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Hittenstiehl · 09-15-2016, 08:06 PM

Whoa you guys aren't messing around 😯, listed already. Good luck. While we may be surprised it should not surprise us to much. You guys do your research, make your decisions and get down to business.

And sometimes when we think we have it all figured out life throws in another variable that changes things. After all nothing in life is constant except change.

Go for it and have fun picking the next abode.

explore more · 09-15-2016, 08:16 PM

Thanks. The good news is that we're riding our mountain bikes even more than we planned. (A GREAT problem to have).

Since we're loading and unloading them after every ride, a bigger van would make sense... sorta. Plus we'd like to ditch the Airstream in storage for the summer and just live out of the van. We could modify the van to make that work, but we're thinking it might be best to start with a bigger van. Who knows, it's all kinda crazy right now. I'm actually enjoying the peace of not shopping and not modifying things, but who knows... a 25 foot might be best for us.

KJRitchie · 09-15-2016, 10:26 PM

Will you be able to perform your job living in a van for the summer? Why leave the AS in storage? Where can a Transit go that the AS can't in tow?

Kelvin

wbrisett · 09-16-2016, 02:55 AM

Funny, I didn't put 2 and 2 together. I watched your videos when you went shopping for the trailer and ended up buying the Airstream.

Good luck on your decision. I will say that if the 23D hadn't been available, we would have gone with the 25FB. I do think a 23D would be a bit cramped for you for full time use, but it looks like you're now set on looking at the 25 ft model, which has a bit more storage and full queen bed.

explore more · 09-16-2016, 08:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KJRitchie

Will you be able to perform your job living in a van for the summer? Why leave the AS in storage? Where can a Transit go that the AS can't in tow?

Yes, I can still work from the van. For us, the toughest part about full-timing in the summer is finding a park to stay at. The van can stealth camp on city streets and nobody will know we're sleeping in there. In the summer, we find the pace of travel is faster. We often wish we had a place to stash the Airstream for a week or two so we can travel lighter, faster, and not have to worry about where to stay. It's not that the Airstream is too big, it's more that we want to be able to zip down to a mtb destination for 3 days without having to hook, unhook, store, and find a place for the trailer. The theory is that with a van we can be a bit more nimble and flexible.

I appreciate the question. My logic hasn't always been logical, so it helps to talk through it. We want to do an east coast tour next year, but we still want to be spontaneous. We hear it's tough to find camp spots out there short-notice, and it's expensive as well. A stealth van opens so many more options. We will still live in the Airstream for most of the year (we want a shower, and all our clothes, etc), but for short 1-3 month stints, it'd be cool to have just a van we can stealth it and walk around in, and store the bikes better. That's the rationale for now...

explore more · 09-16-2016, 08:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wbrisett

Funny, I didn't put 2 and 2 together. I watched your videos when you went shopping for the trailer and ended up buying the Airstream.

Good luck on your decision. I will say that if the 23D hadn't been available, we would have gone with the 25FB. I do think a 23D would be a bit cramped for you for full time use, but it looks like you're now set on looking at the 25 ft model, which has a bit more storage and full queen bed.

We really like the 25FQ, but I fear it'll be too heavy. I really wonder if a 25ss is that much lighter...

KJRitchie · 09-16-2016, 08:23 AM

I sometimes watch a youTube channel "Nomadic Fanatic" and he's got urban boondocking down to fine art but it doesn't look fun to me sleeping in neighborhoods where anything can happen.

I follow another Airstream working couples blog, Watsonswander, they have to find spots with internet access. They boondock a lot in the West, stay in private, state and federal parks and are currently back east.

Kelvin

Hittenstiehl · 09-16-2016, 08:46 AM

I like where you're going with this. Vandwelling has always been quite common and creative.

My daydreaming into it happened a couple years ago when we were Airstream dreaming. We saw a Sportsmobile at a national park and I was sold that was going to be our camper of choice. It was obviously out of our budget but that led me to wander around the web and run into all kinds of sites where van conversion was going on.

Then reading Moosetags here on the forum had me thinking they have it figured out. They road trip, they pick a Campground, they park, they unhook. They then wander some more with their cab over camper. If they make it back to camp okay, if they dont they still have their secondary camper with them.

So now I'm convinced a high top (or stand up able) Chevy express might be my next vehicle. (Daydreaming) Then we semi outfit it for boondocking, streetdocking, parkinglotdocking, stealthdocking.

Check out Vandogtraveller, CheaperRVliving,
TheVanual.com
Mike Castrucci Conversion van land

Thanks for letting me ramble in your thread.

You go for it, your young, job portable, adventurous, child free, and life is very short. These times don't usually come around again.

explore more · 09-16-2016, 08:55 AM

yeah, you get our vision. We're having a tough time finding a big van that can tow a lot of weight. We have a feeling Chevy is going to introdue a euro-style van soon. I think they're losing business to mercedes, dodge, and ford now. But they do have one big thing going for them: tow ratings. These unibody vans don't tow much.

We attended a van dweller get-together a few weeks ago. It was really fun to see how some people live so simply. I still have a little bit of reservations getting rid of our current setup: it works SO well, except for the bikes.

I suppose we could do all this by just adding a $2000 fiberglass high-top to our current van. Hm... tough decision...

