your larger RV between central destinations and stay longer to get the better rates. Then use the smaller vehicle for the shorter trips away from your RV. You can still see everything within a couple hundred miles of your temporary home base, and when you've seen everything worth seeing, move on to a new home base.
Some people will argue that you don't need anything but a small car to do your sightseeing, but I like to have my facilities with me. A case in point would be going to a small county festival where a half-million people showed up. The restrooms had lines, the stores were sold out of food, and the grocery stores were nearly empty! (Kind of sounds like a hurricane evacuation, doesn't it?) I also want the ability to stay gone a few days extra if I need to.
I have also seen cases where the larger RV had to go into a shop for repairs where they wouldn't let the owners live in it. They were forced to go to a motel. With a fully functional camper support vehicle, you could still get by for a few days very comfortably, and for a lot less than a motel bill! The other obvious advantage to using any smaller vehicle is that you can get to more places with it that you wouldn't want to take a larger RV.
As an example, if we are invited to visit with old friends, we don't have to worry about whether their driveway has room for us or is strong enough to support a 13,000-pound motorhome. You wouldn't feel good if your RV cracked their concrete driveway!
If we get to visiting later than we want to drive home, or have "imbibed a wee bit too much of the bubbly", we have our facilities right there in their driveway! If we want to sight-see in some area like old Santa Fe, where the streets are very narrow... or visit some small town festival where half a million people have suddenly converged, and parking is tight, we can still get in there, even though I hate crowds! We also like to stay at some of the state and national park lodges, so if we want a break from camping, we can park there with no trouble, and sleep in their bed for a night or two!
I can think of countless reasons to travel smaller and lighter, at least for shorter trips. Save the big gas hog RV to go to another area a few hundred miles away once a month or every other month and then use it as a home base while you explore the local area in comfort!
Only time and outside influences will assure us of what path to take. We never say never, because invariably, something forces us to change our minds for reasons we may not have even known about until it arrives.
As always, we welcome your comments, and thank you for the clicks on our links and the purchases you have made. Every little bit helps to keep this blog active!
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