KJRitchie · 09-16-2016, 09:00 AM

Here is another couple, they don't full time, but he's big into road bikes. They use a Winnebago Travato to haul their expensive bikes inside but you can't tow a trailer with this Class B.

http://www.thefitrv.com/

ArkFortyCal · 09-16-2016, 01:46 PM

Well I just caught up on this post and am God Smacked. The thought of you guys selling your perfect trailer pulls at my Wife and I's heart strings. You two have inspired us in so many ways with the top two items being:

1) that I wanted a 4x4 van as my tow vehicle, I went through the same search you are doing now and it's nearly impossible to have a newer van that can support the towing requirements I wanted (we currently have a 28 SIG) without spending a lot of money and a few of options were $80-$100K. Unfortunately I could not find what I wanted and we ended up purchasing a 2500 truck with a tonneau cover. Bikes ended up on the back of the trailer via a 2" hitch mounted to the trailer frame (can send pic's if you would like).

2) working from the road. We both have had jobs for many years where we work from home. We never even considered working from the road until you inspired us. We have found that working from the road is great and can't thank you enough for this. We upgraded to our 28 SIG this year from a 25FB FC thinking we would have lots more room for working and the dogs. While true, we have been jealous of your AS desk space as working from the AS table top isn't great. If you move to a 25 you will lose that glorious work space. You might try working a few days without using that space and see if you miss it. On some days I try to work outside but depending on a the temp, neighbors, and # of Conf calls I often end up back inside.

Sorry, I'm not sure I provided any helpful advise above but hopefully some thoughts to consider. We really enjoy your channel and so glad your finely on the road with much more regular posts (long time listener, first time caller).

explore more · 09-16-2016, 01:56 PM

Thanks for the kind words ArkFortyCal! Sounds like we need to work out a trade.

I don't feel great about the 25' option yet. If we did get a 25 fb, we'd remove the dinette table and the bench on the passenger side, and turn that into a desk. Then we'd have a long couch. That's the theory at least.

The 25ss, without the dinette, and with a desk, would really open things up like we have now, but we'd REALLY miss our storage on the back, our storage everywhere else, our walk-around bed, our corner closets, our dial ACs, our big kitchen...

We're about to install 600w of solar on the roof, so we figured now would be the perfect time to rethink our decision if we were to change.

We're trying to balance having our ideal Airstream with a 95% ideal tow rig, or have our ideal tow rig with an 80% ideal Airstream. Tough decision.

FCStreamer · 09-16-2016, 02:00 PM

You said you wanted to stay in your TV for a couple of summer months. But the other 9 months you will be in the AS, correct? I'd wait and find the right TV that can pull your 30 and where you can do the other things you want to do. There has got to be one out there. But if I were fulltiming in an AS, having the perfect (or as close to perfect) AS would be more important than the TV, even in your case.

Decisions, decisions....

explore more · 09-16-2016, 02:17 PM

Great insight. So far, we don't think our perfect tow rig exists. We're pretty close to it though...

We'd like a van that's big enough to stand up in, boxy enough to mount our bikes without taking of the wheels, stealthy looking, 4x4, and capable enough to get us off the beaten path.

FCStreamer · 09-16-2016, 02:29 PM

Have you looked at this one? 9500lb towing, 3600lb payload and has a high roof.

http://www.nissancommercialvehicles.com/nv-cargo/specs

explore more · 09-16-2016, 02:35 PM

something like that could work. If I were going that route, I'd just throw a 24" high top on my existing 4x4 diesel van though (which is still an option).

BAAMbi7 · 09-17-2016, 11:26 AM

OK, guys. Here's a thought on the desk/25FB. I saw ( but cannot find the site/pic, of course) two renos:

1 - They took a twin ( I think fb) and took out the one twin and put in a big desk that i believe could flip down. They replaced the other twin with a pull out queen which, when pushed back (like a gaucho/futon thing) allows more floor space for a chair. You know how those queen beds can be shoved up and goes up the wall? I think the night stand may have been removed or redone.

2- They took the long lounge/sofa section out and put in a desk with some drawers. They reconfigured the dinette a little and made it more modular with a two part dinette.

I'll try and find the pictures. The second one was an international and I believe the reno was done by Ultimate Airstream.

OTRA15 · 09-17-2016, 11:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FCStreamer

Have you looked at this one? 9500lb towing, 3600lb payload and has a high roof.

http://www.nissancommercialvehicles.com/nv-cargo/specs

Have you ever driven one of these?

NG IMO.

FCStreamer · 09-17-2016, 12:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OTRA15

Have you ever driven one of these?

NG IMO.

Why?

explore more · 09-17-2016, 01:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BAAMbi7

OK, guys. Here's a thought on the desk/25FB. I saw ( but cannot find the site/pic, of course) two renos:

1 - They took a twin ( I think fb) and took out the one twin and put in a big desk that i believe could flip down. They replaced the other twin with a pull out queen which, when pushed back (like a gaucho/futon thing) allows more floor space for a chair. You know how those queen beds can be shoved up and goes up the wall? I think the night stand may have been removed or redone.

2- They took the long lounge/sofa section out and put in a desk with some drawers. They reconfigured the dinette a little and made it more modular with a two part dinette.

I'll try and find the pictures. The second one was an international and I believe the reno was done by Ultimate Airstream.

Sounds awesome! I hope you find a pic, cuz I want to see that